Episode 17

While Elouise was meeting with Marcus’s aunt, Marcus himself was being cornered by Logan.

Even with the sun beaming against the blue sky, Marcus hadn’t stirred from his sleep, so Logan went straight to the master’s room to drag him out. Naturally, some “persuasive” measures were required. Thanks to that, Marcus, now sporting a face splashed with cold water, was finally sitting at the breakfast table, newspaper in hand.

“A secretary barging into the newlywed groom’s room the morning after the wedding? You’ve lost your qualifications.”

“It was a fraudulent wedding.”

Logan, expressionless, stood beside Marcus and poured him tea. Normally, a maid would’ve suited the job, but the contents of Logan's conversation could not be overheard.

So, he had dismissed the maid. Marcus yawned.

“Ugh, I’m exhausted…”

“You think you’re more tired than me?”

“Were you the one who got married yesterday?”

“In your place, I handed out farewell gifts to all the guests Madam Noskina welcomed to the manor, arranged for every carriage, and even labeled the name tags on every single gift…”

“I get it. I was wrong.”

“As long as you know.”

Marcus flipped through the paper. There was nothing much to see. The capital was peaceful, filled with the usual headlines. The Emperor—infamous for exaggerating his own accomplishments—had apparently established ties with ten neighboring kingdoms and was now planning a grand world exposition, according to the article.

A world exposition? Oh no, Father’s going to have a field day with that.

Logan handed him a sealed envelope.

“What’s this?”

“A simple background check on the Starwood family.”

“…This kind of thing…”

“Is necessary.”

Logan cut in flatly. Marcus opened the envelope and unfolded the papers. It was a concise report Logan had compiled on the Starwood family.

“I didn’t have time to visit Maine, so I checked the aristocratic registry. Baron Starwood had two daughters—Louise and Elouise. Your wife is the younger daughter. The birth year matches; her identity checks out.”

“What about the girl, Juliet?”

“She wasn’t listed.”

Still, neither of them found that odd. Children were typically registered under the father's family name.

Elouise had told them her husband had passed away.

“She doesn’t seem to want to mention his surname.”

“I wouldn’t either.”

After all, why share the name of a deceased husband with a fake husband you’ll only be married to for four months? Logan tilted his head.

“When will you visit Maine?”

Even if the marriage was fake, it was still a marriage. While her noble status was confirmed, her personal history remained uncertain. But Marcus raised an eyebrow.

“Drop the investigation. It’s not like we’re filing an actual marriage certificate.”

“Are you sure that’s wise?”

“What does it matter? If she wanted to do something to me, she would’ve already.”

Marcus thought back to last night. Elouise had seemed stunned when he laid so casually on the sofa, but she didn’t say much—just quietly went to bed. He’d seen her blow out the candle moments later, and had found it amusing.

He did not attach any special meaning to their wedding night. This was a fake marriage, after all. He had only been meticulous to convincingly deceive the duchess.

Since the only people who knew what really went on inside that bedroom were the two of them, he didn’t need to worry. But still, he hadn’t expected Elouise to be so nonchalant.

Not that he expected her to say something like “But it’s our wedding night!”

Nonetheless, his impression of her was that she was a sensitive and thoughtful person. During their—long or short, depending on perspective—negotiations, he’d seen her act rational and firm, but also meticulous. She hated to lose.

That was apparent when she stood up to the duchess. Marcus chuckled. The duchess’s comments had been veiled barbs, but Elouise hadn’t backed down at all. Even though she was pretending to marry Marcus to help assist his goal, she acted completely uninterested in winning his affection.

Oddly, that made her feel even more playful and charming—and he wanted to see more of it. Marcus had briefly wondered if what he felt was some shallow thrill from seeing women jealous over him, but he knew it wasn’t that. If it had been, he would’ve jumped in and shown off.

Instead, he simply wanted to watch Elouise. Calm and elegant on the surface, but with just a trace of youthful competitiveness left beneath. That wasn’t something she revealed often.

Last night, Marcus had even half-expected Elouise to leave the room—or tell him to leave.

But she hadn’t. She simply turned out the light and went to sleep.

Maybe it’s because she’s been married once already.

Maybe the idea of sharing a room with a man wasn’t a big deal for her anymore.

Am I the only one overthinking this?

Marcus mused and sipped his coffee. Logan continued.

“Tonight is Countess Alsedair’s party…”

“Oh, cancel all parties and tea invites for the next week.”

“…Excuse me? Why?”

The spring festival in Cliff was coming up this weekend. They’d barely have time to set up gazebos by the beach. Surely, the duchess would come out to enjoy the season—how could she not? Logan shot him a suspicious look, and Marcus smiled.

“I just can’t handle it.”

“Handle what?”

“Seeing Duchess Bellona yesterday… made my heart flutter.”

…This madman. Logan stared down at Marcus with an icy gaze. Marcus just shrugged.

“I didn’t even step in when she teased El. I was too distracted—her red lips had me mesmerized. I should’ve stepped in like a proper new husband, but I let El deal with her alone.”

Though there had been another reason, Marcus didn’t care to admit it: he’d simply wanted to watch Elouise.

“Quite the brag.”

“What can I say? She’s just too beautiful.”

Marcus thought of Duchess Bellona—her large eyes, slender jawline, striking features. She always reminded him of a blooming rose—big, bold, and captivating.

So when Elouise exchanged barbed words with her, Marcus had initially missed his cue to intervene. Then, he’d let it go… simply because he wanted to see what would happen.

He clicked his tongue.

“She’s going to be suspicious, you know. I looked far too dazed for a man supposedly in love with his new bride.”

“…You’re actually worried about that?”

