I Married the Mad Duke Who Killed My Husband - Chapter 49

“Excuse me. What’s your name?”

“……Y-yes?”

“Your blonde hair looks wonderful in the sunlight. Are you a local?”

I patted the back of a tall man with curly blonde hair while smiling brightly. He turned around with furrowed brows, but after seeing me, he stammered. Though his face didn’t match Lorang’s sketch, I asked again just to be sure.

We had been striking out until reaching this third village.

“Ah, yes! I’ve lived in this village since childhood. My name is Yurgin! Miss!”

Another miss. I almost let my expression crumple from fatigue, but I managed to hold it and said goodbye.

“Since I’m traveling, I was wondering if you knew any good restaurants. Could you recommend one?”

But the moment I turned around, the man, whose fish eyes had suddenly become alive, wouldn’t let me go. Without any sense of personal space for a stranger, he took a few steps closer and suddenly grabbed my hand.

“Hahaha! Don’t be like that, let’s go together! There’s the best restaurant in this village right around that corner. I’ll treat you and show you all the sights worth seeing!”

“No, I have a hus……”

“Let go of that hand.”

THWACK-

Cassion, who had gone to buy me fruit juice, returned. He blocked my front while striking the elbow of the man who had rudely grabbed my hand.

The man, whose arm was nearly half-broken, trembled in pain without being able to make a sound. I continued with a sweet smile. Sorry about that.

“……I’m here on my honeymoon with my husband. Thanks for the restaurant recommendation~.”

I linked arms with Cassion while sipping the orange juice he brought. Though he was flustered at first, he’s now so natural at it that he even prepares his arm in advance.

“Let’s rest a bit in that tree shade over there.”

This village was quite large, and we hadn’t finished checking everything even after staying for two days. The sun was particularly harsh today, so as we took refuge under a tree with thick leaves, Cassion, still wearing a terrifying expression, gritted his teeth. I keep telling him to take care of his teeth, but he doesn’t listen.

“Really. It’s always this pattern. Everyone you talk to sticks to you like a leech.”

Whew. At least it’s not humid, and with the shade blocking the sun plus the drink, I feel like I might survive.

“And aren’t you only catching good-looking guys?”

“Well, Lorang is handsome in the first place.”

In Cassion’s jealous language, ‘good-looking guys’ clearly meant handsome men. When I answered with my own translation, his expression crumpled even more.

“Why are you so jealous? You’re handsome too, so it can’t be an inferiority complex.”

Still, he seemed to like being called handsome, as his furrowed brows smoothed out enough to slip paper between them. I held back my laughter and handed him the orange juice I was drinking.

“What? Want me to hold it? Or throw it away?”

“No, take a sip. Why did you only buy one? It’s refreshing and cool.”

“……The one you were drinking?”

“What? I didn’t spit in it.”

Cassion hesitated before taking the cup and slowly sipping the juice. Aren’t you drinking too much? If you were going to do that, you should have bought two.

“I didn’t know blonde hair was this common.”

The cup he handed back only had enough juice left for a couple of sips. Well, at least he didn’t drink it all.

I leaned my back against the trunk of the quite large tree, let out a sigh, and downed the remaining juice. He stared at me intently.

I still won’t give you any. The last bit is mine.

“There are many types of blonde, you know. Besides, hair color can be changed anytime, so don’t focus too much on just blonde hair.”

“I was focusing more on handsome faces than blonde hair, you know? It would be good to approach after checking for facial moles, but those are only visible at close range… I keep catching the wrong guys.”

“There are still many villages left.”

“But the remaining villages seem too close to the capital. Isn’t that like looking right under the lamp? In my opinion, a moderately prosperous and moderately distant village like this…”

CRASH-

“Get out! Have some shame. You haven’t even paid your debt yet!”

Cassion hesitated before taking the cup and slowly sipping the juice. Aren’t you drinking too much? If you were going to do that, you should have bought two.

“I didn’t know blonde hair was this common.”

The cup he handed back only had enough juice left for a couple of sips. Well, at least he didn’t drink it all.

I leaned my back against the trunk of the quite large tree, let out a sigh, and downed the remaining juice. He stared at me intently.

I still won’t give you any. The last bit is mine.

“There are many types of blonde, you know. Besides, hair color can be changed anytime, so don’t focus too much on just blonde hair.”

“There are still many villages left.”

