“Why...?”
“They are the people gathered to welcome my wife.”
“Pardon? To welcome me?”
Rose asked back, looking utterly bewildered.
“Everyone's gazes are a bit...”
“They are just nervous.”
“Their armor is too shiny...”
“Because they have too much oil on them.”
“...”
Whether Rose blinked in confusion or not,
Teobeuk.
I led Rose by the hand and started walking.
Teobeuk, teobeuk.
The path from the carriage to the door was not long. But as I walked past the servants lined up on either side, bowing at the waist,
‘It's going to be a long road ahead.’
I thought to myself. Amidst this, I could feel Rose stealing glances at me from the corner of her eye.
“Do you have something to say?”
“I-I'm sorry.”
Rose hastily turned her head away as if she hadn't expected me to notice.
‘She even resembles a wild animal in that aspect.’
Peeking at me slyly, then pretending she hadn't been looking the moment our eyes met.
Anyway, from then on, Rose only looked at the floor as she walked. Because of that, I was able to observe Rose more closely.
‘Her dress is old.’
With slight exaggeration, it was in worse condition than the head maid's dress. Let alone its shabby material, there were traces of her personally mending frayed and worn-out parts here and there.
It felt like she had carefully ironed and worn the cleanest, best-condition outfit she owned.
‘On her very first day of marriage, no less.’
I realized anew just how much the Viscountess Vikander wanted to be rid of Rose.
She sent Rose to the seat where seven wives had died, omitting even the minimal adornment. As if disposing of defective inventory.
‘She's going to die anyway, so she must've thought even that expense was a waste.’
A crooked smile formed on my face involuntarily.
How could this be the appearance of a wicked woman who stole from her sister and squandered the family's fortune?
Well, they probably never imagined I would come out to greet her in person. Not to mention the rumors they had been so diligently spreading.
‘This is truly annoying.’
I had planned to leave the revenge against the Vikander family entirely to Rose, but seeing her like this made my hands itch.
Since I was going to help Rose anyway, assisting her in taking revenge against the Vikander family wouldn't be a bad idea. This would also help me win points with Rose.
As I organized my thoughts like this, what I needed to do from here on out became much clearer.
That was when it happened.
“Excuse me, Your Excellency.”
Rose called out to me in a small voice.
“What is it?”
“May I ask you one question?”
“You may ask two.”
It was my attempt to break the awkward atmosphere.
“...”
Rose's expression turned peculiar.
It seemed I said it unnecessarily.
“What is your question?”
“...Today.”
Rose took a deep breath and continued.
“Why did you come out? All the way here.”
Rose, who had been avoiding my gaze until now, looked straight into my eyes at this moment.
She was the one who asked the question, yet she waited for my answer with a tense face. As if she were searching for something in my eyes, her earnest gaze clinging to me.
If she was coming at me with such sincerity, it would only be polite for me to respond accordingly.
“Because you are my wife.”
I said slowly, looking into Rose's eyes.
“Isn't it obvious to come out to greet my wife when she arrives?”
At my unwavering tone, Rose's barely maintained composure shattered.
“Obvious... you say?”
It was a tone of pure disbelief. It was a reaction as if something impossible had just happened.
I understood. Even I hadn't thought I would say such things until this morning.
But the situation had changed, and now it was time to accept this change.
“Why do you think these people are gathered here? It's the same reason as me.”
“To... welcome me?”
“That's right.”
I stopped walking the moment I finished speaking. We had reached the wide-open gates of the inner castle.
“It doesn't matter if you don't believe me.”
“...”
“Actions speak louder than words, so showing you will be faster.”
I let go of Rose's hand and offered a greeting.
“It will be mealtime soon. I will see you in the dining room.”
“Dining room...”
Rose looked at me, stroking the hand that had been holding mine, now freed.
“Does that mean you will be having dinner with me?”
“That is correct.”
“...Why?”
The single word that slipped out unconsciously contained a multitude of meanings.
Why he would want to eat with me, why he would come all the way here to greet me. Why he would...
The words she failed to utter faded away like illusions. It was a phrase that only someone who knew of a past that no longer existed could utter.
“-!”
Realizing her slip-up, Rose bit her lip. I, on the other hand, felt relieved seeing that.
‘Rose is certain after the regression.’
That was why I could speak with even more certainty.
“Welcome to the Schmaichel estate, my wife.”
Rose's pitifully wavering eyes turned toward me. Soon, she answered.
“...Thank you, Your Excellency.”
All sorts of emotions were swirling within that answer, which fell like a sigh.
With that, the first step—the first encounter with Rose—came to an end.
**
Sabal, sabal.
The sound of the servants walking with hushed breaths.
Dalkgeulrak.
The subtle noise of tableware and food plates being placed on the serving cart.
That was all the sound that occasionally echoed in the spacious dining room.
