“He’s standing outside the gate, waiting to be let in… What should we do?”

“What do you mean, what should we do? Just let him wait there for the rest of his life, of course…”

Kaywhin suddenly came into Yelena’s line of sight.

‘…No.’

It would complicate things if the marquess were to catch Kaywhin’s attention while he was left waiting at the gate.

Yelena didn’t want Kaywhin to meet Marquess Marco. She didn’t want to show her husband to the marquess, to be exact.

“…I’ll be there soon, so tell him not to move.”

“Understood.”

Merry stepped away. Kaywhin looked at Yelena.

“Is something the matter?”

“It’s nothing. I have a guest, but you need not to be bothered by them.”

Yelena shook her head and avoided her husband’s eyes. She clenched her fists.

‘Marquess Marco.’

She had no choice. She had to put an end to this once and for all.

***

“Duchess Mayhard!”

The gate opened. Marquess Marco beamed when he saw Yelena on the other side.

“Have you changed your mind after sleeping on it?”

“He’s my husband.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Marquess, the beautiful man that you are incessantly begging to meet is my husband.”

Yelena tilted her chin upwards, with her arms crossed, peering down at the marquess.

She didn’t want to reveal this fact. She wanted to be the only one who knew about her husband’s splendid beauty.

‘It was supposed to be a secret.’

But Marquess Marco left Yelena no choice. He proved to be extremely persistent. Yelena figured that he would only continue to latch onto her like a leech if she didn’t reveal the beautiful man’s identity once and for all.

“Now, do you have some clue as to what kind of discourtesy you’ve shown me? I believe you understand why I couldn’t raise my voice at you either.”

“W-wait a minute!”

Marquess Marco grabbed onto Yelena’s arm, blinking rapidly like a fool.

“So, you mean to tell me that the beautiful man in that portrait is… your…”

“…”

“Second husband?”

Yelena’s jaw slightly dropped. She was dumbfounded.

“You still don’t understand after I told you…”

“No, but your husband definitely—”

Marquess Marco hesitated. A look of realization slowly dawned on his face.

‘I guess he’s seen my husband before.’

Well, it wasn’t like her husband was a hermit, so it certainly was possible that they had crossed paths at least once.

“Oh dear, I can’t believe it… Under those patches…”

Marquess Marco mumbled to himself and then looked at Yelena, still hanging on to a thread of hope.

“The beautiful man’s eyes are pink in the painting. Couldn’t it be his twin?”

“I just colored his eyes pink. I erased his patches, but you think I can’t change his eye color?”

“…!”

“Don’t be too disheartened, Marquess. If you keep searching diligently, you’re bound to find someone as beautiful as my husband someday, somewhere. Though you might have to roam the entire continent and not just this empire.”

Yelena smiled cheerfully. It was a smile of victory.

‘Fufu… Hm?’

A content Yelena turned around and then hesitated.

‘I think I just saw my husband… but maybe I didn’t?’

She blinked. She thought she saw her husband’s silhouette from a distance, but it was for an extremely brief moment, so she wasn’t sure.

Yelena shook her head. She was probably mistaken.

‘Why would my husband come all the way to the castle entrance? It wasn’t him.’

***

That evening, Yelena was troubled by something she had just realized. She wasn’t mistaken, nor was she just imagining things.

‘My husband is avoiding me.’

After disclosing the truth to Marquess Marco and sending him back, Yelena was unable to catch even a glimpse of her husband for the rest of the day.

‘Why?’

At first, she had believed him when he had said he was busy. But when she had gone to his study, she had been denied entry. Yelena had no choice but to come to terms with the fact that her husband was deliberately trying not to see her.

‘Why is he acting like this all of a sudden?’

Yelena thought long and hard, but couldn’t find the answer.

“…”

The look in Yelena’s eyes shifted.

This wasn’t a problem that could be clearly solved just from contemplating on her own. If that was the case, then…

***

Later that night.

The door to Kaywhin’s study opened only after it was past Yelena’s bedtime.

Kaywhin walked through the quiet corridor. The walls cast shadows on his face, making it hard to read his expression and thoughts.

Soon, Kaywhin reached his bedroom door. He stopped walking and was about to open it.

Then, clack!

The door to the room beside Kaywhin’s opened. Yelena shot out like an arrow and held onto his arm.

“Caught you.”