## Translation
“Am I late?”
I rushed over and asked, to which Dante nodded stiffly, like a broken robot. I couldn’t understand why he was moving like that.
Could it be that he really didn’t want to go out?
“Haha. It seems the lady is so beautiful that she’s lost her senses.”
Barhan interjected with a cheerful tone amidst the tension.
“Really? Is it true that I’m so pretty that I’ve lost my senses? Well, I did look kind of pretty when I checked myself in the mirror today.”
“Yes, you are beautiful. Beautiful enough to lose your senses.”
“Oh.”
I let out a small gasp at the unexpectedly serious response.
I had meant it as a joke, but he answered with such sincerity.
...My face turned hot for no reason.
Strangely enough, the compliments from Barhan, Marie, and Sienna felt different from this one.
Is this the power of sincerity?
Deciding to take a page from Dante’s book, I raised my thumb with an equally serious expression.
“Thank you. You look truly handsome today as well, Duke. You’re the best. You’re amazing.”
At my heartfelt compliment, Dante’s face flushed bright red.
Hmm. This is delightful.
Indeed, Dante suits this soft yet tough demeanor perfectly.
* * *
Inside the carriage.
The scenery outside passed by quickly. Serafina gazed out the window blankly, thinking how glad she was to have insisted on coming out.
It was quite interesting to encounter new sights she hadn’t seen at the mansion.
So this is how different the capital is from the North. It felt exotic yet familiar at the same time.
Well, to be honest, she didn’t know much about the scenery of the capital either.
During her time living at Count Jeo’s place, she had spent most of her time cooped up inside. Going out was a rare occasion for her.
Looking back now, she was glad to be in the North.
She could freely do things she never had a chance to do before.
No matter how much she recalled memories of her past life and happy childhood—if it weren’t for the North or Duke Richter’s mansion, she wouldn’t have been able to change this much.
Barhan, Sienna, Marie, Markovs, Ena, and others...
And Dante.
These kind people supported her no matter what she did without judgment.
Ah. Of course, their excessive worry could be a bit annoying...
But if viewed as stemming from affection—it was bearable.
Leaning her head against the window, Serafina smiled softly.
“I’m glad I married you, Duke.”
“...Huh?”
Dante stuttered in surprise at her sudden confession.
How cute.
Instead of answering him, Serafina smiled again and turned her gaze back outside.
Soon enough, the exotic trees and flowers passed by and gradually gave way to buildings appearing one by one.
It was around this time that Serafina spoke up again after staring out of the window quietly.
“How about we decide on what titles we’ll use today?”
“Titles?”
“Yes. Since we’re out together, I’d like to be more casual; calling you ‘Duke’ feels too conspicuous.”
“That does sound better.”
Dante readily agreed.
“If people find out I’m Duke Richter, they might react negatively.”
Hmm? What does he mean by that?
“You’re not misinterpreting my words and digging yourself into a hole alone now, are you?”
“......”
Dante responded with silence to her ambiguous question.
However, silence often means agreement!
Serafina began to suspect something about Dante’s past life.
Could it be that he was some kind of excavator in his previous life?
He seemed to dig into things at any opportunity given!
Thinking about how this might lead to future misunderstandings with Flora made her feel suffocated already!
But what could she do?
The world had made Dante into an excavator; it was quite pitiful for him really...
“That’s not it, Duke! Ordinary people usually find nobles uncomfortable.”
Serafina took a deep breath.
Then she looked directly into Dante’s eyes and continued speaking rapidly,
“Moreover, Dukes are high-ranking nobles who are rarely seen. So for people seeing you—it must feel like watching a snake walk on two legs! Scary yet fascinating and uncomfortable! Whether it’s seeing our neighboring Duke or our backdoor Count—it’s natural for them to have strange misunderstandings and think negatively! Do you understand?”
Her words came pouring out like a storm!
After pouring out her thoughts with a serious expression—Serafina wore a satisfied smile while Dante couldn’t help but grin back at her warmth!
How could someone be so kind and cheerful?
In truth—her words were correct!
It was only natural for people to fear and avoid him!
Serafina also seemed worried about this fact too...
But saying he “digs” into things wasn’t accurate; such things were now part of his daily life so he didn’t get hurt or bothered by them anymore!
...No. Wait—wasn’t that right?
Perhaps he had been hurt deep down all along?
Was that why he hesitated to go outside until now?
If so—that would be even more surprising!
Serafina had managed to see through feelings he himself couldn’t even recognize and offered him comfort!
Ah. This was truly absurd!
