◈ Episode 6
“Well, Master, you go to the Colosseum more often than to the Yevni Mansion.”
“Colosseum?”
Irina, who was suppressing her emotions well despite the statements that got her blood pressure pumping, finally asked a question.
It was worth it. Secret nocturnal trips for debt or gambling were infuriating, but it was something Ferris would do.
The Colosseum was different. One thing the couple had in common was their dislike of the Colosseum.
Irina, who grew up in a battlefield, hated that people who were exhausted from spending money saw other people’s deaths as entertainment.
Ferris was a scary guy who couldn’t even go near the cherries.
Jewelry, clothes, art like music and art, card games, dancing, parties, witty conversations, lyrical poetry.
Those were Ferris’s favorite things.
How could he go to the Colosseum, the epitome of primal violence?
It was definitely, incredibly, quite strange.
“That’s enough.”
Irina raised her hand towards Paul and Mary, who were trying to speak. Silence returned to the bedroom.
Mary and Paul’s eyes, filled with anxiety and anticipation, turned to their mistress.
Irina got up from the chair and searched the dresser again.
And he threw a heavy bag in front of them as they fidgeted.
A gold coin rolled out of the pocket thrown on the floor.
Mary and Paul’s eyes widened as if they were about to pop out.
“You have proven your usefulness, so swear your loyalty to me. Then there will continue to be rewards in the future.”
“ma’am… … .”
In the eyes of the two, Lee Chae was young.
Their bundle of stories was a great help to Irina.
But that wasn’t why he gave the money.
The thought of daring to mention Juliette made me want to punish her right away, Northern style.
He meant that he wanted to cut off his head and hang it at the entrance to the mansion.
However, impulsively killing a trusted servant in the Count Arkensis family was too great a loss.
Irina decided to use them for as long as possible.
The loyalty of these soft-spoken people can only be bought through profit and fear.
If you threaten and then give money, it means you are in trouble.
“but,”
Irina’s gaze once again blazed like a wild beast.
“If you betray me, you will pay a price greater than you can imagine.”
The two closed their mouths tightly and nodded.
Irina sighed deeply.
Paul and Mary looked at each other meaningfully as she waved her hand as if to tell them to go away.
cook.
Mary poked Paul in the side and he nodded.
“ma’am. “I have one more thing to tell you.”
Irina looked down at Paul, hiding her tired expression.
Paul opened his mouth nervously.
“I dare say… “You are cheating on me.”
* * *
Morning sunlight brightened the hallway through the wide glass windows.
Irina walked quickly across the hallway.
Her steps were heading toward Ferris’ bedroom.
The maids who were cleaning looked anxiously at her as she flung open her husband’s bedroom door in the morning breeze.
Irina slammed the door shut. The bedroom was peaceful and quiet.
Thanks to the blackout curtains, it was dark as if it was still midnight.
Most of the nobility in the capital did not have much to do.
Unless it was a few people designated by the head of the household, they usually woke up around noon and played until the sun set.
Ferris is the next head of the family, but like any other noble, he was in deep sleep today as well.
Irina walked to the window with great strides and pulled back the curtain.
“Uhm… … .”
Ferris covered himself with a blanket in the bright sunlight. They met a few days after the opera incident.
Irina sighed softly, looking at the pile of blankets with her hand on one waist.
“Ferris. “I’m going to go to my parents’ house.”
“Uhm… lazy… As you wish… huh? what?!”
Ferris, who was muttering, suddenly got up.
Her messy blonde hair, long eyelashes, and naked upper body sparkled in the golden sunlight.
Sleepy, hazy purple eyes and slightly parted red lips.
It was like a famous painting depicting a scene from mythology.
Irina felt frustrated.
They say that other people’s anger subsides when they choose a spouse based on their face, but why is he not like other people?
No matter how she looked at him, he was just a husband who had just woken up from his sleep.
Irina exhaled and spoke slowly.
“I will stay at Levart’s estate for a while and then come back. “About two or three days.”
“it’s crazy? “Are you saying that she is going to her parents’ house after waking up her sleeping husband for the first time in a few days?”
“You avoided me. “We should be able to meet.”
Ferris closed his mouth with a stinging expression.
On rare occasions when they met, Ferris exaggeratedly turned away from her.
Ferris scratched his head nervously.
He rolled his eyes as if he was contemplating something, then raised his head.
“Juliet. What about my daughter? “She’s only been gone for six months?”
“It takes two months for a round trip. I won’t use the carriage. Because I’m going to take the mountain path, not the road. “I won’t prepare like other nobles and will only take northern knights.”
Ferris was speechless.
His worries actually lied elsewhere.
