Married Couple’s Qualifications

“You have no idea how happy I am right now to be having dinner with you again like this.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t remember anything.”

“No, you just have to figure those things out little by little. We have plenty of time, so don’t be too hasty.”

 “Thank you for saying that.”

Rivianna smiled faintly, and Bake, unable to contain his joy, raised his lips. 

It had been a really long time since Rivianna had smiled at him. 

“If there’s anything you want to know, you can ask. And if there’s anything you want, just tell me.”

“Can I do that?”

“Of course. We’re husband and wife.”

Bake suddenly called himself a kind husband and replaced the plate for Rivianna, cutting the meat for her instead.

Rivianna’s eyes opened a little wider at his consideration, but she immediately smiled again.

“I’m glad you’re a kind man.”

“It’s not enough for you.”

Bake said, glancing sideways at Margaret.

He didn’t know how well Margaret coaxed Rivianna, but Rivianna didn’t express any more hostility towards her.

Margaret did great on her part.

But he couldn’t continue to keep her by his side.

There was no woman as devoted and as easy to take as Margaret, but now was the time for Rivianna. 

He was given an opportunity, and he couldn’t afford to lose Rivianna to the same mistake.

“Actually, there was something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

“Which is? You can tell me anything. I told you we’re married. I’ll answer you without any lies.”

“Did we have any children?”

“….”

“….”

Silence descended.

Bake’s lips quivered lightly as he studied Rivianna’s complexion.

“There was none.”

It was Margaret who answered.

Bake nodded, belatedly, regaining his composure.

“But why do you ask that?”

“The drawer in the dressing table didn’t open, so I checked and found this.”

What Rivianna had taken out was a small doll, no bigger than the palm of her hand.

Margaret stared at the hand-painted doll and then at Rivianna again.

She wondered if perhaps Rivianna’s memory had come back, but there was a lace ribbon tied around her neck.

“I don’t want to talk about it because it’s not good, but you and your husband have actually been waiting for a child for a long time. Unfortunately, you couldn’t have a child.”

“….”

“Maybe it’s something you wish for. You’ve always wanted and waited for a child.”

“I see.”

When Rivianna’s shoulders drooped, Bake whimpered.

Somehow he had to redirect his wife’s attention to something else, not the child.

“Honey, you seem to be loving laces lately. You’ve been wearing them often.”

“Oh, this? I was originally going to wear a necklace, but I couldn’t find one, so I wore lace in the meantime.”

Rivianna patted the lace around her neck nonchalantly, and Bake and Margaret watched her in silence.

Originally, Rivianna had a morbid aversion to touching her neck.

That was why there was no necklace, not even a pair of long earrings, in Rivianna’s jewelry box.

Rivianna wasn’t like that from the beginning.

Until a decade ago, not a day went by that Rivianna didn’t have a jewel on her neck.

The wealthy Clayton family never spared any money when it came to maintaining their daughter’s appearance, and they paid special attention to necklaces, especially since Rivianna liked to wear dresses that exposed her neck and shoulders.

There was even a joke in the public that it was qualified to be called a jewel only when it was worn on Young Lady Clayton’s neck.

“What do you mean you don’t have a necklace, you should have told me that earlier.”

“I’m sorry. I’m still not used to this yet.”

“Don’t be sorry. I’m not blaming you. I’m the one who’s sorry. Apparently, the necklaces weren’t organized because of the new arrangement of the room last time, but I couldn’t be bothered.”

There were no unorganized necklaces, all they needed was to buy as many of those things as they could. Clayton’s wealth was full anyway.

“So I’ll just have to trust and wait, then?”

“Why should you wait? You can just buy a new one immediately. 

Apparently, your memory is gone and your tastes must have changed, so let’s take this opportunity to buy new ones.”

“Can I do that?”

Margaret’s eyes twisted slightly at Bake’s declaration, but Bake wasn’t interested in such trivialities.

It was Rivianna’s bright smile that caught his attention.

Despite the fact that they had been married for nearly a decade, she was still young and beautiful. If she made up her mind and decorated as before, everyone was bound to marvel at the return of the white deer of the society.

Perhaps that was why he found the wife in front of him more and more endearing.

Rivianna had always been beautiful, but in the past she was meant even more to Bake.

