CH 30

Due to the appetizing smell, I woke up.

The heat that was supposed to be next to me had already escaped from the bed, leaving no warmth.

As Flores suggested, having a wider bed was nice. Still, I was still dissatisfied. It could had been a little narrower.

Drowsy, I hugged the pillow. I loathed the fact that she wasn’t beside me.

I closed my eyes again, and the moment I found myself returning to the realm of sleep, I got up in a hurry.

From the door leading out of the bedroom and the kitchen, I could see Flores’ back. She had been cooking for a while.

I never got tired of seeing it.

Every day, I derived joy from whenever Flores finally noticed me and looked back. She smiled while gently saying, “Good morning.”

“Good morning, Flores.”

I hugged her from behind and kissed her around her temple.

Feeling ticklish, Flores laughed. She lifted her beautiful chin and matched the level of my lips.

“Good morning, Ryan. Breakfast will be ready soon.”

“I’ll help you.”

“There’s no need.”

I kissed Flores again with a small bitter smile and set the plates and cutlery on the table.

We usually woke up and prepare breakfast together, but on my days off, Flores would take care of it so that I could sleep.

I had immense respect for her consideration towards me.

When I told her that, she laughed and said, “That’s my line.”

On the other hand, when I was on vacation, and Flores was working, I wanted her to sleep. I intended to prepare a simple meal for her, but I had never succeeded.

Flores was an early rising hard worker.

I really wanted to help in the café on my days off but was stopped by Flores.

She explained that her customer base would change. “I really wouldn’t like it if the number of women interested in you increased.”

I at least took initiative in cleaning the store after it was closed.

I was once told that she hasn’t done a single thing in assisting me with my duties as a knight. Regardless, her store had taken great care of me.

The baked confectionaries she gave to me—the lunchboxes she lovingly prepared—they were the most crucial parts of my life.

Rather, my menial help is what wasn’t on par with them.

A year had passed since our happy life had begun.

***

Immediately after Flores accepted my proposal, our families met.

Flores’ parents, who were nervous the entire time, were very sincere people. My parents, who had taken a liking to her, were friendly from the beginning.

My parents preferred her, a baroness who obtained her title through her abilities and achievements, over some incompetent, proud, and high-ranking aristocrat who acted high and mighty merely because of lineage.

I was happy to learn that Flores’ father had made a name for himself as an architect.

Of course, I was also curious as to how Flores became engaged to the Sterling family.

My parents were immersed in Flores’ harsh evaluation of Ricardo. As she spoke of her story, her eyes sparkled and a smile hung from her beautiful lips.

My younger brother was a little scared for some reason, but it could be said that the meeting was almost complete.

A wedding was held six months later.

The preparation period was quite brief to be honest. However, I wanted to start my life with Flores as soon as possible—so the date was decided.

Actually, we wanted to just invite our relatives and have a quiet ceremony, but after various discussions, it became apparent that the title of a successor had been inherited to my younger brother needed to be announce. As such, we decided to host a small event. The ceremony would be held by her family, while the reception would be hosted by the Clifford family. The event by my family would be for aristocrats.

It was an irregular party, but I thought that the reaction of the participants was otherwise good.

Flores happily sent an invitation to Ricardo.

Flores, who seemed to be having fun, was so cute, I couldn’t bear to stop her.

I probably should have stopped her from trying to deliver the invitation directly to the Sterling family, but my parents wanted to see Ricardo’s reaction. In the end, we set out in a carriage with the mere intention of messing with them.

When the mansion was just a few tens of meters away, I jumped out of the carriage and saw Ricardo escaping in the opposite direction. He was running off with a tremendous speed while screaming.

Flores was beaning. In the end, she was satisfied with merely giving the invitation to the gatekeeper without meeting Ricardo.

In front of Flores, my parents only laughed elegantly. But after returning home, they were in good mood. They even made a toast when drinking.

I was amazed to see how much my family hated the Sterling family.

Of course, Ricardo didn’t attend the reception.

Instead, a woman named Lilia came in his stead.

