Chapter 26
Husband is the Protagonist 26
I looked back and forth between Alex and the carriage.
The carriage he brought was a very large one with four wheels and four horses, and it looked as magnificent and sturdy as the ones originally used by the ducal house.
It was a carriage that would have cost a fortune if it hadn't been rented.
"Luise? Why are you out here?"
Surprised by the sudden low voice, I turned my head.
Alex was already standing right in front of me.
"Oh, I just wanted to get some fresh air. I was wondering when you'd arrive. You're a bit late."
"I had some things to look into, so the departure was delayed. I thought you'd already be asleep."
"How could I just go to sleep? By the way, where did you get that carriage?"
I looked at the carriage again.
The relaxed and elegant appearance of the horses made them look like holy steeds that a Holy Knight might ride.
Alex cleared his throat once before answering.
"I thought everyone was inconvenienced by not having a carriage, so I bought one. It must be hard to walk all the way to where the carriages run every time."
"Ah... Did things go well in Luten?"
"That's..."
"......?"
He couldn't continue.
He seemed embarrassed, as if there was something difficult to say.
Seeing that he bought such a fancy carriage, it seems like things went well, but why is he acting like this?
Soon, he brought his slightly clenched hand to his mouth, coughed dryly once, and then said,
"Could you take a look inside the carriage for a moment?"
"Excuse me? Inside the carriage?"
"Yes."
He nodded.
"Okay."
I approached the carriage with a puzzled expression, and he followed me.
Is there something inside the carriage?
As I stroked the horses and reached the carriage door, Alex grabbed the doorknob.
His Adam's apple, which seemed to have swallowed saliva, rose and fell handsomely, and then the door opened.
My eyes widened as I looked inside the carriage with a strangely excited heart.
The interior, large enough to seat six people comfortably, was densely packed with wooden boxes.
Not only the seats but also the floor were full.
"What is all this?"
What did he load so many boxes of?
He reached his arm in front of me and opened the lid of one of the boxes.
The objects that were revealed reflected all the moonlight flowing between him and me, making it dazzling.
I frowned slightly and soon realized what filled the boxes.
'Gold coins, it's gold coins...?'
A brilliant light seemed to ripple over the countless stacked round gold coins.
For a while, I blinked, as if mesmerized by the golden light.
Why is my heart pounding so much, and why do I feel blood rushing through my body?
It wasn't the first time I'd seen a mountain of gold coins.
Born as Luise, I never lacked money until the Brent Ducal House fell.
Ah, of course, I didn't have the penalty for breaking up with him at the beginning of our marriage, but apart from that, I've always lived very wealthy in this world.
I'm almost penniless now, but I've lived much poorer in my previous life, right?
I was going to adapt gradually, thinking that if I just held on, things would get better.
But seeing so many stacked gold coins, I felt an emotion I couldn't describe.
It was like a wave crashing into my heart.
I grabbed my trembling heart and barely asked him.
"Are all these boxes stacked here, are they all gold coins?"
"Yes."
He answered in a low voice and nodded.
Unlike me, whose voice was trembling, his complexion was calm.
When I couldn't continue speaking in disbelief, he moved his lips as if to say something, but stopped.
Soon, he looked me straight in the eye again and moved his lips with difficulty.
"...As long as I'm here, I'll make sure you never have to worry about money again."
"......"
"Please use all the gold coins here as you wish."
\ \ \
I thought my heart would stop.
Was the phrase "use the gold coins as you wish" such a heart-stopping phrase?
It was a huge amount of gold coins that I couldn't even dare to count how much it all was.
It was so enormous that I wondered if the floor would collapse if I piled this in the room on the second floor.
While waking up the sleeping family members and moving the boxes into the house, the family members were confused whether this was a dream or reality.
But Alex's gold flex didn't end there.
For days, I was dizzy, wondering what this was all about.
"Here, put it this way. Hohoho."
