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As Rose unconsciously shifted her gaze, she discovered a single face with a discordant expression amidst a crowd full of smiling people.
It was Archibald Avery.
He was looking at Ray with an awkward smile. At the man who had stolen all the attention.
Rose felt she knew exactly what emotions Avery harbored for Ray.
Misery and jealousy.
At the same time, Rose realized the reason behind those persistent attacks.
This bastard had been using her to vent those emotions, to attack Ray.
* * *
The woman was exceptionally quiet today.
Ray observed his wife from time to time, wondering if she was even breathing. She was already a woman devoid of reactions and expressions, but with her silence, she seemed even more like a doll.
When the foolish Avery mentioned the Tess River, Ray momentarily thought she had fainted upon seeing her face turn pale.
That was how unwell Rose looked. That was likely why the Prime Minister and his wife stepped in. Despite not particularly liking her, the Prime Minister had been quite diligent in blocking Avery.
Fortunately, Ray had managed to settle things before Rose fainted or spoke.
While this state of affairs was far more convenient, he wondered what had caused her to change.
Tracing back his thoughts, Ray suddenly realized that the woman had been more subdued since the day he invited the Greenwoods.
Simultaneously, the sound of her humming a song flickered through his mind like a hallucination.
Since that night, the voice would occasionally return to him out of nowhere. Whenever he recalled that mournful sight, Ray's mood invariably sank as well.
“It was such a productive time today; I wonder when we shall meet again!”
Even as the event ended and people exchanged farewells, she did not even maintain a polite smile.
Observing the woman who had become his wife, Ray realized how terrifying habits could be.
This woman rarely smiled unless Ray told her to, or reminded her of the fact that a smile should always be present.
No matter how many times he taught her, she seemed to keep forgetting. After Ray gave her a hint, she tried her best to smile, but it looked dreadfully awkward.
There were times when such a woman's smile became natural, but that was only when she was mocking someone.
Only then did this awkward woman wear a smile that was perfectly Orturan.
“Safe travels, Duke Crawford.”
Avery, with his slick face, approached.
“I shall look forward to the day I see your beautiful face again, Mrs. Crawford.”
He looked quite gentlemanly, even going so far as to kiss Rose's hand.
“I truly hope you can forgive me regarding the photograph of you in the newspaper... Had I known you were so distressed by the use of a photo that did not do you justice, I would have stopped it, even at the risk of being accused of overstepping my authority.”
The words that followed, however, were not gentlemanly at all.
Ray barely managed to suppress a smirk.
Avery had consistently used Rose as a means to attack him, but since he kept failing, he must be incredibly irritated.
Yet, to think he wouldn't give up until the very end.
It was likely Avery's idea to change the rules so that families could attend this convention.
“Oh, Mrs. Crawford. It seems you gave Lord Avery a piece of your mind about the photo. Were you that bothered by it? Of course, you look far better in person, but why dwell on such a thing?”
A certain noblewoman chimed in with a laugh, as if unable to believe it.
“No, it is only natural for the lady to be upset. I shall be more mindful next time.”
Feeling there was no need to react to such crude bickering, Ray simply nodded and attempted to lead Rose to the carriage.
It was then.
A perfectly natural smile appeared on Rose's face.
A smile so natural it was ominous.
Unconsciously tensing up, Ray tightened his grip on her shoulder.
“It is quite alright, Lord Avery. With your busy schedule, I wonder if you even have time to worry about such things. You must be very occupied meeting with many ambassadors.”
At the somewhat random remark, the noblewoman standing beside them was surprised and corrected the fact.
“My lady, Lord Avery does not meet with ambassadors. He is the Minister of Internal Affairs.”
Widening her eyes in apparent bewilderment and covering her mouth with her hand, Rose looked as if she truly hadn't known.
“Oh, my apologies. I was mistaken. As you know, being a Boltonian, I am so ignorant of things like politics...”
