Extra Story 5 - The Conditions Of A Good Husband

From time to time, Lucien could be found slumping his shoulders and staring down at the floor.

He tried not to show it when Marguerite was nearby, but there were moments—such as when Marguerite, who had been working alongside him, stepped out of the room to fetch documents and then returned—when gloomy clouds seemed to gather over his head.

When Marguerite had first married into House de Broy, Lucien had treated her coldly.

That attitude had been the result of various misunderstandings and crossed wires, and in time Lucien had been moved by Marguerite’s earnest nature and came to love her. Yet whenever he recalled that period, he seemed unable to avoid sinking into regret.

At such times, Lucien—who would normally scoop Marguerite up with ease—would shrink in on himself and hang his head.

‘It’s like a big dog that’s been scolded…’

As for Marguerite, she had not minded Lucien’s behavior even back then.

So she felt there was no need for him to be so despondent, but Lucien did not see it that way.

Because he cared so deeply about her, he regretted his past actions.

Laughing it off and patting his shoulder while saying, “Please don’t worry about it!” did not feel quite right either.

After much thought, when she finally called out, “Lucien-sama,” he would lift his face and act as usual—but still.

‘What should I do?’

It was while Marguerite was walking along, tilting her head in thought, that she heard it.

A child’s crying rang out. Marguerite, who knew all the servants by face, recognized the voice as belonging to a boy who had recently joined as a menial worker.

Feeling pressure simply from serving in a ducal household, he often made mistakes and was frequently scolded.

Wondering if everything was all right, Marguerite peeked into the kitchen and saw Anna standing before the crying boy.

Anna patted the boy’s head, then crouched down and gently embraced his still-small body.

As Anna patted his back, the boy’s sobbing subsided.

She seemed to be saying something to him, but her whispers did not reach Marguerite’s ears. Perhaps she was telling him that she herself had made plenty of mistakes when she had first entered service. Something like that.

‘…I see?’

Feeling as though she had gained a hint, Marguerite quietly left the scene.

Several days later.

Passing by the terrace, Marguerite looked up at the clear, autumnal sky—and spotted Lucien once again with gloomy clouds hanging over his head.

‘All right!’

Suppressing her footsteps, Marguerite approached Lucien.

Sensing her presence just a few steps away, Lucien turned around.

“Marguerite?”

Before he could move, Marguerite wrapped her arms tightly around his back.

After hugging him with all her strength, she patted his back as if soothing him.

Lucien’s eyes widened for a moment, but when he realized Marguerite was trying to chase away his gloom, his gaze softened.

Lucien’s arms came around Marguerite’s back as well.

His forehead lightly bumped against her shoulder.

“…The man I used to be could not be called a good husband.”

Lucien’s low voice, spoken with his face still lowered, reached Marguerite’s ears.

“Lucien-sama.”

“I know you don’t dwell on it. Even so, I think that if I had cast aside my mistaken assumptions sooner, we could have grown closer much earlier. That is why I—”

Lucien lifted his face. When he looked straight at her, Marguerite felt her cheeks slowly redden.

“I will do everything in my power to be worthy of you—to become a good husband to you.”

“…Yes.”

This time, Marguerite was the one being held. Or perhaps Lucien was clinging to her.

That was how sincere his gaze and his tone were.

The fact that she was deeply loved was something Marguerite was finally beginning to feel in a tangible way.

And so her cheeks only grew warmer.

“Lucien-sama, I am happy.”

Unable to fully compose her expression, Marguerite pressed her face against Lucien’s chest and whispered softly.