THNW 12

To My Husband’s New Wife Chapter : 12

It was a request no different from an order, but she was in no position to hate him for it.

Even for Lancelot’s sake, she thought she had to send him back alone, no matter what.

And yet….
‘I overlooked the part he pointed out.’
In the Kingdom of Montevio, the influence of House Edenbahir is as powerful as the royal family’s.

And since Edenbahir’s roots are in the Atlante Empire’s imperial family, the nobility of their bloodline can only be counted among the highest.
‘I heard that in this generation of the current duke in particular, there’s been an unusual amount of talk, this and that.’
For only one reason.

Because he accepted her father as a close friend and business partner.

Her father used to say, like a habit.

That if she ever had a benefactor, it wouldn’t be her hometown relatives—only the Duke of Edenbahir.
‘But if, in a situation like this, I refuse Lancelot’s favor to the end….’
“Haa.”
As Lancelot said, a blemish could be drawn on Edenbahir’s honor.

Edenbahir is a house with as many enemies as allies, so it was right to avoid anything that could give birth to rumors about the duke’s reputation as much as possible.

Meaning that accepting his favor was what was proper, as a matter of decency.
‘Even so, it doesn’t change that Lancelot will be harmed.’
But recalling the expression on his face—firm to the point of being absolute—she began to think a little differently.
‘Lancelot hates taking losses to an extreme.

Would he really have come to take me with him without any preparation?’
As Lancelot seemed to know her well, Anita prided herself on having a rather good grasp of what kind of person Lancelot was, too.

Lancelot Edenbahir moves only according to thorough plans.

His temperament—sensitive to the point of prickliness—was evident even in the way his fastidiousness grew more exceptional by the day.

A coldness that regarded sympathy and goodwill as a waste of time.

Consideration calculated to the last.

Relationships divided into those who are needed and those who are not.

There were no exceptions to that standard.

Not even for Anita.

It was something she had naturally realized over the long time they had known each other.

So for such a Lancelot to declare that he would help her no matter what.
‘It means I’m still needed.’
The thought that she would only cause harm had been a fragmentary judgment.

Her heart felt much lighter.

Yes, there’s no way Lancelot came with no thoughts at all. I can’t believe I forgot something so important just because I hadn’t seen him for two years.

Then there’s no reason to hesitate anymore.

Anita gave a light nod to Jill, who was waiting for her.
“Jill, please.”
“Yes.

Don’t worry.”
Not long after, attendants entered the room and began moving her luggage.

But since it amounted to only three or four bags at most, one attendant would have to go down empty-handed.

After every sound of presence disappeared.

Anita stood by the window once more.

A large square window where summer sunlight poured in.

A long bedroom where she would quietly read, using that sun as light.
‘I won’t be able to come back again.’
Even though it was a space soaked with far too many memories for that.

Anita, who had been pacing restlessly, left the bedroom after a long while.

No matter how reluctant she was, she couldn’t make Lancelot wait any longer.

A final moment that stung her heart all the more because it was so lonely.
***
House Edenbahir.

Descendants of the Atlante Empire, and relatives of the Montevio royal family, Edenbahir were orthodox nobles who possessed immense lands and wealth.

For a long time, they had held the pinnacle of high society, and in nearly two hundred years of history, they were also an outstanding house that produced two kings.

Simply put, Edenbahir was a house of a different rank from Anita’s Beulroeniya.

With the current Duke of Edenbahir ranked within the top five of the line of succession, further explanation would be unnecessary.

But in the last few years Anita remembered, Edenbahir was a place like a dark graveyard swallowed by damp silence.
‘I wonder when His Grace’s health will improve.’
It had already been three years since the Duke of Edenbahir took to his sickbed.

It was around then, too, that the time she spent facing Lancelot rapidly decreased.

Everyone said it was because Lancelot was fully occupied preparing to inherit.

If he was the heir of House Edenbahir, that would be all the more so.
‘Whatever the reason, he still came to meet me himself in the middle of it all.’
She resolved to live quietly so as not to be a nuisance as much as possible.

The carriage that left the Beulroeniya manor drove a full four hours and arrived at the Edenbahir ducal residence.
The Edenbahir she visited after two years was, as it had been the year before last and as it had been ten years ago, unchanged in its quiet.

The moment she took Lancelot’s hand and stepped down, his butler approached from afar.

After exchanging several words without a moment’s pause, Lancelot clicked his tongue with a faintly irritated face.
“I’ll go in first, so rest.”
As expected, he’s busy.

Anita nodded more strongly than ever.
“Yeah.

I’ll be so quiet I’m practically dead.

Don’t worry about me and do your work comfortably.”
“You don’t need to be that quiet.

No one wants you to do that.”
Leaving only that short line, Lancelot vanished like the wind.

Soon, Leonard—the butler she had known almost as long as Lancelot—welcomed Anita’s visit with a calm smile.
“I heard you will be spending this summer here.

I will serve you to the best of my ability.”
“Thank you.”
So Lancelot already said as much.

It was like him.

Anita had visited the Edenbahir ducal residence almost every year.

As far as she knew, the rooms for outsiders to stay in were gathered on the third floor.

But Leonard led Anita to the second floor.
“The room you’ll be staying in is farther inside. The third floor is usually where we host outside guests.”
Then shouldn’t I be staying on the third floor even more?
‘Are the guest rooms full.’
Ignoring the question that followed, she continued after Leonard.

The bedroom she was shown was a wide, bright room with a clean interior.
“It’s very spacious.”
“It’s the second largest among the rooms on the second floor.”
The largest room on the second floor was Lancelot’s bedroom.

The room given to her was one that would be used by the duke’s relatives.
‘I’m not in a position to be treated like this.’
After Leonard left.

Alone, Anita opened the wardrobe and drawers to check what little property she had left.

The attendants had already arranged her things, but if she was staying for a season, it seemed better to rearrange them into a placement she was used to.

Knock, knock.

Just then, there was a knock from beyond the firmly closed door.

The visitor was Lancelot.
“Are you done already?”
Leaning against the door in a vest, looking much more at ease, he asked Anita,
“Do you have time?”
Anita flicked her eyes to her bed.

The luggage she hadn’t yet organized was strewn messily across it.

It was an unmistakably busy scene.

For him to ask even knowing that meant he had urgent business of his own.

She nodded without hesitation.
“Of course.

What is it?”
“Follow me.

I have something important to say.”
Lancelot turned sharply and left the bedroom.

Anita followed behind him without any leisure to tidy up.

They didn’t have to go far.

Their steps stopped in the parlor next door.

It was a space Lancelot had been using alone until she arrived.
“Let me say this in advance.”
He opened his mouth the moment he sat on the sofa.

Perhaps because the atmosphere felt solemn, Anita focused all her attention on Lancelot’s voice.
“The proposal I’m going to make to you isn’t idle wordplay.

It’s a conclusion I came to after careful thought, so don’t think you can laugh it off lightly.”
“I won’t.”
For him to threaten her not to laugh it off lightly.

Just how important a proposal could it be?
‘Is he going to introduce me to a job he got through an acquaintance?

Or a washing of status?’
Or perhaps arranging a match with an old noble to help her circumstances….
“Marry me.”
“…What?”
“If possible, don’t refuse.

Marriage to me is the only way for you to have your status guaranteed.”