Married Couple’s Qualifications

It had been a long time since she had been deep inside the Imperial Palace.

Rivianna hurried her steps, looking at the still lavishly decorated palace. She didn’t know what the emperor’s purpose was, but she didn’t have any good memories associated with the imperial family. 

“This way, please.”

The head attendant opened the door.

Inside the glass garden stood the emperor.

“You’re finally here. I thought my eyes were going to fall out while waiting.”

“Rivianna Clayton sees the Sun of the Empire.”

“It’s a cumbersome greeting. Don’t be too hard.”

The emperor smiled and walked towards Rivianna.

The man, whose hair was neatly raised above his forehead in accordance with the capital’s fashion, and finished with a jewel on his cravat, looked much different from the previous emperor.

As did the bouquet of flowers that was presented to her with a smile.

Rivianna hesitated at the unexpected gift and eventually opened her arms to the bouquet again.

“I thought they bloomed beautifully, but I guess it can’t compare to Marchioness of Clayton’s beauty.”

“I’m flattered.”

“I’m just stating a fact.”

The Emperor’s eyes softened.

Rivianna followed him and smiled, but glanced at him. The new emperor was clearly different from his predecessor, but he wasn’t a completely different person. His eyes were an exact copy of his father’s. 

“That definitely makes me envious of Calix, even after all this time.”

“….”

“Why are you so surprised? It’s a fact that everyone knows that Calix and I have a close relationship.” 

‘Thanks to Marquis Clayon, I think we’ll get closer soon.’ The emperor playfully winked one eye.

It was only then that Rivianna realized that the reason the emperor had summoned her had something to do with Duke Pierre. She hadn’t been in the right frame of mind for the past few days, and Duke Pierre hadn’t been on her mind.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but …”

“Don’t worry, rumors may start a little, but what do you know? After all, a rumor is a rumor.”

The emperor, who had interrupted her, laughed.

She opened her mouth again to clear up the misunderstanding, but this time the emperor was quicker.

 “Then again, sometimes rumors can be useful. Like the rumors about the Marquis of Clayton’s daughter.”

“Rumors about my daughter?”

“That your daughter did not resemble her father at all.”

“It’s a rumor not worth mentioning.”

It turned out that some of the nurses were whispering that it was doubtful that Mariel’s biological father was Bake. But that was only a rumor.

However, Rivianna had never committed a single wrongdoing.

“Please don’t look at me like that. I know better than anyone that the two of us had never met after that incident.”

The emperor nodded slightly.

Unlike her, who was offended, he looked happy.

“But the rumors will come in handy as the two of you bond. Not many men would want to raise another man’s child, so the child’s custody issue will be easily resolved.”

“What are you talking about…?”

Rivianna swallowed her breath, unable to continue.

There was one memory that flashed through her mind.

“There seems to have been a misunderstanding.”

“A misunderstanding? A misunderstanding of what?”

Before she could open her mouth, the door opened.

“You’re late, Calix.”

“….”

“What are you doing? Don’t come over here quickly, if you’re late, you should hurry up and move accordingly.”

“I just asked you to reserve a seat.”

Duke Pierre walked briskly on his long legs and stood between Rivianna and the Emperor.

She suddenly turned and stared at the broad man’s back.

Now she understood why Duke Pierre had mentioned eight years ago, but that didn’t mean that all her questions were answered.

“Don’t be too cold. I was just trying to talk to your woman because she was lonely when you weren’t here.”

“Then you can excuse yourself now.”

“Now that this has happened anyway, wouldn’t it be a good idea for the three of us to get along?”

“….”

“Okay! Okay! I understand! The interrupter will be gone now, so you two can talk wholeheartedly. Is this how it should be done?”

The emperor grumbled and walked out, then Duke Pierre turned his body and Rivianna opened her eyes wide in surprise.

The distance was too close.

“Ugh.”

She gasped and reflexively retreated, accidentally stepping on the hem of her skirt, causing her body to fall backwards.

However, she didn’t fall down in shame. No, she thought, it would have been better if she had fallen.

Then she wouldn’t have had to find out what that firm feeling on her waist was.

She looked up at the indifferent man’s face and bit her lip.

Funny thing was, she was even closer to him than she had been earlier.

“….”

“….”

A short silence fell.

Rivianna pushed Duke Pierre’s arms away and straightened her posture.

In the midst of all this, Duke Pierre didn’t show any reaction.

He just looked at her, without the usual “are you okay?”

That fact was even more unbearable.

Because looking at the face of an unconcerned man brought back memories of the past when she had turned away from him.

However, it wasn’t so unbearable.

Above all, this was the last time she would see Duke Pierre like this. From now on, there should be no more entanglements. 

“I’m sorry. I misunderstood you.”

 “…What misunderstanding?”

Was it her illusion that the echoing voice sounded particularly low?

Rivianna took another step backward and clenched her fists.

“…. Have you ever met Margaret when you came back to the capital?”

“Margaret?”

Duke Pierre’s brows narrowed.

Margaret said they spent the night together. But unlike Margaret’s words, Duke Pierre didn’t seem to remember exactly who she was.

Rivianna smiled in vain and dropped her shoulders.

“It’s alright if you don’t know. It’s not someone you should know anyway.” (Riv)

“Then why would you talk about such a person here?” (Duke)

She wanted to let it go, but his gaze was persistent.

He would never retreat without a proper explanation.

Eventually, she was the one who started flying the white flag.

“… She told me she had your child.” (Riv)

“….”

