Ch#43
As expected, Rosalyn seemed to adapt to this strange conversation. She accepted the cold proposal to fix the frequency and even the specific days for their marital relations. However, she still couldn’t look her husband straight in the eye as they sat across from each other.
“I think that sounds like a reasonable method. And…”
She nodded and then trailed off for a moment. Jared waited patiently for her as she hesitated. Rosalyn spoke with her eyes cast down.
“I would prefer… the nighttime.”
Her voice was small, as if mindful of the head butler standing in the corner of the dining room.
Jared found himself letting out a short, involuntary laugh. At the sound of his low chuckle, Rosalyn lifted her eyes to look at him. Gray eyes beneath long lashes. He looked away from the emotions contained within them.
“Let’s do that. Every Tuesday night.”
“And on those days, how about we have dinner like this? Just the two of us.”
Rosalyn quickly added a condition. With a faint trace of a smile on his lips, Jared faced her.
She attached a condition every time she saw an opening. He had no choice but to play along to an extent.
“Very well. Provided there are no other important guests.”
“Please do so even if there are important guests.”
That was a counterattack he hadn’t anticipated.
“I believe I have the right to have dinner with my husband once a week.”
Rosalyn asserted her demand without hesitation. It was as if she had prepared for him to try and slip away.
“I will make an exception for His Majesty the Emperor. Other than him, please give me your time. At least for the duration of Tuesday.”
His Majesty, she says. She certainly came prepared.
The woman who had spat out those provocative words was looking at him with a serious face. Facing that flushed countenance, Jared thought to himself.
She had said the exact same thing once before. On the day she first arrived here as his fiancée.
‘Please give me your time.’
What do you plan to do with it?
‘I think we need to get to know each other.’
Jared knew what this woman wanted. He also knew very well how couples who met through political marriages lived. Most couples from wealthy, historic noble families were like that. In this world, a spouse and a lover were not synonymous.
Jared did not think his father’s or brother’s attitudes toward their wives had been cruel. His mother and sister-in-law were partners who had married them with specific goals in mind. That was the fundamental limitation of a political marriage, and thus, they could never be lovers. How could a person met for a purpose be the same as a person who was the purpose itself?
Jared no longer wanted either of those things. The former felt hollow. The latter… felt painful.
“Very well, Rosalyn. You certainly have that right.”
“Then you accept my proposal?”
His wife pressed for an answer. Still resting his hand on his wine glass, he looked at her. Dinner with his wife every Tuesday. It meant he could spend at least one evening a week in relative leisure.
Dealing with this woman was easier than dealing with gentlemen who endlessly droned on about politics, society, and the business world. He could also use his appointment with his wife as an excuse to decline bothersome dinner invitations every Tuesday. Appearing as a devoted couple would be an additional benefit.
It was a decent proposal. Quite so.
“Let’s do that. I’ll make sure to keep Tuesday evenings free starting next week.”
“Thank you.”
When he gave his confirmation, Rosalyn’s face lit up with a bloom of a smile. Her lips, which usually held an elegant curve, parted wide. She couldn’t hide her joy, looking like a child who had just received a gift, and her parted lips and revealed teeth drew his gaze.
Jared watched the woman with the feeling of seeing something unfamiliar. He had never kissed her, except for what was required before the priest on their wedding day. Kissing was an act for lovers. It had nothing to do with the effort to produce an heir.
“Your negotiation skills have improved. You make it difficult to refuse.”
“I failed once before. One learns the greatest lessons from past mistakes, after all.”
Jared fell silent for a moment at Rosalyn’s words. She still couldn’t stop smiling. Is having my time really that wonderful? It won’t be of much use even if you have it.
“Excellent, Duchess.”
Jared hid his inner thoughts behind a smile and picked up his wine glass. Seeing the woman opposite him do the same, he brought the glass to his lips. The wine wetting his tongue felt exceptionally sweet.
Both sides were satisfied, so it was an amicable agreement. It was also a reconciliation reached six days after their wedding. So, in many ways, it was a very fine dinner.
