In a Political Marriage, Isn’t It Normal to Treat Your Fiancée Well? - Chapter 3

Two years later—

The homebody fiancée.

That’s apparently how the servants of the Seljuk Margrave family refer to Lady Sophia.

When I heard that, all I could do was let out a dry laugh.

But honestly, I think it’s true.

Because Lady Sophia has only come to my estate once for our initial meeting.

I’m the one who sends letters and visits her estate to maintain our communication.

On the plus side, I’ve gotten to know the inner workings of the Hart Count family quite well.

Thinking of my monthly tea party visits to the Hart Count estate as free inspections of the neighboring territory makes it worth the effort.

I gain information about public safety, economic conditions, mining operations, and more.

The regular gift exchanges work similarly too.

Even though she never writes back, she does read my letters.

That’s how I was able to ask her directly what she wanted.

Of course, not in person—through a letter.

“Lord Arslan, what shall we prepare for Lady Sophia’s birthday gift this year?”

“Ah, let’s go with the perfume that’s popular in the royal capital this year.”

“Perfume?”

“Lady Sophia seems interested in it. Apparently, it was mentioned in a letter from her sister.”

“Information from her lady’s maid?”

“More precisely, I obtained the information from a letter the maid wrote on her behalf.”

“I see.”

Merlein probably understands the situation, but he must be inwardly exasperated.

Frankly, my fiancée’s maid is essentially a spy. Not that I ordered it, it just happened that way. The maid herself is carelessly leaking information without thinking. Sophia is pleased with the intel I gather, and since her lady is happy, the maid probably considers it a job well done.

Normally, she should be manipulating information to avoid detection.

Well, since most of the letter’s contents are mundane, she might not notice anything suspicious.

You’d expect a lady’s maid serving a count’s daughter to be a noblewoman herself, but…

“Merlein, about our servants’ education…”

“Rest assured, my lord. We have no fools who would leak information. We’re using Lady Sophia’s case as a reference example in our new training materials.”

“I see.”

All I could do was laugh.

They’re probably using it as a bad example.

I didn’t need to ask to know.

“Among the servants, it’s become a joke—something they call ‘unthinkable.'”

I bet.

“We’ve decided that our future mistress will only be provided with the bare minimum of necessary information.”

They’ve already taken countermeasures—impressive.

A mistress who leaks information uncontrollably would be nothing but a liability.

In Lady Sophia’s case, it’s mainly her lady’s maid causing the problem, not her herself.

But Sophia’s complete indifference to it is also concerning.

Self-defense is necessary.

I can’t help but think—

Thank goodness I’m the son of a margrave family.

Our territory borders the frontier, far from the royal capital.

A territory prosperous with mines.

A territory where agriculture thrives.

Public safety isn’t bad either. In fact, it’s much better than in the royal capital.

It’s not even primarily a hunting territory.

So, what I’m trying to say is we can keep our distance from the court nobles.

My future wife, Lady Sophia, is a bit… no, quite the dreamer.

Whether it’s because she’s young or just her natural personality, I’m not sure.

From her perspective, she probably sees herself as “the ideal noble daughter who accepts an arranged marriage without complaint, polite, modest, and humble—the perfect future wife.”

This isn’t paranoia.

Her letters suggested as much.

Apparently, it’s “the ideal wife that most men want.” Where did she get that information?

I hate to think it, but I hope she didn’t just pick it up from romance novels.

I’ve heard girls her age like fluffy, romantic things. Maybe it’s common during sensitive adolescent years.

Projecting themselves onto novel or play protagonists and fantasizing about ideals.

I’ve heard it happens often.

“But reality is different.”

Lady Sophia’s ideal exists only in novels.

It’s not real.

We’re getting married next year. I wish she’d start facing reality soon.

From her perspective, she probably thinks she’s being “the good fiancée who follows her future husband’s lead” and “the modest lady who supports her man while staying a step behind.” After all, she never acts familiar with me. She’s an extremely proper fiancée. All her responses are safe, formulaic replies. It’s more like she’s reciting memorized lines from somewhere.

We hardly make eye contact when we talk.

Actually, the real problem is that we still can’t hold a proper conversation.

Even when I bring up topics that should interest her, she barely reacts.

At this point, I don’t even know why we’re maintaining this communication.

When I hint about our marriage next year, she just looks troubled. I’m starting to wonder if she even realizes she’s getting married.

Two years have passed, and our relationship hasn’t changed at all.

Honestly, it’s depressing.

Are we destined to become a masked couple?

Or maybe married but living separately?

Fine, fine. Even if that happens, at least I can throw myself into my work. As her fiancé, I maintain just enough interaction to avoid criticism. Lady Sophia seems satisfied with that too, since she never complains. Thanks to that, I was able to resolve the wetland matter without any issues.

In a way, she is the ideal fiancée.

Exactly as she wished to be.