Chapter 80

Ding!

[Throne 'KlSeobang' has donated 10,000 coins.]

[Who would have thought I'd hear the word 'wife' from Clyde...]

Delbe looked at me with an expression that suggested he was hearing this for the first time.

"Wife...?"

At that moment, the maid said,

"Lord, they are the couple who received your permission to marry two days ago."

"Oh, that document."

It seemed Delbe had just noticed the wedding ring on my left ring finger, and he sighed.

Just as I was about to cut off my ring finger, Clyde strode over.

Then, as if he had suddenly become a jealous husband, he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and warned Delbe,

"Isn't it against the code of conduct to keep someone else's wife this late?"

Why is he acting like this all of a sudden?

Did he hit his head instead of his stomach?

Ding!

[Throne 'Anyway, the main character is Clyde' has donated 10,000 coins.]

[Oh, what a tease]

It seemed that the number of thrones supporting Clyde had noticeably increased.

Delbe was smiling, but I could sense that he was deeply hurt.

Despite this, he did not show his feelings.

"Maybe I got too excited meeting an old friend after so long. I should go finish my painting. Teresa, you should go too."

Even if he couldn't see through Clyde's true nature, he must have instinctively felt that he couldn't easily deal with him.

I left the dressing room without saying goodbye, still in Clyde's embrace.

How long did we walk?

Clyde winced and clutched his abdomen.

"Ugh, damn it..."

No wonder he seemed to be moving too normally for someone who was injured.

He must have been pushing himself.

I quickly supported him.

"Why did you come here when you're not feeling well?"

Clyde glared at me with an exasperated look.

"It's almost 6 PM, and you weren't planning to come back, so I had to come find you. But you seemed to be having quite a good time, didn't you?"

His cold gaze fixed on my attire.

"If we were really married, this would be grounds for divorce."

Oh, come on. He's trying to find any reason to pick a fight.

"I had no choice; someone told me black suits me."

Clyde snorted.

"Suits you? You look like a crow."

We continued to bicker even after returning to the room.

"Change out of that dress immediately. Just looking at it makes me irritated."

I was planning to change into pajamas anyway, but I was still taken aback.

I shook my head and, holding my pajamas, entered the partitioned area of the room, muttering,

"Why is he acting like this?"

Ding!

[Throne 'KlSeobang' has donated 10,000 coins.]

[Why wouldn't he? You're wearing a dress given by another man, and it seems Delbe has feelings for you, so he's probably seeing red.]

It was frustrating that the thrones kept making ridiculous interpretations, even though they had clearly checked Clyde's affection.

'Anyway, they always try to turn everything into a romance. Oh, this is a romance broadcast, so it's a natural reaction, I guess.'

I took off the dress and changed into a thin, comfortable set of pajamas.

During this time, Clyde stopped his endless nagging and scolding.

It was surprising that he seemed to have fallen asleep.

When I came out of the partition, I saw Clyde lying on the bed.

'Huh. This brat is lying in the middle of the bed?'

Is he non-verbally telling me not to come near?

I cautiously approached the bed, watching his reaction.

Since I had received a new dream card, I had to share the bed with him, but given the atmosphere just now, I thought I should sleep on the sofa.

'I can sleep alone for a day, right?'

As I turned to leave, Clyde's gruff voice came from behind me.

"Where are you going? Come over here and lie down."

Well... I can't refuse, can I?

I quickly went to the bed, placed a pillow between Clyde and me, and slipped under the covers.

Fortunately, the bed was very large, so lying on the edge made it feel like I wasn't sharing the bed with him.

"Phew, I'm so tired."

Since I had stayed up all night, I felt extremely sleepy as soon as I lay down.

I said, from the other side of the pillow,

"Good night, Clyde."

And I immediately fell asleep.

* * *

Staying up all night was definitely exhausting.

I was so tired that I slept deeply without dreaming until the birds started chirping.

When I woke up feeling refreshed, I saw an angelic face illuminated by the sunlight filtering through the curtains.

'Wow...'

I gazed at his handsome face in a daze, then suddenly came to my senses.

'What, what? Why am I so close to him?'

Startled, I quickly sat up and saw the pillow I had used as a barrier rolling behind me.

I must have moved it in my sleep and rolled over here.

'Hmm. It can happen when you share a bed.'

I quickly accepted the situation and calmed down.

There was something more important than being close to Clyde in my sleep.

'I hope I didn't touch his wound in my sleep.'

Clyde's face, still asleep, didn't look good.

I first checked his forehead.

'He has a slight fever.'

He also seemed to have sweated a little.

I should probably get a damp cloth to wipe him down.

'How is his wound?'

Just as I was about to pull back the covers to check, his hand grabbed mine.

Thud!

Clyde, who I thought was still asleep, slowly opened his eyes and looked at me.

"...What are you doing?"

"I was trying to check your wound."

Clyde sighed softly and pulled the covers over his body, saying,

"Don't touch my body without permission."

He's so grumpy this morning.

Knock knock.

I was startled by the sudden knock on the door, and Clyde grabbed my hand.

"Don't be scared by that noise. I'm here, so even if it's a demon, you're safe."

His words were more effective than I expected.

I relaxed my shoulders and nodded.

The knocking stopped as soon as Clyde spoke, just as it had the other day.

"Come in."

The person who entered was, as expected, a maid from the castle.

"Excuse me, Miss Teresa. Lord has asked you to come to his office when you have a moment, as he has something urgent to ask of you."

I felt a slight tension in Clyde's hand, which was still holding mine.

I said to the maid,

"Alright. I'll go after breakfast."

"Yes. Oh, and I've left some clothes for you in the next room. Please choose what you like. I'll bring your breakfast now."

The maid bowed politely and left the room.

Clyde, still groggy from sleep, spoke in a deeper voice than usual.

"That maid keeps calling you 'Miss.'"

"So?"

"You're married, so you should be called 'Madam.'"

"Oh, you're right."

We had indeed received the lord's permission and held a wedding ceremony.

So my dream had changed.

I showed him the bracelet, which was now a deeper green than yesterday.

"Look. I'm following the dungeon's rules diligently. We are married."

Clyde chuckled, a laugh I couldn't understand.

"Why are you laughing?"

"This dungeon seems to be a very happy place for you. I remember you declaring at school that you would never marry unless it was me."

"That's—"

"That's?"

A dilemma where I couldn't deny either the dungeon or the school.

I tried to brush it off.

"...Yeah, I'm happy, I'm happy. The bracelet even tells me I'm happy."

What a ridiculous dungeon.

It changed my dream arbitrarily and now interprets my feelings as it pleases.

If it were working properly, I would have been dragged to the waiting village by now!

Clyde reached out with a curious look and touched my green bracelet.

His gaze felt strangely predatory, making me feel uneasy.

Knock knock.

The knocking came again.

"Your breakfast is here."

"Come in."

I told the maid to come in and pulled my hand away from his, hiding the bracelet.

* * *

"Is this outfit suitable for activity?"

I put on a loose top, comfortable pants, and sturdy shoes, and also brought a leather bag.

There was a reason I dressed like this: a new quest.

"To complete the painting I'm working on, I need a special blue paint made from a rare ingredient. However, the ingredient grows in the waiting village, so no one wants to go there."

[Dungeon Quest: Retrieve Lightning Root and Cartwheel Chrysanthemum]

▸Reward: Invitation to an exhibition

▸Failure: Death

This was the climax quest of the Delbe dungeon episode.

When I left the room, I saw Clyde, already dressed in his soldier's uniform, waiting by the door.

"Where are you going alone?"