CH 38

Caught off guard at the words he never expected, Kalix wasn’t able to immediately speak. “… You’re saying that I’m trying to keep you locked up, Madam?”

Kalix spoke in such a serious and deep tone that it was actually frightening.

If it was the past, the frightened Amber would simply hang her head without a word. But Amber was no longer scared of him.

There was a time that she thought her husband was the most frightening existence in her life. But after such a long time, she realized that wasn’t the case. In this world, there were much more miserable, frightening, and evil things around.

For example, a great famine that would take the lives of countless commoners.

“Yes. You do not hear what I have to say, you don’t bother learning what I wish to do, and you tell me to just stay inside the castle.”

“I… Madam, I just…”

“I am not simply a decoration for you to keep in a display, locked up and never let out.”

“I just simply…” Kalix couldn’t let out his honest intentions and swallowed his words.

He felt like his throat was burning. He lifted his glass and tipped it back but the grape wine had already been completely finished. He could no longer endure the intense gaze of Amber’s eyes.

Kalix barely stopped himself from kicking his chair away and running out the room.

He had already been caught once, trying to escape her with the excuse of subjugation. If he were to try and run again, he would no longer be able to face Amber.

And more than anything, Amber’s gaze held him tightly and didn’t let him go. Whenever he stared at the orange eyes that felt like a faint, warm ember, he found himself unable to move.

Though she was without a doubt a young lady four years younger, for some reason, he felt the aura of someone who’d been through many years from Amber’s eyes.

It might have been different if he had made his decision before looking into her eyes, but now that he had seen just how much passion was in her eyes, he could no longer resist her.

‘But I…’ Kalix gripped the wine glass tightly as he agonized.

He hated that he couldn’t say what he truly wanted to say and devolved into a bumbling mess in front of Amber. He also hated the poverty of his land and himself, to the extent where Amber, who had only just arrived yesterday, brought up the food shortages. Even though he had ordered the chef to ensure that she could experience the same luxurious lifestyle she experienced in her own home…

The weight on his shoulders was unbearable.

It was at that moment.

“…ich is why I am requesting this of you, Your Excellency.”

“Hm?” Kalix, who had been deep in thought, lifted his head immediately after hearing Amber’s words.

Amber lifted one of her brows in response. “I’ve been saying this the entire time. Please send an invitation to the Freya family in Your Excellency’s name.”

“B-but…” Kalix stumbled over his words. An invitation to the Freya household? Though Count Freya was the Duke’s long time and faithful servant, he couldn’t understand how it could be related to solving the territory’s food shortage. On top of that…

“A request?”

A request, a request!

Kalix replayed the words that Amber had said multiple times in his mind.

“You said that you would never have any requests for me, did you not?”

“Ah… that.” Amber stared at her husband with eyes filled with disbelief. Even when she kept blinking, his expression didn’t change. It was hard to believe, but his expression was still sulky.

‘Was he really… that angry about what I said? Because of that one sentence?’