The social reputation of Rose Vikander, as written in the report, was highly unfavorable.
Constantly tormenting her half-sister, spilling tea at tea parties to humiliate others, or indulging in extravagance unbefitting a family of her status… Things of that sort.
‘A completely baseless smear campaign.’
Of course, I knew that these rumors were the work of Rose’s stepmother, the Viscountess Vikander. It was all to slander Rose as a wicked woman and bury her in society.
‘Bill doesn't seem to know that.’
That was why this farce had unfolded.
It was a joint production between me, for not giving precise orders, and Bill, for misunderstanding and going completely overboard.
“Again,”
Just as I was about to tell them to prepare again and let these guys in right away.
Puu-
A horn sounded from the outer castle, announcing the arrival of an outsider.
“…No, let us talk later. Good job.”
After briefly praising Bill, I silently stared ahead.
It was too late to dismiss these men and tidy up the surroundings now. I had no choice but to package it somehow.
‘Right, our family has always welcomed a bride this way.’
Rose would have never experienced a situation like this before, so she would not know the truth. She would have no choice but to believe me.
Thinking of it that way, it seemed like quite a decent welcoming ceremony.
…Probably. At the very least, the grandeur was certainly there.
Amidst the gleaming armor, the guards and knights radiating killing intent, and the servants standing flawlessly in line.
I waited for the carriage of the dragon… no, my wife who would change my life to arrive.
Then, suddenly,
‘Which life is the Rose arriving right now on?’
A sudden question popped into my head.
I had only experienced Rose’s life in the novel twice. I did not actually know if this world was before or after her regression from Rose’s perspective.
If Rose was living her first life, it would be difficult to expect her cooperation regarding the future.
‘It cannot be helped.’
The fact that I could respond to the future remained unchanged. Only the method would change slightly.
A cloud of dust kicked up by the carriage slowly began to appear in the distance.
“Everyone, attention!”
As the distance closed enough, the captain of the guard shouted.
Dagak, dagak.
The carriage cut through the middle of the guards lined up on both sides of the road. Even as clouds of dirt billowed up, the guards did not flinch.
As if they would defend the castle to the death, no matter what threat approached.
······The fact that there was absolutely no threat was a minor issue, though.
Dagak, dagak.
Soon, as the carriage passed the guards and neared the knights mounted on warhorses,
“Draw swords!”
Knight Commander Matthias shouted.
Seureung!
All the knights drew their swords in unison. They looked ready to slaughter the carriage at any moment.
······I should have kept my mouth shut.
Beonjjeok!
The well-sharpened blades reflected the cold winter sunlight, gleaming frostily. The carriage that had run along that path of chilling light,
Geut-
stopped smoothly in front of the castle gates.
‘The coachman put in quite an effort.’
It was a situation where the lord and all his subordinates were waiting. He couldn't possibly not be nervous.
Seok.
At my glance, Bill approached the carriage and grabbed the door handle.
Kkiik-
The shabby carriage door opened, revealing the woman sitting inside.
A worn, crude dress, and unseemly red hair under an overly large hat. It was a shabby look for a new bride.
Pishik.
A chuckle slipped out.
‘An extravagant wicked woman, huh.’
To think they believed I would see this and still believe those rumors. I was newly astounded by the Vikander family’s audacity.
‘Next is…… right, the escort.’
It had been an eternity since I last escorted someone. Still, habits ingrained in the body were fearsome things; I could execute it flawlessly and smoothly.
“My wife.”
As I offered my hand toward the inside of the carriage,
“!”
The woman startled and lifted her head.
Hair as red as rose petals, and green eyes resembling a leaf planted right in the center.
Was this what a rose would look like if it were personified?
‘A far too honest name.’
At the same time, it was a cruel name. Rose’s appearance was far from the splendor usually associated with roses. Because of that, Rose always evaluated her own looks as ugly and blamed herself.
But in my eyes, she just looked like a fragile girl without any sharp edges.
‘She seems a bit small, too.’
Were all girls her age usually this small?
Just as I was having that thought.
“Your Excellency?”
Recognizing me, Rose slowly parted her lips. Her erratically darting eyes frantically scanned my face.
‘Why is this person here?’
That was the expression she wore. She was not surprised upon seeing a stranger or someone for the first time.
This was the kind of reaction one would show when meeting someone they knew in an unexpected place. In other words, there was a high possibility that the Rose here was the Rose from after her regression.
‘Thank goodness.’
It was a faint clue, but it put my mind at ease. If so, I should hasten to the next step.
“My wife, my arm is hurting.”
Of course, I was faking it. There was no way it hurt just from holding it out in the air like this.
But it was enough to make Rose, who had been blankly staring at me, move.
“Ah. I-I’m sorry.”
Rose reflexively raised her hand. However, it did not land on my hand.
“······.”
Instead, only a wary gaze swept over my palm.
Should I accept this escort? No, is it right to accept it? What is his ulterior motive? Why is he doing this to me?
-Tormented by such worries, her eyes wavered unsteadily.
‘Just as expected.’
I thought it would not be easy to break through Rose’s wariness.