“My lady.”
He called to his wife quietly, but Rose, still wearing the mask of a perfectly flustered woman, merely looked back and forth between him and Avery with a lost expression.
Her Orturan language had become even more awkward than usual, but Ray suspected that even this was intentional.
Because the absurd claim of confusing such a thing sounded plausible through that overly clumsy Orturan.
“It is fine.”
As Avery replied, his smile freezing strangely, Rose let out a long sigh.
“I am already such a fool, but the Mayor of Marilyn and the councilmen of Gresburn seek out my husband so often that I always get confused and think Ii is the Minister of Internal Affairs.”
At that moment, Ray felt he would never forget the look on Avery's face.
The man froze on the spot, as if he had been stabbed by a blade on a battlefield.
Having completely lost the mask-like smile and face that every Orturan noble possesses, he stood there, bleeding profusely.
On the other hand, his wife.
The woman who had found the best blade to attack Archibald Avery, this mad woman performing an act that belonged in a theater...
“If my husband is this busy, then you must be truly breathless with work, my Lord. Please forgive my ignorance. As you know, it hasn't been long since I crossed the river, so there is so much I do not know.”
She was wearing a truly perfect, beautiful, fake smile.
She didn't seem to have much interest in her husband, yet it was surprising that she knew who he had been meeting.
“Speaking of which, Duke Crawford, what did the Mayor of Marilyn say? The strikes starting in the factory district over there seem quite serious.”
Meanwhile, an oblivious councilman asked Ray a question.
Ray decided that now was the time to wrap things up and leave.
Stabbing a soldier who had already been ruthlessly attacked was not a method he particularly preferred.
“It would be best to hear the details from the Minister of Internal Affairs. I believe we must be going.”
Of course, he had no desire to stop the bleeding of that wound.
Avery likely had nothing to say in return. The Mayor had never needed Avery.
Ray glanced at Avery, who wore the most pathetic, awkward smile he had ever seen, and then boarded the carriage with his uncontrollable wife.
As soon as they entered the carriage, seeing his wife's profile return to an expressionless state as if she had lost all interest, Ray struggled to organize his thoughts—no, his emotions.
Irritation surged, but honestly, it was also funny.
He felt a laugh, or rather, a smirk, about to burst out, so he let out a deep sigh instead.
He should not even allow a smile for such childish behavior.
The vile and narrow-minded Avery would certainly seek revenge. With what confidence did a woman without a shield to deflect it do such a thing? It was obvious that Ray would be the one to clean up the mess.
Ray was Archibald Avery's most poisonous complex.
Ray knew well why Avery had pushed for this marriage even while risking threats that could cause a backlash.
After an editorial appeared in a newspaper stating, <If only Crawford were the Minister of Internal Affairs>, Avery had gone half-mad and did this. That pitiful man lacked the composure to laugh it off.
“How many times have I told you,”
Irritated by the fact that he found this situation strangely amusing, his words came out more blunt than intended.
“That there is no need to say useless things.”
The profile that had been stubbornly staring out the window snapped toward him.
“Are you aware that that dog—no, that man—is using me indiscriminately to attack you?”
The woman remained expressionless, but a rare hint of anger could be felt in her voice.
“It is a public fact that you are my flaw. It is problematic if you behave as you did earlier every time.”
The woman fell silent for a moment as if speechless, and her closed lips tightened visibly.
“Then are you telling me to just stay still every time I am stabbed?”
The response that came after a long pause carried a weight felt in every single word.
Stay still.
That was exactly what Ray wanted from her.
The moment she realized Ray's silence was the answer, a crack appeared in the woman's expressionless face.
“If you don't want me to be a burden, it would be better to just tell me. You should at least tell me who the enemy is.”
Another useless remark.
“Mrs. Crawford. That very attitude is the problem.”
Ray suppressed the urge to click his tongue and spoke in the most benevolent tone possible.
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