Married Couple’s Qualifications

*Riv’s POV*

“……..Can I help you?” (Bake)

“Huh?” (Riv)

“I can do that much.” (Bake)

“But….” (Riv)

Bake’s eyes became more intense as I blushed on purpose.

“We’ve decided to make an effort. This is part of the effort.” (Bake)

“……it’ll be fine. We’re a couple.” (Riv)

I hesitated for a moment, then nodded carefully.

As soon as my answer came back, Bake walked over and stood behind me.

I clasped my hands tightly, not avoiding the shade that hung over my head.

The gloves that grazed the frail skin of my shoulders were so soft and top-quality that I feared they would melt away, even though it didn’t seem to be a careful touch.

But that made my stomach twist. It came to me anew that he had always been hiding his dark insides with such an attitude and deceiving his wife and his daughter.

“I’m sorry. It’s not going as well as I thought.” (Bake)

Whether it was nerves or some other purpose, the latch on the necklace didn’t attach easily.

I put more pressure on my hands and forced my voice to come out. The feeling twisted, but I had to hold it in for now.

“It’s okay. Just take your time.” (Riv)

“Yeah, hold on a second……….” (Bake)

Click.

The latch finally came together at the end of a while, but Bake didn’t take his hand away, instead I could only feel his breath grazing my neck, closer and closer.

Should I stop or wait a little longer? I listened to the man’s suddenly ragged breathing. The necklace was now lukewarm to my body heat.

Knock. Knock.

Luckily, the situation changed before I had to stop him.

I laid my hand on top of Bake’s, whose expression twisted.

“It seems urgent, so hurry up and check it out.” (Riv)

“…”

“And thank you for your help.” (Riv)

When I said all this, Bake couldn’t help but retreated.

I finally stared at the back Bake, giving my hand strength again as the man’s breath grazed past my neck.

“Marquis, I apologize for the interruption. However, the news is so urgent that I think Your Excellency should know.”

“What news is it? What’s going on?”

“It’s …….”

Septer, who was about to continue, looked at me and hurriedly fell silent. But for me, that was enough of an answer.

***

“That’s him, it must be Duke Pierre.”

“…It’s really him?”

“Yes. I saw him clearly with my own eyes. And I’m sure you did, too. It was like he was hiding the identity as a customer.”

“But that doesn’t change anything.” (Riv)

“What do you mean, it doesn’t change?” (Margaret)

Margaret glanced over and sat down in front of me. Her big eyes were constantly scouting me, waiting for my reaction.

The more she did, the more silent I became. Her gaze was now on the ring on my left hand.

“I made him unhappy.” (Riv)

“It was an unavoidable situation. You did your best. And most importantly, you regret it.” (Margaret)

“…”

“Think about it. Maybe this is an opportunity.” (Margaret)

Margaret’s index finger touched my wedding ring slightly.

I turned my head slowly and stared at her.

“Opportunity?”

“An opportunity to atone.”

Margaret’s voice sounded like a whisper, so soft that I thought there might even be warmth in her voice.

It echoed in my ear more and more with the addition of her gentle wording. Ever since she believed I really lost my memory, she has always been shaking me like this.

I looked blankly at Margaret and quickly shook my head.

“It’s not a sin that can be done just by atonement. It’s not the other way around, and I shouldn’t have to.”

“Rivianna.”

“And if he finds his seat again, he must not tangle with me anymore. It’s good that he doesn’t know anything.”

I covered my face with my hands and dropped my head helplessly.

I spread my fingers slightly to create a gap, but from this position I could only see Margaret’s hands.

“So you’re going to pretend that you don’t know at all?”

“Only if I can, yes.”

“…”

But there was rather a good point to seeing only a hand without a face.

Margaret had a habit of rubbing the thumbnails of both hands together when she was anxious. With a little attention, I could grasp her psychological state more easily than face to face.

“I don’t even have the confidence to calm down my emotions when I meet him.” (Riv)

“But……” (Margaret)

“I’m only concerned with helping my family right now. Isn’t that the right thing to do?” (Riv)

“Rivianna.” (Margaret)

Her voice seemed to be worried about me, but she was rubbing her thumb nails.

She was anxious. Because lately there have been a lot of days when Bake and I had been together alone, excluding her.

I touched the jewel in my ring, suppressing the smile that threatened to come out from my lips.

“I want to end my revenge quickly, even for you who are taking risks for me.” (Riv)

“It hasn’t been long since you woke up. I understand how you feel, but it’s not good to overreact. If you act hastily, you may end up ruining things.” (Margaret)

“It’s okay. You saw it. How much Bake is into me right now.” (Riv)

“That’s….”

“You said it. It was my husband who pushed me off the terrace that day.” (Riv)

I looked up and stared straight at Margaret.

I already knew her ulterior motives in trying to get me to do what she wanted.