“As long as you can treat me comfortably as before.”  (Bake)

“Comfortably?” (Riv)

“I wish you wouldn’t use honorifics with me. Every time you do, I feel like you’re keeping a distance from me.” (Bake)

“…”

“No?” (Bake)

“It’s awkward, but I’ll try. No. I’ll make an effort.” (Riv)

Rivianna’s cheeks turned red, as if stained by flower water.

Bake couldn’t take his eyes off Rivianna, hiding his uncontrollable smile. He thought everything was over, but in the end, Rivianna was in his hands again.

****

“I’m still glad I did what you said.”

“It wasn’t thanks to me. It’s all thanks to you.”

Margaret grabbed Rivianna’s hand and smiled at her, who leaned on her shoulder.

After she lost her memory, Rivianna followed her like a little bird following its mother.

“But, do I have to be nice to him like this?” (Riv)

“You have no choice. Now, it’s time to build his trust.” (Margaret)

“…”

“What’s wrong? Can’t I do it?” (Riv)

“No. Because you are being nice to him to make him feel heavy.” (Margaret) 

Margaret’s mouth twitched slightly as she looked at Rivianna.

She remembered this morning’s breakfast.

Sure enough, Bake forgot all about it and slumped down on Rivianna, who was treated like a queen.

Even though she (Margaret) was the one holding the heir of the family.

“Rivianna. I told you that people pretend to be as good as they can. He’s your enemy, and he’s being good to you now because you’ve lost your memory, and he’s trying to take advantage of that.” 

“But……”

“Do you want to save your family caught by Bake?”

Margaret’s hands tightened on Rivianna’s arms. 

The arms that grabbed her hurt, and Rivianna’s eyes were full of tears.

“Yet remember. In order for your family to live, you must be stronger than anyone else. Only then will you be able to help them.” (Margaret)

‘I’m sorry ……. I was feeling weak.” (Riv)

“No. You don’t remember now, so it could be confusing enough, but I think I’m pushing you too hard.” (Margaret)

‘I’m not going to hunt you down unconditionally. It gives you time to mix it up and breathe as you see fit.’ (Margaret)

Margaret took a handkerchief from her pocket, handed it to Rivianna, and held her hand tightly.

“It’s going to be hard, but hang in there. We’ll be able to do it.”

“Yes, thank you.”

When Rivianna’s tears stopped, the carriage also stopped.

Margaret looked out the carriage window at the gloriously shining buildings and tried to control her emotions.

“You’re here, Marchioness Clayton. I’ve been waiting for you in advance. My name is Catal Baanson. I’m the owner of this jewelry store.”

“You’ve been waiting for me?”

“The Marquis of Clayton has rented our building for the day to ensure that there are no inconveniences. Please take your time to look around and if there is anything you need, just let me know.”

Margaret clicked her tongue when she saw Catal greeting her politely.

For Rivianna, the man, who didn’t know it was a waste of money, seemed to show off his affection by renting the entire largest and most colorful jewelry store in the capital.

***

“Here we go again. It seems that the Marquis of Clayton has rented the entire building this time as well.”

“No matter how much money he has, he would do something like that? Thanks to him, we won’t be able to enjoy the goods.”

“It’s the same with merchants. No matter how good the money is, they get paid as if they’ve been waiting for it and won’t accept other customers.”

“It can’t be help. The person you’re dealing with is Clayton. Money is money, but he’ll hate you for your mischief, you won’t be able to do business in this industry.”

“One day it’s accessories, one day it’s dresses, one day it’s shoes.”

Everyone was talking about what the Marquis of Clayton had been doing, buying goods for his wife while renting the whole building every day.

No matter how much he ignored the fact that he was a businessman by blood, he was still the Marquis of Clayton after all.

The immense wealth, which seemed to be a new thing, brought Rivianna back to the center of rumors again, showing how healthy Bake was.

“Anyway, she’s an amazing woman. How can she be this extravagant when it hasn’t long since her child died.”

 “No way, you didn’t hear me.”

“What do you mean?”

“A few days ago, they put out a gag order about Young Miss Clayton, and anyone who mentions her death will not get away with it.”

“Why? If Marquis Crayon really killed his daughter…”

“Shh! Shh! Watch what you say!”

Viscountess Tanya hastily waved her hand and stopped speaking.

