She blinked and looked around, the sights were all unfamiliar, so it wasn't fun at all.
“When did you exit the main gate...”
Saeki looked around and mumbled. Someone grabbed her and stopped her, but she was angry, so she ignored it and walked recklessly. Perhaps it was the guard guarding the main gate.
"Yes."
She was sure they were everywhere trying to find her.
“Who cares!”
It was a freedom I hadn't enjoyed in a long time.
If I had known this, I would have gone out more.
Every time I tried to get out, I faced opposition from the Duke.
“No, it's dangerous.”
She mocked herself, mimicking the Duke's face and voice that were naturally hers.
“Well, it's always dangerous.”
There were so many restrictions on what could be said that it was only seen by the Duke at the Duke's residence.
But maintaining a good marriage was more important to both of them, and to Saeki, so she didn't do much against him.
I thought about the past again.
Before their marriage, she didn't know why, but Saiki asked this question.
This was immediately after signing the contract between them.
Do you trust me?
I thought the contract was more reliable than the faith that came from the relationship, but I was curious what the Duke thought.
At the question, Clint's face looked extremely confused. After a long pause, he spoke cautiously.
“I trust you.”
Clint seemed to be smiling.
“Isn’t it important between spouses to trust or have faith? Even if it is a contractual relationship, I will trust my wife from now on.”
It was an unexpected answer and I remember nodding my head because it wasn't wrong.
“I don't reveal all my secrets, are you saying you want to trust me?”
The honest answer was amusing, so I asked again.
“Isn't this something you can trust even if you don't have to reveal all your inner feelings?”
Psyche laughed because it was a very typical and typical answer.
“I don't know the truth, can you tell the truth?”
"Well, I don't think it's necessarily good to show all your feelings. Even if there is no such thing, a relationship that you can trust without showing all your feelings is a real relationship."
Clint seemed to laugh lightly, then added:
“Now, ma’am, you can trust me at any time.”
Saiki, who remembered the conversation, made a frustrated sound without realizing it.
“Trust and faith.”
It's not funny. The more experienced the scammer is, the more he asks her to trust him. So she moved away from her previous thoughts.
The air outside the castle was unfamiliar, so I felt refreshed. Time passed quickly as I walked around and looked at the surrounding trees. I walked without feeling bored.
At first, she was angry, but now she was interested. She only came here and stayed at the Duke's house, and this place was a different place for her because she never left.
She looked around and headed towards the most striking place.
Do you sell all of these?
The merchant who was arranging the dried herbs in front of the store was surprised when he saw Saiki because her clothes were so colorful that they did not fit there.
But Saiki didn't care about her appearance, because she had never been outside before, and she had no idea how anyone other than the nobles would see her.
“This is how they display and sell.”
She muttered to herself and was busy looking at the herbs whether the merchant spoke or not.
“Oh, this will wilt if I do this.”
"Oh! How did you know? It's so expensive, and I'm losing money because it fades so quickly."
"You can't let it see sunlight, because it only grows in the shade. All you have to do is move it."
She muttered to herself, carefully repositioning the grass.
“It will be effective in half a day.”
“Oh really?”
The merchant's face turned red.
“Can I pay for it with jewelry?”
"Of course! Anything is possible!"
It turned out to be a pretty satisfactory deal when I paid for the necklace I wore every day, the thinnest gold ring except for the wedding band, and the pearl earrings I wore comfortably.
“I'll be back later to buy it, so be sure to leave it out.”
She deliberately chose dried herbs to make them easier to carry, and relished the more expensive herbs she had not yet purchased.
“It's a really good herb. So you should save it and sell it to me.”
I made another promise, just in case someone else would buy it because there didn't seem to be anyone in this place willing to pay that much for herbs anyway.
Just when I thought I should come back later, someone suddenly interrupted the conversation between the merchant and Saiki and spoke.
"Huh? Who is this?"
He was a very tall man, and Psyche had to raise her head to see it.
Saiki looked at the man who pretended to know her and narrowed her eyes at what she thought was a strangely familiar face, a man she recognized from somewhere but didn't know for sure.
