When Jen visited the Green Count Estate, Kay and Lisi were away dealing with the mine issue. In the reception room, Jen looked over Eugene, Nathan, Wallace, and Jamie one by one before speaking.
“Lion, leopard, eagle, deer.”
At Jen’s summons, the subordinates Kay called his shadows flinched at their shoulders. Kay’s shadows were also beastmen like Kay, and Kay’s family knew their true identities. When Jen was angry she often called them by the animals they transformed into rather than by name. Perceptive Jamie spoke up.
“Jen. I’m in the same situation as you.”
“...What do you mean?”
“I only learned that the captain was getting married after returning from the Whitlow Ducal House. He even filed the marriage contract with the authorities on the way back. I found out much later.”
Jen’s eyes, which had been on Jamie, shifted to Eugene. Eugene—who knew how terrifying Jen could be when enraged—moved his lips to protest in an uncharacteristically defensive way.
“I had no knowledge of that at all.”
“That’s right, I knew nothing about it!”
Nathan quickly cut in.
“I was just riding, and the captain suddenly called me—like that.”
—“I’m getting married; there’s something you need to do for me.”
Nathan mimicked Kay’s expression and tone, but Jen did not laugh.
“I don’t know why the captain suddenly decided to marry... If he insists, what can we do? How can we stop that stubborn man?”
While Nathan complained, Wallace nodded so vigorously at his side it looked like his head might fall off. Jen stood before them with arms crossed, listening without changing expression. At such moments Jen looked unmistakably like Kay’s sibling—he resembled Kay in every way.
“Anyway, we don’t know anything, Jen. We have no idea where the captain met his new wife, how they knew each other... none of it. We don’t even know why he decided to marry. Ah, I do know one thing: our sister-in-law is shockingly beautiful.”
Wallace boasted as if praising his own little sister, and one of Jen’s eyebrows shot up.
Jamie poked Wallace in the side to get his attention, but Wallace continued.
“You’d be surprised if you saw her. Have you heard? They call her the Whitlow Ducal House’s flower. She’s like a real flower.”
“A flower...”
Jen muttered. The tone sounded almost like a curse.
“Yeah, really. The captain is still a man after all, so maybe he just fell head over heels because she’s so pretty? Huh? Jen, why that face? Oh, are you upset because someone else is pretty? You’re pretty too, you know.”
The others, excluding Wallace, sighed quietly. What were they to do with that clueless child?
“I don’t care whether the woman who married my brother is the Whitlow Ducal House’s flower or dung.”
When Jen said that coldly, Wallace finally shut up.
“What surprises me is that not one person among us thought we should tell our family about our brother’s marriage.”
+++
Kay and Lisi were riding in a carriage headed somewhere. Kay sat opposite Lisi, staring quietly out the window. His slightly disheveled black hair, the straight line of his nose, the cut of his lips—everything looked like a perfect painting. A gust of wind ruffled Kay’s hair. He pushed it back in annoyance and realized Lisi was watching him.
“Why are you staring like that, Lisi?”
“You didn’t have to come. You’re busy.”
“I cannot leave my wife to travel alone.”
“Wallace offered to go with Nathan.”
“I am stronger than those fellows, Lisi.”
“I know that. But I felt uneasy thinking you might have to leave because you’re busy.”
“This is my first marriage, so I don’t know well, but when a wife travels, does a husband usually think the wife is imposing by having him accompany her?”
“...I suppose not?”
“Then it’s fine, Lisi. Whatever the reason, we are husband and wife. By the way, did I ever tell you that outfit looks splendid on you?”
Lisi was dressed almost like a man. Tight black trousers that accentuated her long legs, a dark brown shirt, and a perfectly fitted vest. Her long hair was tied back, and she wore a black fedora. At a glance she might pass for a slender man.
“This is the first time you’ve said that.”
“It’s splendid, Lisi. How did you decide to order such clothes? Ladies don’t usually wear this.”
“I don’t want to stand out when I go out. I don’t want what I do to spread around.”
“In that case you failed, Lisi.”
Kay took hold of the tip of Lisi’s finger. He gently pressed his lips to the knuckle. The warm, soft pressure, like a brand, made Lisi flinch. Kay looked up at her and kissed each knuckle in sequence, then suddenly pulled her close. Lisi couldn’t resist his strength and slid onto his thigh as if to sit in his lap. Kay kissed the inside of her wrist, slipped his hand beneath her leather vest, and stroked her back. Heat passed through the thin shirt and ran down her spine.
“You still can’t take your eyes off me, can you.”
“Mmm...?”
Distracted by the sensations on her back and wrist, she forgot what they had been saying. A sound like a moan slipped between Lisi’s red, full lips, and Kay narrowed his eyes as he laid her down on the long seat inside the carriage. His gaze gleamed darkly.
