Chapter 37

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 37

Chapter Title: For Aesthetic Reasons

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The woman reflected in the mirror gingerly touched the necklace, tilting her head left and right to admire herself.

"I've never done anything like this before."

She murmured, then seemed to catch herself and awkwardly closed her mouth.

Kaiyan watched Clodel glancing at him cautiously, raising one eyebrow before lowering it again.

He could see right through the scheming mind of Valmond's old fox.

It was all just a pretense of forced reconciliation by royal decree.

The man had no desire whatsoever to accept him as a son-in-law, so he must have been unable to stomach the idea that Clodel's dowry and bridal gifts would all revert to House Temneth after her death.

Kaiyan had no daughter of his own yet, but if their positions were reversed and he had to send his own daughter to Valmond, he probably would have done the same.

He didn't want her feeling sorry toward him or watching his reactions because of it.

He had already turned a blind eye to the matter, but he couldn't openly show that he knew.

If House Vermonte sent their daughter off empty-handed, it would become a major issue that House Temneth would have to formally protest.

That would only worsen Clodel's position within House Temneth.

He didn't want such a delicate and innocent woman to suffer because of it.

'It's like I've been bewitched by something.'

He wondered what it was about this woman that had changed him so.

Even Kaiyan questioned himself.

'Is it because I think of her as a life I saved?'

Had he developed some special attachment he'd imposed on himself?

The gaunt, faded woman he'd seen in the countryside was nowhere to be found.

She seemed to glow all over, like a raw gem or nugget of gold unexpectedly wedged between smooth pebbles by a flowing stream.

"It suits you well."

As he pretended not to notice her slip-up, Clodel's face finally relaxed in relief.

A woman who seemed like she'd never told a lie in her life.

A woman who revealed everything inside her just as it was.

So it was no act when she reacted so sensitively to his actions in the darkness that veiled their eyes.

"Really? It really suits me?"

Clodel stood from her chair in delight, slowly turning her body this way and that to admire herself in the mirror with the necklace sparkling against her skin.

"But why give me a gift all of a sudden?"

This necklace originally carried complicated meanings.

He'd intended it as compensation to make up for the humiliation he'd caused her over the button ornament, like patching it over with his personal funds. And though he'd learned of it late, it was also to correct his assumption that Antyone had left her with no bridal gifts at all.

In other words, take this, and let's bury all those past matters as if they never happened.

Now, though, he no longer wanted to give it as some expensive form of reparation.

"I don't need things like this. The jewels you bought me last time were already too much."

Because she was special, he wanted to give her something specially made.

Not just anything bought with money at a jeweler's.

But how could a man put words like that into his mouth?

"The Duchess of House Temneth is a position where even the slightest carelessness invites scandal. From now on, whatever I offer, I'd like you to accept it without protest."

"......Yes. I understand. I'll do that."

The necklace had taken weeks from custom order to delivery, yet he couldn't even take credit for it and had to play the stern lord instead.

Kaiyan immediately regretted his words, finding Clodel a bit infuriating for so neatly replying that she understood.

"No other thanks?"

"Other thanks would be......"

She blinked her large, clear eyes like a doll, innocently provoking him with that utterly naive expression.

"I want to see you wearing the necklace."

"You're seeing it right now."

"Just the necklace."

Realizing his meaning late, she floundered helplessly, her cheeks flushing.

"In broad daylight like this. What are you saying?"

"It's to give you time to prepare yourself mentally."

Watching her flustered and embarrassed was enjoyable, but for Kaiyan, this was truly a great concession.

Seeing her flushed cheeks eased the tangle in his chest.

As he leaned down to kiss her cheek, she startled and looked up at him, her eyes already growing misty.

"I'm looking forward to it."

Kaiyan left her room in high spirits.

Tonight.

He was certain he would achieve what he desired.

Clodel wouldn't refuse him.

Kaiyan had come to realize that.

He had a vile temperament that demanded everything go his way, so the fact that the woman forced into marriage met his standards was unexpected.

Especially since she was a woman who couldn't even die in Rowen without his permission, and here she was, following his every word.

His daily life lately was perfectly flawless.

Thanks to the rumors that his marriage to Clodel was by royal decree, he was freed from the hassle of suitors' letters—a bonus.

And every night.

Holding Clodel as he slept melted away his fatigue so thoroughly that he grew more vibrant by the day.

It felt like just yesterday he'd gone mad and gone hunting water buffalo.

Every time he saw Clodel, he felt like he'd saved her for exactly this purpose.

She was like a fairy.

Fairy.

No word came to Kaiyan's mind that described Clodel more perfectly than that.

Her frame was slender to begin with, and like all northerners, her skin was far paler.

Thin, snow-white skin that revealed the outlines of her veins and muscles, flowing soft red hair, and eyes that sparkled transparently like jewels.

