Princess Shu

Valia rolled her eyes around and said with a little hesitation.

“Thank you for picking me up earlier.”

A deep sincerity was in her voice. Schuden felt awkward, it really was nothing for him. She was just in the backyard of the manor. It was not like he needed to ride a horse for two nights and three days to pick her up. And yet, the silvery-gray eyes that looked at him with courtesy were honestly not that bad.

“If you’re thankful, then you can pay me back.”

Schuden did not pick Valia up for the sole purpose of being rewarded—it was trivial to do so—but, still, he had quite a bit of fun teasing her.

He actually had something that he wanted. For example, a kiss. But, be it ever so small, Schuden had something he desired. It was for Valia not to avoid his eyes in bed. It was not something worth forcing her and it was too trivial to be called a wish.

In any case, Schuden was looking forward to Valia’s reaction. After Valia blinked her eyes for a moment, she moved her lips.

“Then… I will pick you up next time.”

It felt like he was hit in the head.

“Are you saying you will pick me up the next time I get rained on?”

“It would be nice to have someone to pick you up on a rainy day.”

Not only was it rare for Marquess Garth to get rained on outside, but it was also almost impossible. But her silvery-gray eyes were shining brightly with something similar to expectation. Schuden grinned. He bent his waist slightly and he kissed her lightly on her forehead.

“I will look forward to it, dear.”

Valia’s cheeks turned slightly red. And as a smile spread across her face, Schuden’s expression naturally softened as well. Valia entered the bathroom with a more relaxed atmosphere. Two of the four maids who were standing at the door followed Valia, the other two were responsible for guarding the front door. The maids bowed politely.

Schuden threw one glance at the closed door and walked to the Marquess’ bathroom on the other side. When he was about to enter the bathroom, Sarah approached him.

“Your Grace.”

There was a letter in her hand.

“What’s going on?”

“You received a letter from the great temple this morning.”

Sarah held up the letter that Valia gave her this morning with both hands. The letter had already been cut off with a letter opener. When Schuden turned it over, the recipient was ‘the Marquess and the Marchioness’. Schuden opened the letter without much enthusiasm. After looking through the contents, he asked.

“Did the lady already check this letter?”

“Yes, after reading it first, madam told me to give it to you when you return home.”

Schuden handed the letter back to Sarah. It was the role of the lady of the house to invite guests to the manor. Though she did not have to ask for permission, it was Gel’s custom to ask for opinions, at least formally.

“Put it in the bedroom.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

After bowing, Sarah left. Schuden was lost in thought as he entered the steaming bath. Actually, the fault in the absence of the wedding officiant clearly lay on the temple.

Schuden was never tolerant of others’ mistakes. He rightly received the material compensation. In terms of mental compensation, he received an apology and ripped off everything he could from the temple.

However, Schuden did not request an apology from the temple. He even told High Priest Philemon—who apologized informally on his wedding day— that it was okay.

It was a measure that was really unlike Schuden.

In fact, he was not even a devout believer. Rather, Schuden even harbored something similar to resentment toward the temple’s recent moves that were related to the temple attacking his patience mercilessly not long ago. Sending letters every day was basic. Moreover, High Priest Philemon even came to visit him once every two days.

High Priest Philemon was polite but he was a minor problem. Schuden could not tolerate the frequent visits. There was no way his employees could have dared to stop the High Priest’s footsteps. It was a bother to Schuden but a High Priest was an honored guest that even the King rushed to greet.

He could throw down the gauntlet at nobles or even put them in jail, yet the same could not be done to the holy High Priest. Schuden’s head was pounding at the High Priest’s obsessive visit.

That was a while ago.

Why don’t I feel offended anymore?

Not only did he not have any ill feelings, but he also did not even have any feelings towards the temple. As soon as he thought about the reason, a voice immediately came to his mind.

[I will pick you up next time.]

Schuden remembered the woman’s hand that gently came upon his hand. The silvery-gray eyes gave off a different light depending on the angle of light it received. Schuden looked down at his palm and clasped his hand. When he thought of Valia, he felt at ease, but at the same time, its complexity turned it strange. His uncontrollable psychology was strangely unfamiliar.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Among the food on the dinner table, the stew was Valia’s favorite. Various root vegetables were prepared into bite-sized pieces in thick chicken broth and were boiled thoroughly with various seasonings. It tasted good and warm.

Valia looked particularly happy at dinner time. It was not just the employees who thought so, Schuden also had the same thought. She often smiled. Only Valia did not know that the dinner table had brightened a lot since she came.

The meal ended early. After finishing eating earlier than usual, Valia was lost in thought. The origin of her concern was the dinner just now.

