Special Story 4

‘Once I leave like this, when will I ever be able to come back?’

After all the preparations were finished, my family and the servants stood in front of the entrance. Everyone’s eyes were red. Especially my father—tears and snot were streaming down his face. I was afraid someone might see, but I could deeply feel his sorrow. I had made up my mind ever since the wedding, but parting from the family who had given me so much love was a very difficult and lonely thing.

“Honey! Why are you crying on such a happy day?”

Despite my mother’s scolding, my father’s tears didn’t stop.

“Father, Mother. Please don’t worry too much. The mansion isn’t that far away, and I’ll come to see you often.”

“Lep…!”

“Father, stop crying. Lep is crying because of you, isn’t she?”

My father’s tears, which seemed like they might finally stop, burst out like a waterfall again. Seeing him soak his sleeves with tears, Piote shook his head in exhaustion. My mother let him cry and held my hand tightly.

“If you ever have a hard time, contact me anytime. This will always be your home.”

My mother called my father a nuisance, but her own eyes were also slightly red.

“Yes, I know.”

Emotions welled up from deep inside, and I almost burst into tears, but I held them back. Evan, who was waiting for the final farewell, pulled me close by my waist. He carefully wiped away a tear. Without me knowing, a teardrop had formed at the tip of my finger. Evan comforted me with a face that looked even sadder than mine.

“Lep, there’s no need to cry. You can come whenever you want. Just like this time.”

“Yeah, I know, but…”

Seeing my parents looking so sorrowful just made me feel sorrowful too. Then, my father stood firmly in front of Evan. Usually, he would nag or scold him, but suddenly he grabbed Evan’s hands tightly. Evan looked surprised inwardly. His expression and atmosphere were quite different from yesterday.

“I leave her in your care…”

“Of course. I will keep the vow I made before God. So please, put your mind at ease, Father-in-law.”

Evan replied with a serious face. It finally felt real. Leaving this mansion. The fact that I had left my parents’ embrace to become someone’s wife. Piote approached and roughly ruffled my hair.

“Don’t go there and cry because you miss us.”

I was grateful to Piote for making a joke on purpose.

“I’m sorry I got married faster than you.”

“I’ll be doing it soon too.”

I waved with a smiling face. The large Ducal carriage took me and Evan toward the Weiss Duchy.

“Let’s be happy, if only to reassure your father and mother.”

Evan smiled, his eyes curving softly. Influenced by his smile, I beamed as well. A short while later, we arrived at the Weiss estate. As the large gates opened, I saw the servants bowing politely.

“Welcome, Mistress. Oh, how long we have looked forward to this day…”

I had only gone to my parents’ home for a few days. Yet, the servants welcomed me with bright smiles as if they hadn’t seen me in ages. I felt that I had become an important person to them.

“I’m back. Is everything ready?”

“Of course. It has been finished without a single mistake.”

“Liman, send all the luggage we brought to Lep’s room.”

“Understood.”

At Liman’s command, the servants moved busily. Evan smiled contentedly. I became curious about how the room had been transformed.

“Lep, look forward to it. I’ve set up several ‘devices’.”

He spoke confidently, like a playful child.

“Yes, I’ll look forward to it.”

Evan’s fingers slipped between mine and he kissed the ring on my hand.

“This is your home now. Let’s go see the room right away. It’s the room that the Duchesses have used for generations. I can finally introduce it to you.”

Excited like a child who received a new toy, Evan held my hand tightly and led me somewhere with light footsteps. I knew the general layout of the house, so no detailed explanation was needed. The Weiss mansion was divided into zones by floor, and the Duke and Duchess’s room was located on the highest floor. Below that was the floor where Evan’s original room was. Since my usual path was mostly fixed, I had rarely gone up to the top floor. The hallway on the top floor wasn’t much different from other floors, but the size of the doors was on another level. There was a reason they were said to rival the Imperial family. The doors were that massive.

“I prepared it according to your taste, Lep.”

Evan swung the door open. I stood there with my mouth agape. The room was incredibly large. It was so big that even though it was filled with furniture, it felt somewhat empty. The splendor wasn’t gaudy, but it wasn’t plain either. The subtly luxurious room was perfectly to my liking. I had expected something similar since Evan’s room was also grand, but I didn’t know this would be my room.

