Chapter 25

As the sun went down and the night crept closer, Nadia could then confirm the uneasy feeling she felt earlier.

“Y-y-you’re telling me to wear this?”

Nadia stepped back in surprise when she saw the clothes Marie held out, but Marie calmly guided her into the dressing room as if she knew Nadia would react like this.

“They’re very common pajamas, madame.”

“They are common? Where?!”

“All of the noblewomen wear things like this.”

“I don’t believe it. They all wear this kind of silky slip lingerie to sleep? How do they sleep when it’s so uncomfortable?”

Marie shrugged as Nadia looked at her with distrust.

“You’re going to take it off anyways, so what’s so important about comfort?”

“T-take off…?!”

Nadia’s jaw dropped and she couldn’t even utter the word properly, but Marie just smiled and casually took off her dress.

“It’s not scary at all to spend the night. It’s only natural for a married couple. Until now, you couldn’t have noticed this without a lady-in-waiting, but now that I’m here, don’t worry about anything. I’ll help you get a successor safely.”

Captivated by Marie’s calm voice, Nadia nodded. And before she knew it, she had changed into the pajamas. The reflection she saw in the mirror was so awkward and she felt like her body was twisted.

Furthermore…

The woman in the mirror gave a strange impression that she wouldn’t even be ashamed to take it off. As Nadia felt embarrassed even though there was no one watching, and wrapped her hands around herself, Marie smiled happily for some reason and led her to the sofa. Wine, crackers, and fresh fruit are prepared on the table. The room’s lights were dimmer than usual, creating an intimate atmosphere.

“….Isn’t the atmosphere making it too obvious?”

“You are already a married couple, so there’s no reason not to.”

No matter what direction Nadia gave, Marie guarded her logic like an iron wall. Nadia couldn’t cope with it at all.

“The lord will come soon. I had a meal that can increase men’s stamina prepared for dinner (it could also mean food that can boost s*x drive like oyster, beef, red wine…etc), so he’ll probably notice the signal.”

It was even more embarrassing for Nadia to think that Altair already knew the situation. If they had had a normal first night back then, would it have felt less embarrassing than now? No, the situation and feelings she had to go through would be no different then. But Nadia couldn’t help but think it would have been better than now… Her head became complicated with endless thoughts. Marie smiled faintly at Nadia and patted her on the shoulder as if comforting her.

“Before I knew it, you have matured this much… From now on, you won’t be lonely anymore because you’ve gotten a husband and can have children to grow your family.”

At the word ‘lonely’, Nadia’s heart felt cold and began trembling and throbbing. Nadia had been alone ever since her loving parents passed away. She had thought she hid her loneliness well, but it seemed that she could never fool Marie, who was close to her.

“Marie, I…like it here.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. At first, I was surprised because I didn’t expect him to be my husband, but now that I have gotten to know him, I don’t think he’s a bad person. I wonder if there was a reason why it happened…”

Maria tilted her head, clueless about the mentioned matter that followed. She didn’t know that the future Altair in the novel was a terrible villain, so it was a natural reaction.

“Anyways, I’ll do well here. If the lord got married for a successor…. I also want to give it my all.”

But of course, having children was not something she could acquire just by trying.

No, let’s not think so weakly, Nadia! If you try often, your chances will be higher, so putting in the effort is important too!

Marie, who balled her fists in a ‘fighting!’ gesture to encourage Nadia, gently lowered her head with a smile.

“Of course. Our lady works hard at everything.”

“Um!”

“For now, I will stay away from here. By chance, if you ever need anything, please use the bellpull.” 

Nadia took a deep breath and nodded resolutely.

This time…Come if you shall, Altair!

❈❈❈

“My lord, dinner has been prepared.”

“Dinner?”

“Yes, may I bring it inside?”

Altair tilted his head in suspicion at the chef’s voice outside his office. Altair was not the type to eat on time, so he thought that if he did not request it first, it would be a given that he was skipping meals and they wouldn’t be prepared in the kitchen. But strange enough, the meal was ready today.

“Come in first.”

Altair watched the chef enter in wonder. Altair suspected Pavel might have asked for it privately after seeing him struggling with a lot of work. Altair thought it would have been enough to prepare a simple sandwich, but surprisingly, grand dishes were placed on the table one by one. Altair rose from his seat bewilderedly and approached the food.

“What’s all this?”

“This is the meal sent by the madame.”

“The madame? Nadia did?”

“Yes, she said you must eat dinner and so I prepared it.”

The chef nodded with a pleased smile.

“All the food here is good for men. And I also made it with special care, so please enjoy your meal, my lord.”

“Alright.”

Altair waved the chef out. The chef’s face, which was excessively smiley until the moment he left, stuck on Altair’s mind, but he thought little of it and settled in front of the cooking. The freshly made food looked appetising. All of them were famous nutritious foods from the East. 

Do I look a little tired?

