“…What do you mean by that?”

Her lips trembled as she spoke softly. Even amid the clatter of hooves striking stones, his voice rang out clearly. She could not have misheard.

“Nothing… You mean you don’t want me to take lessons?”

No one understood better than Ilenia just how disastrous her behavior had been that day. It was one thing to make promises to herself, but quite another to face the reality of the situation. The nobles were far more cunning; their kindness was merely a mask.

And what about her own presence there? She could still picture herself sitting there like an idiot, only nodding occasionally.

“Do you want me to keep sitting there like an idiot in front of everyone?”

“That’s not it.”

“Then why do you want me to do nothing at all?”

“Ilenia.”

A flicker of irritation crossed Delphius’s face.

“In everything that happened today, you did nothing wrong, Ilenia. It was only those fools—people who think that moving their tongues is enough to make their words truth—doing what they always do.”

“I did nothing wrong…”

A memory surfaced. She had heard this answer before:

On their wedding night. It was just after the ceremony, when she had been sitting there, dazed, replaying the banquet in her mind, that he had said the same words.

“You did nothing wrong.”

Back then, she had believed it—believed it was her gentle husband’s way of comforting her. But now, why did the same words sound so different?

“Yes. If you hadn’t been there, they would have aimed at someone else. People like that only feel they have worth when they drag others down.”

Ilenia raised her eyes to meet his.

Throughout their marriage, Delphius had never once demanded anything from her. He never reproached her for her mistakes because he expected nothing.

He was the very picture of an ideal husband — yet now it seemed somehow out of joint.

“They don’t even know their own flaws, yet they run their mouths. If you cared about every single word, you’d never endure it.”

Perhaps everything Delphius said was true. No—without a doubt, it was true. Ilenia had never once attended such gatherings before, while he, born a prince of the Mateo Empire, must have been steeped in them since childhood.

So of course she ought to accept his words.

And yet, she couldn’t.

Desire stirred within her.

She wanted to be someone who could stand proudly at his side. One of those wives who blended effortlessly into gatherings, laughing, conversing. She wanted to say—He is my husband—to Ariella, who had so easily claimed Delphius as hers. She did not want to shame him.

“Delphius, I…”

The words never came. His lips suddenly pressed against hers, cutting her off.

The kiss was rough, his tongue claiming her mouth without warning.

“Ah—”

Even as the carriage lurched along the uneven road, their lips remained firmly pressed together. With his hand braced against the wall beside her head, he devoured her without mercy.

It felt as though he was stealing her very breath, shattering it until there was none left. Every part of her body seemed to belong to him. She clung desperately to him, wrapping her arms around his neck without realizing it.

“Delphi, wait—ah…”

It was only then that Ilenia realized with a start that he was undoing the ties of her gown.

They were in a moving carriage. Occasionally, silhouettes of scattered houses came into view beyond the small windows. This was not their estate; this was not private land. When she realized his intentions in such flimsy surroundings, her ears turned scarlet.

‘Why? Where had even the smallest sign of this ever appeared?’

Her thoughts were a tangled mess of confusion, but his practiced fingers had already undone her buttons. She stopped him in a panic.

“N-no, we can’t do this.”

“Why not?”

She turned her head just far enough to answer, but his hands did not falter as they undid her bodice. The dress that had once clung tightly to her collarbone now hung loose, giving her room to breathe.

Had they not always been told—nobles must never lose composure or dignity, no matter the circumstance? That even in stifling heat, not a single glove should be removed? She could still hear Lady Crea’s relentless scoldings.

And yet her husband, the flawless image of nobility, always defied those rules.

He took great pleasure in stripping away every trace of her polished exterior. Then he would look at her long and unblinkingly, as though he could see beyond Lady Hildebalt Ilenia to Leni herself. This had once made her happy.

But not here. Not now.

A carriage was not a private chamber. Its thin walls could not protect them.

“Because this is outside—”

The strings that she had tied so tightly and wound around repeatedly gave way with a sharp snap. Her br*asts surged free, her n*pples bared to the open air. Struck dumb by the shock, she was unable to utter a word.

“In a moving carriage. Who could possibly imagine such a thing?”

“If even one shameless passerby saw—?”

“They won’t. Not unless we choose to show it, Ilenia.”

Sliding the panel to the driver’s seat shut, he smiled as calmly as ever. That flawless smile—unyielding, immaculate—shook her heart to its core.

“Weren’t we in the middle of a conversation?”

“And do you truly want to finish it like this?”

He gestured mockingly at her half-open bodice, but Ilenia remained unbending.

“Delphius.”

He froze when he heard the pleading note in her voice, his hand stilling mid-movement. He didn’t need to look to know what shone in her innocent eyes — pure trust, given entirely to him.

‘Because she trusts only me, their slander is tearing her apart.’

Delphius clicked his tongue inwardly. Perhaps he should not have brought her, no matter how insistent the Count’s request had been.

After all, people were quick to insult others to cover up their own shortcomings. But Ilenia couldn’t even do that.

She was a naïve country girl. While others wore haughty smiles to hide their true selves, she was different. That was why he had chosen to marry her. Now, he was growing fonder of her innocence and the fact that she didn’t doubt others.

However, seeing kindness exploited by anyone other than himself left a bitter taste in his mouth. It wasn’t just displeasure; he felt outright disgust.

The stiffness in her shoulders, impossible to conceal beneath the swish of her skirts, was plain to see. He didn’t need to recall what she had worn that morning, as he could still vividly picture it.

What should have been a light exchange instead dissolved into barbed remarks and veiled threats. He remembered well the sight of men faltering the instant their business ventures were mentioned — pathetic, laughable fools — and a cynical smile curved his lips.

“If there was a problem at today’s banquet, it wasn’t you, Ilenia. It was their conduct. They were the ones who acted rudely and without sense. Do you really think their behavior would change simply because you did?”

“At the very least, they wouldn’t find it so easy to pick on me.”

“Human nature does not change, Ilenia. Unless my position itself is shaken, the slander aimed at you will remain the same.”

There was no need to measure whose faults were greater. Whether they spoke or stayed silent, they were guilty all the same—for every one of them had allowed the insults against her to pass unchecked.

Even if she carried herself with flawless nobility, society would not bend so easily. First impressions clung stubbornly, and wagging tongues never ceased.

It had taken him ten long years to silence those same tongues—ten years to rise from Lukehardt’s abandoned son into the man he had become.

At the very least, Delphius would not allow Ilenia—his wife—to suffer as he once had.

“Shall I make sure you never have to face them again?”

“What do you mean?”

“If I keep you busy enough that you cannot attend banquets, you won’t have to meet them at all.”

For the briefest moment, she paused, her lips working over the meaning of his words—before parting wide in shock.

“No. You mustn’t.”

“Why not? They made you the object of ridicule. This much is only fair in return.”

“Please don’t. Their faults weren’t so grave as to deserve that.”

“Then why do you care so much?”

Delphius tilted Ilenia’s chin upwards. This time, his touch was gentler than before. Even then, the way she opened her heart to him completely won him over.

This was all the more reason not to take her to gatherings again.

His lips curved into an arrogant smile. It was better for a few more rumors to cling to him than to let those petty creatures tarnish her reputation. Then again, perhaps it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to give them a reason themselves. After all, pregnancy was the simplest explanation.

With this thought in mind, a haughty yet flawless smile spread across his face as he looked at Ilenia.

“Instead of worrying about them, my lady, shouldn’t you devote more time to the lonely husband standing before you?”