Marriage With A Suspiciously Demure Husband

I pressed my temples again.

“You have to keep that promise.”

“Of course!”

“Sigh…”

While Dylan looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders, on the contrary, I felt utterly defeated.

Still, I tried to console myself by thinking of it as repaying a favor.

“So, when can I see them? I’ll adjust my schedule to fit their time.”

With reluctance, I finally mustered up the question. Once again, Dylan showered me with praise, hailing me as the most skilled illusionist, akin to a god.

Meanwhile, the staff members who had served us tea earlier returned with news that the guild master had arrived, and another staff member provided me with the requested documents, so I made plans to meet Dylan again later.

* * *

That evening, I met up with Annie again.

She seemed to be in a rush, hungrily devouring the food in front of her without any pause. In swift succession, she polished off three plates, satisfied her appetite, downed a glass of wine in one gulp, and promptly wiped her mouth.

“Ah… now I can live!”

“Should I order more?”

“Hmm. No thanks, this is perfect. So, how was your day?”

I pointed to the envelope I had placed on one side of the table.

“It went fine. There were some frustrating moments, though…”

“Frustrating?”

“I ran into a former colleague.”

Her eyes crinkled as she suppressed a smile.

“Hmm, it says ‘Dylan’ on your face.”

I couldn’t hide my astonishment.

“Of all places, he had to come to the Guild Association!”

“Why?”

“He said there was some cooperation he needed, and it turned into a big fuss. I shouldn’t have pretended to know him.”

“It must have been something urgent…”

“I’m not sure. According to him, it was, but… anyway, I agreed to help him for a short while. Although I’m not sure if it’s the right decision, if the problem becomes lengthy, I’ll refuse.”

“Please let me know in advance if there’s any change in your schedule.”

As Annie spoke, I nodded in agreement.

“You seem to think something might change. Don’t scare me like that!”

She burst into laughter at my remark.

“Still, since both of us went through the day safely, let’s have a toast. We’ll need strength for tomorrow’s work.”

“That sounds good. Oh, if anything comes up, you can come to the Wilson Hotel.”

Initially, I had intended to stay at the same hotel as Annie for the sake of convenience in our work, but I had a change of heart. It was because I realized it would be better for her to handle the situation without drawing Noah’s attention if I stayed separately at the Wilson Hotel.

“All right, and did you know? The top floor of the Wilson is modeled after the imperial palace rooms.”

“Really?”

I had no idea. I had chosen that place solely to persuade and reassure Noah, and it was so exorbitantly expensive.

“Yes, that’s right. Maybe I should go there and sleep when the time comes.”

Emptying her glass of wine again, she poured another for me as I held my wine glass in return. The clinking sound was delightful.

The wine I drank after finishing my work tasted heavenly.

* * *

“Boss!”

As Annie and I returned to the hotel after dinner, Nigella was waiting by the door.

“Nigella.”

I quickened my pace towards her.

While I had expected Ginger to come as well, given the challenging tasks she had, I guessed it was not possible. Well, as long as I was cautious when meeting Annie, it should be fine. In fact, there was no one else I could trust to handle the work like Nigella.

“Where have you been? I’m sorry, I tried to come earlier, but there was a problem at the transportation gate, so I got delayed.”

I opened the door and clapped my hands.

“It’s okay. Wasn’t it difficult for you to come all the way here? You could have taken it easy.”

“I’m fine. It’s you I’m worried about. Moving alone must have been tough. You should have brought an employee…”

“I was perfectly fine. I only had this to carry around. If I needed some help, I would have already bought one. What about your luggage?”

She stepped fully inside, waving the stack of documents in her hand.

“Luckily, the adjacent room was vacant, so I had it reserved and put my luggage there. I thought you might have a busy schedule, so I put it there first…”

“Good job. What about dinner?”

Nigella hesitated for a moment.

“I have eaten. What about you, Boss?”

I turned to her.

“You know you’re a bad liar, Nigella.”

There was no way she’d have dinner already. After all, upon her arrival, she immediately informed us about a problem with the gate. Given her personality, she would have likely chosen to wait inside the carriage until the gate resumed normal operation.

Despite being Kairos’ subordinate, she had an excessively diligent side to her.

“H-huh?”

“You’ve worked hard coming here. I won’t do anything today, so I won’t make any demands. Go and have dinner at your own pace. I’ll be in the room.”

“I’m fine. I will assist you right away.”

“It’s not fine. When did I ever make you work while you starve?”

“No! Never. You’ve never done that.”

Nigella clapped her hands with both hands.

