—It was only a week ago that the wedding took place.

Dylan seemed to be overwhelmed with work lately, probably because of how much the wedding preparations occupied his schedule. It was only natural, since in addition to managing the estate and socializing in the royal capital, he also had a special mission from Lawrence.

He’d been coming home late into the night lately. Naturally, he didn’t come to their shared bedroom, sometimes even going straight to his study.

Whenever something happened in the duchy, the former duke too care of it… However, considering his past behavior, entrusting the territory to him entirely wasn’t in our best interest.  This was something Lord Dylan seemed to be well aware of.

Meanwhile, Avril, who was always at home, tended to the various aspects of the house.  She quickly finished the paperwork Dylan left behind, polished the various rooms, and spent her time looking over the business plan for the new business venture that Dylan was planning to start.

Sometimes, she was even invited to Alexandra’s tea party. While Avril was more or less the lady of the house for the Duke of Lancaster, whenever she reflected on herself, she’d feel guilty for indulging in such a carefree lifestyle.

Then, at the very least…

“Lord Dylan, once we enter the Kingdom of Claughton, it’ll be even more stressful. Please get some rest. This time can’t be helped, but I wish I could be of more help in general…!”

“You want to be of more help? Does Avril desire to establish a country?”

“? Surely not?”

She apologized, but was met with a wry smile. Not understanding what Dylan meant, she tilted her head. Dylan reminded her.

“I’ve never seen a civil servant or aide who works harder than you. Even if you say you want to be more helpful, I don’t know what else to assign you.”

Although Dylan was half-joking, his compliment was sincere and thoughtful.

Avril, who wasn’t used to be being praised, smiled bashfully.

“Whenever I see you so busy to the point of neglecting sleep, I can’t help but wonder if there’s anything I can do.”

“…”

Dylan was at a loss for words for some reason. Wondering why, I looked at his face and discovered he had a troubled expression.

“…Has it been a week today?”

“? Ah! Yes, a week has passed since our wedding!”

Realizing that he’d been counting the days since the wedding, Avril nodded firmly. She thought Dylan was troubled by something, but that didn’t seem to be the case. Before she realized it, his smile had moved beyond being a wry smile

“To think we’ve barely spent any time together.”

“This time, we have a special mission to the Kingdom of Claughton, so it can’t be helped.”

Despite saying that, Avril had her own reasons for them not being able to spend time together as a married couple. She felt uncomfortable.

Ugh… I say this, but it’s my fault that we don’t have much time to spend together in the first place…!

Although Dylan was extremely busy, he managed to free up time for their wedding night. That day was supposed to be the first night they shared a bedroom.

But then, an unfortunate accident occurred.

Avril felt chilly when she put on the nightdress Alexandra had given her. Before she knew it, her forehead was hot and her head hurt.

—She caught a cold due to wearing such a revealing outfit.

Fashionable nightdresses were skimpy. In a book, someone said that fashion was a battle of endurance—but sometimes, endurance alone wasn’t enough.

On their so-called “wedding night,” Avril made the blunder of getting a fever and having to be nursed by Dylan, but she made a full recovery overnight.

Yet, by the time she had pulled herself together and tried to apologize, it was too late.

Dylan returned to his usual busy daily life, smiling and saying that he was glad her cold had passed

At that perfect moment, Lawrence’s letter arrived. Unbelievable.

Overall, it’d have been fine if that had only been the only incident. Unfortunately, too many other incidents had occurred since then.

She drank the hot milk that Dylan brought her and fell asleep, or dozed off when reading in the study at night. Even when she remained awake, Dylan wouldn’t, so she’d surprise him by sleeping next to him.

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