However, If she thought she would get what she wanted, she was mistaken.

“I’ve been thinking about it. I realized that procrastination is not the right answer. It’s like the old days. It’s better to try anything than to act cautiously and do the same thing all over again.” (Riv)

“But…”

“My husband wants me.” (Riv)

“…”

“As a woman.” (Riv)

Margaret’s eyes, which had been hiding her expression for a moment, shook.

I raised my hand and deliberately stroked my neck with my fingers. as if subconsciously remembering that happened.

“It’s weird, isn’t it? To desire a woman whom he tried to kill with his own hands.” (Riv)

“…”

“But it’s not bad. I think it’s rather good.” (Riv)

“…Good?” (Margaret)

“…Because I’m going to do whatever I can to win his heart and get the opportunity.”

Margaret’s breath came out faintly from between her lips. She didn’t have the strength to hide her bewilderment.

It was natural. The past me that Margaret knew was not a great woman who would say such things.

But the “I” that Margaret was facing now was not the “I” of the past.

“You’re going to do anything? Do you know what that means?” (Margaret)

“We were married anyway. I don’t remember, but after living together for over a decade, wouldn’t it be strange to avoid it now?” (Riv)

I shuddered, asserting myself in a strong tone, and Margaret’s expression in response became stranger and stranger.

I didn’t wait for her to calm down before I continued speaking. Margaret had to be constantly anxious and irritated.

“I’ll suggest we’ll combine our rooms together.” (Riv)

“Isn’t that too soon? If you combine rooms for no reason…..” (Margaret)

“I told you. I can do anything.” (Riv)

Only then will Bake give me the chance on his own.

Already, Margaret was getting anxious and trying to get me to come back to Duke Pierre. It wasn’t much different from the past.

Margaret would try to use Duke Pierre to get me and Bake to break up, and I would just pretend not to know and fall for her trick.

I looked at Margaret, who was rubbing her thumbs in frustration, and secretly raised the edge of my mouth.

We had been friends together for a really long time now. That was how she thought she knew me so well and believed that she could more easily use me and destroy me.

But it was the same for me. I knew Margaret as well as Margaret knew me.

We used each other the same way.

***

Calix stood still and gazed at the trickling fountain.

The fountain, decorated with vivid sculptures as if it would pop out on spotless white stones, was very colorful and huge, befitting the Clayton who had all the wealth of the empire. It was no exaggeration to say that it was the symbol of Clayton.

But when Calix saw Clayton’s fountain, which “impressed everyone,” he thought of something else. He remembered other symbols that had been there a long time ago.

Originally, there was a tree there that was planted by the first Clayton’s Lord.

The beautiful tree that was too big to be hugged with both arms 

was the most beautiful part of Clayton’s garden landscape, and it was the guardian deity of Clayton, firmly rooted in the long history of the family.

The tree was so majestic that no matter how many years passed, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Clayton’s power would last forever.

It was like the eyes in the undergrowth that was watching.

“…”

What was the point of remembering old memories now?

Calix chuckled bitterly and shoved his hands in his pockets, not wanting to be pathetically drenched in the past, but his legs wouldn’t move.

He thought he had forgotten everything, but he hadn’t. Many things had changed since he returned to the capital, but there were things that hadn’t changed, and it naturally reminded him of the past.

“Look, you still call her Young Lady, not Marchioness.” (Bake)

“…..”

“It’s as if you don’t want to admit that she’s someone’s wife.” (Bake)

Calix exhaled slowly.

Yes, actually, he hadn’t forgotten. Not once did he forget.

From the beginning it was not something he could forget.

He couldn’t forget anything, not the loving eyes that looked at him, not the lips that whispered love, not even the moment she betrayed him.

Despite being stigmatized with a crime of treason, he was only worried about her safety while being dragged away like a dog without knowing how his life would be.

However, the woman he was worried about married another man.

Calix’s lips drooped as he looked at the sculpted statue in the fountain.

The statue of a woman holding a child was used to represent a Saint, but he thought it resembled a woman he knew.

He could still remember it vividly.

On the day he was driven out to the frontier and returned to the capital for the first time, the woman he saw from afar was laughing while holding a child in her arms.

It was only then that he could admit for the first time that the woman had betrayed him.

Nothing was eternal from the beginning. The Clayton’s tree which everyone thought would remain forever, and the love of the lovers who whispered under it, all vanished without a trace.

All that remained was resentment, and indeed it was.

That was, until they looked into each other’s eyes again.

With a short sneer, Calix pulled his hands out of his pockets and turned around.

The young boy suddenly obeyed the words and came to turn himself in. It seemed pretty funny to Calix, but in the end the boy was here.

“I know that you are hiding. Come out now.”

Calix’s lips lifted as he looked behind the pillar. The person hiding behind the pillar had absolutely no talent for hiding his presence.