He was afraid of his father-in-law.
Due to my wife’s personality, there was no way she would tell me about their married life, even to my father.
I also knew well the atmosphere of her family, which was almost like a religious temple.
However, the person so scary that it overpowered all judgment was my father-in-law.
Even though the capital’s nobles gossiped behind her back, Irina, who couldn’t even make eye contact in front of her, was the cute and precious youngest girl in the Levart Territory.
What more explanation is needed?
Moreover, after getting married, Irina never once said that she would go to her parents’ house of her own free will.
This was because Juliette was too young to go with him.
It was clear that suddenly saying something like this was triggered by a fight not long ago.
Ferris unconsciously grabbed the bed sheets tightly.
“No way. Juliette is now seven years old. I need my mom’s touch every day. Why are you being so irresponsible? “Not like you.”
“I’m sorry, Ferris. “I was too harsh on you a few days ago.”
“huh?”
Ferris, who was preparing to raise his voice, made a dumbfounded face.
Irina’s expression was the same as always. Dry expressionless expression.
It was his wife who was no different from usual.
Irina approached him.
Then she sat down next to the bed and gently held his hand. Ferris flinched awkwardly.
“I’m sorry for being so suffocating. Even at the opera house, I was sensitive. “I guess I liked you and was anxious that someone else would take me away.”
It was a stiff apology with a hard tone.
However, it was a candy-coated message from my wife that I rarely heard during my dating days and even in the early stages of newlywed life.
He quickly began to feel down.
I was able to say that because I am a naturally dry woman.
“what… “You left me alone for a few days and now you’ve come to your senses?”
The corners of Ferris’ mouth twitched as if he were about to smile.
“I just want to give you some freedom. “It’s been hard all this time.”
Irina suppressed the expression that was about to escape her lips.
How busy must he have been to take out a loan, buy a carriage, go to a bar, gamble, and even support an opera singer?
They even had to do it all secretly.
As a talkative person by nature, I could see how difficult it must have been for him.
Her words seemed to have made Ferris quite satisfied.
He wiggled his hands.
“Well, okay. How hard was it for me? I couldn’t sleep, I was tired and depressed. Since I’m also a man, I didn’t want to worry anyone, so I hid it well. I guess it’s obvious. hmm.”
“… … .”
“I’ll send it to you because you want it. “Welcome back.”
Ferris lifted his slightly bowed head in pride.
In an instant, his gaze moved from her eyes to her burned cheek.
Shocked, he unconsciously moved his shoulders back a little.
Irina saw it all. And she pretended not to notice.
Ferris turned his head towards the window and gently removed the hand that Irina was holding.
“… Well, you must have been feeling stuffy too, so it would be nice to get some air. Juliette will ask her mother for help. “Wouldn’t giving this kind of space be an opportunity for a new start for us as a couple?”
“… okay. thank you.”
Irina got up from bed.
A new start. The lingering sound of that word was unusually long.
* * *
The red glow of the sunset spread throughout the room. The clouds were cloudy, like it was going to rain.
Irina walked across the creaky wooden floor to the window.
When I opened the window, a cool breeze poured in. Her chest felt open.
She closed her eyes and enjoyed the cool breeze.
‘You’re cheating on me.’
On the day in question, the sentence Paul had whispered came to mind.
‘If you only have doubts, it might be better to cover it up. After all, your wife is also a woman.’
Whatever the intention, those words crossed a line.
Even though she was given the opportunity, it was Irina who was ultimately deceived.
Let’s say it wasn’t cheating. Aside from that, there were one or two other things he deceived Irina.
Why does it have to be covered up without punishment?
Because I’m a woman?
In this country, even most human emotions were dismissed as female hysteria.
“… “I should have just cut out my tongue.”
Irina muttered while sitting on the windowsill.
Of course, Irina didn’t go to her parents’ house.
She departed from the mansion with only her trustworthy northern knights.
After leaving the gates, she returned to the capital, sending only her knights to the north to avoid suspicion.
The drivers protested, saying it was nonsense, but there was nothing they could do.
Because Irina was superior in terms of stubbornness.
Irina rented the entire top floor of an inn with a panoramic view of the Colosseum, which was mainly used by commoners.
And I sat by the window all day.
I saw a familiar bird flying from afar in the sky. It was Irina’s Jeon Seo-gu.
Irina got up and checked the contents of the telegram sent by Paul.
‘Second carriage. Colosseum.’
She frowned unconsciously.
It’s finally moving.
Irina left the room wearing an inconspicuous shabby robe.
She crossed the alley where it was starting to get dark.
She was kicking down the stone road at a fast pace and before I knew it, she was almost running.