It was a moment, but she was sure she saw it.

The expressionless man’s eyes wavered slightly,

But she pretended not to notice.

She had so many questions she wanted to ask him, but she couldn’t ask anything.

Bringing up the past was not going to change anything.

Too much time had passed for that to happen.

“You already know, don’t you? All the conversations we’ve had so far have been a misunderstanding.” (Riv)

“….”

“First of all, I would like to apologize again for my decision to make the incident too big. And if you wish, I’d be happy to provide appropriate compensation.” (Riv)

“….”

Rivianna didn’t know what the look the Duke was giving her meant.

To be exact, she didn’t want to know.

She exhaled tiredly. She just wanted to finish what she had to say and leave this place quickly.

“If you have nothing more to say, I’ll leave now.” (Riv)

Rivianna retreated without facing Duke Pierre further.

However, her steps were blocked shortly.

Duke Pierre, who had blocked her way, looked down at her.

Rivianna raised her head helplessly.

“Is there anything else you want to say?” (Riv)

“….”

“If there isn’t, would you please step aside?” (Riv)

Rivianna stared at him urgently, Duke Pierre eventually retreated to the side.

At that moment, the man still had the same expressionless face, and she couldn’t tell what he was thinking. But whether it was love, guilt, or ulterior motives, it didn’t matter to her. All she knew was that they had already ended a long time ago.

***

“Bake, what are you drinking in the daytime?”

“…Noisy.”

“Oh, I get it. You heard the news, didn’t you? That your beautiful wife went to the palace today.”

“…”

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m on your side.”

Count Narette smirked and put his arm on Bake’s shoulder.

Bake glared at Count Narette with bright red bloodshot eyes and quickly emptied his glass in one go.

“She has some business to attend to. There’s nothing wrong.”

“Of course not. The noble Marchioness could not possibly be entangled in such a nasty lascivious dispute. Even if it was that man who was rolling around like a dog in the middle of nowhere.”

“….”

“It doesn’t matter how noble his lineage is, he can’t help it. It’s the same as those mercenaries who are worn out and dirty now. There is no such thing as the right path for such a person.”

(*the Count is talking about Rivianna and Duke Pierre)

Count Narette  said in a deliberately exaggerated tone and filled Bake’s glass with liquor.

From the way his tongue swirled, it seemed that he had already had a drink before he arrived, but it didn’t matter.

In his experience, the more drunk Bake got, the better.

“You remember, don’t you? He talked to you casually at the party. Couldn’t he show a little respect for you?”

“….”

“Come to think of it, the Marchioness was too much, too. She talked to that man separately when she knew everyone was watching.”

“….”

“Poor Bake.”

Count Narette clutched his chest and frowned.

Bake didn’t look at Count Narette, but his mouth was twisted.

“I’m not a stranger to this, so be careful, my friend.”

“….”

“From the way the emperor is doing, he seems to be willing to give anything to Duke Pierre, in order to consolidate his position.”

Creak!

The chair was pushed away with a monstrous sound.

Count Narette supported Bake as he staggered to his feet.

How much he drank, he couldn’t control his body.

“Oh, no. I need to call a carriage quickly.”

“No more carriages.”

Bake turned, shoving Count Narette away.

Count Nalet watched as Bake walked like he was about to fall at any moment.

A smile spread on his lips. Looking at Bake, who couldn’t hide his emotions properly, made him laugh.

“You’re going somewhere?”

“Don’t worry about it!”

The moment Bake nervously raised his voice, he collapsed.

“You speak too loudly for a drunk man.”

Instead of helping Bake, Count Narette sneaked a look at the unconscious Bake and checked his wallet.

The wallet was full of bills, as if he was the merchant’s son.

Count Narette, as he was accustomed to do, took out all the bills in Bake’s wallet and put them in his wallet.

From the looks of things, Bake would need someone to explain the situation in the near future, so it wasn’t be a bad idea to accept the fee up front.

****

Bang! Bang! Bang!

There was a rough pounding on the door.

Margaret rose from her seat as if she was used to it.

Rivianna was confident, but nothing had changed.

If it were meant to end with only one piece of paper, it wouldn’t have continued until now.

Margaret stifled a giggle and opened the door.

As soon as the door was open, the terrible smell of alcohol hit her nose.

“…………”

She tried to talk, but she couldn’t hide her overflowing anticipation.

They had been apart for quite a long time.

She missed the chest of the man who held her so desperately.

“Then should we go again?”

Bake leaned against the door, looking down at Margaret at an angle.

Margaret swallowed hard at his stare.

The man’s eyes were relaxed when he drank too much.

 “What happened?”

“…”

Baks kept silent.

But looking at his red, flaming face, Margaret had a pretty good idea what had happened.

The pattern was always the same.

In front of his wife, he couldn’t say a word and struggled, and eventually he crawled into Margaret’s arms. In the end, the winner was her.

Margaret reached out and wrapped Bake’s face.

Then she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him slowly.

Bake’s gaze shook for a moment, but it was very short.

Margaret knew that Bake would not refuse her.

 “I want to comfort you.”

“….”

“It’ll take only a moment.”

Margaret bit the man’s lip, staring up at him as she removed her lips.

And at that moment, Bake’s hand held her head in a hard grip.

 Margaret opened her eyes wide and quickly folded her arms around Bake’s neck. That was the beginning.

There was no further dialogue.

Only rough breathing and touching hands, devouring each other.

***

*This couple should be hanged.