ITMWG 74

Chapter 74…

Because he’s scared without his wife.

“Madame, we will arrive soon.”

Nadia’s shoulders stiffened as she heard Marie whispering. It would have been nice if the carriage was shaking violently. That way, she could have made an excuse that her body was trembling from the motion of the carriage. But unfortunately, it was running on a smooth road without much disturbance. Taking a deep breath, she slowly pulled back the curtains and looked out the window, where she saw a huge walled city, incomparable to Aylesford, getting closer and closer. It was the capital city she thought she would never return to. The capital, where the imperial castle was located, was the pinnacle of everything in the empire. Rich, gorgeous, vibrant… It was a wonderful city that sparkled wherever they looked. The most dazzling of them all was the Imperial Castle, but the mansions of the prestigious capital’s nobles were no less extravagant. Her very home, the Marquis of Vine mansion, as an example was famous for being spacious and beautiful. When the moving carriage stopped, she looked ahead to see what was going on, and saw a soldier guarding the castle gate checking people’s identities. Most passed easily, but there were also those who failed to meet the strict standards and were rejected. Those who were rejected quickly raised their voices and protested, and the guards stubbornly repeated their refusal, leading to tense confrontations that were repeated several times. Because of that, the line waiting for inspection decreased infinitely slowly. It seemed as though spectators and merchants from all over the country had gathered upon hearing the rumor that a grand event would be held to commemorate the Emperor’s Silver Jubilee. There seemed to be several nobles who had come to the capital upon the emperor’s summon, and there were luxurious carriages mixed in along the never-ending lines.

Of course, there are no carriages as fancy as ours, but…

Perhaps the splendor had caught attention, and a man who was leading the inspection in front of the castle gate approached our carriage with long strides.

It seems he’s the guard captain.

His shoulders flinched, probably surprised by Altair’s intimidation while leading the group on horseback, then cleared his throat and lowered his head.

“I am the guard captain. May I ask which family you come from?”

Since they appeared in an extraordinary carriage, it seemed like he thought it was a procession of a high-ranking family and wanted to help them to gain their favour.

“I am Baron Aylesford.”

“If you are Baron Aylesford… ”

At Altair’s answer, the guard captain frowned and his words slurred.

A country baron is not someone towhom the head of the guard will bow his head.

The fact that the guard captain ignored the ordinary carriages of nobles in front of us and spoke only to us gave us an idea of how discriminatory the ‘help ’ he was trying to provide was. Nadia cautiously opened the window of the carriage, fearing that Altair would be offended by the arrogant attitude of the guard captain. In any case, she was of the Vine’s bloodline, and that name had quite a bit of power in the capital, so she would be able to escape the situation smoothly. But before she could say anything, the guard captain smiled broadly and bowed his head deeply.

“So you are Baron Aylesford!”

There was even a strange sense of welcoming in that greeting. Not only Nadia but also her partner, Altair, furrowed their brows slightly as if they had not expected such a reaction, but the guard captain still went on.

“His Highness the 3rd Prince, who passed through the castle gate not long ago, asked us to take care of you, as you are his good friends.”

“…friends?”

Altair frowned and asked again, as if wondering, but the guard captain was too groveling to see that scary expression.

“Yes! He even strongly emphasised it… I have been anxiously awaiting your arrival, Baron.”

The guard captain was rubbing his hands so much that it made her wonder if all his fingerprints would wear off and disappear.

It looks like the 3rd prince really spoke of us well.

With doubts, she became vigilant. Because she knew very well that he couldn’t have done them favours without any reason.

“Such a precious guest cannot spend time out on the street… Just tell me your destination and I will quickly make way for you.”

“We’re going to my wife’s parents’ house. To the Marquis Vine’s residence.”

“Oh! Marquis Vine!”

The attitude of the guard captain, who was otherwise servile, became even more polite. The Baron was the prince’s friend, and the Baroness’ parents were the Vines. As an ordinary guard captain, he was faced with great power.

Though, we are not in a situation where we can rely on the power of both sides, considering the relationship between me and uncle…

Anyhow, it’s not like the guard captain needed to know that. Altair and her had no intention of correcting that either. He said he would help them, so there was no reason to refuse.

Everyone is exhausted from the long journey.

Anna was already dazed, and Marie, who was hiding her distress well, was also drained. Everyone would want to quickly unpack their belongings and rest.

“Please come this way. “ you use the west gate rather than the main gate, it will be closer to the Marquis’ residence.”

After following the guard’s instructions, the surroundings became much quieter. Nadia could see some nobles standing in the queue grumbling in dissatisfaction, but she tried to ignore it. After that, it was all smooth sailing. As they entered the capital through the West Gate, a city with a completely different appearance from Aylesford unfolded before their eyes. It’s a sight Nadia had seen many times since she was a child, but to Aylesford natives, it was the first time, so it must have seemed like a different world.

“Woahh!”

Anna, who had been dazed with exhaustion, was now close to the carriage window, looking out over the capital. Even while she was just looking at ordinary houses and streets, she was amazed. And that admiration reached its peak when the carriage stopped at the entrance of the Vine manor and they could finally breathe the outside air.

“Oh my gosh! This is the Marquis of Vine? Madame’s parents’ house?”

