Chapter 20

"Lord…?"

Feeling tense, I called out to Altear, pulling my shoulders up, and he slightly frowned.

“Is that title still not settled?”

“But everyone calls you Lord…”

“You’re not just ‘everyone.’ You’re my wife. Where have you seen a wife call her husband like that?”

But no matter how hard I tried to recall, I couldn’t find anything wrong.

“If you have a preferred title, I’ll call you that.”

“Why don’t you figure it out yourself?”

“I tried, but I just can’t figure it out no matter how much I think about it.”

“Think about what your parents were like. The answer will come easily.”

My mother called my father ‘Duke’ until the day she passed away, and the other nobles in the capital also maintained formalities when addressing each other. A respectful and formal couple was the ideal for the capital’s nobility.

‘But the eastern region might be different.’

Since I had come here, I had been experiencing unexpected cultural differences, so the way couples addressed each other could also be different.

‘Ah! But in private, when it’s just the two of them…’

They used different terms to address each other. But Altear wanted to be called by such terms? I couldn’t imagine it, and I couldn’t help but look at him with a strange expression. He tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes.

“Are you thinking something strange?”

“I was thinking about what you said about my parents… Do you really want that?”

“It’s only natural for a couple. From now on, you should call me that way.”

“Really? You really want me to call you that?”

“Why such a reaction over just a title?”

“Well…”

“Just call me that.”

I couldn’t respond and fidgeted, and Altear glared as if demanding I call him right then. I thought it wasn’t right, but I couldn’t resist his gaze.

“My, my cupcake…”

“…What?”

“Cherry candy… honey bee… pudding…”

As I listed the terms, Altear’s face twisted more and more.

“Do you want to add more…?”

I asked cautiously, and Altear waved his hand. His face was red and blue, and it seemed he didn’t really want to be called that.

“Did your parents really call each other that way?”

“They maintained formalities in public but called each other informally in private.”

“Where’s the informality in that…?”

Altear pressed his forehead, not understanding.

“My parents called each other by their names.”

“N, names?!”

Of course, I had been calling Altear by his name in my mind, but the thought of saying it out loud made my spine shiver. It felt like confirming that a fictional villain was a real person.

“Isn’t a name better than ‘cupcake’? From now on, call me by my name.”

“Yes.”

“Say it now.”

“N, not right now… I need to practice a bit more…”

“Do you need practice for this?”

His eyes said, ‘Say it now!’ I closed my eyes tightly and spoke firmly.

“A, Altear-sama!”

“…Altear-sama? I’m not your superior. Just call me Altear.”

“Yes.”

Altear, Altear. I repeated his name in my mind several times to avoid any mistakes. It seemed I needed a lot of practice to call him without feeling awkward.

“You….”

After a long time of practice, Altear spoke with a hesitant tone.

“Are you not allowing it?”

“Me?”

“Your name. Can I call you by your name?”

“Of course, you can.”

I answered casually, but then I realized that Altear had never called me by my name.

‘Could it be that he called me ‘you’ because he wasn’t sure if he could call me by my name?’

The idea that the villain Altear had been worrying about such a small thing? I blinked and looked at him, and he blushed and avoided my gaze.

“What are you looking at?”

His tone was still rough, but he didn’t seem as scary as before.

“Practice….”

Seeing his blushing face gave me some courage.

“Altear, don’t you practice?”

“What kind of practice?”

“Practicing calling my name.”

“I don’t need to practice to do that well.”

“Then try it now.”

“Now….”

Altear seemed to lose his words and tightly closed his mouth. Feeling proud that I had made him speechless, a smile crept onto my face.

“…Nadia.”

His voice was low and cautious, and it felt different from when he called me ‘you’ or ‘her.’ I couldn’t keep my hands still and clutched my skirt, and Altear reached out to tuck my hair behind my ear.

“You were curious about what kind of wife I want you to be? You can do anything. That hasn’t changed.”

“Of course. I’ll work hard.”

“You answer so confidently, but you don’t even know what you’ll be doing.”

Altear chuckled and closed the distance. Facing his cold but handsome face, my heart, which had just calmed down, started beating again.