‘The Duchess’s room used for generations…’

Now I understood why the remodeling took so long.

“We were told you don’t like colors that are too bold, so we emphasized a warm feeling with pastel-toned wallpaper. The furniture is generally clean and simple. How do you like it?”

Liman looked at me with eyes pleading for praise, which felt a bit burdensome.

“I… I like it…”

“Lep, I worked hard too.”

Then, Evan’s eyes twinkled as if asking for praise himself. I chuckled and gently stroked his hair. Having obtained what he wanted, he smiled brightly and spoke.

“Liman, is the device ready?”

“Ah, it’s this way.”

Suddenly, Evan dismissed the surrounding servants and asked Liman. Liman walked somewhere with a mischievous smile.

“Evan, what device are you talking about?”

“You’ll see. Lep, could you come here for a second?”

I walked closer to where Evan was gesturing. When he pressed a certain book on the bookshelf, the shelf suddenly began to move. My jaw dropped. At the sight unfolding before me, I pointed a finger.

“E-Evan…”

The bookshelf acted as a door, revealing the existence of another room on the other side.

“Yeah, the next room is mine.”

“B-but why…”

I couldn’t finish the sentence “Why did you connect them?”

“You said it before, Lep. That having a shared bedroom is like advertising to everyone, so we should have separate rooms.”

“I… I did say that, didn’t I?”

“I’ve thought this often, but you care too much about what others think, Lep. You’re very shy.”

Ugh… I couldn’t refute that. It was me who had stopped Evan, who insisted on sharing the same room because he liked using the same bed. No, but what was I supposed to do about being embarrassed… Frequent ‘encounters’ are one thing, but…

“I was sure you’d rarely visit my room because you’d worry about the servants’ eyes. So I decided. It’s fine as long as others don’t know.”

“…Huh?”

Is that so? Evan looked proud as if it was a brilliant idea. Beside him, Liman was clapping with a satisfied smile, saying no one would ever know. It seemed to be a joint production by Evan and Liman.

“Personally, I think the more family members there are, the livelier and better it will be.”

Hey, don’t smile so contentedly over there! And don’t subtly mention your own wishes!

“I can’t cross over to your room from my side. Only you can use it, Lep, so you can come and go as you please whenever you want. You are always welcome.”

“N-no… is that okay? Knowing what I might do?”

“I’d actually prefer it if you did? You probably won’t use it much anyway. It’s also a device made in case you’re ever in danger, so don’t feel burdened.”

He laid out plausible words with a sly expression. In the end, I gave up. It was a device made with total intent.

“I don’t care! Do whatever you want!”

Well, what was the reason we got married? It was to be together always. If the rooms are connected, it might actually be better. Thinking it over, it seemed like it would be convenient to move back and forth easily. I decided to think positively.

“Now, come this way.”

As I took another step into the secret passage, I crossed into Evan’s room.

“I shall take my leave now. Have a wonderful time.”

What was this? I felt like I had experienced this situation somewhere before. Evan’s room hadn’t changed much from before. It was a calm and stable room, a well-blended mix of navy and black. Evan walked toward the bed.

“You know this bed, right?”

“Why would I know this bed?”

“Because it’s the same as the one that was originally in my room.”

“Huh?”

“You like the bed we always slept in together.”

Evan said with a languid smile. Someone might hear and get the wrong idea! I flinched. Somehow, his smile looked like he was about to devour me. With the corners of his mouth turned up, he spoke.

“I was going to get an even bigger bed, but I purposely put this one in because it seemed like you liked it so much, Lep. Do you like it?”

I lifted my head to say I didn’t ‘like’ the bed in that way, but my intuition suddenly whispered that I was in danger. I took a step back.

“I held back because I couldn’t do it while your mother and father were around.”

Evan put his clenched fist to his chest with a wistful face. The footsteps slowly approaching me felt ominous. I couldn’t avoid his burning gaze. I gulped. He was openly revealing his desire.

“I-it’s broad daylight right now!”

As if he could see right through me, he snapped his fingers, and the curtains slid down, blocking the sunlight.

“There, it’s dark now, isn’t it?”

Darkness settled in the room. I was caught in Evan’s hands without a chance to escape. The next day, I was clutching my waist again, and Elena brought me the medicinal tonic.