Ch#62
He had returned to the room to prepare for a brief outing.
Elric picked up the fur cloak he had neatly folded on the bed.
‘If I keep hesitating, I might never give it to her for the rest of my life.’
Elric prided himself on knowing himself quite well.
His attempt to find the right timing to give the gift had resulted in him going into the study to read, only to fall asleep.
If he kept dawdling like this, he would only end up showing her another embarrassing side of himself.
That wouldn’t do.
He decided he would simply drape it over her shoulders as they headed out.
With that thought, he stepped outside.
Just as he reached the first-floor entrance, Tiria was fastening her old fur cloak.
Her gaze drifted toward the bundle in Elric’s arms.
“Have you purchased a new one for yourself as well, my Lord? It is a wise choice. The winters in Wibin are harsh.”
Her attitude, which didn’t even consider the possibility of it being a gift, bothered him for some reason.
“Shall we go?”
The door opened.
The freshly fallen, thick snow was beautiful.
She alone was dressed in black.
He felt as though he could find her anywhere in this winter landscape in such attire.
Pushing those sentiments aside for a moment.
“Wife.”
Elric stood before her.
Taking two deep breaths to steady his heart, he spoke, his breath misting in the air.
“This cloak. It is not mine.”
“Pardon?”
“Just a moment.”
He unfurled the cloak.
Judging by eye, the length seemed just right.
As he pulled off her old cloak, her slender frame was revealed beneath the puffed-up fur.
She shivered slightly from the sudden cold.
Hiding his haste as much as possible, Elric draped the new cloak over her shoulders.
“It hasn’t been seven years… no, now that the year has turned, it’s been more than seven years since you’ve worn that old one. It was weighing on my mind.”
As he spoke, he tied the cord at the neck into a bow.
He couldn’t bring himself to look Tiria directly in the face out of embarrassment.
“It’s just a gift. Simply that. No particular reason. I just wanted to give it to you.”
After stammering out those words, Elric lifted his head.
Would she look surprised?
He could certainly feel that she was facing an unexpected situation.
He smiled faintly, feeling pleased.
‘Really… why did I agonize so much over something that turned out to be nothing once I actually did it?’
Feeling a sense of relief, he asked.
“Will you accept it?”
Tiria stroked the cloak with her hand.
Her movements were dazed.
Her gaze drifted to the mane, then to him, and eventually back to the cord tied in a bow.
The tip of her nose turned red.
He hoped it wasn’t just because of the cold.
After her lips parted slightly,
“…A gift, is it?”
She asked back.
Elric replied.
“Yes. It is a gift.”
“So suddenly….”
“One doesn’t need a reason to give something. It’s a gift, after all.”
So please don’t ask for a reason.
Please avoid questions that are difficult to answer.
Whether his silent plea reached her or not, there were no further questions.
Instead, the corners of her mouth curved.
It wasn’t quite a smile, nor was it a frown—it was a truly mysterious expression.
“Thank you.”
“Shall we head out now?”
Elric loosely threw on the old fur cloak she had been wearing.
The cloak ended above his calves. It was quite short on him.
However, he didn’t feel cold.
It was because her warmth still lingered in the cloak.
Not only that, but her scent was embedded in it as well. It felt as if he were being embraced by her.
To put it a bit foolishly, it reminded him of the night they had slept in the same bed in the capital.
It felt even more fluttering than it did then.
“Now, let’s go.”
He naturally reached out and took her hand.
Tiria gripped his hand exceptionally tight today, then buried her face in the thick mane of the cloak to hide her expression.
Crunch—
The snow yielded beneath their feet with a gentle sound, like her soft voice.
The wind was so calm it was hard to believe a blizzard had been raging until that morning.
Perhaps because there were no other houses near the mansion, the garden—where even the servants hadn’t ventured out yet—was so quiet it felt as if they were the only two people left in the world.
Tiria repeatedly fiddled with the ribbon.
Her movements were cautious.
It was as if she didn’t want to undo the knot Elric had tied for her.
Fortunately, true to his somewhat rugged nature, the knot was tied tight and didn’t seem like it would come undone easily.
Glancing sideways, she saw him looking off into the distance.
His long breaths scattered into the air.
His cane sank deep into the snow, leaving tracks alongside his footprints.
It was a first.
She had received many things from him that couldn’t be seen with the eyes, but this was the first time she had received something tangible that remained.
The feeling was quite different.
Even though it was just a cloak made from the hide of a monster, it felt as precious as a thousand pieces of gold.
She felt inexplicably excited and deeply endeared.
Foolishly, she found herself wishing that winter would last forever.
Between the crops that would sustain Wibin for a year and the weather that allowed her to wear this cloak, she had chosen the latter.