She approached me with a flirtatious attitude, “We’ve met before.”

Due to being completely unfamiliar with her, I only grimaced.

Towards her blatant advance, I only had disgust.

She was dense towards my apparent unfriendliness, she also called herself Lilia Sterling. I tilted my head in confusion—does Ricardo have a sister?

“Lilia, it’s been a long time!”

Flores, who was surrounded by other the participants and was being asked various questions, finally returned much to my delight.

She’d be my wife from that day, but everyone loved Flores and refused to let her go.

The woman named Lilia twitched the moment she saw Flores.

Flores, on the other hand, had a superb smile.

She’s most beautiful when she smiles.

As I fell in love all over again with her, Flores touched Lilia’s arm in a friendly manner.

“Ryan, let me introduce you. It’s Ricardo’s wife, Lilia Sterling. She was acquaintance of mine back in when we were still in school.”

“Oh, Ricardo’s wife?”

When she told me that with a smile, I finally got the hint.

I see…

This was the woman who apparently stole Ricardo?

It didn’t make sense, though.

I only saw Flores that day.

On the other hand, the woman name Lilia didn’t even know that she had been set up by Flores. She was the worst sort of woman, one with a cheap personality who seemed like she’d just fall for any man.

“The two of you are a great couple.”

Even though she had danced on top of Flores’ palm, she herself was a villainess who tried to entrap Flores.

I only felt disgust.

She should just sink alongside Ricardo in the mud boat called the Sterling Family.

With her contemptuous expression and tone, Lilia made herself scarce from the scene. With a voice as small as mosquito’s, she said, “Congratulations… for the time being.”

I suddenly looked at Flores. She turned to me with a surprised expression. It seemed that she had been gazing at me for a while.

In a hurry to make an excuse for her current attitude, Flores blushed.

“I like it when you make that kind of expression.”

I was fascinated, I thought that I was dreaming. I could only act bashful.

***

“I received a letter from Lilia, it’s addressed to you.”

“Lilia? Who…?”

While helping with work after the store had closed, I tilted my head.

“Ricardo’s wife. Forgetting those you aren’t interested in right away is a bad habit, Ryan.”

“Even if I’m not interested, I usually remember important people.”

With a bitter smile, I approached Flores and kissed her head to beg for her forgiveness.

“So, what happened with Ricardo’s wife?”

“Lilia wants to meet you. Personally. She wants to consult you about Ricardo.”

I told Flores to open the letter.

On busy days, such daily details tend to be forgotten.

“A consultation? Why would she talk about Ricard to me?”

“I honestly believe the consultation is a mere pretense on her part.”

“I won’t think about doing anything reckless—after all, I’m already living with you.”

“You might have not read it. The envelope didn’t have the sender’s name on it.”

Once again, I realized why Flores was amazing.

“No, that isn’t the case. How can she think she has a chance in winning when a wonderful woman named Flores is my wife?”

I really didn’t know.

Even though I had been living with such a charming person for so long, I had no regard for other women.

I was confident that I wouldn’t react at all, even if the woman managed to force me naked.

“Ryan, I’m happy to hear that, but when you said it with such a straight face, it’s really embarrassing…”

Flores, who blushed, filled me with so much love, my chest tightened. I tightly embraced her.

“I love you, Flores.”

“Fufu, me too. Thank you for marrying me.”

“That’s my line. My life completely changed since meeting Flores.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

“No, I truly believe that. In fact, I’m worried about how happy I am every day.”

“That’s what I think every day, too.”

As Flores proudly said that, my anxiety vanished as though it had been a lie.

As we flirted with each other, I finished cleaning.

Our conversation continued well after dinner.

After bathing, Flores seemed sleepy. She laughed happily as I picked her up and carried her to bed.

Flores fell asleep with a happy smile. I gently kissed her forehead and snuck in beside her so as to not disturb her sleep.

Tomorrow was a regular day off for the store.

I would do all the necessary preparations before she woke up.

After deciding that, I gently embraced her and closed my eyes.