Contrary to my expectations, my married life with Anne Marie pa.s.sed peacefully.
The whole house seem to brighten up due to how perfect of a lady she was.
It might be because of the warm colours that were decorating the residence as of late, but the expressions of the servants felt much more cheerful.
In addition, she also helped me in many social affairs.
Unlike me, who wasn"t good at socializing; Anne Marie was trained in the practice by her father since early childhood, and was very skilled at it.
Even if I dismissed the atmosphere of the crowd and abruptly left my seat, she would immediately respond by to cover up for me. She compensated my lack of social skills.
Her a.s.sistance protected the name of Duke Westin.

"I"m home."
Whenever I returned home, she would always be there—at the entrance, to greet me with a smile.
No matter how late it was, she would always be there—awake, awaiting my return.
"Welcome home, Gilbert-sama."
So to speak.

Not only was I satisfied with my current situation, but I also appreciated her presence.
But, at night.
I still kept calling her "Maria".
Her calm and collected facade—
— when would it crack to reveal the fury hidden underneath?
When would you show me your tears?
The answer to that question was one that I definitely wanted to know.

"It seems that the Viscount of Groc had been snooping around Maria as of late."
Around the time a season had pa.s.sed since the beginning of my married life, I received a grave summon from my older brother.
"Viscount of Groc…? Isn"t he the one who had been persistently hitting on Sister in Law since her maidenhood?"
Ever since I started adressing Anne Marie as ‘Maria" in bed, I referred to the real Maria as Sister in Law.
Because whenever I uttered "Maria"—Anne Marie"s face would be the one that came up in my mind.

"I thought he had long since given up…"
My brother didn"t even bother to hide his contempt.
"Shouldn"t punishment befall him already?"
"It can"t be carried out since up to this point, he hasn"t caused any direct harm to Maria. He has only been reported being seen around her often, though at random."
However, the stake for the potential of said harm would only rise from now on.

"And? The reason you asked for my presence would be?"
"You might also want to be cautious."
"…What do you mean by that?"
I failed to find any direct linking between me and the story my brother just told me about.
"Since it"s the Viscount of Groc, I"m afraid I can"t do much about him."
Ah. That was probably because when it was about pampering Maria, you are the type who would lose his head, irresponsibly leaving all of your supposed duties behind.
However,
"Despite his questionable acts and inquiries toward the Queen, there are some high aristocrats who still have contact with him."
Marquis of Bellman—was one of them, said my brother.

Marquis Bellman was a well-known name.
It was unusual to me, personally.
Back When I was absorbed in my studies of medicinal herbs, he was the director of the overall research activity.
Together, we explored a lot of things and were thrilled by our discoveries.
"Certainly, he is an ambitious person, but.."
While I was enthusiastic about the public-reveal of our results, he was more pa.s.sionate about how he could make use of them.
Without him, it would have take many more years before the usefulness of my research could be realized.
But, at the same time, what he prioritized the most was his own interests.
Now, it was the specialty of his territory—Malone Gra.s.s, a recognized herbal remedy made from just a kind of wild gra.s.s.

"It seems like by cooperating with you, he intends to express his support of you claiming the throne."
"…What?"
That was his intention toward me?
"How can that be."
Other than my brother, no one else was suitable for the position of king.
Certainly, he did marvel at my research and genuinely expressed his admiration—
—but that"s it.
"Well, it"s just a possibility, but he may come in contact with you in near time."
"Be careful."

No matter how much I thought about it, I still couldn"t comprehend the idea of him trying to make me the king. It was difficult for me to understand, how someone could even think of such a thing. But if my brother told me to be on guard, I shall do so.
"It would be better if you tightens the security around Anne Marie as well. Sorry, I can"t tell you the details. They"re too gruesome."
"If his intention is to put me on the throne, won"t he, at the very least, guarantee the well-being of my wife, Anne Marie?"
"I do hope so, but we don"t know what is on his mind, Just stay on guard."
"…I understand."

The Knight"s Headquarter was the place I visited immediately after parting from my brother.
As the increase in number of escorts was only temporary, my brother gave me permission to borrow some knights.
"Knight Captain, I would like several knights to be sent to my mansion. Of course, along with this request, I have obtained the consent of my brother."
"If it isn"t the Duke of Westin. Certainly, starting from tomorrow, we will dispatch five people on a daily basis for you."
"That would be of great help—however, is making such a prompt decision alright?"
Even if the permission was bestowed directly by the King, the Knights also had other important tasks to do. To dispatch five people at once, surely there would be no more room left for personnel.
Nonetheless, the Knight Captain only laughed broadly.
"It"s okay, you needn"t worry about anything! After all you are a benefactor to our Order and the other guards."
"…"Benefactor"?"
I did not remember doing any kind of favor to receive such a t.i.tle.
"You may not know about it, but thanks to the gra.s.s you have discovered—Malone, was it? We have been able to treat injuries that we would"ve never imagined to treat before."
Malone Gra.s.s.
The powerful a.n.a.lgesic action of the gra.s.s treated injuries faster. It clotted the blood and dried the wound in a miraculously small amount of time. The effect could be felt either by swallowing it or by directly applying it to the injured area.
For the knights who got seriously injured while carrying out their duties, the gra.s.s that resulted from my collaboration with Marquis Bellman was a tremendous help.
I knew that it preceded from me—but was there any reason for such a vast amount of grat.i.tude?
"It is nothing to be thanked about, I just did what I wanted to do."
"I see, I see~"
"Well then, I"ll dispatch them early, starting from tomorrow."—I departed from the headquarter after hearing that line. The Knight Captain saw me out with a smile adorning his face.

…So there indeed existed people out there, who were greatly pleased by what I was doing.
During my engagement period, I never directly gave Anne Marie a present.
Each time she received a present from me, I wonder if she was delighted?
Thus, I finally decided.

"I have arrived."
"Welcome back, Gilbert-sama."
Anne Marie welcomed me home with a smile again.
Wordlessly, I shoved a bouquet of gerbera toward her chest.

**T/N: I think Gilbert might have some kind of major personality disorder…. As always, thanks, editor-san!

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