In a city where nobles came and went, there were a lot of eyes and ears and that was why she had to be so careful. 

Viscountess Tanya looked around for a moment, then pushed the group toward a deserted alley and lowered her voice.

“Things are not looking good these days, so watch your words.”

“Then what the hell is this? Honestly, it doesn’t make sense. If they wanted to take this opportunity to eat the Imperial Family well, they could have, but why do they order people to be quiet?”

“Well, that’s a rumor that’s been catching my ear. They say that the Marchioness of Clayton has gone mad.”

“What do you think?”

“She lost her daughter and even tried to commit suicide, but she ended up losing her memory. It’s tough to send your child to heaven first. She’s a mother after all.”

“Oh my god. Is that true?”

The tragedies that came one after another in the Clayton family made the noble ladies keep their mouths shut and their eyes black.

Their daughters were dead, and the wife had lost her mind.

Come to think of it, Marquis Clayton’s moves were different.

“So be careful and don’t talk too much, because from the way I see it, if you touch him by mistake, you’re likely to get hurt very badly.”

“Yes, that’s right. We don’t want to die just from talking for fun.”

“I’m still a little curious. Honestly, there’s nothing more interesting than Clayton’s stories.”

Each of the noblewomen said a few more words and left. The whispered stories were fun, but it was easy to get caught up in the not-so-good rumors that had long gathered in the deserted alleyway.

Little did they know that there was someone who was watching them.

***

“I think this fabric would look better on you than it does on me, so why don’t you get it?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“It must have been hard for you to stay with me. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything as I am now. Please consider this my way of returning the favor.”

Margaret refused, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the cloth.

Rivianna smiled at Margaret, who was fiddling with the cloth and couldn’t let go. So Rivianna called someone over.

“Can you measure right away?  I want to get some clothes tailored for my friend.”

 “Of course. We’ll have them ready for you right away.”

“I don’t need clothes, what will you do if your husband finds out?”

“It doesn’t matter if he finds out. He was the one who told me that

 I can get whatever I want. If it was going to be a problem because I was going to buy a few more dresses, he would have said that long ago.”

“…”

“I’m going to check it out while I’m at it.”

How far Bake would do to win her favor.

Rivianna lowered her body and whispered in her ear in a voice small enough only Margaret could hear.

From this position she could clearly see the bluish veins running on Margaret’s thin neck.

“I have my own purpose, so please accept it comfortably. You will, won’t you?”

“…I see.”

The cloth that had left Margaret’s hand fluttered and swayed in the air.

Rivianna smiled at the subtle expression on Margaret’s face.

Margaret hesitated, but eventually had no choice but to follow the guide and raise herself up. After making sure Margaret departed, Rivianna slowly flipped through the catalog and turned her gaze to the person standing next to her. 

“I like this design, if you have a prototype, can I try it on?”

“Of course. I’ll show you to the changing room first, then we’ll have the staff bring you the clothes.”

“Yes, I’ll be waiting. Oh, and if you don’t mind, I’d like to start with some tea. I’m kind of thirsty.”

“If there’s a tea you prefer, I’ll bring it right over.”

“Do you have param tea?”

Params bloomed for a while in the early spring and then quickly wilted, so tea made from dried param petals was hard to come by.

Especially in winter, when the stock was low, it was even harder to find.

“Well, Param tea……..”

“Is it hard to get? It’s a shame, because it’s been a while since I’ve had one. Then get another tea.”

“No, it’s not! Yes, there is! There is! I’ll have it ready as soon as I can, so please wait a moment.”

“Yes, I’m fine. I’m a little tired and want to rest. I want to be alone for a while to catch my breath, so take your time getting ready.”

Rivianna pretended to be ignorant and went into the changing room first, knowing that even if they didn’t have any stock, they would not refuse. 

The dressing room, which was large enough for the aristocrat’s taste, was located near the reception room, with a sofa provided.

After the staff had gone, she closed the door of the dressing room, trying to make as little noise as possible, and slowly looked around the room.

The curtains were swaying in the breeze coming in through the gently opened window.

A black silhouette could be seen behind it.

“Hi.”

“…”

Finally, the guest she had been waiting for arrived.

She removed the curtains and stared at the man as he slowly walked out.