‘You’re too close…’

Moreover, Altear was shirtless, making it hard to look anywhere. As I moved my eyes around, Altear came even closer. Reflexively, I closed my eyes tightly. A firm arm pulled me, and I felt myself being wrapped in his embrace as I leaned towards the bed. Opening my eyes in confusion, Altear’s solid chest filled my vision.

‘Oh!’

I quickly closed my eyes again, startled. In the darkness, the sound of my heart pounding filled my ears.

‘Lying in bed, embraced by Altear…’

I wanted to get out of this awkward position, but I was afraid of touching his wound, so I could only stay in his embrace.

‘But staying like this is also strange…’

I cautiously opened my eyes and lifted my head, and our eyes met. I froze, unable to close my eyes properly.

‘Oh!’

Altear chuckled, finding it amusing, and slowly stroked my back with his large hand, as if comforting a scared child.

“Don’t worry. I don’t plan to do anything more. I’m just tired from dealing with troublesome matters today. Just share some warmth with me.”

It seemed he wasn’t lying, as he closed his eyes and fell asleep. Listening to his steady breathing, my heart, which had been pounding with confusion, gradually calmed down. I couldn’t escape the situation, so I gave up and slowly closed my eyes. The familiar scent filled my nose, making me more sensitive. When I dozed off, the scent that had been enveloping me felt even stronger.

‘This is Altear’s scent.’

It was a dry but somehow comforting scent. Feeling at ease, I drifted off to sleep. * * * As Altear cleared the goblin-infested areas around the magic stone mine and development began in earnest, people from all over flocked to the area upon hearing the news. Most of the visitors were merchants who wanted to secure the distribution of the magic stones. The ability to distribute the valuable magic stones promised significant profits, so they came with determination. As a result, the Eilsford fief was enveloped in a bustling atmosphere it had never experienced before. As the mistress of the house, I couldn’t avoid receiving and entertaining the guests, no matter how timid I was. The problem was the severe lack of manpower at Eilsford Castle. Until now, we had managed with three servants, but with the fief’s development, many more guests would come, and it would be impossible to manage with just three.

‘Besides, three is an excessively small number.’

We also needed to gradually repair the castle, which had been postponed due to a lack of funds.

‘Now, a lot of money will come in!’

The Eilsford fief had an enormous amount of magic stones. It was said that the reserves would not be depleted even after thousands of years of excavation. Moreover, the magic stones mined as a test were found to be of much higher purity than usual, meaning they could fetch a higher price. As a result, Altear was busy every day, negotiating supply conditions with merchants. The merchants left with exhausted, shriveled faces, indicating that Altear was a formidable negotiator.

‘Well, I can’t imagine Altear being played by merchants and losing out.’

That wasn’t a concern.

‘So, I should also work hard and do my part!’

With many merchants staying in Eilsford, it was a good time to purchase materials for the castle’s repairs. Dealing with merchants who were drained from negotiations with Altear, I could probably get good prices without much effort.

‘Having the villain as an ally is so reassuring.’

When reading the novel, I only saw Altear from the enemy’s perspective and didn’t realize his strengths.

“Anna, from today, please call the merchants who have finished negotiating with the Lord to me. There are many things I need to buy, so I need to meet the merchants frequently.”

“Yes, of course! That’s what I should do!”

Anna approached me with a bright smile.

“Of course, you want to buy a dress, right?”

“Eh…?”

“There’s a meeting of the eastern nobles soon! To avoid looking ridiculous, you need to have proper dresses and accessories.”

“Oh, right… I had forgotten about that.”

I had been so focused on the magic stone mine that I had completely forgotten about the meeting Altear had mentioned.

‘He said it was a hunt, so I’ll probably wear riding clothes, not a fancy dress…’

However, the difference in quality is more noticeable in simple clothing. A fancy dress can hide flaws with its splendor, but riding clothes are harder to do so. Attention to small details is necessary to avoid looking ridiculous.

‘Especially for men’s clothing, it’s even more difficult.’

There are fewer elements to decorate, so the quality of the fabric and tailoring is crucial.

‘