‘Please understand that I can’t look at your face right now because I had a lewd dream about you one night, Darling.’ Telling her husband the truth like that demanded tremendous courage, and Yelena couldn’t even work up the nerve to try.

‘But still, I just need to bear with this for a few more days…’ Yelena thought with determination as she lowered the hand that covered her face.

She was in the process of slowly mustering the great courage that was necessary for her to be honest with her husband. Time was the ultimate remedy, and she was gradually building up the courage she needed as the days went by.

She estimated that she had built up approximately half the courage she needed.

‘I’ll tell my husband the truth once I muster all my courage.’

She’d tell him why she had no choice but to avoid him for the past few days. She wouldn’t make up an awkward excuse. She wouldn’t hide anything. She’d tell the truth as it was.

‘I can do it. Don’t give up!’

Yelena eagerly pumped her fists. But then she fell weakly over her desk soon after.

“I give up. I want to see him right now…” She grumbled, expressing her true feelings. “I want to use the same bed as him again too…”

Yelena was currently sleeping separately from Kaywhin. She couldn’t even look him in the eye and she was avoiding him. It wouldn’t make sense if she was still using the same bed as him.

Yelena had literally made her own bed and laid in it, but she suddenly became sad.

“Kaywhin…”

Then, she heard a light knock on the door.

“Madam, it’s me, Merry.”

“Come in.”

“What’s the matter?”

“The duke and the knights are ready to depart.”

“Ah.”

“You’ll come out, won’t you?”

“…All right.”

Yelena nodded and got up.

There was a mountain that was known as the monsters’ base, their nest, their heaven. After Kaywhin had gotten rid of most of the monsters on that mountain, the dukedom held monster subjugations every three months. And every other subjugation, the even subjugations, was led by Duke Mayhard himself.

Today was the day of an even subjugation.

Kaywhin said his goodbyes to Yelena before he got on his horse.

“Have a safe trip.”

Yelena’s worry won over her feelings of embarrassment. She only stood one step away from Kaywhin.

She was secretly proud of herself. She was able to stand this close to her husband and still maintain composure.

‘At this point…’

“I’ll go and come back quickly.”

While Yelena was praising herself, she heard the sound of her husband’s sweet voice. At the same time, the things he had said in her dream replayed in her head.

“Do you not like how I look right now?”

“Yelena.”

“Look at me.”

“Please focus on me.”

It was a relief that she had only recalled his voice, and not his expression as he had said those things, the way his body had moved, the fingers that had stroked Yelena’s lips and face, and what he did with her on the bed after he took off his wet shirt and threw it to the side…

Thoughts raced through Yelena’s head. It hadn’t been her intention, but she couldn’t stop her thoughts from running wild.

Her mouth dried up and she became weak in the knees. The nape of her neck itched with a burning sensation.

Yelena swallowed down her saliva. She knew that her husband standing in front of her was a completely different person from the husband in her dream, but they kept overlapping in her mind.

‘No, stop thinking about it.’

“Wife.”

‘Get a grip. It was just a dream! It didn’t happen in real life! Stop it, now…’

“There’s a speck of dust…”

Kaywhin reached out his hand, towards Yelena’s left ear. But before he could touch it, Yelena startled with a jump and took three steps back.

“…”

“…”

A cold silence ensued.

Kaywhin stood stiffly as if he was seriously shocked. He just barely uttered, “…There was a speck of dust.”

“…”

“I just meant to… remove it.”

Yelena’s eyes shifted in embarrassment. She decided to respond with, “I-I see.”

‘What do I say?’

Yelena had been imagining such a provocative scene, which was the worst timing for Kaywhin to reach his hand out. If only his hand had approached her just a little sooner, she wouldn’t have been so startled by it.

Yelena desperately searched for a way to break out of this beyond awkward situation.

Kaywhin opened his mouth.

“…I’ll be on my way.”

He had spoken before Yelena could even think of a proper excuse. All she could do now was watch her husband and the knights grow farther away.