Chapter 12

“Who do you keep going to every day?”

Kalik, having finished regular training, intended to return quickly before another call came. Normally, there would be time to wash, but strangely, he had been tied up at the knight order more often lately, leaving no time to wash, let alone finish work on time.

“Can’t you give me a hint about which woman it is, just for me?”

The mention of a woman made Kalik’s ears twitch. He approached Vincent, his friend and vice-commander, who had dismounted and was asking the question.

He could have ignored it, but the certainty in Vincent’s tone subtly irked him.

“What do you mean?”

“The woman you go to meet every day.”

“Woman?”

“Who is she, and where does she live, to have you so enthralled?”

Isn’t it intriguing?

Vincent egged on the subordinates who were watching with bright eyes. Before he knew it, a large semicircle had formed around Kalik. Everyone was eagerly waiting for their commander’s next words, swallowing their saliva.

“Are you talking about my wife?”

But the superior’s answer was as stupid as it could be and contrary to their expectations, it was innocent.

“What? No, the woman you’re going to meet now. Who is she?”

“So you’re talking about my wife?”

“…That….”

Vincent tilted his head and gestured to a nearby subordinate.

Hey, did I sound like an idiot?

No, Sir.

Right?

The two whispered quietly with their heads together, then looked up, feeling Kalik’s piercing gaze. Kalik seemed to have lost interest in this meaningless conversation and was back on his horse.

A desperate Vincent grabbed the reins and held on.

“Wait, just wait! Just answer this before you go!”

“What? Hurry up. I don’t have time.”

As if you don’t have time to spare. 

Vincent’s face twisted. Still, how could he miss this opportunity! It was finally a chance to uncover the truth behind the rumors. Plus, there was the hefty sum of ten gold coins.

Vincent Almore had bet five gold coins on having a lover. Other knights were similar. Nine out of ten bet that Kalik Escael had another woman, and the winner would be determined by the style of that mistress.

If she turned out to be a sexy older woman, Vincent Almore would win; if she was a pure country maiden, the 3rd Knight Order’s Commander, Oben, would win; if she was a cute younger sister type, the 4th Knight Order’s Commander, Dallos, would win.

“The woman you’re going to meet right now! What style is she?!”

“Why do you ask?”

“Oh! Look at this! You’re going to meet a woman, aren’t you!”

“Sigh.”

“What does she look like? Just tell us that!”

Vincent pressed Kalik, who was holding his head, buying time. Since it was confirmed he was meeting a woman, the rest depended on which side the goddess of victory would favor.

Kalik hesitated as if reluctant, then began, “I don’t know why I should say, but,” opening the conversation. Oben and Dallos naturally joined in.

“She’s dignified, beautiful, and wise.”

“Oh, congrats. But aside from that, appearance is important! Is she sexy? Cute? Or pure? Lively?”

“…If I had to say, she’s more on the alluring side.”

“Yay!”

“Oh no.”

“Ah.”

Simultaneous cheers and lamentations.

The goddess of victory favored Vincent Almore.

“Why are you asking about my wife?”

“What? …Wife?”

It passed by.

“Yeah. Why are you curious about my wife?”

Vincent’s face hardened. He stared dumbfoundedly at Kalik, who was openly expressing displeasure. Then, regaining his senses, he pressed his forehead and eyes firmly. Maybe it was just his imagination, but it felt like his blood pressure was rising.

“Just to confirm, the woman you go to meet every day was Marie?”

“Meet what? It’s natural to go home after work.”

“So you were going home?”

“If you’re going to talk nonsense, I’m leaving. If you have the energy to engage in such nonsense, run fifty laps around the training ground. I’ll check tomorrow.”

“No, really, home? The Marie Odillia I know?”

The hands of Oben and Dallos, who were taking out five gold coins, paused. They couldn’t help but be surprised that the subject of their bet wasn’t an unknown third party but someone familiar yet overlooked.

“Weren’t you and Marie not on good terms?”

“Do you want to die?”

Kalik’s growling face was sincere. They suspected it might be a smokescreen, but seeing this reaction, they couldn’t insist otherwise. Besides, Kalik was the type to flee rather than lie when forced to speak falsely.

