Episode 45. Honeymoon, Travel (3)

“Why. What.”

“Haa…”

Clearly, the original plan was to go with Vera.

“You don’t want to go with me?”

“…It’s not that.”

“Then what’s with the hesitation?!”

“When did I ever.”

It wasn’t Vera, but Winnie who joined me on the trip.

“No way.”

“Pardon?”

“…What’s with that stupid honorific speech? “

“…Should I not use honorifics?”

“You’re my husband now. Don’t use such a spineless tone. A husband should act like a husband.”

“I was worried you might feel bad…”

“Do I look like such a narrow-minded woman that I’d get upset over something like that?”

She looks pretty upset right now. In my memory, Monica was definitely not broad-minded. It’s something that hasn’t happened yet, but because of that memory, even though she’s telling me to speak informally, it’s not easy to get the words out.

“It’s fine as long as you’re not infringing on or ignoring my authority as your Lady.”

“Hmm, so what’s the reason you said no way?”

“Are you questioning my decision right now?”

Monica’s beautiful face scrunches up. She glares at me fiercely for a moment, then relaxes her expression and explains the reason.

“…Our mother gets tired of that kind of thing. So, no way.”

…Vera seemed to have suggested it.

“Mother-in-law said she wanted to go…”

“Ugh, seriously, why do you like our mom so much? I heard you’ve been bothering her every day lately, asking her to teach you writing for hours on end?”

‘So that’s what she thinks…’

Monica said in a slightly lowered voice, as if chewing and spitting out the words. This is about the level of voice right before she gets annoyed.

“Or maybe… do you have some strange ulterior motive towards our mom?”

“No, I prefer beauties younger than me, like the Countess-nim.”

Calling her a beauty isn’t a lie. Her appearance, which was like a spitting image of her mother, had a slightly sharp Vera-like vibe. I could believe that Vera looked like that exactly fifteen years ago. Except for the chest size, maybe.

“…I told you not to use honorifics.”

I could see the corners of Monica’s lips twitching slightly. Her voice seems softer than before.

“Anyway, our mom is a no-go. You said the destination is Retinel? Winnie… I think Viscount Melbourne said he had business there, so you could go together.”

Winnie instead of Vera… beggars can’t be choosers. Still, it’s better than going alone. If I insisted on going with Vera any more, I really thought I’d be suspected.

“I’ll talk to Mother, so you don’t need to say anything. And even if he’s a Viscount, you can’t do anything weird, okay? He’s technically higher-ranked than you, after all.”

“I underst…and.”

Speaking informally to Monica is giving my tongue cramps.

And so, Monica’s interference thwarted my plans for a trip alone with Vera. It was a rare opportunity to enjoy ourselves outdoors with Vera without worrying about being caught. What a shame. Well, in exchange, I gave Vera as much as ten days’ worth of pleasure last night, though.

Instead, I can see the back of our Chicken-yang, who has joined the journey. No, is it Dog-yang? Winnie, with a slightly sulky face for some reason, was glancing at me while riding her horse, maintaining a distance of about five steps ahead. The way she’s sitting on the horse is stable, so she seems quite familiar with riding. The way her hips sway gently back and forth in rhythm with the horse’s gait is unusual. …Maybe I should try riding her from above next time.

Let’s think positively. I’m maintaining a good atmosphere with Vera, so I’ll use this opportunity to make Winnie a little more honest. Winnie was just as guilty of hiding and having a relationship without being aboveboard. I urged my horse on and slowly moved next to Winnie. Because I dressed lightly to avoid inconvenience, it moves as if it’s about to fly, even though it’s not my favorite steed.

“Winnie!”

“…”

She glanced at me once, then turned her head forward again. Hmm, could she be sulking? About what?

‘Is it because of that thing I said the day before yesterday?’

Did she hate being called a dog that much? I couldn’t check yesterday because I was busy comforting Vera, who was feeling regretful all day. She keeps pretending not to hear me even when I keep calling her, so she definitely seems to be sulking. But she doesn’t urge her horse to widen the distance.

“Winnie.”

“…”

“Dog.”

“…Don’t call me that.”

“Female dog.”

