Chapter 196
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
In his steady gaze and gentle touch as he carefully stroked my cheek, I felt both joy and apology all at once. It wasn’t just the bruise on my cheek that made him feel sorry.
“This hardship will be the last. Once we return home, I’ll make sure you live comfortably without working for the rest of your life.”
He spoke softly, as if singing a lullaby, gently describing the comfortable life awaiting me.
He said his house had more than a hundred servants and maids, so I wouldn’t have to make the bed anymore—I could sleep each night in a soft, fluffy bed. I wouldn’t have to do laundry either, because I’d always wear clean, soft clothes.
And the mansion had highly skilled chefs, so I’d never have to cook. Every day, I’d enjoy only delicious and rare delicacies.
Hearing all this sounded like a dream, but suddenly I felt uneasy.
“So what would I do then? I’d have nothing to do but wait for you to come home. Just waiting sounds boring…”
“Ah…”
He looked a little embarrassed. I wondered if I really had to spend all day waiting for him with nothing to do, but then he smiled awkwardly and answered in a way I didn’t expect at all.
“Nobles don’t work.”
“Oh?”
I was so pleased I almost jumped up on the spot, but then I reminded myself I had to be a dignified lady and calmly rested my head back on his thigh.
A dignified lady wouldn’t say something as blunt as, “I’m already crazy happy just to be with you all day,” right?
“That’s a relief.”
Anyway, I was more excited about spending time with him than about the promised wealth and comfort.
“So it’s okay if you have nothing to do.”
Because just looking at your face will make time pass pleasantly.
“Don’t worry, there’s plenty to do anyway.”
He told me the mansion held more books than stars in the night sky, and there were gardens and greenhouses so vast that I couldn’t explore them all in a day. There was even a music room where I could play the piano and violin as much as I wanted. If I didn’t want to play, he’d hire musicians for me to listen to.
‘I thought only a prime minister would have all that…’
If I got tired of the house, we could picnic in the forest where we first met, go horseback riding or river fishing, and if I wished, we could travel the world until we grew bored.
“Are you really that rich?”
“I didn’t spend money and just saved, so it must have piled up.”
“But didn’t you say your brother inherited all the family wealth last time?”
“That’s true, but my mother and the elders of the family felt sorry for me and gave me a little something. I originally planned to donate it all before enlisting but didn’t have time. Thank goodness.”
He’d enlisted with death in mind but then met me, married me, and couldn’t die anymore.
Of course, people think he’s dead. Legally, he’s still missing, so his assets haven’t passed on to anyone and remain intact.
“It’s not as much as my brother got, but enough to live without money worries and indulge a little.”
“Indulge a little? How much is that?”
“Well… enough to live a little more lavishly than the Hildebrandt family.”
“Hildebrandt?”
I was surprised and raised my voice because Hildebrandt was the richest person I knew. Realizing how far apart our ideas of “a little indulgence” were, I finally grasped just how wealthy he really was.
“But if you’re that rich, how did you live so naturally like a poor man?”
With over a hundred servants and maids, he probably never had to do laundry, cook, or even iron his clothes. Yet from the start, he handled household chores skillfully and never frowned at any tough work.
“That’s strange…”
“Well…”
I thought he’d bring up a difficult past, but he seemed embarrassed.
“At boarding school, I had to do it.”
“Oh…”
It was a perfectly ordinary reason.
“Anyway… once we get home…”
Wait—he planned to give up all that wealth and live poor in the mountains? Just because I seemed happier there?
“We’ll spend our days doing only what we want, from the moment we open our eyes to when we close them.”
“…That doesn’t sound bad.”
I must have gotten a bit sassy these past few days because I answered disinterestedly while lost in thought.
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