“I thought it was tough only in Eldon’s high society, but it’s even more difficult here…”

Valentin sighed as he watched the servants moving the tea sets and tidying up the seats. The scent of chrysanthemum flowers was carried by the wind and tickled Valentin’s nose, but rather than the impression of the fragrance, the eeriness of that wind seemed to chill his body.

“It seems the water has been stagnant for too long.”

“That’s why I can’t understand it even more.”

Valentin shook his head and continued to ask.

“I still didn’t think I would be so blatantly checked… I heard that Dales, which has great pride in its bloodline and territory, is also more strict about absolute obedience to His Grace the Grand Duke, the lord…”

“That’s right. So I don’t know what they’re thinking either. Is it because the position of the Grand Ducal House’s mistress has been vacant for so long…? Young ladies like Marchioness Cunningham seem to have forgotten their proper duty as vassals.”

Forgot, she said… Although she expressed it politely as just ‘oblivion,’ her expression seemed to say, ‘Where did those women lose their brains…?’

“It seems we need to clearly inform those insolent individuals about the hierarchy. I’ll speak to His Grace the Grand Duke through my husband and give a very stern warning…”

“Absolutely not.”

Valentin firmly refused.

Borrowing someone else’s status and power to suppress public opinion was the method Valentin was most wary of. He suddenly remembered what he had said to Reynard before.

[I want to naturally inform people of my existence in front of them, not command them.]

Position and reputation were not achieved through coercion. What was forcibly made easily collapsed.

“If I show a more dignified appearance and make effort, they will recognize me too. It will change.”

Valentin intended to win by enduring calmly without being swayed. Not by engaging in a dogfight or suppressing with power, but by steadfastly not reacting. Isn’t that the most mature way? Of course, it would take a long time. Valentin swallowed the regrettable part inwardly.

This kind of power struggle and battle of wills between people was one of the things Valentin disliked the most. He had been avoiding high society and living away from it because he disliked it so much until now…

‘But people can’t always do only what they like…’

Valentin once again realized his position and steeled his resolve. It was really exhausting to have things like earlier keep happening every time he mustered up his energy again like this. Still, he had no choice but to consciously lift his drooping shoulders.

Looking at the garden that was now empty with all the tables and chairs moved away, Valentin smiled bitterly.

*

When told that Valentin was in the room without even having dinner, Reynard strode up the stairs two at a time to the 3rd floor.

‘Unnecessarily wide and large…’

Even though he had never felt dissatisfied with the vast size of the grand ducal palace where he had lived all his life, Reynard suddenly began to find it annoying that the way to Valentin was long. Perhaps it was because the week of living closely together in a small and cozy mansion was impressive. Although they lived in the same space called a ‘house,’ the fact that the family members were constantly moving and living separately, and he had to take time and make up his mind to see his face, the vast grand ducal palace began to irritate him.

‘I’d rather get a small mansion and live there.’

But if he did that, the vassals would protest one after another.

The ones who had nothing to say about his whereabouts before started to interfere like this and that after Reynard married Valentin.

Of course, it was probably because of Heston’s old culture and tradition of only acknowledging married people as proper adults, but it was annoyingly tiresome to death. Even if he could dismiss it as the world of high nobles where old men who considered titles before marriage as half-titles were plentiful.

Today was the same. After Reynard left for work, Powell, who was constantly by Valentin’s side with Dawson to look after his well-being, had tipped him off.

[…Because of such a thing, he ended the tea party and is now holed up in his room.]

To think that a gathering of companions and wives would trouble Valentin like this…

Matters related to high society were a part that ordinary alphas and men did not interfere with, and if someone crossed the line and got involved, it would be exhibited as a shameful incident and rumors would spread. Because it was a kind of inviolable territory, he tried not to pay attention to it, but they crossed the line first.

‘I should properly warn them at least once.’

Reynard was also getting angry at their talk of old-fashioned traditions and implicit conventions.

It was time to show their proper place to those who subtly wanted to suppress the Grand Duke’s successor with rank rather than title within the military group.

Reynard’s uncomfortable mood, which had climbed the stairs and quickly walked down the corridor, soared to the sky as soon as he entered the room. The moment he saw his lovely husband, who had filled the bedroom with depressed emotional pheromones and made a blanket cave to hole up inside, the pent-up emotions exploded. Along with a slight wistfulness about the cave-making habit, like ‘Our cutie made a cave again after a long time…’.

Trying hard to suppress the head-exploding anger, Reynard approached his beloved husband. And he sat on the bed without shaking it and comforted Valentin.

“…Valentin.”

“……”

“Are you feeling very bad?”

“……”

“You don’t want to answer?”

Then, the part presumed to be the buttocks inside the sheet shook slightly as if nodding. Ah, that was the head. He felt sorry for the head he had mistaken for the buttocks.

