Princess Shu

Schuden Garth.

The young Marquess had been on the battlefield ever since he was still just an heir, before he became the Marquess Garth. In one way or another, he was different from ordinary male nobles. Just as his beautiful appearance was filled with his calm and collected demeanor, the occasional bloodlust had also flooded into his courteous mannerisms. 

Some even said that the closer you got to the Marquess, the darker his eyes became. Those who grasped Schuden most objectively were neither the family members of Garth nor the nobles of the Gel Empire, but the knights of other countries and the soldiers who had seen him on the battlefield. 

His soulless red eyes… How could a person who foretold murder have such a lifeless gaze?

Killing and bewitching people were all about the same in the end so Schuden was surprisingly popular in high society. There were indeed many ladies who yearned and admired him. The employees in the House of Garth did not know Schuden on the battlefield or high society, however, they knew about the strange coldness of their master. He was never friendly or affectionate.

Therefore, they were certainly surprised and even delighted to see his strangely gentle attitude─one that was only for the lady of the house. Though it might be an everyday occurrence for the average noble, the servants of Garth could not believe that the awe-inspiring Marquess, whose frigid composition was like that of a sword, could smile like that! They were well-educated employees but they could not help it when their cheeks twitched to the fullest.

Not knowing what kind of smile Schuden actually had, Valia silently blinked her eyes. In the dining room on the first floor, elegant silver tablewares were placed one by one in front of the couple who were sitting facing each other at the seats of honor.

The Gel Empire had a custom of eating a generous dinner. The house chef’s skill was exceptionally good. Moreover, the dishes served were very plentiful, and Valia enjoyed all the food that came up. The dish that she particularly liked was a tenderloin steak with mushrooms that were quickly stir-fried at a high temperature. Valia could not cook most recipes that were presented to her, but she was especially bad at grilling and stir-frying.

“The chef is very skillful.”

Schuden felt Valia’s rosy cheeks slightly heating up, her silvery-gray eyes were unusually shiny. She seemed to feel better when she ate something delicious. 

He accepted her words in a plain voice.

“Really?”

“Yes. Has he been a chef for generations of the Garth household?”

Schuden could not have known that. Unlike other nobles, he was not very interested in food. He could care less whether the chef was passed from generation to generation or whether he was hired from a restaurant. For Schuden, food was just a means of taking care of meals and replenishing nutrition. When Schuden went quiet for a moment while cutting his steak, Paul, who was quick-witted, took a step forward.

“Madam, unless there is a good reason not to, the family’s chef is inherited from generation to generation.”

“It’s amazing for him to have this level of skill despite being passed on to the family.”

“The chef will be very pleased.”

Paul chuckled. It was the greatest honor for the family chef to be praised by the lady of the house for his cooking. Schuden looked at Valia without saying a word. As she drank water with a smile, their gazes met. Her silvery-gray eyes glowed with a curious light.

“What’s wrong?”

“Valia.”

“Yes?”

“You seem to be smiling more now than when your husband came home.”

“…Pardon?”

“I have to praise the chef.”

Valia blinked blankly. One beat later, she understood what Schuden meant and her ears turned red. She denied it. Schuden raised up his wine glass filled with red wine. Valia drank her wine with her face turned red. Schuden just grinned.

A smile crossed Paul and Sarah’s lips at the same time. Before Valia came in, when Schuden was single, the dining time always had a serious atmosphere. Schuden rarely had dinner at home. Even if he ate, it was often done at the training ground or his office. Occasionally, when he had time, he would sit down at the dining hall for the course meal but he simply finished his meal silently.

How could such a fancy house, one that was crowded with so many people yet strangely desolate, change so much in just one night? The power of one person was so great. Sarah glanced at Paul. With his mustache in style, he, too, was smiling at his two masters.

‘…Could it be that I had such an expression too?’

Sarah thought for a moment.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

As Schuden expected, Valia was the type to feel better when she ate something delicious. 

But the reason she was happy today was not simply because she ate something delicious. She has had few meals as impressive as today in the past and present. And she remembered the bread that Karl baked for her a long time ago. For Valia who starved all day, he took the dough that she barely kneaded with her small hands, seasoned it, and baked it in the brazier.

If the bread Karl baked at that time gave her a longing for survival, today’s dinner with Schuden gave her a sense of satisfaction for warmth.

‘So this is how it feels to eat with my husband.’

The chandelier was bright and the food was delicious. And there was a conversation with her family. Valia felt it was unfamiliar, but she liked it at the same time. A dinner table with conversation was something she had only experienced a few times in her life. Karl was always busy raising Valia and Valia had no family other than him. Above all, the conversation she had with Schuden felt ticklish because it reminded her of what was to be had between lovers.

