Chapter 17

Mr. Aedis, who was free at the moment, put down his comb.

"If it's something you want, I'll make sure to try my best."

I tried to think of something good to distract Aedis from speaking about my picky taste in food.

"Before we leave, can we wear a couple outfit? The meeting with my parents will go better that way."

"Let's do that."

He accepted pleasantly.

"Can I choose the clothes?"

"Of course."

Ah, I can't get used to this. The Aedis I knew from the novel wasn't so normal...

Hey, what's good is good I guess.

I turned my chair over to look at him.

"What are your three sizes again?"

We're going to have to tailor all of the accessories, even shoes so that it'll fit him perfectly.

Most of the people from the empire have small feet, but I didn't know what it was like for Aedis whose origins were unknown. It'd be annoying if no sizes were to fit him right away at the boutique. Without raising his hand, Aedis pointed to his feet and said,

"If you're curious, you can touch them."

I'm doing everything, really.

"Then, take it off."

He hesitated. He tilted his head down for a bit before suddenly taking off his pants.

"...My beloved Mr. Aedis, what are you doing?"

"But you told me to 'take it off'?"

"No! Your shoes!"

"If you look at my bottom with such affectionate eyes, of course, I'll get the wrong idea."

Excuse me?

"Anyway, since it's our first night together, isn't this a logical misunderstanding?"

You're surprisingly brazen yet cute at the same time.

"Mr. Aedis, you seem to be enjoying yourself."

"This is my first time getting married. Not the second."

No remarriage. He laughed, making an X with his fingers.

"Can I ask what you would've done if I had refused?" [Aedis]

"Well, kidnapping, imprisoning... Those sort of things are impossible." [Maevia]

"If it's you, it might be possible." [Aedis]

Huuhh? I tilted my head to the side.

"Whaat, maybe I like to take a little bit of revenge. I'm just someone who'll stay childish forever"

"...A little bit?"

He looked at me with a doubtful expression.

I was in a deep sleep. I felt a faint feeling that someone was lying next to me.

It wasn't Sarah...

"Eve."

Maybe it was because it's morning, but his voice sounded deeper than usual when he called me. It sounded sweet, giving me chills.

It was Aedis. Right, I got married.

On our first night, we didn't speak with our bodies but with our mouths instead and somehow I fell asleep. Still, I felt really sleepy.

He gently shook me but when he received no response, Aedis said,

"Shouldn't you get up now?"

".....Five more minutes."

The frequent excuses I used to give Sarah flowed out of my mouth.

He grumbled with a dissatisfied tone.

"You said that earlier."

"Then, ten minutes."

"You said that too."

Oops.

I opened my eyes in a vacant manner when I was told of my impressive record.

Aedis' face was exceedingly close to mine.

And I felt sleepy.

"Right after our first night, how stingy. If we were to both undress, I don't think you'd be willing to get up." [Eve]

Aedis shrugged. I stared at him with hazy eyes and lowered my head because of the weight I felt.

"Thirty more...minutes….", I said, as if it was my last wish and fell asleep.

"This is driving me insane."

I heard him sigh as he got ready to go back to the bed.

Shortly after, I felt someone pat me on the back.

When I woke up, the sun had already risen to the middle of the sky.

Yawn, I slept well.

As I stretched, I felt my husband's tired gaze on me.

"Mr. Aedis, you look like you just had a nightmare."

"...."

"Did you have a bad night?"

Annoyed, he complained to me with a tense selection of words.

"Did you cling onto me on purpose?"

"Guess so."

"You're quite excited."

I smiled with my eyes at Aedis, who was discontent.

"The weather is good, I married a good man and I became Gilbert's stepmother. Is there a reason to not be excited?"

And like that, I was kicked out of his room for provoking him and keeping him awake.

"That's mean, Your Excellency. You shouldn't tease the Grand Duke as soon as you wake up."

Sarah gave me a light scolding.

When she passed by Aedis' room, she wasn't surprised to find me banished from there. Instead, she gave me an indistinct look.

With speed, she had already prepared tea for me as if she knew I was going to be kicked out of his room.

"I see that the lady is... Oops, Your Excellency is very playful today."

"Thanks for pointing out my playfulness, Sarah."

I sipped my tea as I smiled at her the same way I smiled at Aedis. She shook her head.

