Chapter 52

Since that night, the two of them had slept together until morning.

Although it was supposed to be Gesualdo visiting Lilith’s room, on the night they arrived in Toisen, it got quite late, so Lilith was already waiting in Gesualdo’s bed.

When Gesualdo saw her, the tension he had been holding while preparing to do what he had to do dissipated, and he even laughed.

From the next day on, Lilith was always by Gesualdo’s side whenever she noticed.

They would be separate during travel, but in towns and villages where they stopped for breaks, she would stand next to Gesualdo, link her arm with his, and smile at the welcoming people.

Then, after a moment of silence, the people would burst into cheers.

Confused by such reactions, Gesualdo began to accept Lilith’s words.

Perhaps he had been overly concerned with how others reacted.

And on the fourth night, after getting used to being woken up by Lilith’s kicks in the morning—

"Lilith, I want to introduce you to someone. Can you spare some time around noon tomorrow?"

"---Yes, that’s fine. But, who will you introduce me to?"

"The potter I mentioned before. He’s now a factory supervisor. He’s said to be quite stubborn, but his skills are highly regarded. He’s also confirmed to be uninvolved in the recent misconduct."

"I see. Thank you!"

"No, you don’t need to thank me... But, I heard he’s quite rough. You might be surprised, but I’ll be there too, and of course, there will be guards, so please don’t worry."

Seeing Lilith’s genuine joy, Gesualdo added hesitantly.

But Lilith’s face lit up even more.

"Is he the type who’s proud of his craftsmanship? But don’t worry. I’ve had plenty of arguments with stubborn old men in Freud, and I never lost!"

"Arguments... with stubborn old men..."

He knew. No, he thought he knew. Lilith was different from ordinary princesses.

However, Gesualdo’s understanding was still too naive.

Her stance, with her fists clenched, was burning with fighting spirit.

"Has Lilith... learned any self-defense techniques?"

"No, unfortunately, I haven’t learned anything like that."

"Figures."

Slightly relieved, Gesualdo answered honestly.

Lilith looked at him with an apologetic gaze.

"I didn’t have a personal guard, but I rarely left the castle—my room, for that matter..."

"No, of course, it’s fine if you can’t do self-defense. Especially since you’re not very physically strong."

His question seemed to have caused a misunderstanding, so Gesualdo hurriedly reassured her that it wasn’t necessary.

As far as he knew, he had never heard of princesses or noble daughters learning self-defense.

Self-defense was something that noble sons who aspired to be knights would learn.

But Lilith continued, as if making an excuse for her shortcomings.

"Well, I don’t leave my room much, but I can ride a horse alone, and when I was little, I used to wrestle with my brother, so I’m not as weak as you might think. Please don’t worry."

"Wrestle with your brother?"

"Yes. But, when I realized I couldn’t win by strength at age ten, I gave up. He never took me seriously, which was frustrating. Since then, I’ve only argued verbally. I’ve never lost a verbal argument, you know?"

Gesualdo found himself oddly convinced by Lilith’s boastful conclusion.

He didn’t think he could win a serious verbal argument with her.

Having been raised to believe that women were weak and should be protected, the idea of siblings wrestling was hard for him to believe.

"Did your... brother ever hit you?"

"No, he never hit me. Looking back, he must have held back. But he did pull my hair and kick me a bit."

"Kicked you? Your brother?"

"It’s just sibling fights. It’s not that surprising. Usually, I would grab Eim brother in anger, and he would try to pull me away. I was the one who hit, kicked, and bit him, and I’m sorry for that. Spiris brother hardly ever engaged with me."

Listening to Lilith’s nostalgic words, Gesualdo felt he understood the origin of her morning kicks.

But Lilith, unaware of his thoughts, smiled.

"So, let’s go to bed early today, shall we?"

"Early?"

"Yes. To meet someone in the morning, you need plenty of sleep. I’m not good in the morning..."

Indeed, over the past four days, Lilith had been sound asleep when Gesualdo woke up.

She showed no signs of waking up.

Sometimes she mumbled something, but he decided not to pay attention to it.

"Then, I’ll head back to my room now."

"Why?"

"…You said you wanted to sleep early, right? And with me around, you might not sleep well, right?"

"No, not at all. It’s my first time sleeping with someone, but I was surprised to find it didn’t bother me at all. Oh, or can’t you sleep well, Jede?"

"---No, that’s not it..."

"That’s good! I’m glad. Maybe we’re just compatible."

Pleased, Lilith got into bed and patted the spot next to her.

Although he was somewhat used to it, Gesualdo was still often surprised by Lilith.

He stopped thinking and lay down next to her.

Lilith sat up, gave Gesualdo a light kiss, and smiled again.

"Goodnight kiss! Goodnight."

"Huh? Ah..."

As Gesualdo instinctively reached to pull her closer, Lilith’s head fell onto the pillow, and she closed her eyes.

Feeling a bit of emptiness, Gesualdo let his hand drop, and he heard her soft snores.

She seemed to be asleep already.

(Really... she doesn’t lie or put on a front at all...)

Watching Lilith fall asleep as she said she would, Gesualdo thought.

Lilith spoke freely to him without reservation.

Still, she performed her duties as a princess consort admirably in public, which he couldn’t help but admire.

Occasionally, he felt a sense of unease with Lilith.

Perhaps it was because she hadn’t revealed everything to him yet.

But that was only natural.

Gesualdo also had many things he hadn’t told her.

The biggest secret he kept was his attraction to Lilith.

He was quite surprised when he realized it and even doubted his own tastes, but he knew this wasn’t something he could control.

And he was sure he would never say it out loud.

So, he stopped worrying about Lilith’s tendency to talk about everything except her feelings for him.

This marriage was a political one.

Lilith often said it was the result of compromise, and Gesualdo reminded himself of this as he gave her a gentle "goodnight kiss."

Then, with a wry smile at her lack of response, he lay down and closed his eyes.