‘I have decided to be nice to him.’

With the way things were going, Schuden was treating her better. He cared about her twice as much as she cared about him. At best, she only sent fruit tarts through the servant.

‘Oh, the tart.’

She was already happy when he said he would enjoy the tart through the servant but she wanted to ask him more about it.

Did he enjoy it? Did it suit his taste? I don’t think he could finish them all. How much did he eat? Did he give the rest to the knights? Should I ask him?

Valia pretended to drink water and peeked at Schuden. He was eating a flavorless dessert. Valia ended up giving up asking him after a fierce contemplation.

‘I’d better ask Sir Shaun or Sir Robin later.’

Since she had already received the employee’s greetings for today, she would have to receive greetings from the knights soon. As such, Valia was then determined to ask Shaun or Robin. Robin answered anything Valia asked kindly, so there was no pressure.

She washed her palate after eating all the dessert. Schuden, who was sitting opposite her, asked.

“Have you finished eating?”

“Yes. It was a delicious meal.”

“Then…”

Schuden got up from his seat and reached out to her. Valia looked up at Schuden from her seat and stood up, holding his hand.

Is he requesting my company to take a walk?

“Let’s go to the portrait exhibition room. I have promised you to go today.”

“Oh…”

Valia blinked. Actually, she only thought Schuden said it out of courtesy, she didn’t actually expect him to keep his word. Drawing and hanging portraits were a custom, but nothing more than that. Valia realized that he weighed his words carefully. Even if it was just a small promise with her.

Schuden and Valia entered the exhibition room together.

The exhibition room stretched out in a rectangular shape and maintained a cool temperature, akin to that of a wine warehouse. The paintings were oil-based so they paid attention to the way they were stored. Valia looked around a long room that looked like a large hallway or armor exhibition room.

Closest to the entrance were portraits of Schuden, the current Marquess Garth, and Valia next to it. Under Schuden’s white tuxedo portrait, the painting that was hung was the one when he had just become the Marquess.

Usually, when a noble got married, they would take a replica of their childhood portraits and put them in the room. But Valia did not have any childhood portraits. The cost of painting portraits was quite expensive, so poor nobles like Valia often skipped it.

Valia wondered why Schuden also had no childhood portraits.

‘Was he a mischievous boy who could not stay still?’

Not a single painting was hung even from when he was a baby. Valia tilted her head and looked at Schuden. He was looking at the portrait of Valia in the wedding dress. He looked uninterested in anything else. Valia looked to the other side. A sharp-looking older gentleman with white hair and blue eyes was drawn.

‘This person…’

A portrait hung on the other side of the current Marquess Garth was none other than the former Marquess Garth. Next to him was also a portrait of an elderly woman with a gentle impression. He looked too old to be Schuden’s parents. There was still a limit even if Schuden was a child born in their later years, so Valia presumed them to be his grandparents. A succession that skipped one generation was rare, but it was not impossible at all.

‘In that case, his parents would have been conferred as Count.’

Valia had never heard of a ‘Count Garth.’ The position of ‘Marquess Garth’ was very famous but other things were just like unfamiliar nouns. Valia did not ask Schuden, even though he was right next to her.

It was polite not to ask anything about family until he talked about it himself. Members of noble families with great ancestors sometimes asked the questions on purpose, and as a result, Valia was always ridiculed for her father’s position. This was what caused her to have a habit of not asking about parents or family first.

‘I will get the chance later. It doesn’t matter even if I don’t get to ask him.’

Valia thought so. Then, she turned around and flinched. As he did not say anything, she thought Schuden was still looking at her portrait. Not knowing when he started to do so, he had been waiting all this time while looking at her.

“…If you’re done, why didn’t you call me?”

“It seemed like you were carefully looking at the portraits.”

Schuden responded lightly as if it was nothing big. He approached Valia and asked.

“Valia, was it uncomfortable in bed yesterday?”

“Pardon? No, it was comfortable.”

Even to Schuden’s random question, Valia answered calmly. Schuden hummed and tilted his chin.

“Then, did you go out early so that your husband knows how it feels to be deserted?”

“Pardon?”

“I woke up and found out my bride was not with me.”

“I didn’t do it on purpose. I just wanted to take a bath…”

“Is that so? But you left without looking back.”

“…Were you awake?”

“Yes. from the moment you woke up.”

Valia was a little perplexed. The sound of breathing when asleep and when awake was quite different. She was not an official knight, but as she worked as an escort lady-in-waiting, she knew how to tell the difference. And yet, she failed to notice that Schuden was awake, which meant he could control his breathing skillfully. His breathing was unchanging even until the moment she woke up. It seemed like it was not a matter of practicing enough, he was just born with it.