"I won't ask about what happened."

"But aren't you curious about what I'll be doing from now on?"

"Huh?"

Fufu, fufufu. I laughed like an evil stepmother, never stopping.

"You know, Sarah, I'm going to be a mosquito from now on."

".....A mosquito?"

"A mosquito that annoys Gilbert by loitering around him and stinging the rim of his ears."

That day, Aedis assigned Vega and Prokeon to me. They were supposed to keep an eye on Gilbert but when I told him there was no need, he told me to have them be my servants instead.

A bruise was present on Vega's forehead, it must be from when the candy jar that Aedis threw so hard it could kill landed on his head.

I don't know whether or not I should be happy he got hit by the jar.

"Sir Prokeon."

In a cheery tone, I called out to the knight and temporary servant Aedis told me to do what I want with.

Faster than I can take a breath, he answered,

"Y-you said Sir! Just call me whatever you want, please speak without any honorifics. If you have a problem and my name is too long, you can just call me by 'Hey' or 'You'."

"Can I really?"

Rather than a young knight, Prokeon, who was currently nodding his head intensely, was more like some kid imitating a knight.

"Of course. How dare I accept such treatment by Your Excellency? The lord cares a lot about Your Excellency. Please do whatever you want!"

I was already going to do whatever I want, but now that I'm hearing it from the person directly involved, I feel a teeny bit guilty.

I was already shocked by how Aedis spoke to me formally yesterday, but it seems like he does sincerely care about me.

Maybe it was because I didn't speak in a demanding tone. Certainly, I didn't use a very aristocratic tone. Usually, when I'm angry, I tend to speak informally like I did before.

When it came to formalities, I wasn't as precise as I was with socializing.

"Then, Sir Prokeon, if you truly wish for me to be comfortable around you, can you do me a favour?"

"Anything you want!"

He answered enthusiastically.

I couldn't stop smiling,

"I'd like to have grilled meat."

Gilbert had a small flowerpot and a bed. While Aedis and I enjoyed ourselves in a big and nice room, Gilbert was locked away here.

How lucky of you.

You must've smelled the scent of meat off my clothes, right?

I patted down my skirt, making sure everything looked perfect. Hmm, the scent was so strong I didn't want to smell it anymore.

Satisfied, I turned the doorknob.

"Good morning."

I ignored the fact that it was three in the afternoon.

The moment he saw me enter with my tray, Gilbert's eyes distorted.

"What are you doing?"

I had a hurt expression.

"Even if I'm not your blood-related mother, aren't you speaking too carelessly?"

"Mother?"

He looked right at me with an expression that told me the thought of me as his stepmother made him want to puke.

Yeah, go ahead and puke.

Leisurely, I looked inside the neat room, ignoring the murderous aura coming from him. Honestly, this room was too luxurious for someone like Gilbert.

Remembering how the original Maevia was kept captive by him, I pursed my lips in order to control my emotions.

And so, I smiled naively instead.

"Indeed. A benevolent mother who takes great care of her insane adopted son."

With light steps, I walked towards him and put down the tray. Since Gilbert hated ginger, the tray was filled to the brim with specially designed menus.

The sight of roasted ginger, dried ginger, simmered ginger and boiled ginger made him clench his fist. His veins were bulging and he looked like he was about to choke me.

No, it'd be good if you were to make such a huge mistake.

I smiled contemptibly.

"I'll be going to the north on the weekend. From now on, as your stepmother, I will be taking care of you in many ways."

Hearing me buzz around his ear like a mosquito, Gilbert threw the tray.

Prokeon and Vega, who were standing outside, quickly ran in when they heard the sound of glass breaking.

"Your Excellency!"

"Are you alright? What's going on?!"

Tears began to pool in my eyes.

"Sob..."

'It's too much for me', I murmured in a tone that everyone could hear and dropped my head.

Vega and Prokeon stared at the ginger tray for a moment and instead of talking about all the uneaten ginger, they severely chastised him.

"You've gone too far, young master! How can you do such a thing to her Excellency when she came here with such a heavy tray?!"

"Yeah, this is really too much! Even if you were to travel across the mountains and sea, it'd be hard to find such a beauty even in the imperial palace!"

The positions of authority seemed to have been switched. The two of them were trying their best not to get chewed out by Aedis.

Yupp, I sure figured out how to use them.