As Anna helped Nadia out of the carriage, she whispered gently in her ear. All the while, she didn’t stop looking around the mansion, her eyes darting nonstop here and there. If Aylesford was a rugged and massive castle, the Marquis Vine was a delicate and luxurious mansion. Unlike Aylesford Castle, which was badly damaged due to lack of maintenance for a long time, the Vine’s mansion was very shiny as it had never been neglected. If there was such a difference just in appearance, there would be even more differences in the garden and interior. Although Aylesford Castle was diligently renovated with the money from the magic stone distribution contract, it was still difficult to compare it to Vine Manor, which had been carefully managed over a long period of time.

“Why did you leave a place like this and come to Aylesford?!”

Anna whispered in disbelief. If it had been her, she would never have left this wonderful mansion. Nadia thought it was somewhat cute to see her exclaiming so excitedly. She had no siblings, but she wondered if she would feel this way if she had a youngest sister. In comparison, Marie was like her older sister. While Nadia was still thinking nonsense, Altair was also looking around the mansion, waiting for someone to come out and greet them. Altair stood with his mouth tightly shut, looking grave, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking or feeling. Unlike other Aylesford people, he did not seem at all overwhelmed by this huge mansion.

As expected of Altair.

As she smiled, feeling proud of her bold husband, she heard the sound of busy footsteps from not far away.

“Oh my, my niece is here!”

It was her uncle. The smile on her face disappeared in an instant. Her uncle, Avar Vine, was still the same. The man was in his late 40s, with brown hair and light blue eyes, a thick build that was visible to anyone. He was originally of good shape, but after becoming a marquis, he grew in size. Next to him was, as always, the gorgeous Melissa.

“It’s good to see you after so long, Nadia!”

Her uncle grabbed her hands and greeted her brightly. Anyone could see that he was glad to his niece.

Though of course, he probably doesn’t think that way inside.

“Well, it’s nice to see you too after so long.”

Nadia forced a smile and replied to his greeting. Then her uncle’s attention quickly shifted to Altair. From the beginning, it was Altair who had most of his attention, not me. He probably just said hello to her first because he was conscious of the eyes of those around him.

“So this is how I finally get to meet my nephew-in-law! You must have had a hard time coming this far!”

This time, her uncle held Altair’s hand and let out a hearty laugh. Yet, as he glanced behind his back, he seemed to be evaluating the carriage and horses they rode in. When he saw the beautiful carriage, Nadia felt her uncle’s eyes sparkle with greed. Of course, it was a very fleeting change, so it was difficult for most people to notice.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Baron!”

Melissa, who had not said a word of greeting to me, turned towards Altair with a gleaming look. Marie’s eyebrows twitched in disapproval, but if she had cared about such courtesy in the first place, she wouldn’t have been so blatantly rude. At least, her uncle minded what outsiders would think. He cleared his throat, blocked Melissa’s path, and spoke to Altair.

“Instead of leaving you standing out here, we should quickly show you to your room. When I heard that you were coming, I prepared the best room in the mansion. Let us have dinner together later, alright?”

“We appreciate the favour, but it is enough for us to stay in the room my wife used before her marriage.”

“Uh, huh? Us… You want to share a room with Nadia?”

“Yes. In the East, couples share a bedroom.”

Her uncle’s eyes widened at Altair’s words.

“B-but the room Nadia used before her marriage…”

“My wife would be more comfortable with her familiar space, so we don’t need to use another room. That’s enough for me as well.”

It wasn’t wrong. When a married daughter came back to her parents’ house, she usually used the room she originally used.

But my room…

It was not an ordinary room for a noble lady.

I was kicked out of my room after my uncle inherited the title.

Of course, it was not a nice room with everything. Rather, it was dark and damp because it was close to the room used by the maids. Considering that, there was no need to mention the condition of the furniture.

“Well, I heard that in the East, couples share a bedroom, but here it’s a little different and they have separate rooms. Nadia will stay in her old room, and you will stay in the room I prepared…”

Her uncle took out his handkerchief, wiped away the cold sweat, and suggested. But Altair shook his head again.

“I’m afraid to stay in a separate room since I’m in an unfamiliar place.”

“You-, you’re scared of staying alone?”

“Yes, I am. I really want to share a room with my wife. I think it will be fine.”

Altair once again confirmed that he was scared of being on his own, with his usual stoic expression, which did not seem afraid in the slightest. Even though the tall, well-built man said that he was scared of sleeping alone like a child, he didn’t seem embarrassed at all. Nadia was taken aback and turned to look at Altair, but he still held her hand with calm.

“If I sleep alone and have a nightmare, who will comfort me? That person could just be my wife.”

Nightmares, he says…

It was actually him, who was invading others’ dreams and giving them nightmares…

At that, Nadia looked at her uncle, chuckling inwardly, as he seemed to be thinking hard of a way to fix his flawed plan. Still, in the end, he raised the white flag.

“I understand. You’re scared… so let’s go with that.”

“Father.”

Surprised by his approval, Melissa pulled at her uncle’s arm. That oblivious kid seemed to think that he shouldn’t show the baron ‘that room’. But it seemed like her uncle already had other plans. He looked straight at Nadia and smiled. It was a smile that exuded composure.

“Let’s go, Nadia. I will show you to your room.”