“How strange...” Bernard murmured, looking out of the window of his office. Ariel was walking through the garden by herself. Observing her, he kept muttering. “Yes, it’s definitely strange. Why can’t I look away from her?”
Ariel had changed ever since that incident. She’d begun glaring at him with obvious loathing and smiling at the servants instead. And the lady’s attendants who’d treated her coldly before now wished for her to be their mistress again.
Bernard himself had changed too. Lately, his eyes were always searching for Ariel. When he was in the manor, he wondered when he’d bump into her, and when he was working in his office, he looked through the window to check if she was walking outside. And each time he found her, he found himself carefully watching whatever she was doing.
After a while, the butler cleared his throat. “Your Lordship, if you’re that curious about her, why don’t you talk to her?”
“Th-That would impede my work!”
“I think that’s already happening...”
Bernard pretended not to hear that, scratching his head frantically. “Ah, damn it! What is wrong with me?!” Then, he turned to the butler. “You said I should talk to her, huh? Do you think my emotions would calm down if I did that?!”
“Perhaps they would, or perhaps they’d get roused even more... Well, in any case, you should start by trying to talk to her. How about a simple conversation? You two are married, after all.”
Bernard’s shoulders twitched upon hearing those words. “Married, huh? I suppose we are, at least on paper.” Having made up his mind, the marquis stood up and stomped out of the room.
“Hey, you!” Bernard called out, heading toward Ariel, who was walking around the large, painstakingly crafted garden.
The girl glanced his way briefly, then turned away again with a huff.
“You! Answer me!”
“Unfortunately, my name isn’t ‘you,’” she said. In other words, she was demanding that he call her by her name.
Bernard let out a quiet groan, and then muttered, “Hey, Ariel.”
“Yes? What is it, Your Lordship?” Ariel sounded exasperated, but nonetheless gave him a diligent reply.
The marquis frowned. No, this isn’t right. He hadn’t come here just to see her for no reason. Yes, what I want is...
“Ariel, is there something you want?”
“Huh?” Ariel’s eyes widened. “Why are you asking me that out of nowhere? Are you trying to apologize for what happened? I’ve already had enough of that.”
“No...”
I thought that if I gave her something she wanted, she’d smile at me. That was the new budding feeling within Bernard. He wanted to see Ariel smile again. Yet he wasn’t brave enough to say that out loud, and he didn’t even understand why he had such a thought. He only mumbled incoherently for a while.
“A-Anything is fine! I, Marquis Balladur, am asking you if there’s something you want!”
“Why are you aggressively peddling your generosity?”
“W-We’re married, aren’t we? I reflected on everything, and decided that I want us to act more like a real married couple.”
Ariel sighed at Bernard’s faltering reply. “Well, if that’s what you want, Your Lordship, then I’ll go along with it...”
“And stop calling me that. We’re married, so refer to me in a way that reflects that.”
“How bothersome... Then how about this? My dear husband.”
The moment she said that, Bernard turned away from her. “Humph!”
“What’s wrong now? I won’t say it again if you hate it so much,” Ariel said, discontent. She hadn’t noticed how red Bernard’s face had gotten.
“I don’t hate it, so always refer to me in that way!” he replied hurriedly.
“Yes, yes, fine. Is that all you wanted?”
“Wait! You haven’t told me what you wanted yet!”
“Oh, you’re so tenacious... But I suppose there is one thing.”
Bernard quickly turned back around to face Ariel. “What is it?”
“A tulip,” she said, her eyes lighting up with a twinkle. Bernard’s heart lurched again at the sight. “If you want to make my wish come true, then I wish for a tulip. I searched, but there aren’t any in this garden... They’re the one flower I have a special fondness for.”
Ariel’s smile when she said those words was like a flower bed in full bloom. A bright, shining, beautiful flower bed that belonged only to Bernard. He hadn’t realized how captivated he was and just kept staring at his wife’s face.
As a side note, at that time, Bernard still hadn’t noticed the fact that he’d fallen in love with a woman who was supposed to be his wife in name only. As for all his feelings and efforts, it’d be quite a while before they were rewarded.