My mother-in-law had a newly arrived piano placed in the middle of the drawing room.
Almost every day, all sorts of luxury goods were coming into the house. The drawing room was so full that there was no room to step.
"Now it feels like a place where people live. Don't you think so, Eloy?"
"Yes, Mother. Compared to the mansion we used to live in, it's just a shack, but it's much more livable now."
Hohoho.
Hohohoho.
My mother-in-law and sister-in-law's laughter never stopped.
It was shocking when Alex brought the gold coin carriage a few days ago, but that was just the beginning.
Alex also brought a general merchandise salesman and a clothing store owner to the house.
My mother-in-law and sister-in-law sold out all the products in the books.
I hesitated a little, but I also ordered ten new dresses.
I was practically kicked out of the mansion I used to live in with almost nothing, so I urgently needed clothes and shoes, and he even called a tailor for me...
That wasn't all.
Alex opened a restaurant with a skilled chef not far from the mansion.
In fact, I could have hired him as a servant, but I couldn't because of the tyrant's threat to kill anyone who worked for us.
'Instead, I did this. If I have them run a restaurant nearby and we order delivery or visit as customers, there won't be any problems.'
'Alex, you're a genius...'
I shed tears of emotion.
...I'm so glad I don't have to cook.
I was so glad that my family, including me, could eat proper food.
In particular, Alex is now eating a well-balanced diet.
I don't think I have to worry about his skin getting damaged or his muscles losing.
"Here is your order of grilled sirloin steak, Jare de Boe consommé, haggis, and red currant jelly."
Finally, the chef filled the table.
The clear veal shank soup that my sister-in-law had been singing about was also filling one side of the table.
"Wow, it looks so delicious."
Eloy sat down at the table first and picked up a fork. My mother-in-law also sat down with a very expectant face.
"Then, enjoy your meal."
The chef bowed politely and quickly left our house.
"You guys start eating."
With those words, I left the dining room.
The food has already arrived, but where did Alex go?
For the past few days, he had been very busy gathering various merchants to the mansion.
I was also busy organizing the newly purchased items.
'How much money have I spent so far?'
It felt like this to buy the things I needed without worrying about money.
It was an emotion I hadn't felt because I had lived without lacking anything.
Is this how exhilarating it feels to go from being broke to being rich...?
"Alex!"
I happened to find Alex coming out of the room.
I smiled brightly and approached him.
"Dinner just arrived. Let's go down quickly."
He nodded a little awkwardly, but I didn't care and folded my eyes.
\ \ \
Alex lowered his eyes slyly.
Luise had been smiling proudly at him since earlier.
As someone who wasn't her real husband, his conscience pricked him to just accept that smile.
Luise had been good to him from the beginning, but now she was a little more affectionate.
But it was strange.
'Why isn't the Affection level going up?'
It went up by 1 when he made dinner, and then it went up by 1 again when he went to the wool store, and it stayed that way ever since.
Seeing that it goes up even though he hasn't succeeded in a Quest so far, it seemed that everyday life also affects the Affection level.
Judging from Luise's attitude now, it wouldn't be strange if the Affection level went up by about 50.
What was Luise's reaction when he brought the gold coin carriage a few days ago?
She was so moved that she couldn't continue speaking.
It wasn't a reaction that wouldn't raise the Affection level at all.
Alex checked the pink System window again.
[Affection level: 2]
The Affection level was still 2.
Only 2.
Until now, he had never spent so much money at once in his life.
And yet, a lot of money still remained in the mansion.
In fact, if Luise hadn't said she was going to cut her hair and sell it, he wouldn't have thought of buying so many gold coins...
Every time he exchanged intelligence-level knowledge and a large sum of money through the informant, and every time he revitalized the local economy, stats other than Affection level went up like crazy.
[Fame: 157]
It went up several times a day, and the notification sound was annoying.
But why isn't the Affection level moving at all?