It was a sensitive time that required delicate treatment. A pregnant body, a new environment, unfamiliar people. Reynard gritted his teeth, thinking about the things that would be making Valentin struggle. And he approached very slowly and carefully.

Even if immersed in the cold winter sea, it wouldn’t be refreshing. No matter how he looked at it, to his cute and lovely person…

“Then can I hug you?”

This time, the cloth didn’t wriggle.

‘This is definitely an affirmation.’

With a confident attitude, Reynard quickly took off his navy uniform with lots of hard decorations, worrying that Valentin might feel uncomfortable. And in a soft shirt, he hugged Valentin, who was wrapped in the sheet, as a whole. It was a good thing he asked in advance, he almost held his pregnant husband upside down, thinking the buttocks were the head.

As the cloth slowly flowed down, unable to overcome gravity, the small body held in the large body was slightly revealed. Something like a white peacock feather poked out between the fluttering silk sheets. Reynard sprinkled kisses on that beautiful hair.

Valentin did not refuse the kisses landing on his head and forehead. Reynard courageously pulled back the cloth a little more. The alpha was very tense, worried that he might have been crying because something was difficult and hard on his mind.

Boing! Finally, Valentin’s face was completely revealed, as if a cute sound was heard.

“Phew, phew…”

Unlike Reynard’s tense expectation, Valentin did not have a sad face.

The eyes raised in defiance, the lips pouting, the face flushed red and panting, it was definitely not just because he lacked air. The expression of a child full of mischief when something unpleasant happened. Or the expression of a monk doing his best to control his mind just before going to overturn everything and take revenge…

‘What the…?’

It’s fortunate, but it’s not the situation I expected…? While Reynard was puzzled, Valentin’s sulky mouth that had been panting finally opened.

“Right now…”

“Yeah?”

“…Right now, I’m suppressing my irritation.”

“…Why are you suppressing it?”

It was a pure counter-question from someone who had never held back negative emotions in his life.

Because there weren’t many who crossed the line, and his threshold of patience wasn’t low enough to get angry at every little thing, expressing anger wasn’t a very frequent occurrence. But when such a thing happened, it was only proper to suppress and eliminate the rising things. The realm of incomprehension of the one who had always been like that.

So right now, Reynard completely failed to understand. Valentin’s appearance of holding back his inner anger.

“I told you before.”

The puffy face answered with a pout.

“My way of life is to cut off negative emotions so they don’t spread. Just because someone gets angry at me, sneers at me, or envies me, I don’t want to return it back to them.”

“Yeah. You told me before, my kind Valentin.”

“No, it’s not simply because I’m kind. Because in the end, that grown malice will come back to me. It’s actually selfish…”

Valentin shook his head with a devastated face. It wasn’t that he acted this way simply because he was too good and kind, wanting the world to become beautiful like that. Half the desire to deal with it maturely, half his usual life philosophy. Valentin began to explain the blind spot of his own theory.

“Because I don’t want to bear greater malice later or for everyone to be unhappy… That’s why I do it. Just because I’m moderately kind and a real coward…”

“Hmm…”

“So, in order for everyone to not be consumed by bad feelings, I cut off that chain of negativity starting from myself. That’s my goal, but…”

Reynard threw a straight remark at the rambling or long-winded explanation.

“Then what about your heart festering?”

Valentin was at a loss for words at that remark.

That’s right. That’s exactly it. To properly enforce such a philosophy and argument like a saint or a sage, he shouldn’t have shown this appearance. From the beginning, he should have shown an appearance of blowing it all away and looking carefree, not caring at all… He showed too much that he was upset. Valentin’s face turned red with embarrassment and shame.

“Because of the pregnancy, I can’t control my emotions well… That’s why…”

In his bewilderment, he miserably used the child as an excuse.

Reynard was just silently looking at Valentin, who was fidgeting with his white hands and hesitating.

‘Always having high ideals despite not being able to properly practice them…’

After saying it, he felt even more pathetic. This was why he wanted to be alone until his mood returned to normal… Valentin was completely dejected, thinking that his unfavorable appearance had been caught.

Reynard decided not to add any more words upon seeing his husband’s gloomy appearance.

It was an overly hopeful life philosophy, but it wasn’t bad. Valentin can just live with a good mindset as he says. Because he could sufficiently make it that way.

Hoping that his husband would live in his embrace, in the fertile sunny spot, keeping only a pure heart like now, Reynard changed the subject.

“Alright, it’s all okay. Don’t worry. By the way…”

Reynard comforted the dejected Valentin. And he carefully decided to gently coax his husband.

Although he didn’t actually assign people for Valentin, who said he didn’t want prying or excessive interference in his life, Powell was attending to Valentin nearby. As someone close, he naturally reported what he saw and heard to his master, so he had no choice but to know about today’s incident. But isn’t hearing it directly different?