EEA Chapter 37

Clint, who had been unable to sleep well, opened his eyes at dawn. Supporting his head with one hand, he quietly observed Ailea as she slept.

At first, he had simply thought he would save her. That was all there was to it back then.

But he needed her more and more.

He had lived thinking he needed nothing, yet he had met someone who was never enough no matter how much he had of her.

What emotion could be so torturous? He was on the verge of losing his mind from a thirst that wouldn't be quenched no matter how much he drank.

Clint brought his hand toward Ailea's hair, then pulled it back without touching her, afraid he might wake her.

A moment later, Ailea slowly opened her eyes. Seeing Clint, she became a little flustered and pulled the blanket up to cover her body. Only then did Clint stroke her hair and ask.

"Did you sleep well?"

Ailea replied in a voice that was slightly hoarse from the previous night.

"I... slept well."

Ailea's face turned bright red with embarrassment at her lack of composure, and she hid her face with the blanket.

"What are you doing?"

When Clint asked with a mischievous smile, Ailea replied.

"I'm hiding. I'm embarrassed..."

"What's there to be embarrassed about now?"

Clint sat up against the headboard and lifted Ailea, who had hidden like a snail inside the blanket, onto his lap, blanket and all.

"Show me your face, Ailea."

"No."

Her voice came out muffled as she buried her face in the blanket. She seemed truly embarrassed, but her behavior was nothing but adorable in Clint's eyes. When he forcibly pulled down the blanket, Ailea's eyes looking at him held a resentful light.

"Why do you look so displeased?"

Ailea, who hadn't really known that relationships could happen so many times, felt so wronged that she looked ready to cry as she said.

"I told you it was hard for me, but you kept..."

"Well, where else would you find someone who seduces a man who just returned from the battlefield?"

At Clint's words, Ailea felt even more wronged and asked.

"When did I ever seduce you?"

"Didn't you?"

He asked back so nonchalantly that he was utterly shameless. Ailea glared at him with those kind eyes of hers, and it was so sweet that Clint felt his sexual desire, which had barely subsided, rising again. 

Ailea said, "I think we don't need to do it for... two months now."

"If you make me hold back for two months, you'll be the one having a hard time after those two months, won't you?"

...Somehow that was convincing.

Ailea immediately changed her tune.

"Then, then let's do it more often than that."

"That's more like it, we're newlyweds after all."

"Being newlyweds is too exhausting..."

"Where in the world is anything easy?"

Clint found it so amusing just to tease Ailea that he thought he could be happy doing just this for two whole months. After all, she would still be his even after two months.

Just then, the smell of gunpowder drifted in through the window. At that moment, Ailea's startled gaze turned toward the window. As she tried to move, Clint tightly embraced her waist with his arm and asked.

"What's wrong?"

"I smell gunpowder."

"They're probably inspecting the beacon fires."

"I... I see."

Ailea nodded with a forced smile. Clint watched her quietly. She was particularly sensitive to fire. Even during fireworks displays at banquets, she would check and double-check ten, twenty times to make sure no fires would break out. He asked casually.

"Are you afraid of fire?"

"No, no. I'm not afraid."

Clint had always been curious. Sometimes, there were strange aspects to her.

Worried that Clint might suspect something, Ailea changed the subject.

"Oh, the necklace. What happened to the necklace? I gave it to my younger brother."

"That thing."

Clint finally smiled and said.

"That was originally a Rishers family item."

Ailea thought for a moment, then asked with gradually widening eyes.

"Then... the subordinate of father who sent that necklace was..."

"Yes, it was me. Where's the necklace? I'll put it on you now."

"It's in my room! I put it in the first drawer."

"I'll go get it."

Clint hastily put on some clothes and left the room briefly. When he returned with the necklace, he saw Ailea getting dressed and frowned.

"Why are you putting on clothes?"

"I can't stay naked forever."

Why must humans wear clothes? Clint walked over to Ailea with displeasure. Then he put the necklace around her neck and said.

"This necklace was originally meant to be owned by whoever inherited the head position in the Rishers family. To give to his wife. But as you know, the men in our family died off one by one, and the only remaining men were my brother, who was preparing to enter a monastery, and me."

"..."

"In Teniac, the second son cannot receive a title before the eldest son dies, but my brother really wasn't the type to live anywhere other than a monastery. He was too introverted."

"Mm-hmm."

"So he gave this necklace to me. In Teniac, so many nobles die that it's relatively easy to obtain titles, so he thought that someday I would gain a title and absorb the Rishers family. In Teniac, historically there are many cases of achieving titles, so branching off is common, but absorption is also legally possible."

"Ah, so that's why you kept using the Rishers surname when you received the Grand Duke title?"

"Yes. My brother was so happy he cried."

Now that she heard it... Ailea soon asked in shock.

"Then, then you gave me such an important necklace?"

"No, there are many more important items in the family... Captain Ron used to say sometimes. He said if I recaptured something like Excalize, he'd let me marry his eldest daughter... Wait, did he mean he'd never let me marry her? He even said that even if I recaptured Excalize, it wouldn't work if you didn't like it."

Clint's expression became serious, and Ailea's expression became even more serious.

How this man, who was so careless about everything, managed to recapture Excalize was a mystery to Ailea. He had no advantages except being strong. Well, he was smart too. He had leadership, was good to his subordinates, mischievous but kind...

Ailea, who had been continuing her mental praise of her husband, quickly came to her senses. Anyway, surprisingly, Ailea had actually become his wife. As if this necklace had led her to it.

She lifted the pendant of her necklace and said.

"Oh, by the way, about this necklace. There was originally one ruby... but it's all changed to diamonds now."

Clint also looked surprised as if he now understood. After briefly holding the necklace, he soon recalled something.