The dining room was accordingly quiet. It was so as not to offend me as I sat at the dining table.
However.
‘Just what.’
I was so lost in thought that I could barely pay attention to such things.
‘What was the problem?’
As I recalled the order I had given to Bill earlier.
‘We must show a welcoming ceremony befitting the Schmaichel family name.’
‘Prepare it thoroughly so that my wife can clearly know what family she has entered.’
No matter how much I pondered, the conclusion was the same.
‘I said it well, didn't I?’
...No. If I had spoken properly, it wouldn't have resulted in this. Was my expression when I spoke the problem? Did I speak while frowning too much?
“Bill.”
“Yes, Master.”
Bill, who was pouring water into a cup beside me, looked at me.
“Do you have a mirror?”
Eumchik.
Startled, he quickly composed his face and bowed his head deeply.
“...Yes, Master.”
A servant handed me the mirror they had brought.
“Here you are.”
“Mm.”
I took the mirror Bill handed me and looked into it.
Blue eyes and skin so transparent it was pale. Silver hair resembling the snowy mountains of winter here.
It was an appearance that was practically the trademark of the Schmaichel family. My father was the same, as was I.
Above all, what stood out were these excessively cold eyes. They were so blue that they looked freezing.
‘Father and son are exactly the same. It's like we have ice embedded in our eyes.’
Even when I had an audience with the king alongside my father as a child, I heard such things.
‘Was my gaze the problem after all?’
I knew full well that my eyes appeared intimidating to others. Someone once said it felt like their insides were being pierced when I looked at them. I had also heard people say it was scary because they felt like they were being scrutinized thoroughly.
Seuk.
I frowned at the mirror. Because I usually went around with this expression most of the time.
“...Hmm.”
Certainly, if I spoke in this state, even a normal order would have sounded like a murder command.
Then what should I do from now on?
‘Should I smile?’
The moment I thought that far, I realized another problem.
‘How do I smile again?’
When was the last time I smiled broadly because I was genuinely happy or pleased?
It felt like it was so long ago that I couldn't even remember. I think it was around the time my parents passed away.
‘Smiling is out of the question.’
Then I should at least do something about these intimidating eyes.
“...”
I tried to soften the area around my eyes, but it didn't seem to have much effect.
It had been years since I armed myself with a stern face so as not to give collateral relatives any reason to find fault or catch me off guard. An old habit wouldn't be fixed with a brief effort.
This was a problem that time would solve.
‘This won't be easy...’
I returned the mirror to the butler, Bill, and asked him a question.
“Have you finished guiding her around the castle?”
“Yes, Master.”
Even though it was a question without a subject, Bill immediately understood what I meant. He put the mirror away respectfully and continued.
“I guided the Madam to the room at the end of the hallway on the east side of the second floor. Her luggage and her maid moved there as well.”
I thought it was about time I corrected the misunderstanding Bill had about Rose.
“In your eyes, did Rose Vikander truly look like the villainess from the rumors?”
Bill fell silent for a moment before carefully asking a question.
“May I speak honestly?”
“I am asking because I want an honest answer.”
Bill observed me closely. After confirming that my expression was perfectly calm, he slowly opened his mouth.
“To be honest, the Vikander family's rudeness was beyond imagination. Did you see the dress the Madam was wearing when she arrived?”
“I saw it.”
“It was the first time I had seen such a shoddy dress. I am utterly appalled at what they must take the Schmaichel family for to dress a bride in such a thing and send her here.”
“Was it that bad?”
Well, it must be serious if even I, who had no interest in women's clothing like dresses, could tell.
“I ordered them to dispose of that dress immediately. It was so old I didn't think it could even be used as a rag.”
“A rag...”
“The luggage she brought was also just a single bag. Is that all? She only brought one maid as well. She should have had at least three.”
“Is that how the previous wives were?”
“There were cases where they brought over six maids. They even loaded their luggage onto two carriages.”
Bill shook his head.
“She was too modest for a rumored villainess.”
“So she was.”
Bill had eyes, so he must have seen it too. Then, the rumor was wrong...
“That is precisely why it is so presumptuous of her.”
...Huh?
I was so taken aback that I kept my mouth shut.
Whether he knew it or not, Bill continued with a serious expression.
“To try to deceive you, Master, who prepared a welcoming ceremony with such sincerity. She must have assumed you wouldn't know the rumors about her, and is brazenly putting on an act.”
“...”
“They say women in high society change their masks as needed, but this is going too far.”
Were we even looking at the same person? How could he think of that as an act?
...No, he didn't see the same things I did.
That face, those expressions. The trivial habits and minute gestures ingrained in her body.
They were the kind of things that only someone watching up close could understand—the very pitiful and sorrowful kind.
“Bill.”
My head started to ache. Because of this rigid butler's way of thinking.