Not Even a Husband - Chapter 1.4

Even the stubborn northern vassals, who once shouted at the young lady to get lost, now ask when the next tea time will be. Thus, such a reunion was something even Isabel herself could not have imagined.

Though she had waited so long, seeing him in person, he was far more unfamiliar than the image she had painted in her imagination. Perhaps because his aura was colder and sharper than the one in her memory, words failed her. Isabel stood frozen in place, like a child suddenly kicked out of the house.

“Isabel.”

He called her name once more, as if urging her. But her name, uttered in a cold, calm, baritone voice like a well-honed sword, felt awkward, and Isabel could only blink blankly without a reply.

Thump, thump.

Her tense heart began to pick up speed. But her mind was blank, as if in a vacuum, and she couldn’t think of anything.

As Isabel stood still like a wooden doll with its strings cut, the space between his dark eyebrows narrowed.

He removed his gauntlets, then unbuckled his pauldrons and the longsword at his waist, handing them to his lieutenant. The simple act of disarming seemed to slightly lessen the overwhelming presence he exuded.

His demeanor somewhat softened, he spoke again.

“You must greet me.”

His arms, as tautly muscled as a warhorse’s, reached out towards her. At his words, which sounded like both a gentle admonishment and a coaxing, her legs finally moved. Isabel slowly took a step, then another, towards him as if entranced.

The closer she got, the more clearly she could see him. A tall figure with an overwhelmingly strong aura. A handsome face, sculpted with such delicate detail that it cast a shadow even in the sunlight, devoid of any warmth. Though honed to be colder than in her memory, it was a familiar face. The face that had always been by her side since the first moment of her memory. Naturally, he was not a stranger.

Isabel swallowed hard and stopped before him, leaving just about half a step between them. He waited patiently, then naturally raised his arm to stroke her head.

But the tense Isabel reflexively dodged his touch.

“……”

“Ah, um.”

Isabel flinched, flustered by her own reaction. It wasn’t intentional, but she simply couldn’t bring herself to approach him. It was because the man before her, whom she met again after five years, was far bigger and more adult than she remembered. He was harder, heavier, sharper, and colder than before, making it difficult to approach.

Isabel hesitated like a shy child. Then, he strode forward without hesitation and pulled her into his embrace, wrapping his arms around her waist.

“Ah!”

As Isabel instinctively flinched in surprise, he naturally drew her into his arms. The cool, soft scent of him, reminiscent of a winter forest, tickled her nose.

As Isabel gasped for breath, he patted her back, like soothing a startled young animal. Strangely, her ragged breathing began to stabilize, following the slow, firm touch.

In a distant memory, she vividly recalled him patting her like this once before. Isabel unconsciously raised her arms, then stopped.

‘The height…’

Before, she had to raise her arms quite a bit to hug him, but now she could wrap her arms around his waist with just a slight reach. This was thanks to Isabel, who had grown a lot in the five years since her late growth spurt.

The void left by such a small change felt starkly apparent. Realizing that, everything felt unfamiliar again. Colder, harder, heavier. The him she knew five years ago didn’t feel like this.

As Isabel’s hands hovered aimlessly, a faint chuckle escaped from his solid body. He personally guided her hands to wrap around his waist. Isabel couldn’t bring herself to hug him back, and reflexively clutched the fabric of his clothes at his waist tightly. He took a deep breath, as if imprinting her scent into his lungs.

“You’ve grown up.”

His voice was cold, yet gentle. Only then did the unfamiliarity, which had wrapped around him like a glass barrier, break. Her heart, stiff with awkwardness and unfamiliarity, began to beat with excitement. So much so that she wanted to throw off her fur scarf, wrapped tightly to ward off the cold. Her nose tingled. ‘I mustn’t cry. It’s childish. We just met after so long.’ But the time she had spent waiting alone for his return had been too long.

Finally, Isabel tightly embraced his waist and buried her face in his chest like a rabbit hiding in its burrow.

“Jerod..”