Which meant everything he was saying now was the truth and his true feelings.

“Strange.”

Vincent put his hands on his hips and cocked his leg.

“What is?”

“No, you and Marie are….”

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t call someone else’s wife by her name so casually.”

Kalik’s face was serious. He was deeply angered by Vincent calling Marie’s name several times already. Perhaps he would allow it only for immediate family. To him, anyone else, especially another man, calling his wife’s name felt like a challenge or provocation.

“Even if it’s you.”

“I’m not being casual….”

“Well, I have to go have dinner with my wife.”

Vincent, Oben, and Dallos exchanged glances. At this point, the bet was no longer important. The disappointment of having chewed on something that was nothing more than baseless imagination wasn’t the issue either.

The immediate shock that hit the three men was why their friend had suddenly fallen in love.

Their interest was in the background of this change.

“Uh, well, take care.”

“I’ll check if you guys run laps around the training ground.”

Ugh.

Leaving his collapsing subordinates behind, Kalik immediately moved his horse. He seemed worried about getting delayed again.

Vincent absentmindedly watched Kalik’s disappearing figure and unconsciously rubbed the back of his head.

“They said he hit his head….”

Though he wasn’t there during the riding accident.

“He must have really gone crazy?”

He had more than enough sense to realize this wasn’t a trivial matter.

But we can’t be the only ones to know about this amusing situation!

And so, the commanders and knights scattered in all directions to spread the rumor.

It’s a festival!

* * *

Everything was over before Albrecht could even say “uh, uh, uh.”

Of course, this was from his perspective, and in reality, he received a lavish meal and was escorted to the front door of the house. In other words, when he came to his senses, he found himself in front of his house.

He responded to his wife’s joke about whether he had been robbed by saying it felt like it. Although nothing had actually been taken from him, part of him felt as if he had been robbed of his entire fortune by a gang of thieves.

Albrecht hugged his wife tightly, sharing the lesson he had learned from his daughter’s home.

“Father-in-law….”

His daughter and son-in-law embracing in the open lobby.

The servants of the annex, who seemed unfazed as if it wasn’t the first time.

“So this is how it feels….”

A realization gained after nearly thirty years.

Marie intended to rest after seeing off her father, but Kalik invited her for tea, leading her to visit his room for the first time in a while. She had been careful since that incident on the bed.

“Was everything alright?”

Kalik handed tea to Marie, who was sitting as close to the door as possible. They were drinking tea on the balcony. Despite Kalik’s concern about the cold night breeze, she insisted on this open space. In case she needed to call for help.

“Yes. Everything was fine.”

She wanted to say that day was just like any other, but somehow, she couldn’t bring herself to use such expressions with the current Kalik.

Looking back, it was amazing to think about how she used to converse with him before the accident. Didn’t she often confront him? She frequently used expressions that could be taken as provocations, and the content and manner were often like that.

Marie reflected on her past behavior as she held her teacup preciously. Perhaps she had disliked the uncomfortable atmosphere back then and just said anything.

Would I feel comfortable with the current Kalik?

“Why, why?”

Marie shrank back, holding her cup. Kalik had sat next to her without hesitation. It was a regretful mistake that the chair wasn’t a single-seater.

“Because the wind is strong.”

Saying so, he wrapped a shawl around Marie. Her protest of “I can do it myself” didn’t even make it out of her mouth.

“We can go inside after finishing our tea.”

The longer they stayed, the greater the risk. Feeling safe outside was something only amateurs did. Having dealt with this man recently, her crisis detection ability had peaked, keeping her constantly tense.

“Let’s stay a bit longer. The moon is bright, and the air is pleasant; it’s perfect for enjoying.”

Didn’t he just say the wind was strong?

Marie tried not to get caught up in this unpredictable conversation flow. If it were broad daylight and they were just having tea, she wouldn’t be this tense.

The reason she was so on edge was that Kalik’s expression when looking at her had clearly changed. It was partly due to Natalie’s intense education and partly her own realization. And because it was so blatantly obvious.

It was undoubtedly the expression of a man in love, a man loving.

The unfortunate truth was that this might be only a temporary, short-lived situation.