Schuden seemed to reach out less for dessert.

For the table of noble families, desserts did not end with just one or two kinds. Starting with fresh fruits, various desserts such as roasted nuts, ice cream, sherbet, cake, and flavorless pudding were served nicely. However, what Schuden touched was usually a type of dessert that was not sweet. No, to be exact, he did not even touch any sweets at all.

‘Does he not like sweet things?’

He did not eat dessert at all, so the chef probably did not know. It was a question that Valia came about by chance. Just watching Schuden eat dessert reminded her of the tarts so she stealthily took a peep. Then, she had the question. The amount of food a standard dessert consisted of was small, so it was hard to tell. Even Valia could not be sure just by looking at him once.

‘But I heard Shaun will come tomorrow.’

It was quicker to meet Shaun and stealthily ask him rather than finding it out by observing Schuden. While she was drenched in frustration, her body had already reached the bedroom. Only after the maids greeted her a good night did she come to her senses. Valia blinked her eyes.

‘It’s not even night yet.’

It seemed like she just came to the bedroom like a habit. 

When did I change my clothes into a nightgown?

Valia thought so unintentionally and became a little embarrassed. The habit of coming to the bedroom. It did not sound really wholesome.

Schuden went up to his office. He said he would come to the bedroom after processing some documents. Even though she was deep in thought, she heard him. She thought she nodded too. Valia let out a light sigh and walked toward the bed. It would be awkward for her to go out again.

“This is…”

Valia stretched out her arms. A familiar letter was seen on the silver tray on the table. Valia picked up the letter. Come to think of it, she recalled telling Sarah to give the letter to Schuden when he came back.

“I’m not sure if he has seen it.”

Valia went to bed holding the letter. Schuden would return in a little while anyway so she would just show and ask him in person. Valia leaned against the bedhead and hugged a cushion like a child.

‘Inviting a guest…’

Strictly speaking, it was not an invitation. He was a guest who only came to apologize, but for Valia, he was a quite meaningful guest. He would be the first guest that Valia would officially welcome after entering the House of Garth.

‘I’m in charge of this work so I have to do well.’

Valia was very worried, she had never lived her life as a married noblewoman. With High Priest Philemon, she just had to enjoy the tea time, her inexperience did not matter this time. But in the future, she remembered numerous tea parties and balls that she had to attend.

‘Will I be able to do well?’

Surely it was good to have a delicious dinner and to take a bath in warm water at any time. But she could not have fun and eat like that all her life. There were not many people in the world who only ate and had fun. Even the Emperor and Imperial Princess worked. Valia had become Marchioness Garth so she had to live up to her title. Memories of her past also played a part in her anxiety. Her life in the past was a series of proving. Proving her worth as lady-in-waiting, proving her worth as a knight, proving that she was useful.

“Valia?”

Valia flinched at the voice she heard at that time. She was more surprised when she looked up.

“…Schu.”

Not even realizing when Schuden came, he was leaning forward and looking down at her from a close distance. If he got a little closer, the tips of their noses would touch. Valia only blinked blankly and backed off slightly. Still, she seemed to have gotten used to it for the past few days. Her cheeks did not become very hot.

“When did you get here?”

“I just came in.”

Schuden sat calmly in front of her. Only then did Valia realize that she was hugging the cushion like a child. She gently pushed it to the side. She saw Schuden’s red eyes moving along the cushion but Valia feigned ignorance.

“What were you thinking about? You didn’t even realize that I’m here.”

“Oh…”

Valia picked up the letter she had left next to her.

“Schu, have you read this letter?”

“Yes, I checked it earlier.”

“What should we do? Should we accede to it?”

“Do we need to invite him to the manor?”

Valia opened her eyes wide when she heard the voice that was not only calm but even showed his displeasure towards the subject.

“But he’s the High Priest. He is a man that is the object of envy of all nobles.”

Schuden was not included in the ‘all nobles’ that Valia spoke of but he did not bother to point it out. Schuden asked her mind.

“Do you want to invite the High Priest?”

“I don’t see the harm in inviting him. If you don’t like it, let’s not do it.”

“I don’t hate it.”

It was not that he did not like it, it was just troublesome. Schuden was clearly aware of the difference. It was just too much of a hassle. He also did not like that Valia was concerned about that. He felt that the annoying apology was just useless. If it were ordinary nobles, they would have replied that it was already an honor for the family just for the High Priest to visit the mansion. However, that was not the case for Schuden. But because it seemed that Valia had wanted it, he did not want to ruin the mood.

“Do as you wish, my dear.”

Valia’s expression brightened up.

“Then, I will send him a reply responding to his visit request tomorrow.”