“I’ve returned.”

“Welcome back, Phil.”

Three months had passed since I married Phil. May days have been peaceful, calm, and cheerful.

That day, I greeted Phil at the entrance as he returned from work as usual.

The moment he saw me, Phil held me tight with a cheerful look on his face.

“I see that you’ve returned much earlier than planned.”

“Indeed.”

I heard from my father-in-law, Duke Laurenson, that Phil should be extremely busy around that period. However, from his day-to-day behavior, that didn’t seem to be the case.

“I bought Viola’s favorite tart today.”

“Wow, thank you very much. Shall we have some tea?”

Even when he went out, he’d return right away. Then once he returned, he’d always cling to me.

Hence why I couldn’t help but wonder…

…Then one day, when I woke up in the middle of the night, Phil—who was supposed to be lying next to me—wasn’t there.

“…Phil?”

Perhaps, he went to the restroom?

As I was still sleepy, I immediately fell asleep again. When I woke up the next morning, Phil was beside me, so I didn’t pay it any heed.

“…?”

Two days later, when I happened to wake up well into the evening, I noticed that Phil had disappeared again.

“…?”

I sensed that something was amiss.

“Uhm, Phil, were you up last night?”

“…T-that’s, no, well, maybe?”

“…”

When I confronted him directly, I received a dubious response.

However, because Phil seemed unlikely to confess to anything, I decided to keep silent for the time being.

***

“Philip—! Awake—!”

Three days later, when I awoke to such a cry, I saw that Phil was trying to leave the room.

As expected, with it happening thrice in such a short period of time, it couldn’t be a coincidence.

By the way, I taught Vio to tell me when Phil woke up.

“Phil, where are you going?”

“…”

Seeing Phil’s confused and awkward appearance, I immediately knew that he was guilty of something.

I, who somehow understood the reason, quietly spoke.

“…By any chance, have you been working through the night every day?”

“…”

He must’ve thought that escape wasn’t an option.

Eventually, Phil nodded, before coming to my side. Then, he buried his face into my shoulder.

“Are you angry…?”

Since I knew why he was doing that, I couldn’t blame him.

“Even if just for a short time, I want to be with you. Seeing how cute and cheerful you are every day, I can’t help myself.”

Looking at his dejected, child-like appearance combined with those adorable words, there was no way I could blame him.

“Hearing that makes me happy, Phil, but please, don’t. If you continue to live like this, you’ll just die early.”

“…I understand. I won’t do it anymore.”

“Absolutely promise me that, okay?”

“I will. Forgive me, please don’t hate me.”

“No way, that’ll never happen.”

As I gently caressed Phil’s head, he tightened his grip around me.

I couldn’t help but smile at my cute husband.

“From now on, we’ll be together forever. Every day is fulfilling, and I’ve been enjoying my life with you. I’m very happy”

“Really?”

“Yes—although, when I wake up in the middle of the night and can’t find you, I feel truly lonely.”

“…I’m sorry.”

When Phil vowed that he wouldn’t overwork himself in the future, I hold my chest in relief.

…Ever since then, Phil not only lived a regular life, but was also a very health conscious one. When I asked him the reason, I couldn’t help but laugh at his answer.

He told me, “When the thought that I’d die first and Viola’d remarry came to me, I decided that I absolutely had to live long.”

“Fufu, I won’t, but please live long.”

“…I love you, Viola.”

“I love you too.”

Our newlywed life had just begun.

---

***T/N: PHILL IS JUST SOOOO CUTEEEEEEEEEEEE REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

<Previous chapter