Chapter 23
Husband is the Protagonist of Another World Chapter 23
I wasn’t expecting anything anyway.
My mother-in-law stood up and walked down the hill without even looking back at me.
Even though it was a gently sloping path, her gait was as smooth and elegant as if she were walking on flat ground.
Is that what it means to be born a noble?
Soon, I returned to the mansion and gathered the date, sacks, and gloves for shearing the wool.
Perhaps because it was a sheep-farming household, there were quite a few sheep-related tools prepared in the warehouse.
I had never done it before, but I didn’t want to just sit still and do nothing.
‘I need to do something productive.’
Alex did manage to earn some money once in a while, but I couldn’t keep relying on my husband.
And someday, that money would run out too.
I felt like I should start buying groceries and daily necessities.
Fortunately, wool was an item that could be easily bought and sold.
I thought about asking Eloy or Alex to join me, but soon I left the mansion alone.
‘If it’s too difficult, I’ll ask for help.’
I put on my hat securely, tied up my voluminous dress with a string, and approached the sheep.
I chose a sheep that seemed the slowest and most docile and touched its wool.
The outside was a bit yellowish, as if covered in dirt, but the inside was very white and fluffy.
I stroked the sheep once.
“Sister will give you a painless waxing. Just stay still for a bit.”
Baa.
The sheep made their characteristic bleating sound, even though they probably didn’t understand me.
I slid the wool off with a large razor-like blade. Seeing the pure white wool piling up more and more made me feel quite good.
Even shearing just one sheep yielded a considerable amount of wool.
Before long, I finished preparing to go out and packed the wool.
Fortunately, there was a cart in the warehouse, so I could take the wool to the market without a carriage.
I was about to go up to the second floor to find Alex when he happened to be coming down to the first floor.
“Alex?”
“…Luise.”
He discovered me at the same time and approached with a slightly puzzled expression.
He seemed curious if I was going somewhere, seeing me in my outdoor attire.
He tilted his head slightly.
“Where are you going?”
“Yes. What were you doing? If you’re free, could you go to the market with me?”
“The market, you say?”
“Yes. It’s my first time going alone, and I also need to take the wool. Will you go with me?”
I was a little worried.
I had been rejected before when I asked to share a room.
I hoped he wouldn’t refuse to accompany me to the market, especially since I had luggage.
“Wool? Did you shear the wool?”
“Ah, I was wondering if I could sell it, so I sheared just one sheep.”
“…I see. Alright. Should we leave now?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Fortunately, he nodded silently.
Sparkle, sparkle.
Only then did my eyes light up brightly as I looked at Alex.
Could this be, a date just the two of us…?
When we were at home, there was no chance to spend time alone because the other family members were always around.
I was suddenly filled with anticipation at the thought of spending some quality time on the way to the market.
‘Ugh, really. I’m such a fool.’
Just as I was turning my head away, slightly blushing, another voice suddenly burst between Alex and me.
“Market?!”
Eloy, who had been lying down in the drawing room, jumped out.
I closed my mouth and unnecessarily turned my eyes elsewhere.
‘What is it? Are you trying to come along? Just go back inside. Go play with your mom.’
Grip.
But before I knew it, my sister-in-law, who had approached, grabbed my arm tightly. Even her eyes were glistening pitifully.
“Take me too.”
“……”
Why does my ominous premonition never miss?
“I want to go out where there are lots of people too. It’s so boring here……”
I glanced at Alex. At that moment, Alex was also looking at me, and our eyes met.
“……”
Right.
Alex was also troubled about what to do.
"Um......"
I pretended to think and turned my body slightly away from Eloy. Soon, I said worriedly.
“The market near here isn’t as clean as the capital. You won’t be able to adapt, Eloy.”
“Really?”
At my words, Eloy’s eyebrows furrowed as if she had seen something unclean.
I smiled inwardly with relief.
“So you should stay safely at home.”
“……Okay.”
Only then did Eloy say a little dejectedly and let go of my arm.
Phew, I almost had my couple’s date ruined.
