[LUCIELLE’S POV — THE NEXT MORNING — THE CHAMBER]
There are many things in life that make you regret your decisions.
Drinking fruit beer because you thought it was actual beer. Waving at someone on the street, only to realize they were waving at the person standing behind you. Accidentally making eye contact with a neighbor and then spending the next six months avoiding them like you’ve been placed under a government protection program.
And then...there is letting the villain of the novel move into your chamber.
. . .
. . .
Yes, that one.
That was the mistake I was currently regretting with every single cell in my body. Because somehow...SOMEHOW—
I, Minato, currently disguised as Lucielle Ashcroft, noble lady, currently someone’s wife, and apparently a woman with absolutely no survival instincts, was wrapped around Cassian like a stubborn octopus that had discovered the warmest rock in the ocean and decided,
Yes. This is mine now.
One leg was tangled with his, one hand was resting directly against his chest, and his arm was securely wrapped around my waist.
And somewhere during the night, every boundary I’d established yesterday had apparently packed its bags, filed for divorce, and left without notifying me.
The pillow fortress?
Gone.
The respectable distance between us?
Gone.
My personal space? Missing.
My dignity? Presumed dead.
I stared at his arm around my waist, then at my hand on his chest, then at our tangled legs and then, finally, at the enormous dragon carved into the ceiling.
Even the dragon looked judgmental.
This wasn’t simply a morning; no, this was the opening scene of a disaster. A very handsome, very warm, extremely dangerous disaster, and if this was what happened when we merely shared a bed, I didn’t need a prophetic vision to know where this road was heading.
Straight toward the upcoming husband-wife problem.
My soul screamed.
MINATO. WE HAVE MADE A TERRIBLE MISTAKE.
I turned my head. Cassian was still asleep; his breathing was calm, and his face was relaxed, peaceful, and serene. Meanwhile, I was lying in his arms like I’d personally applied for the position of Professional Husband Hugger and had somehow been hired without an interview.
I stared at him; he continued sleeping. I narrowed my eyes.
Suspicious...very suspicious.
Carefully, I tried to remove my leg from his, and his arm tightened around my waist.
. . .
. . .
Oh, no.
I tried again; his grip tightened further. I stared at his arm, then at his face. "Are you awake?"
Nothing; his breathing remained perfectly steady. I narrowed my eyes; either this man was sleeping more deeply than a hibernating bear...or...he was pretending.
I stared at his face, a suspiciously handsome face, a suspiciously innocent face and a face that practically screamed,
Who, me? I am but a peaceful sleeping man who has never committed a crime in his life.
I narrowed my eyes further. My brain activated every suspicious laser beam available. Target acquired: possible villain, possible liar, and possible professional cuddler.
I raised my leg.
Trajectory calculated. Dignity? Already dead.
KICK!
Cassian flew sideways; for approximately one glorious second, I watched the Grand Duke of Ashcroft leave the bed with the elegance of a football that had personally offended the goalkeeper.
THUD!
"Oww..."
I sat upright, breathing heavily.
Silence.
Then I looked at the empty space beside me.
Freedom~~~
I had defeated the Grand Duke of Ashcroft before breakfast. Cassian rolled farther away, one hand gripping his side as he slowly pushed himself upright as he stared at me in complete disbelief.
"My beloved..." he said, wincing. "Did you truly need to be this cruel so early in the morning?"
I immediately fired another round of invisible laser beams at him. "You’re the one who wrapped around me like an octopus in heat!"
He blinked. "An octopus... in heat?"
"Yes."
He stared at me for a moment, then the corner of his mouth lifted. "I see. My beloved has apparently seen far too much in her life."
. . .
Why did he say that like that?
"Don’t change the subject."
He chuckled. "You kicked your husband out of bed."
"You were pretending to sleep!"
"I was sleeping."
"You were not!"
"I was."
"You tightened your arm when I tried to escape!"
"Perhaps I was dreaming."
"You were holding me like a hostage!"
His smile widened. "A very comfortable hostage."
I stared at him, this man... This man was a professional kidnapper. How did he wake up every morning with enough confidence to be this annoying?
I got off the bed and as soon as I did...
YANK!
My arms were suddenly pulled backward.
"Ah—!"
I stumbled straight onto the bed. Cassian caught me effortlessly as I landed against him, his arm immediately wrapped around my waist again, and that smug smile returned and murmured.
"Beloved," he murmured, "you shouldn’t push your husband away like that."
I narrowed my eyes as he leaned slightly closer.
"If you continue behaving this way, how are we supposed to have children in the future?"
. . .
. . .
. . .
My brain crashed.
SYSTEM ERROR. PROCESSING...ERROR 404: APPROPRIATE RESPONSE NOT FOUND.
I stared at him; he stared back, and then my face became hot.
My cheeks burned, my heart started pounding, and somewhere inside my brain, Minato was sprinting through the corridors of my consciousness with a fire extinguisher.
WHY ARE WE DISCUSSING CHILDREN BEFORE BREAKFAST?!
I shoved him away. "Stop talking nonsense so early in the morning!"
Cassian laughed; he looked far too pleased with himself. "And you are adorable when you’re angry."
I froze.
"Y-You—!"
My brain immediately filed another complaint.
WHY DOES HE KEEP SAYING THAT?! WHY DOES HE SAY IT SO CALMLY?! WHY DOES MY FACE KEEP BETRAYING ME?!
And most importantly—WHY IS MY HEART DOING THAT STUPID WOMEN-Y THING AGAIN?!
THUMP.
I didn’t wait for another word. I practically slid through the doorway and slammed it shut behind me.