“Once you get out of here, look for the big green sign after turning right on the main road. The food there is really delicious.”

“…Boss.”

“I’ll be leisurely taking a bath, so eat and come back. You don’t have to report to me just because you had your meal. Don’t make me the wicked boss.”

Nigella finally smiled belatedly.

“Understood, I’ll be back soon.”

“Good. Take your time!”

After bidding farewell to Nigella, I wasted no time in undressing and heading into the bathroom.

It amazed me how deeply ingrained habits could be. Back at home, Noah would take care of everything, and now, handling everything alone felt somewhat burdensome.

Perhaps it was due to the busyness of my day, running around both at the desk and at the guild headquarters or maybe it was the draining effects of casting illusions. Even simple tasks like applying lotion, finding a robe, or drying my hair were challenging.

My long hair, now reaching down to my hips, made me contemplate the idea of cutting it short to ease the strain on my arms.

Still, I had been growing it for so long because Noah enjoyed touching it…

Without Annie there at dinner, it would have been quite lonely. Unconsciously, a sense of fear began to seep into my life, a life that had become so familiar.

“….”

As I sat on the bed and calmly drying my hair, my attention was drawn to the communication device I had placed on the desk earlier.

Normally, I should have contacted him immediately, but I hesitated.

Nigella must have already informed him of my arrival, and I had already shared the details of the hotel where I would be staying…

Should I reach out to him now, or would it be better to leave him be? Noah wouldn’t need to take any action if I wasn’t there. Perhaps it would be more comfortable for him that way. Maybe he was even happily singing to himself.

While I deliberated for a while, unable to tear my eyes away from the communication device, I eventually decided to turn away and leave things as they were.

“…Let’s do it tomorrow.”

I could say I was tired and went to bed, and he would probably understand. At the thought, I lay down on the bed after putting down the towel.

* * *

Thud, thud, thud.

Kairos tapped the table with his fingers, creating a rhythm reminiscent of a clock’s pendulum. Closing his eyes momentarily, he roughly ran his fingers through his hair. The usually eerie quietness of the office felt even more pronounced today.

Ever since he sent Hazel to the capital, he had been in this state.

“….”

As the night wore on, the office grew darker.

Despite Nigella’s report that she had safely met Hazel and provided her with a portable communication device, the office’s own communication device stubbornly remained silent, refusing to emit any light.

Hazel had promised to contact him upon her arrival.

Could she be too exhausted from exploring the vast capital until late evening? Those small, pale feet of hers must have carried her a long way, leaving her drained.

Yet, he was certain that she wouldn’t forget about him. But as if taunting his thoughts, two more hours slipped away, and still, there was no contact from her.

“…Seems like she’s really tired.”

In the end, he let out a resigned sigh as his gaze settled on Hazel’s portrait. Though it might not have fully captured her original beauty, he had to make do with it due to time constraints. Nonetheless, even that fleeting satisfaction didn’t last long.

He longed for the memory of her soft, plump lips murmuring to herself and the gentle dimple that graced her smile. Those were aspects he couldn’t quench his thirst for.

Was the night always this endless?

As the night progressed, the typically serene atmosphere that settled calmly felt unusually restless today.

Sleep eluded him, so he turned to review some documents. Before he realized it, dawn had already arrived. A sudden surge of intense pain pulsed through his head, causing his forehead to furrow involuntarily.

At that very moment, the doorknob turned, and the door swung open.

Without even looking at the door, Kairos knew exactly who it was. As always, Sid, who brought the morning documents for him to review, was taken aback by the unexpected scene.

“M-My lord? Are you already here? I’m sorry! I thought it was still early, and it’d be empty!”

“….”

When Kairos didn’t respond, Sid glanced around. The atmosphere wasn’t much different from when he had greeted him yesterday when leaving work.

“…Could it be that you’ve been here since yesterday?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized how careless they were. The tense atmosphere was palpable, and it was evident to anyone present.

While contemplating that, he discreetly tried to hide the documents he had brought behind his back. However, as Kairos lifted his head and extended his hand, signaling for the documents to be handed over before leaving, he felt a cold sweat trickling down his back.

Lately, the atmosphere had indeed grown gloomier.

Besides presenting the documents, Sid hesitated once again. In this moment, any mistake or missing information in the documents could be an express ticket to hell.

‘…Have I thoroughly reviewed the documents? Were they perfect?’

Sid’s heart pounded as he took a step back. Maybe it was just his misunderstanding that Kairos’ demeanor seemed softer recently.

The feeling of cold sweat persisted as he hesitantly retreated.

Ah, his master had been so happy lately?!