Her voice, mixed with joy and a hint of tears, flowed out. He let out a low rumble of laughter, as if pleased that Isabel had hidden herself in his embrace.

The master of the North. The sole Grand Duke of the Trua Empire. The legendary commander of the expeditionary force, who had built an undefeated history.

The man who had left for an expedition to a distant land, from which news rarely reached, and reappeared suddenly five years later…

“Welcome back.”

Her fiancé had returned.

The entire North buzzed with joy at the lord’s return after five years. Though the lord’s manor had retained its vitality amidst the bleak northern atmosphere thanks to the bright Isabel, it was nothing compared to the lord’s return. After an expedition of unprecedented length, the quiet and majestic lord’s manor was filled with life after a long time.

Vassals scattered throughout the North rushed to offer their congratulations. Congratulatory envoys bearing gifts also arrived one after another from neighboring territories upon hearing the news of his return. The atmosphere heated up like a festival when an envoy arrived from the Imperial Capital, heralding rewards and commendations.

While everyone was caught up in the boisterous atmosphere, Isabel alone was unfortunately left out. On the evening Jerod returned, she immediately came down with a severe fever.

“Cough, cough……”

Isabel couldn’t get out of bed due to the high fever. In fact, she had caught a fever about a month earlier than usual this year. Isabel, from the capital, did not suit the icy air of the North. Therefore, every year when the temperature dropped sharply in midwinter, she would catch a fever as if it were a rite of passage. Especially just before the heavy snows of the harsh winter.

But this year, the timing was unusually early. It seemed to be because she had stood outside for two hours looking at pearls while out shopping for winter preparations.

While the ladies who went shopping with her were healthy, she alone had fallen ill.

Isabel was dejected despite suffering from a high fever. She was used to being sick, but she felt indignant that she had been bedridden from just a little bit of cold wind. Even though she had bundled up so much.

‘This way, I can’t even be called a true northerner.’

No, that was all fine. What was most agonizing was the timing of their separation right after meeting Jerod again. ‘I haven’t even properly greeted him yet!’ Isabel had so many things she wanted to do with Jerod.

Just as she had grown much taller than five years ago, she wanted to take in every detail of how much Jerod had changed. She wanted to sit face-to-face and chat about what he had experienced and what he had thought during that time.

Isabel tried her best to recover quickly. Despite the constant coughing and complete loss of appetite, she diligently took her medicine and ate her meals without skipping. One day, after repeatedly falling into a feverish sleep and waking up in a daze from medication, day and night. Suddenly, Isabel realized. Someone’s touch visited her every dawn.

‘Who?’

A firm palm and long fingers gently rested on her hot forehead. As if checking how much her fever had subsided. At first, she thought it was a dream, but it kept happening. While dazed by the fever and medication, Isabel tried her best to properly feel the touch. It wasn’t the physician who visited three times a day, nor the maid who changed the wet cloths day and night. A solid hand, imbued with firmness. The hand, along with its meticulous touch, carried the cool, soft scent of a winter forest.

‘…Jerod?’ It was undoubtedly him. Even without seeing him, she knew it was him by his scent, his presence, his body temperature.

Jerod would quietly lift the canopy and touch her forehead. After a long moment, he would lower his hand, gently stroke her cheek as if caressing it, and then leave the bedroom.

Jerod always came at the same time every dawn.

Isabel, overcome by sleepiness from the fever and medication, could never fully open her eyes. But whenever she felt the winter forest scent and the firm touch, she tried to hold onto her hazy consciousness even in her semi-conscious state.

‘He’s so kind.’

After he left, her cheeks would always flush a rosy red. It was probably not just because of the cold.

After a full week like that. Finally, Isabel’s raging fever subsided.

“Your cold seems to be over for this year. You should rest for three more days, and your fever will completely disappear.”

Finally!

Able to sit up after a week, Isabel was filled with anticipation for what she would do outside. Her scarlet eyes sparkled as she eagerly asked the maids.