#42: My Wife Is Cute From The Morning — I Found a Wife Whose Engagement was Broken Off in the Neighboring Country, But She’s Too Cute, What Should I Do? (Wn)

“153………”

I woke up to the sound of my own voice.

Apparently the curtains had been left slightly open. I groaned as the morning light stabbed at my eyes.

This is the worst.

In the dream, Raul and I had our foreheads nearly pressed together as we calculated travel expenses. No matter how many times we checked, we were short by 153 dalins. At this rate the Crown Prince would scold us, so the two of us desperately worked the abacus, and even when we wrote it all down and calculated it on paper, we were still short by 153 dalins.

That was the kind of dream it was.

Even though I had finally finished guarding the Crown Prince, I was just about to meet him again in a dream.

I rolled over with a weary sigh, then nearly let out a scream again.

Because there,

Shitoen was there.

Shitoen had her face buried in the feather pillow, lying on her right side.

Her long silver hair had been loosely tied and flowed behind her, making the lines of her face stand out clearly.

A small oval face.

Though they were closed now, she was a beautiful girl with striking eyes like amethysts.

Or rather, my wife.

The décolletage exposed by her nightwear and her slender, graceful arms were fine-textured and pale. Bathed in the morning sunlight streaming through the window, they almost looked dewy.

Shitoen was sleeping peacefully.

Her chest rose and fell slowly with each breath.

Of course, I couldn’t see it now through the nightwear, but beneath it, the dragon crest was hidden.

That was the mark given only to the royal family of the Kingdom of Tania.

That small mark, like a cherry blossom petal, was in the center of Shitoen’s chest… or rather, a little toward the right breast.

Of course, I have seen it.

Because I’m her husband!

I’ve seen it, and if anything, I’ve touched it, and I’ve even kissed that dragon crest.

Because I’m her husband!

But…

I nearly groaned out loud. No, I sat up and held my head.

I haven’t seen it since our wedding night…

“U… nn…”

That was probably because I moved.

Shitoen let out a small sound and shifted in her sleep.

At that moment, her nightwear fell open just a little… and, well, how do I put it… around the chest area, kind of… the cleavage, you know… sort of showed… No, it didn’t show! It didn’t show! It only looked like it might!

Flustered, I grabbed the quilt and pulled it up over Shitoen’s shoulders, thinking, There, there…

Wait, uh… hold on… I’m her husband, so wasn’t it fine if I looked…? Actually, more than that, maybe I should have admired the sight as a blessing to the eyes.

“Guh…”

I covered my face with both hands and groaned.

What the heck am I doing?

Not just this morning. Last night too.

Since our wedding night, things had been so hectic that it had actually been half a month since we’d been able to sleep together like this.

Getting married wasn’t the end of it. Afterward there was all the administrative work, and I had to help the Crown Prince with seeing off and entertaining honored guests. Shitoen, meanwhile, was helping Mother, the Queen, with entertaining guests, thank-you letters, and greetings in high society.

At night, one of us would come back late, so the only times we saw each other and talked were over breakfast, or at the palace while entertaining guests together, that sort of thing.

And to top it all off, there was that. Guard duty for the Crown Prince.

Just when I’d been thinking, Whew, maybe we can finally relax a little, the Crown Prince suddenly had to go inspect the frontier, and my knight order was assigned to guard him…

Official duty. Right. This is official duty.

But seriously, are you really going to order a newlywed household to go on an overnight business trip!?

Sure, it’s fine for the Crown Prince’s household. How many years have they been married already? To begin with, those two are childhood friends and were raised in the same residence!

We’re different!

It hasn’t even been a full year since we met, and as for sharing a bed, there have been more times when we “just shared it” than anything else!

Just when I had been thinking that from here on, we’d start growing closer in both heart and body.

Official duty… Oooofffiiiciiiaaalll duuuty.

I held back with all my might from saying, Go by yourself! Because yes, this was work. If I neglected my work, there would be no point in being royalty… even I understood that.

So I set the journey for the inspection at maximum speed.

Under my command, the entire knight order drove the horses hard, and although the Crown Prince riding in the carriage was shaken violently and apparently vomited from motion sickness, I don’t care.

The Crown Prince was originally a capable man, so no matter how bad his motion sickness got or how drastically his sleep was reduced, he carried out the inspection itself without issue.

And then, once again, after handing the Crown Prince a bucket for vomiting, I drove the horses and carriage hard and returned to the royal capital.

…But.

Because we returned much earlier than scheduled, Shitoen was already in bed, breathing softly in her sleep.

I did think about waking her. Just a little.

I wanted to shake her shoulder and say, I’m back, Shitoen. Maybe even kiss her eyelids.

Then Shitoen, waking up, would say, “Welcome back.”

And then with her until morning, all kinds of things, well… you know? I thought maybe it would be nice to spend a passionate night together.

But.

When I looked at Shitoen sleeping so soundly and at ease, I started to feel bad about waking her.

Shitoen was working hard at official duties too.

More than anything, she was living surrounded by people she’d only known for a few days, and they didn’t even speak the same language.

That meant she had to be even more tired than I was.

At night, at least, I wanted her to be able to sleep peacefully.

Thinking that, I fell asleep beside her, but then—

“Ah… Prince Saryu…?”

She called my name in a still-blurry voice.

After that, it seemed Shitoen woke up properly.

Her eyes widened in surprise, and those amethyst-like eyes fixed on me.

“I came back in the middle of the night.”

Why did I say it in such an apologetic tone?

I should have said I’m home, or good morning.

If anything, I should have said I missed you, and I regretted it the moment the words left my mouth.

“I’m sorry, I…”

She tried to rise with a little wriggle, but Shitoen is actually pretty weak in the mornings.

She can’t really move right after waking up, and if she tries to force herself, her face turns pale.

“It’s fine, stay in bed.”

I hurriedly stopped her. Her shoulder when I touched it was so delicate. Gently, gently, I told myself. Even so, on our wedding night I’d been so close to losing all reason that I had genuinely worried Shitoen might break…

And somehow my face grew hot all by itself. This is bad, this is bad, so I looked away, and then her light, sweet voice brushed against my eardrums.

“Welcome back, Prince Saryu. I’m relieved you returned safely.”

Drawn by her voice, I turned my eyes toward her, and there was Shitoen wrapped in the quilt, smiling at me.

“Ah… yeah.”

I think I probably stared blankly at her for a while.

That was why I couldn’t manage a proper reply at all.

It really made me think again.

This is baaaaaaad! She’s so insanely cuuuute!!!

My wife is ridiculously cute!!!!!

What is with this cuteness!!!!

I don’t know what other women are like, but are people really this cute right after waking up!?

I don’t think so!!!!