A Fake Marriage? Sure! …Wait, Is It Actually Fake? Something’s Not Right Here! - Chapter 31

That evening.

Hobbling unsteadily on unfamiliar crutches toward the bed, I plopped down heavily.

“Good thing there’s no damage to the bone.”

Alex took the crutches and placed them against the wall.

He then helped lift my leg, which was immobilized in a splint.

“I’m really quite sturdy, aren’t I?”

Even though my shin had been so swollen, the doctor had insisted there weren’t even any cracks.

“Being sturdy is a good thing.”

Alex said with a serious face.

Both he and Lidoria were in their nightclothes.

After the kidnapping and confinement incident involving Lidoria and Evan, the men and Sena had been arrested.

The men were immediately thrown into prison, with military police interrogations starting tomorrow. Being a count’s daughter, Sena was placed in a different cell than the men, and while negotiations with relevant parties were ongoing, Lidoria heard she’d likely be sent to a convent.

As for Melissa.

She was apparently confined to a tower within the royal castle until the prince of Lavria Kingdom entered the city.

Lidoria was immediately sent to the hospital by Crown Princess Sophia and later returned home.

Alex too, after reporting the incident to Crown Prince George, was promptly urged to return home, and as per Lidoria’s wish, bought some hearty soup and returned to their new residence within the embassy.

They returned home around the same time, exhausted but managed to eat and take turns bathing.

With her leg immobilized, getting into the bathtub was easy for Lidoria, but she couldn’t get out and had to call Alex for help.

Just moments ago, after repeatedly checking she was thoroughly wrapped in a bath towel, Alex had safely pulled her out of the tub.

Though thinking back, his method was rather rough.

Not that she expected to be carried bridal-style, but being dragged out from behind like a captured criminal was a bit much.

‘This won’t do!’ Lidoria had protested on the spot.

She’d have preferred if Alex had come in front of her instead. If he’d just let her wrap her arms around his neck to stand up from the tub, that would have sufficed.

Wasn’t this treatment akin to hauling up a drowned corpse?

When she protested to Alex, he scolded her, ‘What if the towel came off if I went in front and lifted you up!’

Remembering that, Lidoria apologized to Alex’s back as he moved around turning off the bedroom lights.

“…I’m sorry, Lord Alex.”

“For what?”

“This feels more like a caregiving life than newlywed life.”

Pfft—Alex let out a rare chuckle.

Lidoria felt embarrassed. On their first day, she’d injured her arm and household chores fell behind, and today she’d hurt her leg and even needed help bathing.

“But it’s relaxing. I’m far more comfortable than you might imagine.”

As Alex sat on the edge of the bed, the mattress sank slightly.

“If you say so. Ah.”

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

Alex, who’d been about to lie down with an ‘oh well’ expression, stopped moving.

“No, um. It’s nothing major.”

“What is it?”

“Princess Melissa said something to me.”

“Princess Melissa? What did she say?”

Instantly, tension flashed across Alex’s face. Lidoria frantically waved her hands to signal it was nothing serious.

“Well… she asked if I truly like you, Lord Alex. That maybe I only like you about as much as she does.”

Lidoria recounted the conversation from the dungeon.

Melissa wanted to marry Alex to be near Crown Prince George. She suggested Lidoria might want to marry Alex with similar intensity.

“That perverted princess. She’s oddly perceptive in strange places.”

Alex groaned. Lidoria hesitated whether to correct his use of “perverted” but decided to let it pass.

“Right now, it seems only Princess Melissa has doubts. But sharp people will be sharp.”

“You mean our disguise might be exposed if this continues?”

Lidoria nodded.

“So, you see, I want some kind of loving couple Chapter.”

“Loving couple Chapter?”

Alex repeated skeptically, and Lidoria looked at him seriously.

“Something where if someone points it out, I can say, ‘What are you talking about? Alex and I do this every day!’ kind of thing.”

“…Wouldn’t ‘we have marital relations every night’ suffice?”

Lidoria frowned.

“Well, a battle-hardened veteran like you, Lord Alex, could probably share Chapters based on truth… But I’ve never done such things, so if questioned, the lie would be easily exposed.”

“…Why not just make it sound plausible?”

“That’s what I’m saying, I don’t know what ‘plausible’ means. So, you see, let’s fabricate some heartwarming Chapters that loving couples should do.”

“Like what? A goodbye kiss?”

“I thought of that too, but preferably something we can actually practice.”

“Like what?”

“How about holding hands when we sleep at night?”

Clenching her fist, Lidoria leaned closer to Alex.

“Holding hands? That’s childish.”

Alex furrowed his brows.

“You’d really tell others about that? Sounds embarrassing.”

“It’s fine precisely because a rugged man like you does it. It’s gap moe.”

“Isn’t that more from the female perspective?”

“You could say, ‘My wife begged me, what a nuisance,’ or something?”

Still, Alex seemed unconvinced. Lidoria said “Well then,” and counted on her fingers.

“I have other ideas too. Feeding each other with ‘aaahn,’ bathing together, spending all our time together until we sleep.”

As she spoke, Lidoria suddenly realized.

“…We’re already doing all of these.”

“Because it’s a caregiving life.”

Alex nodded seriously.

When Lidoria’s arm was hard to move, Alex had helped feed her, and today he’d assisted with bathing. She was always injuring an arm or leg, making movement difficult, so Alex stayed by her side.

What in the world.

Without realizing it, they’d been living like a loving couple.

“…Alright. I’ll mentally rearrange this and file it away as loving couple Chapters, not caregiving.”

Lidoria shrugged.

After all, Alex, who moved in male-dominated circles, probably didn’t get asked “What’s newlywed life like?” as often as she did.

“That was a strange thing to say. Let’s sleep now.”

Lidoria gave a wry smile, adjusted her pillow, and lay on her back. The splint made moving her leg awkward, but she’d probably get used to it eventually.

Alex also turned off the oil lamp on the bedside table and lay down beside her.

Good night.

Just as she was about to say it.

Her right hand was suddenly squeezed tightly.

With a surprised face, she looked beside her.

As if seeing through black lace.

In that obscured view.

Alex was staring expressionlessly at the ceiling.

“Well, trying it out isn’t so bad.”

He murmured those words.

Lidoria stared intently at him.

After staring, she smiled and said, “Indeed.”

Smiling, she turned to face the ceiling like him and closed her eyes.

His hand holding her right hand was very large.

It completely enveloped her hand, and his palm had calluses unique to sword wielders. Lidoria had calluses in the same places.

That familiar hand felt rough yet very warm.

And it was holding hers gently.