BOAD 12

12. The Duties of a Married Couple

Leophric is a natural-born leader.

He seemed to have the blood of an innate orator and a director who could captivate people’s hearts, and his temperament as a skilled politician was clearly evident.

So when he spoke like that, I had no choice but to grit my teeth and either stand my ground or be pulled along helplessly.

Though I knew plenty of behind-the-scenes tactics that might work on him, there really was no sharp move when facing him head-on like this.

Because of that, inside the shaky carriage where there was nowhere to run as yesterday, I had to speak with a slightly trembling voice.

“To be honest, thinking about how we were before marriage, Your Highness, I never imagined you would expect such duties from me as your wife.”

“Duties of a married couple, is it?”

“Isn’t that so? Trust, affection, interest — those are words that don’t really suit people like us.”

In fact, the very term “political marriage” is far removed from those kinds of feelings.

Carefully, I added this, and he hummed softly, sinking into his chair.

His gesture seemed to say “please, continue,” so I went on.

“To be honest, when the marriage was decided, I thought it would be fine as long as there was a suitable respect between us. As you know, I… um…”

“I know that this was not a marriage you wanted.”

I couldn’t bring myself to say Lloyd’s name aloud, so I muttered vaguely, and he nodded as if he already knew.

“You knew, then.”

“Yes, I was aware. Actually, that’s why it was uncomfortable when Your Highness kept expecting things from me.”

“Then, is it perhaps still so?”

His gaze sharpened intensely.

He even looked a bit anxious for a moment.

Am I really the only one wondering about that?

Usually, it isn’t strange for a political marriage partner to have a separate lover, and it’s something both sides tend to ignore at a certain level.

But to see him ask with a face that could be mistaken for jealousy…

Feeling déjà vu from yesterday, I firmly shook my head.

“No, Your Highness. I already ended things with him before the marriage.”

“Is that so?”

When I unexpectedly cut off his question so sharply, his expression relaxed again.

Leophric looked much more at ease than before, even smiling slightly.

“I understand that you are still not used to what I desire.”

“Then…”

“But there’s no need to push me away like that, is there?”

His voice was calmer now.

The atmosphere was completely different from just moments ago, and I felt a bit stunned.

I never imagined that saying I didn’t love Lloyd would cause such a big change.

Was it really necessary to flip his attitude so completely? I pondered and slowly spoke.

“That may be so, but I need time to adjust. In case you forgot, our beginning was a contract.”

What more could be needed in a relationship that was just a contract?

I swallowed the rest of my words, thinking he must have understood without me saying them.

Whatever he wanted from me, he and I were just bound by a five-year contract for strengthening the royal authority.

Though the marriage was forced with the temple’s permission, in reality it was a pure relationship that could be annulled at any time.

If feelings were to be added to this, it would probably only be a sense of duty.

From the wedding to now, no matter how differently he acted, we could not deny that our start was dry and calculated.

If it was like that before marriage, why should it be different after?

Though it was for Leophric, I still wanted this contract for my own goals.

Afterwards, I wanted to leave him without regrets.

After countless confusions, my future was as simple as that.

“You and I, like it or not, will be contractually bound for the next five years, and I intend to fulfill that contract during that time.”

“…”

“But I do feel a little burdened by what Your Highness desires beyond that.”

“Then are you saying we should live as just a married couple in name only?”

“As the contract states, after five years you can have the woman you want as empress or consort, so I hope that until then, we keep our relationship within reasonable boundaries.”

A relationship where we keep boundaries.

If Leophric had been like he was before the rewind, this wouldn’t have been much of a problem.

If he had only wanted proper respect and no other feelings.

But for some reason, he kept wanting more, wanting to do more with me.

That tenderness was burdensome.

No matter how much he demanded, I, who had already decided on an end, could not accept him.

Leaning back in my seat with a much calmer expression than before, I said,

“That’s all I have to say to Your Highness. There’s nothing more to add.”

It was a somewhat stiff and dry ending for a conversation that began gently.

But I thought it was something that needed to be said someday for the sake of our future relationship.

What if Leophric, showing a different side from before, said he loved me?

No — what if, above all, he refuses to let me go after five years?

When Lloyd’s faction is completely destroyed in the future, my name appearing then could tarnish his reputation.

Whether I like it or not, the past I returned to was a time when Lloyd, with me as a socialite star, had already built a certain foundation.

Moreover, I was the crown princess, covertly seeking nobles to support Lloyd.

Leophric had to be able to cast me away at any time.

So that not a single blemish would remain on his long-lasting name in history.

When I finished speaking, he let out a heavy sigh, having remained silent as I spoke.

Then he moved his lips and muttered something, probably about the contract.

Unfortunately, there’s no use regretting it now.

The contract signed by both Leophric and me must already be a perfectly notarized document kept in my office upstairs.

That thought made me feel much lighter.

Just as I turned my gaze back out the window, Leophric spoke in a heavy tone.

“But I don’t think your oath was false.”

“…Oath?”

Startled, I turned and looked at Leophric.

He nodded with a smile.

“You said you would live for me until your last breath.”

“Ah…”

“And that you would do everything possible for my safety and peace.”

“Your Highness, that is…”

“I mean it too, Amelia.”

The man who had looked so troubled a moment ago now looked me straight in the eye with a glowing gaze.

Stronger, tighter, truly sincere from deep inside.

“I have no intention of making empty, meaningless promises.”

“…”

“So if you move for me as you swore, and I devote everything to you as I swore, wouldn’t that be the ideal kind of contract?”

He smiled.

His gaze held mine so perfectly and brightly that I couldn’t answer.

Our journey was monotonous.

From early morning we rode the carriage, stopping a few times to eat or rest, then stayed overnight in a nearby village.

Repeating this routine several times, the knights, Betty, and I gradually grew tired.

As my low energy began to affect my mind, we finally arrived at Wayne.

“Oh my, Your Highness! Look at that! The water really never ends!”

Betty, caught by the strong scent of the sea at the entrance, leaned out the window, unable to stop marveling.

She kept talking about how the water really covers more than half the world, wondering how deep it must be if someone fell in.

While she chattered on, she noticed Leophric looking at her curiously from the opposite seat and hurriedly shut up.

“I-I-I’m sorry, Your Highness…”

“No, it’s good to see you happy.”

Leophric smiled lightly, looking out the window.

I also followed his gaze outside.

The sunlight made the sparkling sea shimmer with colors, flaunting its beauty.

For a moment, I turned my head slightly away from the dazzling reflected light and saw Leophric looking at the view with a somewhat lonely expression.

After our brief conversation, I tried to ride separately from him or took Betty along in the carriage.

Our relationship was strange — not quite talking much, but not awkward with each other either.

Betty, caught between us, pleaded every night to be left out.

Unfortunately, I too wanted to avoid the situation if possible.

Moreover, the innkeepers at every village were sharp enough to know that only we among the party were married, so we had to sleep in the same room every night.

Noticing my discomfort, Leophric offered to sleep with the knights, but how could the crown prince be made to sleep in such an inconvenient place?

Knowing the best room in the inn would be ours, I silently went to bed with him in the same room, same bed.

The only relief was that the exhausting carriage ride made sleep come easily.

How else could I have endured such a long trip without sleep?

Lost in thought about the past, Leophric seemed to notice me and turned his head.

“…”

“…”

Though we made no conversation through our meeting eyes, he had the same kind and gentle gaze that once comforted me on some night.

That gaze felt awkward, or maybe it was because his smiling face kept appearing in my mind.

I hurriedly turned my head away and sank back into the seat.

I could feel his faintly smiling eyes still resting on my face.