“We’re... inside a carriage.”
“Do you think an animal would care about that?”
Kay’s weight pressed heavily on her stomach and thighs. Lisi squeezed her eyes shut. His lips brushed her ear, his fingers raked deep into her hair as if scratching a scalp. Wherever his lips and hands touched and wherever his weight pressed, an electric tingle sparked inside. Lisi felt her heart race and her breath quicken. When he bit her earlobe, when he sucked at the nape of her neck, she nearly let out a sound many times but swallowed it down. She had no intention of refusing the acts that naturally follow marriage. Whatever Kay wanted, as many times as he wanted, she was prepared to give. Only—
‘What should I do?’
Lisi felt confused.
‘How should I respond?’
In her previous life it had not been like this. Even under Alford, her heart raced and breath quickened; she sometimes made sounds, but those were from fear, disgust, and pain. This sweet, tickling, tingling, sticky sensation was entirely new, and she was both afraid and embarrassed about what her reaction might be. At the same time, memories of Alford kept surfacing and made her nauseous. She felt sorry for Kay. He was neither coarse nor disgusting like that man. Despite being a political marriage, he showed thoughtfulness by accompanying her to distant places.
“Relax, Lisi.”
She hadn’t noticed Kay move away. He helped her sit up gently by holding her wrist and said, “I told you before—I like things hot.”
“All right.”
Lisi answered weakly and pretended to tidy her clothes, though her face burned.
“Understand that I may try various things to make it hot.”
“You can do anything.”
“Don’t answer like that, Lisi.”
Kay feigned sternness, lifted her chin with a forefinger so she would look at him, and narrowed his brow as he stared at her with dark eyes.
“If you dislike something, you must refuse.”
For some reason, Lisi felt affection in that brief sentence. No one had ever said that to her. Voices that had hurt and crushed her in her past life surfaced in her mind.
—Do it even if you hate it. What will you do if you refuse?
—Hate it? Did you just say you hate it with that mouth of yours?
—Do as you’re told! I fed you and housed you; you owe me this! You useless thing.
Those words that had wounded her gradually blurred under Kay’s single sentence. Tears pricked Lisi’s eyes and she turned her head slightly aside.
“All right.”
+++
Lisi stood before a shabby house that might have been described as a hut. She had come here following the memories of her past life.
‘Gauzer...’
Once the Whitlow household’s steward who carried himself with dignity, Gauzer now lived in a place like this. It was heartbreaking.
“Who lives here?”
Kay asked in wonder, having driven the carriage a long way to arrive at a house near the slums.
“Gauzer. He used to be the Whitlow household’s steward.”
There had been people in the Whitlow Ducal House who felt pity for Lisi. Gauzer was a prime example. When the maids belittled or mocked Lisi, when they ordered her around, when Brittany beat or humiliated her excessively, Gauzer had defended Lisi.
“One day I protested to Duke Whitlow about my treatment here. As a result, I was expelled. After being cast out I was even divorced by my wife.”
“I see.”
“I will employ Gauzer as the manager of the Lavent gold mine.”
“That can’t be, Lisi. I don’t want someone who used to be Whitlow’s person in my household.”
Kay’s opposition was expected.
“I’m not bringing him into my house. I’m hiring him at my mine. Under my name.”
When Lisi spoke firmly, Kay cradled her chin with his forefinger.
“Lisi, you’re an interesting person, you know? Sometimes you seem obedient, and other times you’re really frightening.”
Lisi narrowed her eyes slightly and gently took his finger, lowering it.
“I don’t really want to know about that.”
“You should only entrust a mine to someone truly trustworthy. I have several trusted subordinates.”
“But not my subordinates.”
“Now my subordinates are your subordinates too.”
“Will they kill you for me?”
“They wouldn’t do that.”
“But they might kill me for you.”
Kay couldn’t answer that. Lisi smiled softly and tapped his chest.
“A man who meddles too much in what his wife does isn’t attractive, Kay.”
“Shut up and watch.”
“All right.”
Kay bared his teeth in a grin. Lisi liked seeing Kay smile like that.
“Very well, madam. Do as you wish.”
Only after Kay stepped back did Lisi knock on the door. Knock—no answer. Knock—silence inside. Impatient, Kay kicked the door with his foot. Thud—bang! At last something inside crashed and a voice swore, “Damn it, you bastard!” But Lisi stood with dignity until the door opened.
Gauzer. He would later earn imperial recognition and go on to manage the imperial finances, expanding the royal coffers through aggressive and clever investments—a rising talent among talents. Lisi was determined to make Gauzer her man.