CHAPTER 73
You Really Can’t Act
The sky didn’t split in two, but Herond began construction work.
What could he do when the Demon King ordered him.
“Cheer up, Lord Herond.”
“Oh, Lucy! Have you come to help?”
“Yes.”
“Good, then these bricks…”
Herond paused.
The bricks were too heavy for Lucy to move.
But he couldn’t entrust her with demolition either. She might get hurt if something went wrong.
Should he ask her to mix cement? No, her arms would hurt if she kept stirring.
‘Gaaack!’
Frustrated, Herond cried out inwardly.
“Lord Herond, shall I cheer for you?”
“Lucy, just sit over there and cheer.”
“Yes.”
“Wear a mask too, since dust will fly.”
Lucy obediently followed Herond’s words.
“Lord Herond, cheer up.”
***
From early morning, knights of Count Terbaon’s household had stormed into the house.
The knights had tried to take Ehilie away almost forcibly.
The reason was simple.
Because she, whose name still remained in the Count’s household register, had married a man from outside.
“The Count is very angry. How dare you marry a man with no family register or background, tarnishing the Terbaon family’s honor.”
“Ha.”
It wasn’t even funny.
After it was revealed that she had no divine power, she had been treated worse than a maid, let alone as a Count’s daughter.
To Count Terbaon, Ehilie was merely an object to be sold off someday.
Upon learning that this object had fallen into the hands of a ‘man with no background’ who wouldn’t even benefit the family, he seemed to be trying to retrieve it belatedly.
“I’m not going.”
“We were ordered to bring you regardless of the Lady’s will.”
As the knight approached threateningly, as if to drag Ehilie away by force, Rek stepped forward at that moment.
“Let’s go, Ehilie.”
“Huh?”
“Rather, this is good. I was planning to visit him anyway.”
“Visit? Why?”
“As Ehilie’s husband, shouldn’t I pay my respects to my father-in-law? After all, he is Ehilie’s father on the family register.”
The knights seemed to be wondering if they could take Rek to the Count’s residence too. But judging that it would be better to take him than to cause unnecessary trouble, they put him in the carriage without much resistance.
Somehow it had turned out this way.
As the Count’s residence drew closer, she became more anxious. Ehilie, who had been looking out the window and swallowing dry saliva repeatedly, asked cautiously.
“Rek, aren’t you nervous?”
“Should I be nervous?”
“Well, usually people are.”
“Then I shall try to appear nervous.”
Rek straightened his posture and put strength into his eyebrows.
“How is this? Do I look somewhat nervous?”
Ehilie burst into laughter at his natural yet awkward acting.
“Rek, you really can’t act.”
“I thought I was quite good at it.”
“Not at all.”
Ehilie continued speaking with a short sigh.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, I feel more at ease.”
“I’m glad my poor acting was helpful.”
“But Rek, what are you planning to say when you meet Father? Do you have some prepared lines?”
“No. I haven’t really thought about it.”
“What?”
Ehilie’s eyes grew wide.
Since he had said he would pay his respects to his father-in-law as her husband, she had naturally assumed he had thought about what conversation they would have.
“You said you’d come with me without even thinking about that?”
“Yes. What do people usually talk about when they meet their father-in-law?”
Ehilie thought seriously.
What do sons-in-law and fathers-in-law usually talk about?
“Father-in-law, please give me your daughter! I will never let her lift a finger and will make her happy for life… Well, don’t they say things like this? They try to make a good impression in front of their father-in-law, so with a very polite tone.”
When Ehilie recited lines commonly seen in dramas and novels from her previous life, Rek nodded with a serious face.
“Wait, Rek, you’re not planning to say it just like that, are you?”
“Is that not acceptable?”
“Of course not! Father opposes your marriage with me. He’ll start with unpleasant words as soon as he sees you. He’ll say you and I don’t suit each other, and heap all sorts of insults—”
Ehilie was already worried whether Rek could endure it well.
“It’s not entirely wrong, is it.”
“Huh?”
“Ehilie is someone too good for me. I am always grateful that someone as precious as you is by my side.”
His sudden confession struck Ehilie’s heart heavily.
‘Too good for me!’
At Count Terbaon’s household, Ehilie had always been a nuisance.
Treated as a useless burden for not manifesting divine power, she had to be cautious even about breathing.
But to Rek, Ehilie was a precious person whose mere existence he was grateful for.
‘That’s right. I’m not Ehilie Terbaon anymore.’
Since she takes her husband’s surname after marriage.
Ehilie is now the wife of a man who loves her more than anyone, Ehilie Edmond.
So there was no need to be anxious, no need to be afraid.
They arrived at the Count’s residence located in a city not far from the capital.
The carriage door opened, but the servants waiting outside just stood there blankly.
There was no escort that should naturally be performed for a daughter of the Count’s family.
The servants, well aware of Ehilie’s position, were naturally ignoring her.
It was a familiar occurrence.
‘Childish.’
During the time when she had no memories of her previous life, she used to shrink back at such disregard.
But not anymore.
‘So what if there’s no one to hold my hand.’
Just as Ehilie was about to step out of the carriage proudly.
Rek, who had descended first, bent one knee to match her height and elegantly extended his hand.
“My Lady, please step down on my knee.”
“What? W-what do you mean!”
In front of the flustered Ehilie, Rek smiled very charmingly.
“The carriage is high, so you might get hurt getting down. Unfortunately, it seems the servants of this residence haven’t even received basic education on how to serve their master. So I, as your husband, must do it instead.”
Rek was naturally pointing out the servants’ rudeness.
“But still…”
“Hurry. My legs are going numb.”
At Rek’s playful urging, Ehilie had no choice but to step down on his knee.
A firm hand supported Ehilie.
The fact that a man who would willingly offer his knee for such a trivial matter was on her side struck Ehilie as incredibly reassuring.
One of the servants who had been watching from a distance finally approached cautiously.
“…Miss, I will escort you to where the Count is.”
Rek’s gaze turned to him.
The red eyes that had been infinitely tender to Ehilie instantly cooled with a chilling light.
“I wondered if they had hired people who don’t know how to move and only stand there gawking—”
The servant turned pale and lowered his eyes at the voice dripping with coldness.
“Let’s go quickly.”
“Y-yes.”
The servant took the lead as if fleeing.
“Let’s go, Ehilie.”
Rek smiled gently and wrapped his arm around Ehilie’s shoulder. The coldness when dealing with the servant disappeared instantly, leaving only warmth.
‘Sometimes Rek seems like a different person!’
Even his occasional unfamiliar appearances were good.
His sharp attitude only appeared when he was protecting Ehilie.
They soon arrived at the reception room.
Opening the door and entering, Count Terbaon, sitting with his legs crossed arrogantly, looked Ehilie and Rek up and down.
“Quite a sight you are.”
The first words he spoke to his daughter after a long time were venomous.
“Sit.”
The Count spoke in a commanding tone, pointed at a chair, and tilted his head.
She wanted to make a scene and leave immediately.
But the Count wouldn’t let that go quietly.
Ehilie sat properly on the sofa first. When Rek tried to sit beside her, the Count openly furrowed his brow.
“Where is a man with no background trying to sit.”