When he was young, he had heard from his great-uncle. The reason the Rishers family symbol was a rose with an embedded ruby.

In the past, Emperor Murray Theresia de Calise had promised to give Treinen Rishers the Grand Duke position of Excalize for putting him on the imperial throne.

However, Emperor Murray did not keep that promise. Because he himself was from the lord family of Excalize, he was wary of placing a strong person in that position.

To appease Treinen, he promised to someday make him the master of Excalize and gave him a ruby, the symbol of Excalize, as a gift. It was a gem that had been sleeping in the underground of Excalize Castle for a very long time.

Treinen was said to be fully satisfied upon receiving that gem. Because on the wall of the secret chamber where that gem had been stored, it was written that someday this gem would recognize the master of Excalize, and would surely save his life when in danger.

When that happened, the gem would disappear, Treinen had told his descendants. But no matter how much time passed, no Grand Duke of Excalize emerged from the Rishers family, and the story surrounding that necklace was dismissed as mere jest.

Still, when Clint sent the necklace to Yuliana, he had secretly thought that the necklace would eventually find its true owner.

Recalling that old tale, Clint felt a momentarily eerie feeling. His brain exercised excessive imagination. Clint smiled and said.

"No, now that I think about it, it was originally diamonds."

"But it wasn't..."

"It was diamonds."

Clint changed the subject.

"More importantly, why did you go out yesterday? You went to the Niwana farm, right?"

"Ah, yes."

Ailea recalled her conversation with a worker she had met there the day before.

'How do you transport this fruit from here to the capital?'

'We take wagons filled with ice.'

'Doesn't it melt?'

'It does melt. Niwana tastes best in August when it's hottest. We fill entire wagons with ice to transport just one or two Niwana at a time. To maintain the highest quality.'

'...'

'The reason Niwana arriving in the capital is so ridiculously expensive is all because of that ice cost. It would be nice if we had magical tools, but as you know, magical tools that maintain low temperatures cost more than several of those ice wagons. Niwana is extraordinarily difficult to grow during droughts, but the lords make commoners cultivate it. Then the lords present it as tribute to the royal family. Since the royal family loves Niwana so much, they cultivate it every year, but that ice cost ultimately becomes...'

'Taxes.'

Clint's goal was to eliminate those enormous taxes that commoners had to bear. And the person who would suffer the most damage from this was Marquis Cuss.

Ailea knew that Clint probably wouldn't get along well with Marquis Cuss, but hearing the story, it was more serious than she had thought. To prevent the harvest of fruit that was to be presented as tribute to the royal family.

Recalling what had happened at the farm, Ailea thought that Clint had made up his mind quite strongly. Ailea asked Clint.

"Will it be alright not to harvest the Niwana fruit?"

"It won't be alright. As you know, the royal family loves that fruit tremendously. For now, I'm going to try writing a long, detailed letter. Something like, 'Oh, we're all going to die growing fruit, Your Highness.'"

Clint spoke as if he were carefree, but for him, who didn't particularly like the Crown Prince, writing a letter while swallowing his pride wouldn't be a pleasant task.

Ailea said.

"Shall I write the letter?"

"It's fine. I'll write it."

"I'm good at writing letters. I wrote them to my family all the time. If you just explain the profit relationships involved accurately, I'll try writing it."

"Hmm."

Well.

Clint felt a strange feeling. He didn't like Ailea being connected to the imperial palace in any way.

However, Ailea was more knowledgeable about the workings of the Serton region than Clint was. He nodded.

"Then I'll ask you to do it."

"I will."

"But you know, I was surprised when I came home and you weren't there. This time I was away so it couldn't be helped, but from now on, if you're going to go out, please tell me in advance."

"You're always going out drinking too."

Looking up at him while saying this, Ailea's gaze made Clint unable to breathe. This woman drives people crazy from morning. When she's angry she's sexy, when she smiles she's cute - what should he do?

Ailea pouted.

"You should ask permission too, then."

"Okay. What should I ask permission for?"

"Hmm... drinking."

"But I already ask about that."

"Ah... huh?"

Ailea, who had been answering thoughtlessly, opened her eyes wide and blinked. Come to think of it, that was true. Clint always told Ailea. I'm going out to drink. I'm going to check the castle walls.

He had even rushed to Ailea to say goodbye when he heard the drums signaling they were under attack.

He had never gone anywhere without telling Ailea. So she never needed to look for where he was.

He was unexpectedly a faithful husband.

Ailea looked at him quietly and said.

"You know."

"Yeah."

"You're a really good husband."

"..."

"You didn't know, did you?"

Ailea said teasingly and then laughed with a giggle. Clint's heart beat so hard it could be felt without putting a hand to his chest. He cleared his throat and said.

"Then shall that good husband go with you to choose a dress to wear to the wedding ceremony in the capital?"

"Oh, I arranged to choose the dress with Lady Lanteigne."

"Lady Lanteigne?"

At her words, Clint unknowingly frowned. Then Ailea explained.

"Lady Lanteigne of the Green family from Geneta Castle, whom you rescued two years ago. You remember when I talked with her and Lady Flora at the banquet, right?"

"Yeah."

When Clint nodded as if he remembered, Ailea continued.

"Lady Lanteigne said she knew a place she frequented, so she suggested we go together. Before you returned, I didn't have the leisure for that, so I declined, but now that you're back, I'm planning to go with her soon."

Wives, whenever they got a chance to make female friends, would easily abandon their husbands. Clint disliked having Ailea's attention divided toward a friend of her age, and unknowingly muttered.

"A family that repays kindness with enmity."

"What?"

Not understanding his feelings, Ailea tilted her head, wondering what he meant.