Altair smoothed his face with his hands. He didn’t usually feel it, but when he touched his face with his hands, his skin seemed rougher than usual.

I must have made her worried.

Since Nadia was a person who worried needlessly, it seemed that she sent him nutritious foods after seeing his condition. Altair lost his parents as a child, so he had done everything himself. He felt strange as it had been so long since someone last took care of him. Altair looked at the food with a peculiar feeling and began to eat. Contrary to Marie’s expectation that the lord ‘may have noticed the signal’, he did not notice anything.

❈❈❈ 

No matter how long she waited, Altair didn’t come.

It did seem like he has a lot of work these days.

There were many times when Nadia fell asleep first while waiting for Altair to come, so it wasn’t something out of the norm. Nadia opened her eyes wide and tried to resist the drowsiness that was sinking in. However, it was especially difficult to fight back the sleepiness because of the atmosphere in the cozy room. While constantly dozing off and fighting the exhaustion, Nadia heard the door open. The sleepiness that had filled her body seemed to disappear at once at the small ‘click’ sound. 

H-he came!

Nadia jumped out of her seat on reflex and shrank her shoulders when she realised a second later that her outfit was different from usual. Her body trembled a little, whether it was due to her thin clothes or nerves. 

“Y-you came?”

“I just finished my work. I ate the meal you sen–” 

When her eyes met Altair, who had come in with a casual answer to her greeting, he suddenly slurred his sentence and his mouth fell open a little. It’s like the man had just lost his soul. Altair’s gaze, which had been fixed on Nadia’s face, slowly swept down. He must have been stunned at her embarrassing clothes. 

“This… why… wait…”

Altair took a step back and covered his mouth with his hand. When Nadia saw the part that couldn’t be covered by his hand turned red, her face also became flushed for some reason. 

“Maria said that you would know…since you had some nutritious food for dinner…”

As Nadia stumbled and smoothed her slip, Altair frowned and groaned.

“No, why on earth… So it’s… What I mean is….”

“I!”

Eventually, Nadia made up her mind and spoke to Altair, who was confused.

“I found the answer. The role Altair wants me to play as a wife.”

“…”

“Of course, I didn’t find it on my own. This time again I got help from another person… Marie, of course. She said the reason my lord got married was to get an heir.”

Altair was still unresponsive. He just lowered his hand that had covered his mouth and stared at Nadia blankly. Nadia felt ashamed to death, but she decided to pluck up a little bit more courage.

“Hence… I think this is the answer. Also if we are to be a couple, this is a natural thing. So if the strange rumours circulating are not true (the rumour that there is something wrong with Altair and he couldn’t… you know what it is  ), then let’s have the first night we couldn’t have today.”

After listening to Nadia’s words, Altair quietly closed the door with a somewhat serious face. Nadia’s heart began to pound along with the sound of the door closing.

“Your words are correct. That’s the role I desired for my wife. I had to get married somehow because I was in a hurry for a successor. No matter what my wife’s situation was, I was going to move for my purpose but…”

Altair walked slowly towards Nadia. Every time he got a little closer, Nadia’s mouth dried up with tension. Altair, who was just inches away from her, reached out and smoothed her hair. The slight touch made her shoulders shiver, and he smirked at the sight.

“It’s really strange. If I reach out, everything will go my way, but I don’t feel like forcing it.”

Altair’s red eyes were directed straight at Nadia. The cold and fierce gaze felt strangely hot.

“You don’t have to do anything just because of duty. It’s true that I urgently need a successor, and the people around me are encouraging that too… But I can wait for you to be fully ready, so don’t be impatient.”

Altair walked past Nadia while speaking. So as she was dazedly reflecting on Altair’s words, she immediately seized him by the arm before he completely moved away. Then, like he had been burned by fire, Altair pulled his arm from her grasp in complete astonishment. 

“I can wait for you, but it’s hard when you provoke me so.”

He spoke as if he were teaching a child. The words strengthened Nadia. She bit her lips and reached out again to grab Altair’s arm.

“I don’t know why you think I’m not ready. I am ready. Really.”

“That’s because the people around you are encouraging you, so you can’t turn it down and…”

“I know I have an inflexible personality. I can’t even say what I want to say properly, and I find it hard to refuse someone because it’s scary to be hated… That’s correct. However, I am already an adult.”

Nadia looked straight at Altair’s face. She could clearly see his eyes trembling. 

“I know how I look like in Altair’s eyes, but I didn’t come to decide this because I was swept away by other people’s judgments. This is completely my decision, my judgment. I’m… ready.”

Altair closed his lips tightly as she slowly continue to talk in a trembling voice. Feeling like a dork, the edge of Nadia’s eyes began to heat up at the thought her meaning was not conveyed properly. 

“Really… I really want to wholely become a couple with you, Altair… with a child, too…”

His last defense did not last. Altair cussed under his breath and seconds later, his lips collided with hers unannounced.