CH 3

3. What a husband should do

‘Today you are your true self.’

The normally flawless Ain only removed his heavy mask in the presence of his Shadow Knights.

When he removed the mask, a languid, tired smile hung on his lips, beautiful to be sure, but also somehow devoid of something, like a bloodthirsty vampire.

Was that why? The combination of golden hair and eyes and red lips was reminiscent of a seductive demon.

“What an unexpected appearance. For a moment, I thought you were a dreamer who had come to seduce me.”

The corners of Ain’s mouth drew into an arc. I glanced at my attire and opened my mouth, a little embarrassed.

“……I had no way to take off my dress, so I came with it on. I apologize for appearing rather unprofessional.”

“Unprofessional. You have amused me, so apologize not.”

His golden eyes curved like half-moons.

“Hail, my Hail.”

He smiled and said my name in a slow voice, repeating it over and over again.

But I wasn’t fooled by his smile. He usually called me that when he was in a bad mood: when he wasn’t acknowledged by the emperor, or when nobles didn’t move in the palm of his hand. He would often call me by that name.

“What can I say. I have a person…….. I want to kill.”

As I had expected, the words came out of his mouth in a bitter tone.

“Order me to do it.”

I locked eyes with him, silently waiting for the order.

But instead of answering, he rose from his seat and stepped closer to me. My heart pounded harder as the menacing black shadow drew closer.

“The one I want to kill.”

He stepped in front of me, dropped to one knee and locked eyes with me, then leaned in close to whisper so no one else could hear.

“The idiot prince, Jeremy.”

I stared at him, unmoved, and nodded. Then he looked at me, a little surprised, and smiled.

“You’re not surprised.”

I shook my head slowly.

’I know you aren’t going to kill him yet.’

He had commanded me to kill Jeremy after the first wedding, and again after the second, when I came to report. But by the time I left the room, he had casually revised his order. As if it were an easy prank.

“You don’t even wonder why I do that?”

“Actually…… I am curious. Why would you suddenly make such a decision?”

“It looks like Her Majesty is trying to form a new faction of nobles. They must be trying to disintegrate the nobles who are united in the faction of the prince.”

“What do you mean, disintegrate……? Doesn’t His Majesty have complete faith in you as the crown prince?”

“Yes. The incompetent Emperor is on my side. But it appears he’s fallen for the Empress’s tricks this time.”

“……. The Empress? So, you’re referring to…. the new noble faction, which might be the Empress faction, or those who follow her…….”

“No, the Empress is probably trying to put Jeremy in her place.”

“What?! So, you’re saying they’re forming a prince faction?”

My prince is acting like a fool, so he doesn’t have many nobles close to him, and even though he’s second in line to the throne after the crown prince, no one thinks he’ll ever be emperor.

But to form a faction in support of Jeremy, what the hell does that mean?

“Unlike the emperor, the empress is a person who is good at politics. At this point, when most of the nobles were of the crown prince faction, it wouldn’t have been safe to make the princess faction. There is a risk of betrayal…….The empress intends to first create the prince’s faction and thoroughly confront the crown prince’s faction, and then choose her own person from among them.”

What? So, you’re saying that the Empress is trying to use my prince, right?

“So, what am I supposed to do?”

I blurted out in a panic, and Ain gave me a smirk. His expression, which had been full of anger, also turned cold.

“I should set an example for the empress by killing the prince or the princess.”

Oh my god……. I take that back. The sight of Ain so easily discussing the death of his flesh and blood seemed as cruel as the devil.

” But…… will it work? Didn’t you originally have other plans…….”

“I originally planned to keep you by his side to keep an eye on him. But since that doesn’t stop me from wanting to kill the prince, I have no choice.”

The crown prince’s methods had always been brutally simple.

If he didn’t like something, he’d get rid of it right in front of his eyes. That was his way of life.

Jeremy, who had always been held in check by those around him, even if he didn’t want to be, raised the white flag early on. By becoming an idiot himself.