“But the remaining villages seem too close to the capital. Isn’t that like looking right under the lamp? In my opinion, a moderately prosperous and moderately distant village like this…”

CRASH-

“Get out! Have some shame. You haven’t even paid your debt yet!”

“Lorang is just… Huh? That person.”

I naturally turned my head towards the commotion and pointed at a man who was being kicked out of a store, hurriedly gathering his odds and ends. Cassion followed my gaze.

“But I’m out of paint… If you could just give me a discount, I could pay it all at once…”

“Stop disturbing my business and get lost!”

“W-wait, please! I need paint to earn money!”

“You’d make money faster selling that pretty face of yours than selling your paintings! Don’t even think of coming back before you pay your debt, Ron!”

Since the shop was right in front of the tree shade where we were resting, we could clearly see the man begging the owner.

His hair was a mess, as if he had cut it himself, but it was a brilliant blonde unlike the common dirty blonde. Large blue eyes welling up with tears at the owner’s harsh attitude, and a deep tear mole beneath them. A deer-like figure that looked even longer due to being thin.

“…Did he say Ron?”

“…He really chose a lazy name.”

Despite our thorough search considering even disguises, the man was almost unchanged from the sketch. As if blessed somehow, his handsome face had barely aged, and he wasn’t even covering it with a hat or glasses.

At this point, it was surprising that he hadn’t just used the name Lorang.

“Ugh.”

I pushed myself off the tree, dusted off my clothes, and looked at Cassion. The expression on his face, which seemed beyond disbelief to the point of emptiness, probably wasn’t much different from the one on my face right now.

“Well, shall we go?”

“Hah……”

“He looks weak-hearted, so I’ll approach him first. You stay a step behind me.”

“Alright.”

Even Cassion didn’t object to me approaching first, seeing how pathetic Lorang, or self-proclaimed Ron, looked as he gathered his worn-out art supplies that seemed almost ruined.

We approached slowly, so the despairing deer wouldn’t run away.

“Oh my, are you alright?”

“Sob… hic… W-who are you?”

Up close, he really was handsome. A completely different kind of handsome from Cassion. I was admiring the pitiful tears flowing exactly along his tear mole when I heard an uncomfortable cough from behind, bringing me back to my senses.

“I’m sorry. We saw what happened as we were passing by, and the owner was so harsh. Are you hurt?”

I crouched down to meet Lorang’s eye level as he was hunched over, and helped him gather what might have been art supplies or trash. At this point, it seems like even the paint is begging to be put out of its misery.

“Sniff… Thank you…”

As I handed back what I had picked up and offered him a handkerchief, Lorang’s tears began to flow even more. It seems he’s the type to cry more when comforted. Good, good, this type usually doesn’t keep their mouth shut either.

“Don’t cry. Oh, you poor thing. How about I treat you to something to wet your throat?”

I naturally put my arm around Lorang’s shoulders and led him towards our lodgings. Cassion followed in case he might run away, but there was no need – Lorang easily followed my lead.

His blue eyes were so full of tears, melting away, that he didn’t seem to know where I was guiding him.

“You might collapse if you keep crying like this in the heat.”

“Th-thank… thank you… hic.”

How can he cry so much without his nose running?

I patted his back while feeling a bit curious. We soon arrived at the restaurant on the first floor of our lodgings, and as we opened the door and entered, the innkeeper’s expression crumpled at the sight of Lorang.

He seemed to be a well-known beggar or troublemaker in the village.

“You!”

The innkeeper, who had been wiping the empty tables as it was still daytime, was about to rush over menacingly, but I stopped him with a shake of my head.

I turned to Cassion and gave him a look, and he stepped forward to quietly talk with the innkeeper.

Meanwhile, I managed to herd the still sobbing Lorang into a corner seat. I sat him between the wall and myself to prevent him from escaping, and patted his shoulder a few more times. Stop crying already. Let’s talk now.

“Honey, could you order a warm cup of tea for this gentleman?”

“Sure.”

As I gave Cassion another look and started acting, he responded with a voice as gentle as he could manage. It seems even Cassion could see that Lorang wasn’t someone to be pushed.

I’m quite confident in my looks, but to think I’d be outclassed to this extent.

I knew he was handsome from the original description and the sketches based on it, but seeing him in person, I could clearly feel the Empress’s taste.

“Thank you…”

No, at this level, it wouldn’t matter what anyone’s taste was. I admit defeat.