Special Story 4

On the way back from an outing with her husband, the Duchess was arguably the happiest woman in the world these days. Her dull, unremarkable son had, for once in his life, done the most filial thing he could possibly do.

Coming home meant seeing Vivian again—cute as a bunny. The Duchess had always longed for a daughter but had no luck. So to her, Vivian was nothing short of precious.

But what on earth was this?

Vivian was sitting on the stairs, crying her heart out. The Duchess was startled—and her sharp eyes immediately zeroed in on her son.

What did you do to make her cry like that? she seemed ready to yell.

Before she could explode, the Duke quickly grabbed his wife’s arm and pulled her back. He shook his head slightly as if to say, Don’t.

But the pointed glint in the Duchess’s eyes didn’t soften.

Still, as the saying goes—don’t meddle in a marital spat. A simple issue can become far worse if an outsider tries to intervene.

“Oh! Now I remember—we forgot to stop by that one last place. No wonder we came home so early. Let’s head back out, dear.”

The duke was already waving his hand toward Armin, gesturing for him to take Vivian upstairs quickly.

Reluctantly, the Duchess turned away and followed her husband, even though it meant waiting in the sweltering sun for the carriage to return from the stables.

But Duke Grey figured sweating under the blazing heat was still better than witnessing his son’s domestic squabble unfold in real time.

“I mean really! What could that boy have done to make her cry like that?”

The Duchess finally let her frustration out once they were outside, grumbling as she followed her husband.

“You did well to hold it in,” the duke said. “If you’d jumped in, things might’ve gotten worse.”

“I know that! Ugh, are you taking Armin’s side just because he’s your son?”

“I’m not taking anyone’s side. Wait, no—I’m on your side. Whose side would I be on if not my wife’s?”

Sensing the fire might turn toward him next, the duke quickly corrected himself.

“I couldn’t care less what happens to that son of mine. Should I go back in and toss him out right now? Huh? Making Vivian cry like that—he doesn’t even deserve to be called my son!”

“…That’s a bit much, don’t you think?”

The Duke, in an attempt to soothe his wife’s anger, who had gone overboard with her words. But just as he’d hoped, her temper seemed to settle at his exaggerated scolding of their son.

Patting her hand gently, the Duke waited patiently for the carriage to return, silently running through a list of three or four restaurants in town that sold his wife’s favorite desserts.

***

“Vivian.”

“Hngh… sob! How… how could you do this to me?”

“I didn’t even do anything, okay? Come on, stop crying and look at me.”

Completely lost in the situation, Armin continued to soothe Vivian with patience. Now wasn’t really the time to be thinking such things, but seeing his wife bawling on the floor like a little child only made her look more adorable to him.

It wasn’t until she blew her nose into a handkerchief with surprising precision that Vivian finally began to calm down.

In the place where grief had just washed through like the tide, anger now rolled in to fill the void.

Her eyes sharp with fury, Vivian shoved Armin’s chest with her fists. It didn’t do anything—he didn’t even budge—and his chest was so firm that it only made her fists hurt, but she didn’t stop.

“It’s hurting your hands. Stop that.”

“Then get out of my way, Armin!”

Letting out a long sigh, Armin gave in and stepped back as she wanted—just one step. That was all it took for Vivian’s eyes to well up with tears again.

“What now? I moved, didn’t I? Just like you asked.”

“But the fact that you stepped away so easily… hngh, hic! That means Armin doesn’t l-like me anymore…!”

She couldn’t even bring herself to finish the sentence—Doesn’t love me anymore—just imagining the words made tears gush out again.

The punches didn’t hurt at all, but her reactions left Armin completely flustered.

If he kept pandering to her like this, his parents might barge in again at any moment. So Armin made a decision: he scooped Vivian up in his arms.

Her tears stopped immediately from the sudden sensation of being lifted off the ground.

Ignoring her squirming protests, Armin carried her straight to the master bedroom and only set her down once they reached the bed.

“What is going on with you?”

His tone suggested confusion, but his gaze was warm with concern. Vivian gripped the blanket tightly.