She felt as though she wouldn’t be able to throw this cloak away even ten years later, or even ten years after that.
Tiria let out a small groan, embarrassed by her own inner thoughts.
It was then.
“Is it not heavy? The cloak.”
Elric asked.
“Now that I’m wearing your cloak, I can finally feel the weight of it. It’s quite heavy.”
At his words, Tiria shook her head.
“It is light. Much lighter than the one I used to wear.”
“Well, that’s a relief then.”
The conversation died down.
It was often like this.
Perhaps because they didn’t share many common interests, silences would descend, occasionally creating an awkward atmosphere.
But today, the silence felt less awkward.
It was likely because her body was so warm.
“Are you feeling more awake now?”
“The cold air is doing the trick. Um… I am truly sorry about what happened in the study. Because I fell asleep.”
“Not at all.”
If anything, I should be the sorry one.
Tiria felt her face heat up as she recalled what she had done while his sleeping head was resting in her lap.
Thinking about how she had cautiously poked his cheek, touched his earlobe, and stroked his lips with her index finger just enough not to wake him, a slight sense of self-loathing washed over her.
She felt like she had become a perverted and dark-minded person.
When he had snapped his eyes open, she had been on pins and needles, thinking she’d been caught.
Seeing his reaction now, it seemed she hadn’t been caught after all, which was a relief.
Let’s stop talking about the study.
It’s too embarrassing.
“How is your knee?”
Tiria shifted the conversation to a familiar topic.
Elric chuckled and replied.
“It’s slowly getting better. I suppose time really is the best medicine. I think I’ll be able to put down the cane in another month or so.”
“Rest is the priority. Please keep that in mind at all times.”
“Thank you for worrying.”
While they were sharing such small talk.
“Hup! Hup!”
The sound of a man’s labored breathing could be heard from somewhere.
“More stealthily! As if you are sliding!”
A scolding voice could be heard from the side as well.
Lifting their heads, they saw it was coming from the building set aside for the knights.
“…It seems they are training.”
“…….”
Elric didn’t respond.
He had an expression that was uncharacteristic of him.
If one had to describe it, it was a face filled with pathetic disappointment and frustration.
Tiria was staring at him blankly.
The voices drew closer.
“Hup! Hup!”
“Good! That’s how you do it!”
“Yes! Hup!”
Two figures emerged from behind the building.
It was Dinan, the commander of the Seolyeong Knights, and Beron, the squire.
Beron was doing a duck walk in a crouched position, while Dinan was walking beside him, stomping his feet and holding a switch.
The two of them spotted him and Elric.
Beron stood up abruptly with a bright smile and shouted.
“Lord! My Lady!”
Beside him, Dinan let out a hiccup.
Elric asked.
“What on earth are you two doing?”
“Ah! The Commander was teaching me the secret footwork of a knight! Right, Commander?!”
Tiria thought for a moment.
What correlation was there between a knight and secrecy?
She had no idea.
“…Please refrain from making such a ruckus.”
When Elric spoke, Dinan knelt down in the snow.
He did it with such vigor that a thud rang out over the snow, where there should have only been a soft crunch.
“Understood!”
“Drop that slogan.”
“Yes!”
Looking closely, it seemed as if Dinan was afraid of Elric.
Tiria couldn’t quite understand it.
What part of such an innocent and mischievous man could be so frightening?
For a moment, her eyes met Dinan’s.
He bowed his head.
Tiria spoke.
“…You are working hard even on such a cold day. Thank you for always doing your best. Take it easy and go inside to warm up. I will tell them to serve meat for dinner, so eat heartily.”
She heard that knights require double the food expenses.
Thinking of that as she spoke, Dinan snapped his head up.
His eyes were brimming with tears.
“My, my Lady….”
For some reason, his voice felt intensely heated.
She felt sorry for him, but it was a bit creepy, so she leaned a little closer to Elric.
He spoke, regardless of her reaction.
“I shall serve you with my life!”
Tiria let out an accidental hiccup.
Elric let out a burst of laughter.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Tiria said.
“…Let’s go elsewhere. So as not to disturb them.”
“Let’s do that. You two, do as my wife said—don’t overdo it and head inside.”
“Yes!”
“I shall engrave the Lady’s grace upon my body—”
“Don’t do that. It’s a bit creepy. Actually, it’s very creepy.”
Elric, who was strict with the knights, cut him off and walked away.
Tiria did not know.
That her small kindness was a great source of emotion for Danal.
And that it had given him a realization.
‘Ah, Kasha is well-behaved in front of his wife!’
Danal thought.
If he stayed in the Lady’s good graces, Kasha wouldn’t be able to recklessly hold a blade to his throat.
He had found a goal.
A goal to become Tiria Portman’s loyal dog.
The Wife Waited in the Wheat Field (Serial)