For My Birthday, I Was Gifted Five Husbands - Chapter 147

After Elaine joined Eugenie as her research assistant, time in the Duke’s castle seemed to fly by. The days passed quickly because they spent nearly all their time holed up in the ‘lab’.

One day, Elaine looked at Eugenie with the tired, shadowed eyes of someone who hadn’t slept enough. Eugenie’s hair, tied up high, was a mess, and Elaine’s looked just as wild.

“I don’t remember hearing that noblewomen used to take up such excruciatingly boring hobbies a hundred years ago.”

“Great discoveries and fame are built on endless, repetitive tedium… May all slackers be destroyed.”

Eugenie replied absentmindedly as she carefully dropped the solution onto a sample with a pipette.

Just then, there was a polite knock at the door. The servants wouldn’t believe that the master of the castle always knocked before entering.

At that sound, Elaine instantly blended into the background, vanishing like a stain on the wall.

Whenever Eugenie was about to have a conversation with one of her ‘husbands’ Elaine would either circle the perimeter or quietly slip behind a piece of furniture. It took about two weeks to a month for her to uncover which husband was lying—by now, that answer was just around the corner.

“I brought you some snacks, madam.”

“Percival, come on in!”

Who would have expected the Duke of the North to show up with a tray piled high with desserts, holding it carefully with both hands? She was starving for sugar, so his timing was perfect, but she couldn’t help but feel a little guilty.

“You could have just called for me to fetch them.”

“I couldn’t bear to interrupt you.”

Percival looked around at the makeshift workspace on the castle’s first floor. If it had been a matter of leading soldiers on the frontier, he could have been helpful, but here, there was nothing for him to do.

“I wish I could do more for you in this field… but there’s just nothing I can contribute.”

“What are you talking about? I should be thanking you for giving us this whole floor.”

She glanced around at the workspace she and Elaine had turned upside-down.

She’d worried about getting hold of the right equipment for testing components, but her husbands’ wealth had made those worries seem almost silly. And when it came to converting a centuries-old wing of the castle into a modern lab, the proud staff might have protested—but Percival’s authority had kept everything running smoothly.

‘Even Professor Racquett;s lab never looked this good.’

A flush crept up Percival’s cheeks at her thanks. Instead of flustering, though, he smiled and gently took her hand.

“I’m the one who should be grateful, for being able to give Madam something you like.”

“Ahem.”

Eugenie shifted on her feet, feeling a ticklish warmth rise from her toes. In the very beginning, when Elaine had first appeared, everyone had been on edge, but now even Percival was adding to the growing number of moments that made her feel all tingly inside.

To change the subject before she blushed even more, Eugenie quickly asked.

“By the way, Percival, any news from the capital?”

“Nothing much. The crown prince is still bedridden, apparently.”

“Hm.”

Eugenie clicked her tongue, annoyed.

‘Strange…’

If it was Silvea, or that tree pervert, she’d be raging and coming after them like a demon from hell. And unlike Eugenie, Silvea actually wielded real power.

‘Are they waiting for something?’

Before she could frown any deeper at the uneasy feeling, Percival shyly spoke up again.

“Madam, if you finish your research today… would you have dinner with me, just the two of us?”

“Ah… Sorry, Percival.”

“Oh, no, I shouldn’t have—”

“That’s not it…”

Eugenie gave him a rather awkward look.

“Cassius barged in at seven this morning and reserved dinner with me.”

“That early? Then lunch—?”

“Alfred reserved today’s lunch at midnight the day before yesterday…”

“….”

They both fell silent, staring at each other.

* * *

She’d said earlier that Percival kept making things feel tingly, but it wasn’t just him. Lately, all of her husbands had become more insistent about spending ‘alone time’ with her.

‘Everyone’s gotten so much more possessive.’

She didn’t mean in bed—if anything, her husbands seemed to be holding back lately, possibly out of consideration for how tired she was from all the research.