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He called her name with a stern expression, meaning for her to shut up.
But Riet was relentless.
"Ah, I have to report to the Grand Duke. I need to send a messenger pigeon."
"Did the Grand Duke have the audacity to tell you to report on the state of my bed?"
"Eeeh."
"I'm curious too."
Harris added on, seeming equally intrigued.
They knew Rahan had a reputation as a libertine in the Grand Duchy, but they knew the truth.
Their eyes were asking: Did that man actually spend the wedding night in this situation?
Normally, both would have bet money that Rahan hadn't done it.
However.
'Hey, but the Captain is acting a bit strange.'
'How?'
This was something Harris had mentioned in passing before Rahan arrived.
'Have you ever seen the Captain get distracted during a mission?'
'As if.'
'Right? He never has. But...'
Harris tilted his head as if it were very strange.
'When he went to the tower to find that lady.'
According to Harris, Rahan had removed her veil, saying he wanted to check her face.
And then he had frozen instantly.
In Harris's words, it was as if he had been bewitched. Riet had giggled.
'Maybe he fell for her?'
'That man?'
'True. But I heard that lady even passed the wedding night inspection.'
'She did, right?'
'Do you think... the Captain is the kind of person who would suddenly rape a woman he doesn't know?'
'...Maybe they consented? No, damn it. He's the kind of person who wouldn't even do it if they consented.'
But if they looked at it that way, he wasn't the kind of person who would fall for someone and immediately say, 'Live with me!' and spend the wedding night.
The Empress's lady-in-waiting had even performed a physical examination.
'Something definitely happened.'
Naturally, the two, whose curiosity had reached its peak, had been waiting specifically for Rahan.
Of course, Rahan had no intention of readily satisfying that curiosity.
"You two know very well that I am married now, right?"
"That's... right?"
"And you know that I am your superior?"
Riet and Harris looked at each other and nodded with subtle expressions.
Rahan hardened his face sternly.
"If Her Highness the Grand Duke gets married, are you bastards going to ask her that kind of thing the next day?"
"Ah, Captain! That's not what I meant..."
"Stop it."
Just thinking about it gave him a headache. This wasn't a battlefield where they could trade dirty jokes; they were in the middle of a monastery.
Moreover, for Rahan, it was an incredibly uncomfortable topic.
He intentionally threatened them.
"Do you not know that my wife is the successor to an Elector's title?"
Only then did the two flinch and walk on eggshells. She looked like an ordinary girl since they were in the monastery, but she was actually a lady who might become an Elector.
Rahan added with a frown.
"There will be no second forgiveness."
"Ah, sorry, Captain. But!"
Riet spoke up again, then lowered her voice to ask.
"It's not even a real marriage, is it?"
"You crazy brat. Be quiet."
Harris, belatedly terrified, jumped and put a finger to his lips.
Rahan shook his head.
"It is a marriage. At least for the time being."
"That..."
"So, that lady is my wife at least until we divorce. That is..."
It was then.
Knock, knock. Someone knocked on the door.
While all three flinched, the door opened and someone peeked their head in.
"Um, excuse me for interrupting."
It was Iris.
Still wearing her wedding attire.
The three of them rolled their eyes, wondering if she had heard what they were talking about.
However, the woman who peeked into the room had a bright face, as if she had heard nothing.
"All three of you were here. May I come in for a moment?"
"Ah, yes. Please come in."
Harris hurriedly stood up and opened the door.
Iris, entering with a bright smile, held out a basket containing something.
Harris took it reflexively, then exclaimed, "Ow, hot!" and readjusted his grip on the basket.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you might be hungry."
Inside the basket were well-boiled potatoes. Six potatoes.
The silver-haired woman explained with a shy smile.
"The three of you haven't eaten anything yet, have you? I hurried down to the kitchen, but the food was all gone... But there were still embers in the ashes, so I quickly boiled some potatoes. It might not be enough for the knights, but..."
Once the priests finished their dinner, the monastery kitchen closed immediately. That didn't change just because there were guests.
Still, Iris seemed concerned about the people who had been starving while going through all sorts of things after she was kidnapped.
Riet replied with a grin.
"Ah, what are you talking about? This is practically a feast at this hour. We'll enjoy them!"
"A-and..."
Iris looked at Rahan as if she had more to say.
When he raised an eyebrow, she hurriedly pulled something out from her sleeve.
"You hurt your hand earlier. This is an ointment I made from herbs gathered in the monastery; it works well, so I brought some."
Ah. Only then did Rahan remember his left hand.