After that, Ain couldn’t care less about Jeremy. The foolish prince could not be his enemy; he would not risk killing him but would rather use him as material for his own halo.

The crown prince, an undisputed genius, and Jeremy, the fool. A perfect pairing for him to shine.

It was also the only reason Jeremy was the only survivor of the crown prince’s policy of removing all would-be enemies by the roots.

“That’s why I have to kill Jeremy.”

But now Ain was telling me to kill Jeremy. The calm golden eyes were so still and unwavering, that even though I knew he wouldn’t kill Jeremy, I felt a little scared inside.

“Command…….”

I bowed my head, pretending to be calm at his command.

“I will carry it out.”

Dung, dung-

I said it emotionlessly, but my heart was beating like crazy. But I would never allow it to show on the outside.

‘I have to pretend to be obedient. If I show up here acting up, he’ll only get suspicious. Although I’m being bold because I know the future…….’

Ain smiled approvingly, as if he liked my attitude.

“This is why I like you.”

He cupped my chin and smiled at me.

“You make me feel so calm when I look at you, I wonder where all those raging emotions went.”

Ain’s mouth curved into a relaxed smile. He lifted his other hand, the one that wasn’t cupping my chin, and gently stroked the corner of my mouth.

“Is it your boldness that has sucked all of my raging emotions out of me?”

I would rather do that. I’m going to suck all your emotions out of you, so please leave your brother alone.

“Hail. Now that I’m calmer, I’m coming to my senses, and yes, I don’t think we should kill the prince just yet.”

The word “yet” bothered me, but I nodded anyway. I needed to play the loyal dog so he would believe my report.

“How did the prince look, did he still look like a complete moron?”

“Yes. Without a doubt, he looked like an idiot.”

“But when it came to the kiss of oaths……. Yeah, he seemed a little different than usual.”

There you go, bringing it up. I pulled out the lines I’d prepared for this.

“It wasn’t even a kiss.”

“Really?”

He smiled, a twinkle in his eye. But it was still a suspicious smile. Thinking I should add something more, I added an afterword.

“He also didn’t seem to know about the first night.”

“Haha. So that’s how you ended up here.”

Ain chuckled amusedly, his eyes darting to the hem of my dress.

’Phew……. I’m glad I came.’

I was secretly relieved that he was actually believing me this time. Suddenly, Ain turned and walked away. He headed for the desk.

“The bride’s dress has no buttons, so you must use scissors to cut it open.”

Ain pulled out a pair of scissors from a drawer. Then he walked behind me.

“That’s usually the husband’s job.”

Snip-

I flinched at the cold touch on my back.

“I hope you won’t be offended that I did it.”

The thin lace fabric parted at the touch of the scissors and fell aside. Ain’s fingers slid over the exposed skin, barely touching. I stiffened like a stone at the unfamiliar touch on my delicate skin.

“……!”

“Oh my. You make me look like a bad person by stiffening up like that.”

His voice was relaxed and gentle, like soothing a furry cat, while my whole body tensed like a herbivore thrown in front of a predator.

‘How far are you going to cut it……?‘

Even though it was only about 4-5cm long, it felt too long to me. There were several reasons for this, including feeling awkward in this situation but also being told that it was my husband’s job to handle.

‘Somehow, Ain’s current behavior reminds me of a situation where my husband is cutting my dress…….’

While I was feeling awkward in the quiet atmosphere, Ain stopped the scissors in the middle of my back.

“I think that’s enough.”

At his words, I quickly adjusted my posture to cover my bare back. Even with my back half-open, the dress was still a tight fit.

“I didn’t have any clothes prepared.”

“That’s okay, I’m sure you won’t have a problem jumping around like this.”

I bounced a few times on my feet where I stood, and then one of my well-fitted sleeves betrayed my trust and slid down my shoulder.

“Eek.”

“…….”

It was an attempt to break the awkward air, but somehow it only made the atmosphere more frozen. Looking at Ain, who stood frozen in place, I hastily pulled up my sleeve.