Since she had been subjected to my cold treatment—Dane’s cold treatment—throughout her entire past life, she wouldn’t easily open her heart just because I was treating her well now.
‘A squirrel…… yes, she’s exactly like a wild squirrel.’
Terrified out of her wits, with her hackles raised, guarding against me. Even her appearance resembled a squirrel.
But I was confident that I could tame this little squirrel, no, Rose.
‘I’ve even tamed the wild animals up in the Kalmar Mountains, let alone a human.’
Time, and effort. I would use a simple, textbook method.
Wait for her to open her heart, provide delicious food and a warm place to sleep. And let her know that a human's touch wasn't as bad as she thought.
Then, the one growling from afar would eventually approach and rub its body against me.
If I followed this method, I would have to wait until Rose voluntarily offered her hand,
‘I don't have the time to wait.’
So the method I chose was······.
Hwik.
To reach out to Rose without warning.
“Heok!”
Rose reflexively flinched and shrunk her shoulders, which made my brow twitch for a moment.
Teop.
I merely grasped Rose's hand lightly.
“Excuse me.”
And with a firm pull, I hoisted Rose up.
Ssuyuk.
Like a crop pulled from a field, Rose's body was dragged out without resistance.
“?”
I felt a sense of incongruity at how much lighter she was than expected. But I continued to pull the stiffly frozen Rose out.
“Ah!”
With wide eyes, Rose collapsed into my embrace as if sinking into me.
“!”
The moment that earlier sense of incongruity turned into a fierce conviction, my brow furrowed on its own.
‘What is with this body?’
Light was an understatement; she was far too light. Her waist was so thin that it could be entirely wrapped with one arm.
“Y-Your Excellency.”
The grip strength of Rose’s hands frantically clutching my forearm was also incredibly weak.
‘It feels like she would break if I applied any pressure.’
I knew the fact that Rose was being mistreated by her family. I heard she ate such terrible meals alone in her room because she had to constantly walk on eggshells when dining with her family.
It was just laughable that the report had recorded this as her being forced to eat alone in her room because she acted too obnoxiously.
This made it all the more certain.
‘It really has to be the food and shelter strategy.’
Everyone liked the person who gave them delicious food and made them comfortable. It was a logic that applied not only to beasts but also to humans.
There would be no better way to win Rose's favor.
But why was that.
A bitter taste lingered in my mouth. I even felt an unpleasant aftertaste. I should have been happy to have found a way to win her over. It was a strange feeling.
“You have to be careful.”
I struggled to hide my displeasure as I set Rose down on the ground.
“Are you alright?”
“Pardon? Ah, yes······.”
“Can you walk.”
“Uh······ y-yes. Yes······.”
A completely unenthusiastic response.
After hurriedly stepping onto the ground, Rose's eyes aimlessly wandered, unsure of where to look.
“My wife, I will ask you again. Are you sure you can walk?”
As I took a step closer and asked,
“Yes, yes, I can!”
Rose took two faltering steps backward.
She was obviously trying to put distance between us. The way her limbs creaked as they moved was exactly like looking at unoiled armor.
‘Was that brief touch really that displeasing?’
No matter how much the other party had decided not to fall in love with me, there was no need to be this repulsed.
I barely managed to stop my foul mood from seeping into my tone.
“The new wife is quite a handful.”
“What? No, this is because Your Excellency······.”
Rose, who was about to protest something, gauged my mood and then lowered her head deeply.
“I'm sorry.”
She had no reason to be that sorry. It was the attitude of someone for whom apologizing like this had become a habit.
Perhaps it was because she grew up in a household where no one listened to her and only relentlessly pushed her around.
“······Let's go.”
I wanted to firmly grab Rose's hand and drag her along,
Seok.
but I patiently held it in and held my hand out again. I didn't want to needlessly make Rose shrink back further.
“But-”
“Or else, are you planning to stay here all day?”
“······No, I'm sorry.”
Finally, as if resigning herself, Rose placed her hand on top of mine.
“Then.”
The moment I sharply turned my body toward the castle gates,
“······.”
I was met with people displaying the sizes of their gaping mouths in a variety of different ways.
The guards with their jaws dropped to the floor, the knights repeating the motion of opening and closing their mouths, and the servants who had covered their mouths entirely.
I could see the butler, Bill, and the head maid, Selma, as well as the Knight Commander, Matthias, whose eyes had grown so wide they looked ready to pop out.
‘What’s with those expressions?’
Everyone looked as if they had seen something they shouldn't have—no, as if the sky had just collapsed.
Their gazes were fixated simultaneously on my hand that held Rose. It was a gaze of absolute disbelief, wondering how the hand that had only ever been used to slay demonic beasts could be used to escort a woman.
Seok.
As I raised an eyebrow,
“Ahem, hm.”
“Kuhm.”
“Hm, hm.”
The people abruptly snapped back to their senses and started zipping their lips.
Some squeezed their eyes shut tightly, some stared outright at the sky, and some dropped their heads completely.
“Huh?”
Rose, who had bodily turned with me, gave a start of surprise, then turned her head left and right to check her surroundings. She was only now noticing the crowd gathered in front of the castle gates.