“…”

How can her voice express so much emotion? It’s a tone that makes you feel like she’s slightly disappointed that I’m not acknowledging that she’s making it so obvious that she’s sulking. The more she’s like this, the less I can pretend to know.

“By the way, why are you riding like that? I heard it’s bad for a woman’s health to ride with her legs spread.”

“…That’s all made up by people who don’t know anything. How uncomfortable would it be to ride with your legs on one side because of a sidesaddle? Logically, wouldn’t something that’s concentrated on one side be worse than something that’s symmetrical?”

Winnie’s mouth moves quickly, perhaps because a topic she knows about has come up.

“The only advantage of a sidesaddle is that you can protect your virginity. If you ride a horse with your legs spread and move around, your hymen can be torn, but if you keep your legs together on one side, you can prevent that.”

“Hmm, really? So why did you ride with your legs spread?”

“You took my virginity!”

Winnie swung her arm to hit me, but her arm doesn’t reach because she’s on horseback. I feel proud that I took the virginity of a woman who reacts so amusingly.

Having already come this far, Winnie gave up on maintaining her sulky attitude and spoke to me. I wonder how she endured being bored until now.

“So, were you going to go alone instead of with me?”

“No, there was someone else I was going to go with separately.”

“Who is it?”

“Vera.”

Whoa. Winnie made a dumbfounded sound. Originally, it would have been Vera, Winnie, and me going together. It seems like it would have been very uncomfortable for Winnie. If it was someone who couldn’t hide their emotions like her, Vera would have definitely found out that she knew about my relationship with Vera.

“Hmm, that’s a complete affair trip. You’re married to Monica and you’re so bold…”

“It doesn’t seem that different now, does it? Only the woman has changed, and the rest is the same.”

Winnie’s face turns red. It’ll take ten days just to go back and forth, and if you include staying in the middle, it’ll probably take a little over ten days. I’ll have to rely on Winnie’s mouth a bit during that time.

“So, by the way, what business are you going to Retinel for? Wasn’t your hometown the Mountberne Family? Do you have someone you’re meeting separately?”

“No, the person I’m meeting… you could say I’m meeting someone.”

“What’s that? How can you say you can call them a person? If they’re a person, they’re a person, and if they’re not, they’re not.”

“Um… the world isn’t so neatly divided into two, but let’s just leave it at that for now.”

“Tell me properly!”

I tried to gloss over it, but she’s surprisingly persistent.

“I’ll tell you when we get there, so don’t worry.”

But she’s still curious, so the questions didn’t stop. When I didn’t open my mouth even with the continuous questions, Winnie finally gave up, exhausted. She’s so persistent. Curiosity, or a spirit of inquiry? She seems to have a very strong one.

“Then, tell me this.”

“Huh?”

“Did you tell Vera Ajum-, I mean, Ajumma, why you’re going?”

Ah. Is that it? If you told the person you were going to go with, then you should tell her too, since she’s going with you now. I can predict everything you want to talk about.

“No, I didn’t.”

“…Really? Then never mind.”

Perhaps because the answer was different from what she expected, Winnie is quiet. I turned to Winnie, who was smiling awkwardly, and asked in return.

“Then, Winnie, why are you going all the way to Retinel?”

“Me? Well, I have things to buy.”

“Things that a peddler doesn’t sell?”

“There are some things like that, and it’ll be months before a peddler comes… The consumption suddenly increased because someone came. There’s no problem with alchemy ingredients, but only with herbs.”

Hmm. So she’s mainly going to buy things like medicinal herbs. But if she buys that much, can she even move it all?

“If we reduce the amount of food and you and I carry it together, wouldn’t we be able to carry it all?”

“When did I say I’d carry it?”

“Never mind. I’ll just buy a cart.”

Is she buying so much that she’ll even buy a cart?

“I’m kidding. It’s not that much, and dried herbs aren’t that bulky, so don’t worry.”

It’s funny that she answers on her own after seeing my expression without me saying anything.

“If they’re herbs, what are they usually used for?”

“Well, they’re used to make ointments, and they’re also made into oral medicine… Why? Should I make something good for your stamina?”

“That would be nice. Not just for me, but for you too.”

“Hmph… I’ll see how you do.”

Winnie urged her horse forward.