Well that wasnt your first time ever receiving a proposal, was it? Of course I know that it was your first time getting married, that you dont have any children, and you dont have any lovers. But theres no way you couldnt have been popular with women.

You were the first.

Why?!

At his unacceptable confession, I sprung up my upper body.

Whats wrong with Aedis?

Aedis looked at me strangely.

Should there have been others?

Wait a minute

-You know, Ive been wondering about this for a while, but dont take it personally. Do you have any friends?

-Of course I do

-Not counting your subordinates

-He died decades ago. He passed me the Grand Duke title as his last gift.

Suddenly, I remembered the conversation wed had before and my thoughts became complicated.

I thought the limited human relationships Aedis had talked about at the time were simply about recent ones hed had.

But what if it wasnt?

What if it was in all 500 years?

Aedis, how many friends have you had in your whole life?

Enough to count on one finger.

Hold on, why are you proud to say that?

If his answer is true, its an insanely small amount of relationships compared to how long hes lived.

His past deserves to be called clean..

Did you live in a cave-like place before becoming the Grand Duke?

Although Aedis had a sense of pressure that made it difficult to make eye contact, it wasnt like you couldnt adapt to it if you made up your mind and tried.

It would be a little easier for knights who have trained their entire lives.

Procyon started to laugh pretty well in front of Aedis.

I, too, learned how to not be overwhelmed by the others momentum.

Although I was trained to be particularly intense, the successors the patriarchs chose had to master it.

Unless he was a tyrant or a homicidal maniac, the cave survival theory was influential.

Gilbert, who will become a tyrant in the future, also has a few friends and followers in the North and for 500 years, its possible that others have neither appreciated Aedis nor noticed his true value.

Even though I didnt know much about Aediss past, I knew that he didnt waste his abilities and that he was a rather thoughtful person.

As if to confirm my guess, Aedis went on and spoke.

I didnt do much before you.

The weight of his words was light, and they didnt contain any intentions.

.

So why did they make my heart pound?

Aedis pulled up the blanket that I had kicked.

Someday I may tell you more, but I dont think today is that day, so go to sleep.

I missed the timing to answer, so I laid back.

Ive never seen Aedis asleep.

He always went to sleep later than me and woke up earlier.

Five days after coming here, hes barely used the bed.

Aedis, are you sleeping?

I sleep as much as I need.

It seems that the necessary amount isnt hours, but minutes.

Ive said it before, but if youre uncomfortable, you can use a separate room.

Is that question for me?

Well, yeah?

I actually wanted to ask you, Eve, are you uncomfortable?

Im sleeping very well.

If theres a bed, I tend to be able to sleep well anywhere.

Above all, Aedis isnt one to do anything while I sleep.

On the day we slept together in the capital, I seemed to have drooled a little on Aediss clothes, but he let it go without saying anything.

In Esmeraldas Crescent Moon, except for his self-assertion and excessive lack of motivation, Aedis was a perfect man.

So I couldnt help but struggle with that damn contract.

I dont like the princes and the other men who proposed to me in the capital.

Rather than breaking the contract at an astronomical cost, I thought Id meet Aedis instead.

The man who had the most secrets in the novel.

In the novel, Gilbert described Aedis as an insurmountable, high wall.

And Regen, who was older at that time in the novel than he is right now, thought Aedis was like a sunset in the sky.

Hes disappearing right in front of you, but you can never catch him

So you would miss it, and he would just slip right through your fingers.

Regen had said in the novel that only Aedis was his father, but he couldnt say that he knew him completely.

Hey, I should have read Esmeraldas Crescent Moon to the end.

Aediss past, either in the final part or in a side story, would have been solved.

Maybe in the second half, the relationship between father-son would become quite strong, and Aedis would directly explain everything to Regen.

However, I wasnt Regen, in a novel receiving a lot of buffs as the main character.

I dont know if I could get to know Aedis little by little, but I do know that were going to go through a much tougher process than that.

Even though we were married, the difficulty level was the highest.

I glanced at Aedis.

He said that someday he may tell me more, but all I saw was a face that looked like a masterpiece, someone with things that he never intended to reveal.

Next time, try covering this in the middle of the book. Any book I touch from now on will be read to the end.

I was in the middle of regretting the past when Aediss hand touched my forehead.

Ive also been sleeping very well.

With a slightly late answer, he lightly swept the hair that covered my face.

He continued.

Then theres nothing wrong with either of us. Sweet dreams, Eve.

Youre going to sleep already?

I lay comfortably in bed and covered myself with the blanket, but for some reason, I just didnt want to sleep.

Aedis ignored my question.

Its time to sleep.

I cant sleep yet.

Close your eyes and say that again.

I cant sleep.

I closed my eyes disgruntledly.

And when I opened my eyes again, it was already morning.

***

First of all, this was strange.

Its not even the fact that I fell asleep as soon as I closed my eyes!

Aedis, who usually sent me to Sarahs room every morning, waited for me to wake up today.

The moment I opened my eyes, I saw a face that seemed to be fascinated by just staring at me.

Good morning, Eve.

Huh? Are you not kicking me out today?

My wife said shes not uncomfortable, so I have to prove that Im not uncomfortable either.

However, Aediss face was completely devoid of any sleep.

For someone who took that decision on their own, you look like you didnt get a wink of sleep.

I just woke up and my voice was hoarse. Ah, I want to drink water.

Im not completely used to it yet, sleeping with someone else.

Is that so?

I answered a little late while looking for the kettle, but Aedis, who misunderstood it, added on to that.

Apart from the matter of sexual needs.

Why is the subject suddenly coming up? Am I mistaken or does Aedis want to pounce on me but hes restraining himself?

I reassured him while pouring water into the glass.

I understand, I didnt take it the wrong way.

I actively expressed that I had no intention of touching Aediss painful wound.

Its hard for you to have a childyou dont have to explain each time.

No, its a constitution problem.

Right, its a constitution problem.

Its not that constitution.

Knock-Knock

Your Grace, I brought washing water.

It was Sarahs voice. I looked at Aedis with a face, silently asking if he had more to say.

Tell her to come in.

Aedis, who got up after washing his face, went to the private bathroom and then Sarah came in.

But she was with two other maids. The eyes that looked at me were full of curiosity.

It seems that the maid who came last night and saw us spread a rumor.

The maid was so scared at the time that she may have misunderstood and become worried, thinking that Aedis was trying to rip the skin off my face.

Still, the maids were not completely at ease.

Since this was originally Aediss room, they seemed to think that he might pop out at any time.

Hes actually in the bathroom. Sooner or later, Ill have to point out Aedis.

Its like I have to repeatedly say he wont catch you and he wont hurt you.

After saying hello to the gargoyle statue, I had breakfast with Regen as usual.

Stuck next to Aedis, I made a plan with the butler to visit the estate.

I was thinking of looking around in the territories that play a key role first.

I couldnt be away for a long time because of Regen, my goal was to hunt beasts.

The Lydia Estate is the warmest in the north. The plains and grains of this place are the pride of the Kallakis family. Also, in the Carmel and Hollow Estates, some mountains and lakes have old legends, so tourists continue to visit them steadily.

The butler pointed to the map and explained.

The last place I will introduce you to is the Rosa Estate. It is located near the Eire Forest. The Eire Forest is the only forest in the north, but I can guarantee that its size is comparable to the capital.

Of course, the most important place for me was the Rosa Estate.

Although, I have a slight complaint about the owner, the Baron.

Baron Paisley had sent me a long, tearful letter asking not to meet Aedis because he would give half of his fortune.

What a wonderful attitude from someone called a vassal.