BANG!
I pressed my back against the door.
Silence.
I closed my eyes and took one deep breath and then another. "...I hate my life."
I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling. "God, please give me strength."
Naturally, God was probably laughing with popcorn.
At this point, I was beginning to suspect the entire divine realm had subscribed to my suffering as a form of entertainment.
I covered my burning face with both hands; this was supposed to be a simple transmigration, survive the villain, avoid the bad ending and stay alive.
Easy.
Instead, I had somehow ended up married to the villain, sharing a bed with him, getting kidnapped by my own husband before breakfast, and being asked about our future children before I had even had coffee.
I slowly slid down the door.
. . .
It was going to be a very long marriage.
***
[Later — Ashcroft Manor — Training Field]
I stared across the training field. And honestly? I wasn’t sure when this happened. Yesterday, the Ashcroft knights had looked like they could intimidate a mountain into apologizing; they were afraid of the fox beast.
Today? They were sitting in the snow, casually surrounded by white fox beasts.
Friendly white fox beasts, tiny ones and fluffy ones. Completely harmless-looking creatures that had apparently decided the terrifying knights of House Ashcroft were now their personal furniture.
Meanwhile, I was holding one of the cubs in my arms; the little thing had its paws against my shoulder and was happily licking my hair.
I stared ahead.
. . .
Well, this was unexpected.
I was standing in a training field watching heavily armed knights make friends with magical foxes; this is such a great sight.
The fox cub licked my hair again. I slowly looked down at it. "Please stop eating me."
It blinked, then licked my hair again. "Okay. Clearly, we’re not communicating."
Mia stood behind me, quietly watching the scene with what looked suspiciously like amusement. Beside her stood Cedric, captain of the Ashcroft Knights; he folded his arms behind his back and surveyed the field with obvious pride.
"The knights have grown accustomed to the fox beasts, Your Grace. Soon, we shall begin their formal training."
"Formal training?"
"Yes, Your Grace."
I glanced down at the cub; the cub yawned. This was apparently a very serious military operation.
Cedric continued, completely unfazed.
"There will come a day when these beasts shall protect the empire and walk beside our knights as their companions."
I nodded, because apparently the Ashcroft military budget had decided to invest in adorable murder animals, which was Cassian’s great idea.
"It’s good; that means our knights will become the strongest?"
Cedric nodded immediately. "Yes, Your Grace. Not only the strongest, but stronger than the Imperial Knights."
Stronger than the Imperial Knights, huh?
. . .
. . .
Well, who doesn’t want that?
Our territory needed to be safe, and if that meant our knights becoming terrifying warriors accompanied by an army of magical foxes, then honestly, I wasn’t going to complain.
Apparently, it’s good that we were building a territory, one fluffy criminal at a time.
There was something else, though, something that had been bothering me since I first saw these creatures. Their fur could apparently be harvested after they died.
Useful, fine fantasy logic.
I’ve accepted worse, but...that blue thing. The strange blue glow at the tip of their tails. What exactly was that?
Magic? Some kind of core? A biological feature? A decorative attachment installed by the fantasy-world equivalent of a game designer?
I wanted to know.
"Would you like to train with the sword, Your Grace?"
I blinked.
"...Huh?"
Cedric gestured toward the training field. "Everyone should know basic survival skills, Your Grace."
I stared at him.
Then at the sword hanging from his waist, then at the fox in my arms and then back at him.
"Survival skills?"
"Yes, Your Grace."
"But...then what’s the point of having a Grim Reaper husband?" Cedric blinked. I continued, completely serious. "He’s literally the most terrifying man in the empire. He can probably kill someone with a look."
Cedric remained silent.
"So why would I need a sword?" I hugged the fox a little closer. "He’s supposed to protect me. I’m relying on my husband completely."
Mia suddenly covered her mouth and chuckled. Cedric, meanwhile, stared at me for a moment, then his lips curved into a small smile.
"The Grand Duke would be very happy to hear that."
He would; unfortunately, he absolutely would.
Cassian had somehow developed an attachment to me that was less terrifying villain and more enormous, clingy puppy who happened to possess enough political power to ruin someone’s bloodline.
It was honestly confusing; the man was supposed to be the cold, ruthless grand duke of the North; the infamous Grim Reaper; the Black Monster; a walking disaster in human form.
And yet, whenever it came to me? He followed me around like I was the only source of oxygen in the room.
If I moved, he noticed. If I left, he asked where I was going. If I ignored him, he somehow appeared beside me five minutes later.
If I pushed him away, he looked offended, like a puppy whose favorite human had just refused to pet him.
It was ridiculous, and it was also slightly terrifying because I had no idea what kind of character development was happening to this man, and frankly, I wasn’t sure I wanted to find out.
I looked down at the fox cub in my arms.
Its fluffy white tail swayed lazily behind it; that faint blue glow shimmered at the very tip.
What exactly was that? I’d noticed it several times now, but nobody seemed particularly interested in explaining it.
Why does that fox have a glowing USB cable attached to its butt?
I needed answers.
"So it was true..."
A voice came from behind, and there he was with an expression that was unmistakably smug.
Professional smug.
The kind of smugness that probably came with academic qualifications, his gaze moved from the fox cub in my arms to the knights surrounding the other beasts, then back to me.
Archmage Aurelius Vaelmont.
"The Grand Duchess has truly tamed the white fox beast?"
I stared at him, and I could feel that my peaceful afternoon had just been cancelled because of the fourth fish with a smug expression.
And judging by the way everyone suddenly became serious... I had a feeling this was going to be a problem.