“I’m not late, am I?”

As I hurriedly approached and asked, Dante nodded with a creaking motion. I don’t know why he’s moving like a broken robot.

Could it be that he really doesn’t want to go out?

“Hehe. It seems the master is so entranced by your beauty that he’s lost his senses.”

Barhan smoothly interjected through the gap of anguish.

“Is that so? Is he really stunned by my beauty like Barhan says? Well, I did look pretty good in the mirror today.”

“Yes. You are beautiful. Stunningly so.”

“Oh.”

I let out a small exclamation at the unexpectedly serious response.

It was meant to be a joke. To answer so earnestly and sincerely.

…Making my face flush for no reason.

Somehow, it felt different from the compliments Barhan, Mari, or Siena had given.

Is this the power of sincerity?

Deciding to emulate Dante, I gave a thumbs up with an equally serious expression.

“Thank you. You look truly handsome today too, Duke. Duke, you’re the best. Duke, you’re awesome.”

Dante’s face turned bright red at the sincere compliment.

Hmm. Very satisfying.

As expected, this soft and squishy state suits Dante well.

[This is the timeline separator]

Inside the carriage.

The scenery passed by quickly outside the window. Staring blankly out the window, Serpina thought she had made the right decision to come out, even if she had to throw a tantrum.

It was quite interesting to encounter new sceneries that she hadn’t seen at the mansion.

The capital and the north are so different. It felt similar yet exotic.

Well, truthfully, she didn’t know the scenery of the capital that well either.

When she lived at the Count’s residence, she was practically confined. Going out once in a very rare while was the extent of her outings.

Thinking about it again, it was good that she came to the north.

Here, she could freely do things she hadn’t been able to do before.

No matter how much she recalled memories from her past life and happy childhood, she felt that without the north, and without the Richter mansion, she couldn’t have changed this much.

Barhan, Siena, Mari, Markops, Ena, and others.

And Dante.

These kind people supported her no matter what she did, without saying anything.

Ah. Of course, it was a bit annoying how much they worried…

But it was bearable if she thought of it as coming from affection.

Serpina, resting her head against the window, smiled gently.

“I’m glad I married the Duke.”

“…Pardon?”

Dante stammered at the sudden confession.

Hmph. How cute.

Instead of answering, Serpina just smiled and turned back to gaze out the window.

Soon, the scenery full of exotic trees and flowers passed by, and buildings gradually began to appear one by one.

It was around then that Serpina, who had been quietly staring out the window, spoke again.

“How about we decide on how to address each other when we’re out today?”

“Address each other?”

“Yes. Since we’ve come out just the two of us, I’d like to move around more comfortably, but calling you ‘Duke’ might draw too much attention.”

“You’re right. That would be better.”

Dante readily agreed to this.

“If people find out that I’m Duke Richter, they might show some aversion.”

Huh? What’s he talking about?

“Darling, you’re not misunderstanding my words and digging yourself into a hole again, are you?”

“…”

Dante responded with silence to the question that was unclear whether it was a monologue or an actual inquiry.

But silence is soon affirmation!

Serpina strongly suspected Dante’s past life.

Perhaps this man was an excavator in his past life?

He digs all the way to the underground at every opportunity.

Just thinking about how this would lead to sweet potatoes with the female lead later made her feel suffocated already.

But what can she do?

It was the world that made Dante into an excavator. Poor thing.

“That’s not it, Duke. Originally, ordinary people feel uncomfortable around all nobles.”

Serpina took a deep breath.

Then, looking straight into Dante’s eyes, she continued in a rapid-fire manner.

“Moreover, a Duke is a high-ranking noble that’s hard to come by. So for people, it might feel like seeing a snake walking on two legs. Scary, strange, uncomfortable. They’d feel the same seeing the Duke next door or the Count behind, so don’t think negatively and misunderstand in a weird way. Understand?”

It was truly a storm of words.

After pouring out her words with a serious expression, Serpina looked satisfied, and Dante couldn’t help but smile.

How could she be so kind and cheerful?

In fact, her words were right.

It was only natural that people would fear and avoid him.

He thought Serpina was worried about this too.

But the term ‘digging a hole’ wasn’t correct. For him, this was now everyday life, so he didn’t get hurt or mind it.

…No. Is that not it?

Perhaps he was hurt deep inside?

Is that why he had been living while avoiding going outside until now?

