Chapter 42

"Did you want me to make friends, sir?"

I said this with some certainty.

Sir suddenly looked up from his papers.

"Would you believe me if I said yes?"

"Because you want me to have influence in society?"

"Did I cry?"

"Huh?"

Caught off guard by his sudden words, I waited for him to continue.

Sir put away his pen, came to the sofa where I was sitting, and sat opposite me.

"The reason I kept pushing you was because you wouldn't do it otherwise. A lazy life, Mrs.? I thought it might be nice, but it's not healthy. People should connect with others, work, eat, and sleep; that's the most normal and healthy way."

"Ah..."

Well, that is normal, right?

Yeah, I understand that.

"I thought you might have noticed... but it seems you still don't understand."

"No, I do understand a little. At least, at the beginning of our marriage, it was to quickly supplement my nutrition, right?"

The livestock food I was fed.

Well, it was so bad I couldn't eat it, but it was high in nutrients.

Actually, it wasn't the cheapest grain. Rather, it was a bit expensive.

I thought it was a bit much for harassment.

"You do understand, don't you? Well, the subsequent situation was also my concern. I was testing whether you could really handle the duties of a duchess."

"Wait a minute! You just said 'duties'! So you really thought it was a duty! Where did the word 'obligation' go!?"

"The point isn't there—what I mean is, I wanted to confirm if what the person who introduced you as a duchess said was true."

Huh?

Isn't that a bit strange?

Because the way you put it, someone introduced me as a duchess, right?

But at the time, I was seen as a crazy girl who spent money recklessly and strained the finances. Who could have—...

"You turned out to be unexpectedly tough, which was a bit of a problem... but in the end, I saw that you had no issues with your abilities."

"I'm sorry for being tough. Anyway, stop being so dramatic and tell me everything. Of course, you'll explain everything, including what you've been thinking all this time, right?"

As I pressed him, Sir spoke.

"Not everything, but... I thought I might as well hear the regrets of the person who introduced you. Actually, I had some thoughts too—... Reisha, you've been studying and protecting the estate and the earl's family since you were a child, haven't you? Even though it was inevitable, I felt sorry for you when I heard that. Well, that's the best way to put it."

Sir leaned back on the sofa and crossed his legs.

His deep red eyes looked straight at me.

"Sympathy?"

"I remember what I was doing when I was ten and felt sorry for you. My father was incompetent, but my grandfather was there at the time. I was strictly disciplined and had a lot of studies on obligations, but there was only a sense of duty for the future. Even if I was asked for an opinion, it was just for reference, and my grandfather held the decision-making power, so in short, I had no responsibility."

He continued, "I was a protected child."

"Technically, I had friends from my childhood when I visited the estate, and I had classmates here. Thinking back, I had a fairly free childhood."

Well, considering how nostalgic he is about the past, Sir must be going through a tough time now.

"So, what about you? I might not have had a very childlike childhood, but I felt I had it better than you."

"Did you propose out of sympathy?"

"Not exactly. But now, I truly believe that our marriage was for the best."

"So, you want me to do the things I couldn't do as a child—?"

I didn't have a particularly happy childhood, but being told this now is a bit of a problem.

"It might be meddlesome, but that's the idea. I can't tell you to do whatever you want because you're not a child, but I can tolerate it to some extent. Well, I admit I was wrong about Mrs. Miriam and Elise, but this isn't a charity. It's necessary for the duchess to be able to protect the family when the head is absent."

I understand that.

The head's wife has the first authority when the head is absent.

What happens when an incompetent person takes that position is evident from our Verdigo earldom.

"So, who is it? The person who introduced me to you?"

"Don't you already know?"

Yeah, I know.

There's only one person.

"Lagarto"

Our voices overlapped.

"As you get older, there's less time to regret and start over. He's quite old, even if it doesn't show... it's natural to want to find someone to entrust you to when you're gone, especially someone as important as you."

When he said that, I couldn't say anything.

Lagarto is irreplaceable to me. He might as well be my only family now.

"I told you, didn't I? That you're loved."

"I know..."

I felt like crying.

When I looked down, Sir came over and gently pulled my head to his side.

"Even a strict person can regret, I thought it was a bit out of place."

I heard Sir's wry smile from above.

"Lagarto wants to help you recover some of what you missed in your childhood. And, I think your mother wanted you to be happy. I don't know if marrying me will make you happy, but at least Lagarto thought I was a man worthy of entrusting Reisha to. Well, I admit I did some terrible things."

"The way you did it—..."

"I told you, Lagarto is old. If I had taken it slowly, I wouldn't have been able to fulfill his wish. Telling a resigned person to do something just leads to more resignation. I had to make you do it unwillingly. Well, when Michelle approached me, I thought I might as well get you into the faction instead. As you can see, she's a bit of an oddball, and the faction is full of oddballs. I thought you'd get along."

I'm sorry for that...

I resigned myself after getting married.

What's wrong with getting angry and resigning myself?

Because I thought I could finally relax and sleep a lot after not having to carry any burdens.

Well, I did sleep a lot.

And, Michelle—no, your son, I finally understand what you meant by being overprotective.

A husband who interferes with making friends is more like a mother.

Please take care of my daughter, be nice to her—no, take care of my daughter-in-law.

When the royal family attacked me, everyone around me didn't want to bear the royal family's anger and stayed away.

That's why you set the boundaries first.

It has nothing to do with Michelle's faction, though.

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