“My goal is her, remember? I’m going to act like I’m so madly in love, refuse to leave the bedroom for a week. Let’s stay in the estate for now. If I get bored, I’ll go out on a date with El—but no accepting invitations. We’re a newlywed couple enjoying our private time.”

“…God.”

“El was right. I’m way too careless. Compared to her, I’m a mess.”

Logan sighed. He’d now have to send rejection notes to the flood of tea party invitations the newlyweds had received in Cliff. His arm already ached in anticipation. Meanwhile, Marcus grinned brightly.

“I think I married well.”

Nonsense. Absolute nonsense.

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After meeting Madam Noskina, Elouise headed back to her room. A maid had asked, “Would you like to join the young master for lunch?” but she declined. Her mind was completely preoccupied with Juliet.

Juliet!

That tiny niece of hers had spent her first night apart from Elouise since they arrived in Cliff. Elouise had briefly considered having Juliet stay in the same room, but withdrew the idea before even bringing it up to Marcus. A newlywed couple sleeping in the same room with a fourteen-year-old girl? Far too strange.

After the incident at the wedding, Juliet had gone inside with a maid right away. There had been too many people—Juliet didn’t like being around strangers. Elouise had meant to check on her later, but by the time she’d washed up and gone to Juliet’s room, the girl had already fallen sound asleep.

“Mommy!”

Elouise opened the door. Juliet, who had been fiddling with something, looked up and lit up with joy.

It was a wooden block set—1,800 uniquely shaped blocks for stacking into various patterns. Most people would stack them like bricks, but Juliet—

“What is this, Juliet?”

“I want to climb the clock tower!”

Juliet had always been fascinated by clock towers—the kind you find in any city. She had stacked the blocks randomly, without aligning shapes or holes, yet impressively tall. Clearly, she was trying to build her own clock tower.

“That’s amazing, Juliet.”

“You’re not a princess, Mommy.”

Juliet looked up at Elouise while holding a block. Clearly, she’d been impressed by how beautifully Elouise had dressed for the wedding. Elouise kissed her cheek and laughed.

“Do you wish I were a princess?”

“Yes.”

But her gaze was still fixed on the blocks. She carefully added one more—placing a triangular block with rounded corners on top of a precarious square one. Incredibly, it balanced perfectly. All the blocks were connected organically. Elouise marveled as she watched.

“Clock tower!”

Juliet clapped her hands happily. But the clap made the top block wobble—clink—and fall.

The tower collapsed in an instant.

“Oh no…”

Elouise blinked in surprise as the hundred-plus blocks tumbled to the floor.

“It fell…”

She glanced at Juliet. The girl must be upset after working so hard on it.

But Juliet simply blinked, sat back down, and began pushing blocks aside. She pulled out a sheet of paper with some oddly shaped drawings, then scribbled something in her messy handwriting.

“What are you doing, Juliet?”

“Failure is the mother of success.”

“Oh… So you're recording your failure?”

Juliet nodded. Elouise laughed and sat beside her, gathering the blocks.

“Should Mommy put these away for you?”

“…”

Juliet didn’t mind what Elouise did—she lay nearly flat on the floor, scribbling more notes on the paper. Since Juliet never replied when she agreed, Elouise was used to reading her cues. She began gathering the blocks into their elegant rosewood box.

This too had been a gift from Marcus Hanger. Typically a boy’s toy—but he’d guessed Juliet might like it.

How strange…

She had expected him to give a doll or a fancy dress. But Marcus seemed to understand what Elouise was trying to teach Juliet. Astronomy, of all things—usually studied by men at university.

Elouise had started teaching it for a simple reason. At first, she just wanted Juliet to learn how to hold her spoon properly. But Juliet had preferred listening to stories from novels.

Eventually, Elouise began reading her a novel each time she held her spoon right. Then novels turned into other books.

To teach twelve-year-old Juliet proper etiquette, Elouise had to read her three times as much astronomy in return. Juliet would perfectly perform gestures such as folding her hands and bowing her head—and Elouise would reward her with stories of the stars. Lately, Juliet had even taken an interest in math.

Maybe it’s time to find her a proper tutor…

Elouise was a good teacher, but even she had limits. She was well-versed in etiquette and courtly behavior, but not math or astronomy. She was reaching her limit as Juliet’s teacher.

Perhaps I’ll ask Logan this afternoon to find a tutor.

Elouise’s heart fluttered. Just being able to think that way thrilled her. Gone were the days of fretting over how much money she needed to reward Juliet with something small.

Now, she could afford to think bigger.

Of course, apart from what she could ask for, there were also things she had to do—like acting the part of a newlywed bride. Even if the “newlywed vibe” was a bit… unconventional.

Elouise met Marcus again after lunch.

Marcus had already eaten while she met with his aunt. Elouise had a leisurely meal with Juliet, drank her tea, savored a piece of chocolate, and finally returned to her room to find Marcus waiting.

He was reading, but when she entered, he immediately walked over and hugged her—a gesture clearly meant for the watching maids. Elouise wrinkled her forehead and whispered.

“What are you doing?”

“We spent our first night together, El.”

Marcus brushed his cheek against hers, then pulled back. Elouise narrowed her eyes. He shrugged and whispered again.

“It’s common for intimacy to grow quickly after a couple first sleeps together. I thought you’d know.”

I’ve never had that kind of experience.

But she couldn’t say that aloud, so Elouise smiled sweetly and raised her voice for the maids to hear.

“Oh, darling. People are watching.”

Then she smacked him loudly in the chest. Marcus let out a startled oof.

Elouise was satisfied. So were the maids. It seemed the troublesome young master had married a very refined lady after all.

Only Marcus coughed a few times.

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