Chapter 63: Fleeting Joke

After the dance, Clint and Ailea’s steps toward the mansion were light, even brimming with warmth.

Clint, smiling, took a glance at Ailea’s countenance. She too was smiling.

“Should we go have another drink at home?”

“I’ll fall asleep after having a sip, you know?”

“It’s okay if you fall asleep. It’s your home, too,” he replied, entering the house and following Ailea into her room.

Ailea looked at him, eyes wide open. “W—why are you here?”

“I am your husband. Why do you question me so? Aren’t you being too harsh to your husband?” Clint leaned his arm against the closed door and asked with a smug smile.

Ailea took off her jacket and folded it neatly, whereas Clint was formulating the right words to tell to stay in the capital, that is until he saw Ailea’s stack of books. They consisted of Sutton’s history, Sutton’s culture, ecology, and so forth.

Ailea could feel his gaze. “I’m studying.”

“You know they’ll reject us if we go there. We have a different culture from them. They’re not like the people here. They’re much worse. They’d rather fight than lead and host the sorts of banquets the capital likes to do.”

“I know.”

“Aren’t you scared?”

“I am.”

“Then we won’t go. You like the Outer Castle. Isn’t there a hot spring there, too?”

“…What are you talking about?” Ailea asked, a sidelong scowl forming at the tip of her lips. “Are you being like this because you don’t like to study?”

“It’s not that, my dear wife… it’s just—”

“You should study all of this and become accustomed to their culture. It’s not much,” Ailea said sternly, cutting off Clint.

“You are his daughter, after all.” Clint changed the subject, unable to get his point across. He oughta try again another time, he thought, while flopping down on the bed.

Ailea immediately grabbed Clint’s arms. “Before that, change your clothes—!”

Clint grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his embrace. He buried her in the crevice of his heart. Her cheeks turned red, flushed an amber red; her heart thumped erratically.

“You smell like alcohol…” she mumbled.

“This is hard for me, you know. I’ve been anxious all day. I kept wondering what you were doing, wondering if you’re okay while I was gone. Do you know how much I worry about you?”

“You think that of me…?”

“And I was surprised to see you with Lawrence. I’m not sure what I was feeling, but I didn’t like it. I guess he didn’t say much, though.”

“Ah, that…” Ailea suddenly remembered that minuscule event earlier. She lifted her upper body and sat on the bed.

Clint looked like he had something to say, but he held back as she saw him avoiding his gaze.

“The crown prince asked me if we had our first night.”

“What?” Clint frowned.

What the f*ck did he ask my wife?

He immediately sat up.

“It’s because we hadn’t done that yet… then he said that I’m not a woman capable of being touched, especially by someone like you. Maybe… maybe he’s right…”

The words Lawrence said to her were poison. He had a way of doing that. Every word spoken and unspoken killed a piece of her each time, burning her in a sea of fire.

But…

Not this time.

“And then?”

“I told him that I was your woman for the rest of my life. You could hold me and touch me whenever you desired. You don’t need to worry.”

Clint was well prepared to react in fury, but instead he was left speechless. He looked at his wife and asked, “You said that?”

“Yes…” Ailea nodded with a reddened face.

Ailea was an innocent rabbit. She would suddenly freeze up and stutter whenever placed in an unfamiliar situation, but she had surprised him and he loved her for it.

Clint covered his mouth with both hands. His shoulders shook while he wheezed.

Ailea gazed down at him with a frown. “Are you making fun of me?”

“You? Never?” Clint shook his head, mouth covered with his hands.

Pouting, Ailea pulled back his hand in a fit of anger. When nothing blocked his lips, a burst of laughter eventually escaped. He was relieved, truly. He imagined Lawrence’s face. The b*stard must have lost his mind at his wife’s unexpected reply. He could not stop laughing.

Flustered, Ailea said, “Don’t… don’t laugh! Don’t you know how nervous I was when I said that?”