Leveling Up My Husband to the Max

Amber had achieved two of the things that Count Freya and Lariette had earnestly wished for for so long at the same time.

‘And it seems like the Duke respected her too. The duchess may be much more amazing than the nobles of the East think.’ While thinking so, Count Freya turned his head towards Thales Castle.

The magnificent towering castle that had stood strong for many decades without any change showed off its glory.

He had a strong premonition that a fresh wind of change would be blowing through the old castle.

* * *

After Count Freya and his daughter left, only Amber and Kalix remained in the sitting room.

The air was heavy with silence.

The room was still bright and cheerful when Lariette excitedly chatted with Amber with sparkles in her eyes, but the bright mood disappeared immediately once only Amber and Kalix were left.

Kalix wasn’t one to say much even when a guest was present. Without a guest, his mouth rarely opened.

Kalix sat as still as a rock, not even moving an inch as he continued to stare at Amber.

Normally, his silence would have hurt Amber’s feelings, but Amber was too happy for something like that.

“Your Excellency.” She even felt at enough ease to speak first.

“It seems that you properly held Count Freya down while I spoke with Miss Lariette. The count didn’t seem to say much about my decision to invest in her.”

When she had planned the meeting with Lariette, Amber had been concerned that Count Freya would pester her for every detail. Thankfully, though he couldn’t hide his worried expression, Count Freya accepted the proposal with any questions.

And that was thanks to Kalix.

He hadn’t personally persuaded Count Freya or the like, but by staying by Amber’s side, speaking respectfully, and being her ally, Count Freya was able to positively accept the proposal without much misgivings.

Amber flashed a thin smile towards Kalix. “You’ve done well for me. Thank you.”

Kalix’s eyes grew large for a moment. With an expressionless face, he stared at Amber without a single blink

Ashamed at all the effort she put into smiling at Kalix, Amber retracted her smile.

Once Amber’s smile disappeared, Kalix slowly started to blink again. With a stone-cold expression still on his face.

“What’s with that reaction? We just secured the first steps in preventing starvation of the land. Are you not happy about that, Your Excellency?” Amber asked in a slightly blunt manner.

Of course, it wasn’t like she was asking because she didn’t know. Amber knew that Kalix would be happier than anyone else.

Kalix held a powerful sense of responsibility for the Eastern Lands, as well as for the people of the Eastern Lands. To carry out that responsibility, he spent his entire life in battle, even as wounds littered his body. There was no way he wouldn’t be happy that the food crisis had now been solved.

But she felt annoyed that still didn’t show even the tiniest hint of emotion.

“That’s not it,” Kalix quickly replied. For some reason, she felt a bit of urgency from his voice. “I also…”

Stopping there, Kalix quickly cut his words off and turned his gaze away from Amber.

It was a clear indication that even though he was certainly happy, he didn’t want to share that emotion with Amber, even if he were to die.

At first, Amber was at a loss for words.

‘It’s something we achieved together. It would have been nice we could be happy about it together.’

A wave of sadness washed over her. Amber herself was surprised at the sadness she felt.