Moreover, it would at least be a noble or someone similar to recognize her, but it didn't make sense for them to meet in a place like this.
As Saiki frowned and tried to remember the man in front of her, the man laughed as if it was ridiculous.
“Wow, do you not know me now?”
"Who...oh! Oh!"
When I tried to pretend to know him, he quickly came over and covered Saiki's mouth. His hand was blocking the words “His Highness the Crown Prince.”
“You're not going to reveal my identity here, are you?”
Psyche glared at the prince who shushed her.
“Nice to see you, Miss Saeki?”
His invitation, without the title of duchess, seemed very clever.
Psyche felt a little strange when she met the prince, who had it written all over his face that he looked like a high noble.
If you think about it, unlike the one who wore the same clothes as she had at the Duke's house, the Crown Prince looked perfect in appearance.
It was then that she realized how much attention was drawn to her here. The Crown Prince and Psyche walked down the street normally.
“I see so. So you go there a lot to buy herbs.”
“Well, think about it. Why do merchants bring such expensive herbs? There is no one to buy them anyway.”
Psyche finally understood where the precious herbs were and nodded.
The Crown Prince, who went out to play every time, had placed a separate request.
“But. Because in a place like this, most people don’t know that it’s expensive.”
"Is this correct?"
The two were walking around normally and talking quietly. The Crown Prince showed great interest in making something using herbs, poisonous herbs, or something like that.
"Even nobles don't know something like this. I heard you learned it before. I'm learning history these days. Who learns herbal medicine separately?"
“Oh, is that true?”
"I'm very surprised. Madam, no, Miss Saeki could be a professor of herbal medicine at the academy."
He complimented Saiki by saying that she was amazing.
“No, that's not much.”
I was overwhelmed by this untimely compliment.
“I'm telling you, that's why. I think it's fate that made us meet here, and can you be my teacher for a while?”
Saiki stopped walking in surprise at the sudden request.
What? suddenly?
"It wasn't a surprise, I was going to ask you formally when I meet you later. But fortunately I met you today. Is this what you call fate?"
“Ha-ha-ha.”
Saiki forced herself to have a smile on her lips.
"What's the secret of that smile? Oh, the Duke doesn't like it?"
He stroked his chin with his hand, making a worried face.
“If you think about it, what about the Duke?”
"Yes?"
When the Duke was mentioned, Saiki's face quickly hardened, feeling sorry for the commotion she might have caused.
Instead of worrying about the Duke, I thought it was a pity that if he made a fuss about looking for me, the difficulties would ultimately fall on the staff.
Were you here alone?
The prince looked around, and when he realized that she was alone, he gave her a very strange look.
Then he let out a big laugh.
"No wonder. Did you sneak out in that outfit? I'm telling you, don't disappoint me."
The prince, who had managed to stop laughing when Saiki gave him a frowning look, wiped away his smile as best he could.
“You have so much courage. No. Don’t you know the way of the world?”
“Don't say that.”
When Psyche returned to walking with a repulsive look, the prince quickly walked behind her.
“But when you think about it, that wasn't the case.”
"impressionist?"
She decided to return to the Duke's house before the proposal escalated, because there was no need to make a big fuss about this matter.
She walked quickly, uttering the prince's words from one ear.
“You seemed so obedient and affectionate, but now you are different. Have you quarreled with the Duke?”
The Crown Prince spoke quickly like a gun.
That's how it was in the real world. She went to banquets with the Duke all the time and didn't even talk to another man. Although she was beautiful, her image was relatively light due to the strong impression of the Duke.
Of course, some did not approve of her behavior, but most of all she was able to walk calmly because of the overprotectiveness of the Duke, which now seemed like mere observation.
Thanks to this, women from noble families who tried to fit in at first would always stay away from Saiki's situation on their own.
A quiet, cold, arrogant Duchess who is only nice to the Duke. This is the nobleman's impression of Psyche.
"Do you fight? I don't think so at all. That's amazing too. I like it very much."