“I’ll have a maid prepare some clothes for you.”

Ah, but that means I have to stay here, right? Right now, all I wanted to do was get out of this awkward atmosphere as soon as possible.

“No, you don’t have to.”

” Are you going to leave like this?”

Ain’s gaze slowly scanned the hem of my clothes. His fine brow furrowed slightly as if he didn’t like something. Tsk, I made him feel like this.

“Hmm……. Wouldn’t a change of clothes raise suspicion?”

It was a quick improvisation, but it seemed to work. Ain nodded reluctantly.

“Then I’ll go back to keeping an eye on the prince.”

“…… Yeah. I guess you’re going to have to do the hard work.”

It’s not a difficult task, keeping an eye on the person I love the most, but suddenly a question comes to mind: with so many talented Shadow Knights at his side, why was I chosen out of all of them to watch over him?

“You look like you have a question.”

Ain, who had been watching my expression quietly, opened his mouth. This man is a devil. How did he know I had questions?

“I do have a question.

“Tell me.”

“Why did you send me on this mission?”

I may be a Shadow Knight, but I’m better suited to combat and violence than I am to surveillance and espionage. Ain knows that, and he’s never used me for those things.

“You’re…….”

Ain stepped closer to me, cupped my chin, and forced me to look him in the eye. His gaze, like a calm ocean, slowly enveloped me.

“You are vulnerable, often unable to hide your facial expressions, a skill not suited to spying.”

Ugh. I knew this, but hearing it confirmed by his words made my stomach turn.

“Then why would you send me…….”

“If I’m looking at you… … There are times when my inner feelings come out without me even realizing it. I chose you because I thought the prince would be like that too.”

Hmm. I’ve heard that often from people around me. I wondered if others’ inner thoughts were provoked by my eyes.

“It occurred to me that if Jeremy was truly playing the fool, that the airtight mask that fooled even me might crack in front of you.”

Ain was certainly a perceptive man.

Before the regression, Jeremy had once faltered in front of me, so I knew he wasn’t an idiot.

I knew the Crown Prince had a knack for putting people in the right places at the right time, but to this extend?

“You have a look on your face like you’ve been stabbed in the back.”

I immediately wiped my face. Ain’s demeanor was languid, like he was cracking a small joke to a subordinate, but it wasn’t a dry joke. It was merely a clever trick to catch his opponent off guard.

That’s why most people who knew his true self were afraid to talk to him. It kept them on their toes, not knowing when he would reveal his true colors.

I wasn’t sure what that meant before, but after I turned to Jeremy, I knew exactly what it meant. Something about the piercing way his eyes travelled over my face made my heart skip a beat.

’I hope he didn’t find out.’

I had to say something, anything, to get out of this situation. I opened my mouth to break the tension.

“I’ve often heard people say that I seem to have an air of confidentiality about me. I’m a little surprised at the crown prince’s sharpness.”

He let out a smirk as he listened to me in silence.

“Because your laxity makes the other person feel comfortable.”

Phew, are we moving on? Seriously, I’m shaking. I wonder now how I do this every day.

” By the way, I’m glad you didn’t vomit on this mission. This one didn’t seem too difficult.”

Ain strokes my chin with his finger. His tone was full of trouble, but a relaxed smile bloomed on his face.

“But wouldn’t it be easier than ‘that job’ at the Heren Festival?”

“…….”

I winced at the mention of the Heren Festival. I felt dizzy as the scene of the explosion flashed before my eyes. It had happened three years ago, but it still traumatized me terribly.

Although it was a weak gesture, Ain nudged my shoulder as if he had noticed.

“No big deal. Think of it as a short break. Wrapped in beautiful clothes and jewelry, sipping fragrant tea.”

“……Yes.”

I closed my eyes tightly, then opened them again. I was met with a pair of golden eyes that bore straight into me, as if checking for loyalty.

It was a stare that could not be avoided, nor could it be resisted.