If so, it was even more surprising.

Serpina had seen through and comforted his true feelings that even he couldn’t read.

Ah. It was truly baffling.

He had been trying hard to distance himself from Serpina after that cursed nightmare.

Despite those efforts, just by facing Serpina and being comforted by her, all his accumulated efforts turned to bubbles in an instant.

His heart started racing fast again.

Somehow, he had a feeling that for a very long time, no effort would be able to stop this pounding heart.

And his premonition was not wrong.

“Then let’s decide on how to address each other now. Do you have anything in mind?”

“…How about just calling each other by name?”

“By name?”

“Yes. People probably won’t know our names anyway.”

“Oh. That sounds like a good idea. Shall we practice a bit first then?”

“Practice?”

Instead of answering, Serpina just smiled brightly. And then.

“I look forward to today, Dante.”

Dante.

At that brief call, Dante’s eyelashes trembled.

His already rapidly beating heart was now pounding as if it would burst.

It’s not like he’s some adolescent boy.

“Aren’t you going to call my name, Dante?”

At the returned urging, Dante swallowed hard.

His lips wouldn’t part easily.

It’s just a name, what’s the big deal?

He was as nervous about calling her name as he was about hearing his own name called.

His stiff lips quivered several times, and only when Serpina’s eyes narrowed at the lack of response did he finally manage to utter in a low voice.

“…Serpina.”

Somehow, even the tip of his tongue holding her name felt hot.

And perhaps because his call was so heated.

“Oh…”

Serpina felt a bit strange too.

It seemed like it had been a while since she had been properly called by her name by someone else.

When she lived at the Count’s residence, she was called ‘hey, that one, that girl’, and since coming to the north, she had been called ‘madam and my lady.’

Serpina.

So this is how it feels to have your name called by someone else’s voice.

Somehow.

“It feels new and nice.”

A bright smile spread across her face.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Oh. This must be the place.”

After getting off the carriage, the two headed straight to one of the dress shops Barhan had found in advance.

Salon de Lace.

After confirming the antique sign, they opened the door and a cheerful bell sound rang out.

Ding-a-ling.

“Welco…me.”

The employee who was about to greet them energetically stumbled over her words at the appearance of the two.

Dante sighed at the woman’s complexion turning pale in an instant.

As expected. Are they afraid because of him?

He felt sorry that Serpina might be pointed at along with him.

He was considering whether he should return to the carriage alone when.

“Oh my, what a lovely couple! No, are you married?”

The employee, who had turned pale just moments ago, now jumped up and down with shining eyes as if nothing had happened.

That’s right.

The employee was surprised, but for a different reason.

A petite and beautiful fairy-like woman rarely seen in the north, walking with a statuesque handsome man!

It was a combination that was ecstatic just to look at.

At the excited employee’s voice, other employees who had been minding their own business also crept out and let out admiration.

The admiration didn’t stop there.

“Please show us several outfits, focusing on your best products.”

Oh my! These beautiful people must be rich too!

They have it all. The world is unfair!

However, from the perspective of running a dress shop, they were very welcome customers.

“Wow. I wonder what those people do?”

“Who knows. Maybe they’re young wealthy people? Like a rich merchant couple.”

The people at the dress shop didn’t suspect at all that they might be the Duke and Duchess.

Both of them had been cooped up in the mansion, so no one knew their faces, and usually nobles don’t come to buy clothes in person.

The employee, thinking that these already good-looking people would also bring in high sales, put on a service industry smile and moved quickly.

“How about this? Or this design is also popular these days. This design came out as a set for men and women, it would look really good if you two wore it together.”

Among them, what the employee actively recommended was a blue-toned dress and a men’s suit.

“Oh. This looks nice. What do you think, Dante?”

“It would suit Serpina well.”

“No, not mine. I’m asking if you like it.”

At Serpina’s question, Dante nodded.

In fact, he didn’t care about any clothes. To be more honest, there was no need to buy clothes at all.

Unlike women’s clothes that are sensitive to trends, the clothes in his closet were all clothes that could be worn casually anytime.

Even the clothes he was looking at now seemed no different from the ones in his closet, just slightly different in color.

Nevertheless, the reason he didn’t bring that up was…

“Hmm. I think this would look good too.”

He was secretly happy that Serpina was seriously picking out clothes for him.

…Yes. That was all.

Really. Truly.