Chapter 31
“Elaria.”
At the low call, her honey-colored eyes rolled toward him. Without taking his gaze off her as she looked at him without answering, Lucian continued,
“A season has passed since you became Elaria de Asiel. We’ve only been wed for a few months…”
So it meant there was still plenty of time ahead. The meaning was similar to what he had said yesterday, and she traced the surface of her teacup with her fingertips. Her mind already understood, but her heart, slow as ever, hadn’t yet caught up.
That she had truly become his wife.
She hadn’t been able to answer yesterday, but today she wanted to give him a response.
“…That’s true. We’ll spend even more time together than the time we’ve known each other.”
“Yes. So don’t worry about anything.”
In any case, he had no intention of leaving her anything to worry about. Setting down his teacup, Lucian smiled quietly.
*
Before going to the opera, the two decided to take a light walk through the city.
After leaving the ducal manor in a carriage with him, Elaria covered her mouth with her hand, afraid her heart might leap right out.
They were going on an outdoor date today, something they had never done even when they were lovers.
Her heart had been pounding for some time now, to the point that she felt dizzy. She looked outside through the carriage window. It was late summer turning into autumn, so it was still a little warm, but the breeze was cool.
With her eyes closed as she felt the wind coming through the open window against her face, she opened them when she felt a hand wrap around her shoulders.
“Your hair’s gotten a little messy.”
Holding her shoulder firmly, he used his other hand to smooth the hair at her side. Nervous, Elaria bit her lip for no reason, but she couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from lifting.
Seeing the sight clearly, Lucian’s lips curved smoothly as well.
The two got down in front of the city’s clock tower and moved slowly with their arms linked. Centered around the clock tower, one side was the commoners’ district and the other the nobles’ district. Naturally, the two headed toward the nobles’ district.
“It smells sweet.”
“Ah, it must be the pie shop that opened recently.”
“Really? I didn’t know.”
Thinking about it, she hadn’t gone out even once since getting married. She had been so absorbed in her life with him that she had never even thought about wanting to go out.
“There are quite a few new shops besides the pie shop. I heard a jewelry store opened that sells only accessories imported from other countries. Would you like to take a look?”
“…Yes, let’s go.”
As long as she was with him, she felt anywhere would be nice. Elaria listened closely to his quiet explanations. He seemed busy with work, yet he knew the changes in the city better than she did.
That impressed her, and she liked the way he explained things in detail.
When they entered the jewelry store they arrived at, a man who appeared to be the owner hurried over.
“Welcome, Your Graces.”
He seemed to already know their faces.
“Thank you for visiting. I am Albert, the owner of this shop.”
“We’ll just look around briefly.”
“Understood, please allow me to guide you.”
The owner naturally led them to a VIP room. In that short time, nobles who recognized the ducal couple began whispering among themselves. The ducal couple, who hadn’t appeared in public even once since their wedding, had shown up, so it was impossible not to be curious.
Inside the room, Elaria let out small exclamations as she looked at the rare accessories the owner brought. Meanwhile, Lucian quietly paid attention to her expressions. She was generally expressive, but there was one moment when she was hard to read.
That was when she felt desire.
But now, he could recognize that expression to some extent. Watching the subtle changes in her face carefully, he noted down the item numbers.
“All the jewels were exquisite.”
Elaria chattered as they left the shop. Lucian quietly nodded, placing her hand on his arm. While she had been browsing, he had already completed the order by memo, though she didn’t seem to realize it.
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