The agreement was faithfully implemented. The Duke proved his sincerity over the course of two Tuesdays. He had Tuesday dinner alone with his wife, and after the meal, he put in the effort as promised.
The two nights were similar to the nights before, yet different. Rosalyn was still shy, but she was less afraid. Jared was careful as before, seeming to endure something. She could feel it through his movements and the sound of his breath.
Spending two Tuesdays together, Rosalyn gradually became accustomed to the intimate relationship between a man and a woman.
As her fear of the unknown vanished, curiosity took its place. She had many things she was curious about, but it was a pity there was no one to ask. But then, who could she ask such embarrassing things? Even if her mother were alive, she probably wouldn’t have been able to bring it up.
Truly, Rosalyn knew nothing. It was to the point where she felt sorry for herself.
She had learned piano, social dancing, horseback riding, and even foreign languages, but no one had taught her about men. Having younger brothers was of no help, and her father had only taught her how to judge a gentleman’s character and refinement.
If there was anyone who gave Rosalyn even a hint of how that gentleman changed when alone with a woman, or what kind of things happened, it was the novelists.
Rosalyn had read scenes in romance novels where lovers kissed. There were also cryptic phrases like ‘bodies entwining ecstatically’ or ‘falling into a state of rapture.’ Now she felt she understood what those authors were describing, but the novels were still largely exaggerated.
Because real-life relations were not that ecstatic or rapturous.
Jared did not kiss her. He had never kissed her on the lips, nor anywhere else. The only times he touched his wife’s body were when they were dancing socially, or when he came to her bed on Tuesday nights.
People who are close touch each other. They express affection by kissing a cheek or a forehead. Just as she used to do with her siblings. Just as her father used to do with her.
Therefore, Jared was not someone close to her. He was a man who was reasonably kind and observant of etiquette.
Like now, even as they sat side by side in the back seat of the car, they were a pair who maintained their own separate spaces.
“I’ll try to get out as quickly as possible. So that I’m not held up for too long.”
Rosalyn snapped back to reality at Jared’s words. She had been blankly staring at the space between the two of them sitting at opposite ends of the seat. If it were a carriage, they would at least be sitting across from each other, but since the car seats faced one way, she couldn’t even see his face properly.
“Edith said we’ll be staying for about two hours.”
“I’ll likely want to go home after just thirty minutes.”
Boredom was steeped in his low voice. Jared kept looking out the window, never turning his head this way. Dressed in a tuxedo, he looked exceptionally handsome today. Since it was the first time the two of them were attending an external event together, Rosalyn had also been inwardly excited and put great effort into her appearance.
“You only have to bear it for one more week. July is coming to an end.”
“I appreciate the comfort, but don’t get your hopes too high. When you live in a place like Maxville, it’s social season all year round.”
The social season in the North was June and July, but unlike in the past, the Duke’s social circle was no longer limited to nobles. Politicians, businessmen, artists, and scholars were forming another social circle. Since the mansion’s reputation rose the more distinguished guests crowded it, he had to deal with people year-round to continue playing the role of the King of the North.
“Do you know Mayor Grant well?”
“Fairly well. Enough to know that his drinking habits in private aren’t exactly great.”
“You must see him often.”
“He is the one who governs my territory, after all.”
Jared gave a dry chuckle as he replied.
Today’s event was a banquet held by the Mayor of Windberg at the Opera House. It was an annual charity event, and since the Mayor was the host, the Duke showed his face every year. The citizens of the Duchy of Windberg wanted the Mayor they elected and the Duke to get along well.
“It’s a fairly large event. The cause is good, too. It’s a suitable place to make our first appearance as a couple.”
Rosalyn nodded.
She knew why Jared had chosen the Mayor’s banquet as the first event to accompany his wife. It was to emphasize his respect for the world outside high society. He was very conscious of the public and interested in gaining their favor.
Now that it had been nearly a month since their marriage, Rosalyn was gradually getting to know her husband.