“You’re so mean.”

“Mean? How?”

“Don’t look at me like that!”

“What did I even do to deserve all this? Huh? Look at me, Vivian Grey.”

Armin leaned in close, trying to catch her eyes again.

“Is this about what happened this morning?”

Vivian’s silence confirmed it. Armin actually felt a little hurt.

“Am I not even allowed to say things like that? Honestly, I thought I waited long enough. It’s been two weeks since we got married, you know. And every night it’s card games, chess, word games… and I sit across the table until you fall asleep, resisting the urge until morning…!”

“Still! That doesn’t mean you can just—!”

“Just what? What exactly did I do wrong?”

Vivian swallowed deliberately. A hot lump rose in her throat again.

Affairs were a common trope in romance novels. Whenever she read about them, she always imagined that if something like that ever happened to her, she’d stay calm and rational.

But now, here she was, bawling like a fool.

“An affair,” she whispered.

“W-What?!”

Armin practically leapt to his feet in shock. Vivian shot him a look full of betrayal and shouted, “That’s right! I was being dramatic, fine. But what else was I supposed to do? I was so embarrassed! You said you’d make me happy forever—how could you do this to me after just two weeks?!”

“Wait—Vivian! What are you talking about?!”

A cold sweat broke down Armin’s back. Thank goodness his parents had gone out—if this had happened even a few minutes earlier, in front of them…

“I already know everything, so don’t even try to deny it.”

Though she said that, her eyes were beginning to glisten again. But Armin felt just as close to crying himself.

“Vivian Grey. Do I really seem like the kind of man who would do something like that?”

“You don’t! But… but still!”

“I don’t know what you saw, but you’re wrong. Completely wrong.”

His firm tone gave Vivian a moment of relief. But that didn’t mean the situation was resolved.

“Then what is this?!”

Vivian thrust a letter at him. Armin took it with a strange expression and, upon reading it, his face twisted even further.

“Why do you have this letter?”

His tone sounded like he’d just been caught red-handed.

“That’s all you have to say to me? Seriously?”

“Uh…”

Armin scratched his head. Vivian had expected him to immediately deny everything, and his nonchalant reaction shocked her.

“Why… aren’t you making excuses?”

“Huh?”

“You’re supposed to tell me it’s a misunderstanding!”

Her lower lip trembled.

“You’re supposed to say you didn’t write it—that it wasn’t yours!”

“Well… the truth is, I did write that letter.”

He hesitated. Seeing his wife misinterpret his letter like this—it was so endearingly ridiculous that it sparked a mischievous feeling in him.

Lately, Vivian had been avoiding him altogether. And though he didn’t like the idea of her crying from jealousy, he couldn’t pretend he completely hated it either.

Still, the feeling didn’t last long.

The moment her lips began to tremble from holding back more tears, Armin immediately caved and confessed.

“But this whole ‘affair’ thing—that’s all in your head. I swear, I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“And you call that clean?”

“I said you weren’t home because you weren’t, and I told them to come now because they can come now.”

“You told me you were going to be late tonight! You even told me to go to bed early!”

“Because I was planning to show you something in the morning. And since you keep falling asleep at the table every night, I started to feel bad.”

“Show me what in the morning?”

Armin let out a sigh. There was no helping it. Vivian had never once gone along with his plans the way he wanted.

And maybe that’s why I love her even more.

That unpredictability was something he adored. But she could be so stubborn too.

If he didn’t show her now what he’d been hiding, this would never be resolved.

Once he made up his mind, Armin stood.

“There’s no use pretending anymore. It’s not finished yet, but asking you to ignore it won’t work, will it?”

Vivian nodded firmly. Smirking, Armin gently pinched her red nose and wiggled it.

“You’re so stubborn. Come with me.”

He led her to a door in the mansion. The ducal estate was absurdly vast, and aside from the servants, there were only four people living in it. Most of the rooms were unused—including the one they stopped at.

“Why are we here?”

“Open the door.”

At his words, Vivian carefully opened it—and her eyes grew as wide as saucers.