âYouâre an insensitive, indifferent man. How can you not understand her feelings?â
âHer feelings?â
âShe acts cold on the outside, but deep down she is not like that. She even gave us this mansion to take care of her son, whose face she has never seen. She must really want to see him.â
âAh.â
Alan brightened at Viscount Roteschuâs words.
âI see. Rashta is still kind and affectionate.â
However, Alan immediately became concerned and asked,
âBut the baby looks a lot like Rashta, Father. Wonât people also find⊠his unusual hair color suspicious?â
âJust hide his hair with a cap. Donât you have those bonnets that babies wear?
Once Viscount Roteschu condemned his worried attitude, Alan was slowly convinced.
âAlright.â
âHurry to apply for an audience, there are many people interested.â
âYes.â
Alan left with the baby in his arms.
Viscount Roteschu smiled wickedly as he watched him leave.
***
It was late at night.
After combing my hair and putting on a gown, I went to the shared bedroom. As I entered, Heinley quietly came out from behind my door and lifted me up.
In the blink of an eye, both my feet were floating in the air.
âHeinley!â
When I grabbed onto his neck in surprise, he did a little turn with me in his arms, smiled and leaned his head against mine.
When I held him tighter for fear of falling, Heinley rubbed his forehead against mine and asked.
âI surprised you?â
âWhy do you always hide?â
âItâs funny⊠Donât you like it?â
âItâs not that, butâŠâ
Would he be offended if I asked him if this was also a bird-headed tribe habit?
As I was hesitating Heinley walked straight to the bed and put me down.
Once I sat on the bed, he sat next to me. Then, he stroked my hair. His gentle touch made my eyes close on their own.
Forcing myself to stay awake, I asked him.
âHow long were you hiding behind my door? I didnât hear any noise.â
âHmm well⊠about five minutes agoâŠâ
âFive minutes?â
ââŠActually, ten minutes.â
âYou were hanging out by the wall for ten minutes!?â
My eyes widened when I heard that he had waited for ten minutes.
As soon as I looked at him in surprise Heinley avoided my gaze and removed his hand from my hair.
This time he pressed the soft part of my fingers and smiled. He then asked, as we naturally held hands.
âMy Queen. Wife. Is there anything you want to say to me?â
âYes, good thing you asked.â
âWhat is it?â
âItâs about Grand Duke Kapmen.â
ââŠâ
Heinleyâs expression became rigid.
He seemed to have instantly grasped the importance of my words.
I straightened up and told him about the deal with Grand Duke Kapmen.
âGrand Duke Kapmen admitted his guilt. In return, I agreed with him to include three favorable clauses for us in the trade between the Western Empire and Rwibt.â
âI see..â
âDo you also agree?â
âOf course I do.â
âIf you have any other ideasâŠâ
âNo, thatâs fine.â
âBut that expressionâŠ?â
âAh. I just thought My Queen would tell me something else.â
When I narrowed my eyes, Heinley added quickly.
âBut this is also very important. Yes⊠I understand, My Queen.â
Was Heinley expecting something else? Was there something I should tell him?
âMy Queen, do you have anything else to tell me?â
From his insistence with that question, he seemed to want to hear something specific.
Since I didnât answer, Heinley asked outright, âDo you want a hint?â
âYes.â
âThe hint is⊠married couple.â
After a momentâs thought, I realized his intentions.
âI know.â
The corners of Heinleyâs mouth turned up slightly.
I told him to wait there for a moment, then quickly went to my room and brought the to-do list I had done during the day.
âMy Queen?â
I sat back down on the bed and said proudly as I handed the notebook to Heinley,
âI wrote down what I had to do.â
He wanted to see this, right?
Just because we are married doesnât mean there are no secrets. However, married couples tell each other a lot of things.
Heinley probably wanted that.
However, Heinley barely mumbled, âOhâŠâ with a bitter expression.
Wasnât this what he wanted?
Then he added,
âItâs a good plan.â
âIs it boring?â
I had fun writing and reading things like this, isnât it like that for others too?
âWife, itâs not boring. Itâs not boring, butâŠâ
Then suddenly, his eyes widened and his gaze focused on every word in the notebook. Before I knew it, he was holding the notebook with both hands.
After reading the notebook about five times, Heinley handed it back to me and said,
âIt really is a good plan, wife.â
âBut you still have the same expression.â
âIâll get you the aides and have the office ready as soon as possible..â
He didnât respond to my words, but I let it go.
âThank you.â
âNo, I think itâs better for My Queen to pick the right people.â
After nodding, Heinley abruptly stopped talking.
Why did he keep quiet now?
When I looked at him puzzled, Heinley said hesitantly,
âI didnât write anything⊠I have nothing to show you.â
Ah, he thought I had handed him my notebook for that. Instead of saying that wasnât the case, I pointed out that it was a real shame,
âReally? I would have liked to read yours too.â
Otherwise, he would have been embarrassed.
Fortunately, it worked. But in the blink of an eye, his smile disappeared, he covered his face with one hand and looked down.
Whatâs wrong with him this time?
Looking at him closely, his face was also flushed.
Why was that?
While I was puzzled, Heinley shook his head and asked me again.
âMy Queen. The first thing you told me was very important, the second was very helpful, but what I wanted to hear was something more personal.â
âMore personal?â
I didnât understand what he meant.
Could he mean that our bodies spoke for themselves or something like that? From his face, he didnât seem to have that intentionâŠ
So, did he want me to answer his confession?
I had a little idea, but I shook my head pretending not to know anything.
âI donât know, I donât know what you mean.â
But instead of asking more, Heinley just sighed, lay on his side and extended his arm.
The problem was that his arm was invading my space. It was right on my pillow.
Also, even though I repeatedly looked between his arm and his face, he didnât pull his arm away.
Eventually, I told him plainly and a little embarrassed.
âHeinley, this is my space.â
âWhat?â
I wanted him to move his arm away.
âItâs my space.â
After repeating it emphatically, Heinleyâs eyes widened and he slowly withdrew his arm.
âIf you want to sleep with your arm outstretched, lie a little further to the left, Heinley. The bed is big enough, so you can do that.â
After gently patting his retracted arm, I lay down on the bed and put out the flame of the lamp.
However, as soon as the bedroom was dark, I felt a slight wind blow beside me.
â?â
As I wondered why, Heinley shook his shoulders with tight lips.
âHeinley?â
As I turned the lamp back on and sat up, Heinley laughed as if he couldnât take it anymore.
It wasnât long before he managed to calm down and apologized sincerely.
âIâm sorry. I-I just wanted My Queen to sleep using my arm as a pillow.â