After deliberately keeping distance from Serafina following that cursed nightmare...
All those efforts crumbled away just by facing Serafina and receiving comfort from her!
His heart began racing once again rapidly!
Somehow—he felt like no matter what effort he exerted—he wouldn’t be able to stop this fluttering feeling inside him anymore...
And his intuition proved correct!
“Well then—let’s decide on our titles! Do you have any preferences?”
“...How about just calling each other by our names?”
“By our names?”
“Yes. After all—people probably won’t know our names anyway.”
“Oh! That sounds good! Should we practice saying them first?”
“Practice?”
Instead of answering—Serafina smiled brightly again. And then,
“Let’s take good care of each other today, Dante.”
Dante's name spoken in such a short manner made his eyelashes flutter slightly.
His heart raced even faster than before as if it might burst!
What am I—a teenage boy going through puberty?
“Aren’t you going to call my name too, Dante?”
At her prompt return—Dante swallowed dryly again.
His lips wouldn’t part easily...
What’s in a name anyway?
Just hearing his own name called made him nervous about saying hers too!
His stiff lips quivered several times before finally producing a soft voice as Serafina narrowed her eyes waiting for his response:
“...Serafina.”
Somehow—his tongue felt hot just uttering her name.
And perhaps because his call was filled with warmth...
“Oh…”
Serafina felt something strange as well.
It had been quite some time since anyone called her by her proper name!
When living at Count Jeo's place—she was referred to as “that girl,” “that one,” or “that person,” but since coming to the North—it had been “my lady” or “the lady.”
Serafina realized how it felt when someone called her by her name in another person’s voice like this...
Somehow...
“It feels new and nice.”
A cheerful smile spread across her lips.
* * *
“Oh! This must be it!”
After getting off the carriage—the two headed straight towards one of the tailor shops Barhan had found in advance.
Salon de Lace.
After confirming the vintage sign—they opened the door and cheerful chimes rang out within.
Ding-dong!
“Welcome… oh!”
The staff member who had been energetically greeting them stumbled over their words upon seeing them enter.
As soon as they saw how pale she turned—Dante sighed inwardly.
As expected; is she scared because of me?
He felt sorry for dragging Serafina into this situation where they might get pointed at by others too...
He wondered if he should just return alone to the carriage right then and there...
“Oh my! What a lovely couple you are! Or wait... are you married?”
The staff member perked up instantly as if shaking off any prior shock while sparkling with excitement at their presence!
Indeed—
While surprised—their shock stemmed from another reason altogether!
Walking alongside such a small yet beautiful fairy-like woman while being accompanied by a statue-like handsome man was truly mesmerizing!
Just looking at them created an enchanting atmosphere around them both!
The excited staff's exclamations drew attention from other employees who were busy with their own tasks—they peeked out curiously with admiration in their eyes too!
The admiration didn’t stop there:
“Please show us several pieces from your finest collection!”
Goodness! This gorgeous couple must have plenty of money too!
They seemed to have everything! Life is unfair!
However—from the perspective of running a tailor shop—they were incredibly grateful customers indeed!
“Wow! Who do you think they are?”
“Well... they seem like young wealthy patrons? Perhaps they’re rich merchant couple?”
The staff members didn’t suspect for even a moment that these two were actually Duke and Duchess Richter!
Both had lived secluded lives within their mansion—so they wouldn’t recognize them—and typically nobles didn’t come shopping themselves either!
Given how stunning these two were—they would surely boost sales significantly which made them beam with service-oriented smiles while swiftly moving around them energetically:
“How about this? Or perhaps this design is trending lately? This particular design comes in matching sets for both men and women; if you wear them together—you’ll look fantastic!”
Among those recommendations—the staff eagerly showed off a blue dress along with a matching suit for men.
“Oh! This looks nice! What do you think Dante?”
“I think it would suit Serafina well.”
“No—not mine; do you personally like it?”
At Serafina's question—Dante nodded slightly.
In truth—it didn’t matter what clothes he wore; honestly speaking—he didn’t even need to buy new ones at all!
Unlike women’s clothing which tends to follow trends closely—the clothes hanging in his wardrobe were all simple enough for any occasion regardless of style changes over time!
Even what they were currently looking at seemed no different than what he already owned except perhaps for slight variations in color…
Yet despite knowing all this—he refrained from mentioning anything...
“Hm... I think this would suit you well too.”
Seeing Serafina seriously picking out clothes made him inwardly pleased.
…Yeah. That was all there was to it.
Truly. For real.