The left hand he had ignored because of the people talking about the wedding night—it seemed this woman was worried about it.
Iris carefully held out the ointment to Rahan. He instinctively and naturally took it.
Their fingertips brushed, causing a slight flinch, but that was all.
"Please apply it before you sleep. By tomorrow morning, the skin will have healed well."
Having said that, Iris gave a bright smile and bowed her head.
"I'll see you tomorrow."
"Hey."
Rahan spoke, but Iris shook her head.
"The monastery bell will ring soon. You aren't allowed to wander the monastery corridors after the bell rings."
"Oh, of course. It's dark, so you should hurry back inside!"
Riet cut in helpfully. Iris smiled softly.
"They aren't much, but please enjoy them."
The door closed. When Rahan turned around, both Riet and Harris were already splitting the potatoes and popping them into their mouths while chatting.
"I think these are new potatoes. They're delicious!"
"I thought my stomach was sticking to my back, but I'm saved. Captain, your wife is a very thoughtful person!"
"You brats."
Rahan glared at the two, but instead of an answer, a warm potato flew toward him.
As he caught it, the warmth of the potato was immediately transmitted to his hand.
The potato was large and plump. When he instinctively split it in half, the white, fluffy inside was revealed, and steam wafted up.
The man stared at it for a moment.
'Knight-nim...'
Rahan unconsciously thought of Iris Achen, who had tried to stop him. He remembered her pale face, shaking her head as she placed her hand over his, just as he had been about to cut down Philod Ahen.
It was ridiculous.
What did she think she could do, stepping between a man holding an axe and a man about to draw his sword?
Moreover, she was someone who had nearly been sold off in marriage to that bastard.
Because of that bastard, she had even kissed him.
Yet, Rahan had stopped at that frail touch. Even though he could have brushed her off if he had wanted to.
That gaze, which seemed to warn him not to do something he would regret, felt as if it had seen right through the meaning of the sword in Rahan's hand.
'Damn it. I'm overthinking this.'
That was where his thoughts ended. Rahan shook his head as if to clear it and took a large bite of the potato. The freshly boiled potato was savory and warm, even without a single grain of salt.
Rahan stared silently at the door until he had finished both potatoes.
Iris Achen.
In any case, that was the name of the woman who would be his wife for the time being.
He had eaten potatoes until he was sick of them during the expedition, so why was it?
He felt an awkward and strange sensation.
* * *
Ding, ding...
The monastery bell began to toll while she was sprinting down the hallway.
Fortunately, Iris was able to open the door to her room just as the final bell rang; she quickly slipped inside, closed the door, and turned around.
One chair, one desk, and one wooden bed.
It was a small room where Iris felt she could touch both walls if she lay down and stretched her arms out.
In the old stone wall, there was a small window that looked as though it would let in a tremendous amount of wind. It didn't even have a wooden shutter. Only a worn piece of cloth was barely attached, fluttering in the outside breeze.
However, it was her beloved room, which Iris had used for nearly twenty years.
"Huuu."
Iris leaned against the door and let out a long breath.
Her heart was pounding. It took quite a bit of skill to run down the monastery corridors without making a thumping sound, but that wasn't the only reason.
She had stopped by the rooms of the people from the Grand Duchy of Lacheize to deliver the potatoes, and in doing so, she had overheard their conversation.
'It's not even a real marriage, is it?'
'It is a marriage. At least for the time being.'
'That...'
'So, until she is divorced, that lady is my wife. That is...'
This was the first time Iris had heard such a thing.
'It's not a real marriage?'
Abbot Wilbert and Priest Marid had not mentioned a single word of that to her.
One day, they had suddenly come to her and said they had found a groom other than Philod Ahen, and that she simply had to pretend to be kidnapped and married to receive the protection of Grand Duke Lacheize.
They told her that since the man was the son of Count Norwich and had various complicated circumstances, he would serve as a very good shield if any problems arose for Iris.
She didn't know much about politics, but when she heard those words, Iris had vaguely thought:
'I'm getting a husband who will be a very good shield for me. I must be kind to him!'
That was it. She hadn't thought anything more or less than that.
In truth, after it was discovered that Iris was a daughter of House Ahen, things had moved at a breathless pace.
For a girl who had never imagined a future other than becoming a priest upon turning twenty, realistic and concrete details—such as how long she would have to live with this husband—were too distant a concern.
'Divorce...'
The voice of the man who said, "Until she is divorced, she is my wife," was definitely Rahan's.
The husband she had met for the first time today.
Iris was excessively bothered by the content of that conversation.
'Does that mean a divorce is already planned?'
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