Sometimes when he caught sight of her passing through the castle corridors from afar, she stood out among the other southerners like a subtly glowing pale light amid colors.

That tiny body of hers chewed on what he could swallow in one bite as if savoring ten mouthfuls.

She walked lightly over distances he covered in a single stride, taking two steps to his one.

A fragrant scent wafted gently from her body.

He'd learned by chance that it wasn't the smell of soap.

He'd used the bathroom attached to her bedroom a few times, and the soap there was the same as in his own room.

Yet it didn't smell like that on him.

He chalked it up to her presence being almost mystical.

Or perhaps the legendary Ice Witch of Valmond had cast some spell on Clodel alone.

That must be why he was so captivated.

Finishing his brief visit, Kaiyan was heading back to his study when a sudden sound made him halt.

"Our lady, I mean."

More fools daring to speak of his wife.

"Doesn't she look like a fairy?"

"A fairy?"

"She's different from other women. So petite."

"Ah, yeah. I've thought that too. From a distance, her coloring seems a bit off. Like she glows or something."

Kaiyan's mood soured instantly.

"At first, just seeing she'd come from House Vermonte made me think our luck was rotten. But the more I look, the prettier she seems."

Their idle chatter perfectly matched his own impressions, coming from mere lowly servants no less.

Returning to his study, Kaiyan summoned the butler.

"My lord. You called for me?"

The butler bowed his head, awaiting orders.

"The corridor in front of Clodel's room."

"Yes."

"From now on, I'd prefer only maids working there."

"Pardon?"

The butler looked utterly baffled.

"It doesn't look good aesthetically."

"Aesthetically, you say?"

"In any case, it means I don't want servants stinking of sweat passing through that corridor."

"Is the lady uncomfortable?"

Kaiyan scowled, glaring at the butler.

"Just do as you're told. Since when have you been so talkative?"

"Yes, my lord. However, there are tasks that require male servants' hands. Dangerous work unfit for maids, so I'll keep them in check."

"Those can't be helped, but assign all cleaning and other duties to the maids."

"Yes. Understood."

The butler left the study under the misunderstanding that Clodel had complained to Kaiyan about not wanting to see male servants in front of her room 'for aesthetic reasons.'
'She's not the type to be so picky.'

Puzzled, but regardless, Kaiyan was satisfied with his decision, having no intention of letting trifling fools ogle his wife like some spectacle. "That necklace suits her." Imagining her wearing it around her neck, clinging to him, he suddenly wanted to return to the bedroom he'd just left. That night, Kaiyan finally achieved his desire.

No male servants were allowed anywhere near the second floor of Rowen Castle anymore.

Once the speculative rumor spread that Clodel had complained to the lord about male servants being unsightly, the castle staff began to truly take notice of the lord's lady.

"At least they weren't fired?"

"What are you talking about? Being chased from castle duties to the knights' training grounds or stables is worse than dismissal."

Work inside the castle was comfortable, easy, and convenient.

Everyone clamored for it, but with no proper lady of the house until now, things had simply gone as the butler directed.

As a longtime retainer of House Temneth, the butler was rigidly principled, never assigning tasks based on personal favors or connections.

The only way to get better, easier, or more lucrative positions was through diligence and proven ability.

So when word spread that servants who'd built years of experience from the bottom and worked dutifully in the castle were reassigned over a single word from the lady of the house, they belatedly realized Clodel held sway over their lives.

The maids who filled the vacated spots near the lady's room were all friendly toward Hanna and Clodel.

"Hanna! Look at this."

"What is it?"

"I heard the lady likes flowers, so I picked some."

One maid brought fresh flowers every morning.

"Hanna! It's nothing fancy, but may I offer this to the lady?"

"What is it?"

"Truth be told, I couldn't show it before in Rowen Castle, but my cousin married into Valmond."

Even among the territory folk who spat venom at Vermonte and Temneth alike, forbidden loves existed everywhere.

"When she heard the lady from Valmond had married into Rowen, she worried like it was her own affair and sent tea made from Valmond herbs."

Those who'd harbored goodwill but held back out of caution now openly approached Hanna one by one, eager to speak.

Especially the biased rumor that the fairy-like beautiful lady captivated anyone who laid eyes on her once, spread by the new maids.

Most who hadn't properly seen her—drenched and bedraggled upon arrival at Rowen Castle—overlooked the Herzol illness and wondered if she was different once properly adorned.

Hanna entered Clodel's room in an excited tone.

"My lady. Look at this. Someone gave me tea made from mountain herbs in the shrub forest. Shall I prepare some now? You can feel the northern fragrance."

But the fairy-like lady at the center of the rumors sat by the window with a somewhat downcast face, gazing at the distant mountains.

"What's wrong? Are you unwell?"

"No."

"But your face looks off."

Clodel gave an awkward smile before giving up and letting out a long sigh.

"It feels like he only likes my body."