Just as I was about to go out again, relieved, my sister-in-law grabbed my arm tightly.
“No! I’ll just go with you.”
“……”
“It’s too boring to just stay home……”
Damn it.
I bit my lip tightly and turned my body completely around with narrow eyes.
I couldn’t bring myself to say that I was going alone with Alex.
\ \ *
We walked along the path and took a passenger carriage.
It was a carriage that went to the nearby market and then continued to the capital.
Perhaps because it was her first time riding in a carriage with other people she didn’t know, Eloy clung to my arm and wouldn’t let go.
We hadn’t even arrived at the market yet, but Eloy’s eyebrows were furrowed unpleasantly for anyone to see.
With the determination not to touch the person next to her even a little, she pushed me hard towards the window.
My eyes narrowed as I was being squished like that.
“Eloy? Should I just have you sit on my lap instead?”
“Really? Is that okay?”
“No. There’s no way. If you’re that uncomfortable, I’ll switch seats with you.”
“No. If this carriage suddenly collapses, there’s no one who can catch me. I like being in the middle.”
“……”
At those words, I unknowingly clenched my fist.
I could feel Alex’s gaze alternating between me and Eloy as he listened to our conversation.
Soon, he looked out the window again.
I also glanced at him sitting across from me.
Once I started looking at his face, it wasn’t easy to turn my gaze away.
‘Seriously, it’s been three years since I’ve been seeing his face, but he’s handsome every time I see him.’
How can I not get tired of it?
Of course, we were just a show window couple and a registered partner.
What’s fortunate is that I can at least see the real face of a man as handsome as him in both my past and present lives?
Eventually, we got off the carriage and went to find a store that handled wool.
Eloy had been clinging to my arm tightly ever since we entered the market.
“Sister. Why are there so many people and so dirty here?”
“It’s because you’ve only lived in clean places, Eloy.”
“It’s completely different from the markets I know. Sniff.”
Eloy was about to burst into tears.
I suppressed the urge to smack her on the head and replied.
“That’s why I told you that you wouldn’t be able to handle it. Now that you know what it’s like, don’t ever follow me again.”
“……Sniff.”
Even with my cold tone, my sister-in-law clung to me even more instead of letting go.
I recalled the date that had been crashed by this uninvited guest and sighed deeply inwardly before looking up at Alex.
He was white and dazzling.
In this old and shabby space, he was shining alone.
Everyone passing by was mindlessly captivated by him.
Even a commoner child who was only three or four years old couldn’t take their eyes off us with round eyes.
“Wow. He’s like an angel.”
……Right?
Even in high society, the members of the Brent Ducal House were renowned for their beauty.
If there was a being that radiated an unparalleled light even among the chandeliers and various dresses of that splendid Ball, it was none other than Alex and me.
……Of course, Alex attracted a little more attention than me.
So, for him to come to a market like this, where nobles don’t even pass by, how shocking must it be for people to see?
I slowly looked around the market again.
It was a place I would never have walked if the tyrant hadn’t taken away our title and confiscated our property.
Women pulling carts, children following their mothers’ hands, men carrying luggage and hurrying about.
There was no leisure in the daily lives of the people in the crowded market.
The worries about their difficult lives and livelihoods were deeply ingrained in their faces and postures.
“……”
The result of nearly four years of exploitation and oppression.
The police were no longer on the side of the people, and the price of labor was getting cheaper and cheaper.
Taxes rose frighteningly every quarter.
That was no exception for the nobles either, so our family had to keep selling land.
Alex bore most of the taxes himself to reduce the burden on the tenants, so the rate at which our assets were decreasing was even faster.
Compared to when the tyrant first ascended the throne four years ago, our family’s assets had recently decreased to less than one-tenth of what they used to be.
But our damage was not even a bleeding level compared to the average commoners.
Compared to those whose lives were truly difficult and whose livelihoods were directly hit…….
“Ah, I think that’s the store.”
Suddenly, he pointed somewhere and spoke up, startling me and making me turn my gaze.
Just then, a store with a sheep painted on the window caught my eye.
