Not Even a Husband - Chapter 1.5

“You are busy with estate inspections. And you have so many meetings regarding northern affairs.” It had been five years since her return, and his schedule was packed. It seemed he had a lot to prepare with the harsh winter and heavy snow just around the corner. In the midst of all this, she felt it was such a waste that she couldn’t properly reunite with him and had lost a week to a fever.

At the same time, her heart pounded with excitement. ‘Even though he’s so busy, he came to me every dawn.’

She wanted to go to Jerod immediately and reassure him directly that she was fine now. As Isabel tried to sneak out of her bedroom, she was caught by the maids bringing her meal.

“You cannot, my lady!”

With narrowed eyes, the maids laid Isabel back on the bed and wrapped her tightly in the blankets.

“Can’t you just let it go? I’m fine.”

“You’re not fully recovered! Oh my, look at your lips, they’ve become so chapped!”

The maids, who had seen Isabel suffer from a severe fever every winter, admonished her like lions.

“Ugh…”

Whimpering, Isabel was buried in the bed and had no choice but to spend three more days there. The recovery period prescribed by the physician stretched out longer than the week she had been ill.

As she lay confined to her bed, she could often hear the sounds of Jerod and his retainers passing by below the window that faced outside. Whenever that happened, Isabel would try to secretly open the window and peek. She was so curious about what Jerod was doing.

But each time, the maids would rush in, blocking the window and insisting she shouldn’t catch a cold draft. In the end, time dragged on tediously.

Meanwhile, Isabel’s face, which had become pale from her illness, regained its color, and her lips began to regain their luster.

And so, finally, the next morning was the day of her release. Isabel ate her dinner early and opened the documents Percy had sent. It was a report on a new brick being developed.

The North had been at peace for a long time, but there had been one cause for concern for the past two years. Accidents involving stone collapses due to unknown causes. It started in the livestock pens, but as it spread to private homes, barracks, and finally the castle walls, the retainers reported it to the Lord’s castle. However, they were at a standstill, unable to find the cause.

Moreover, with the Lord absent, there was no way to address it more proactively. So, for the time being, they had only responded by quickly repairing the broken stones. But besides the damage, there was a more serious problem. The fact that soldiers and villagers had to be mobilized to mine stones every time to repair the broken ones.

“He sent them out to procure new stone when the wind is blowing this hard?”

Isabel, who overheard the report by chance, fell into thought. Then, hearing from Percy, the head chef of the Lord’s castle, that cookie dough could become as hard as stone if made incorrectly, she got an idea. She decided to create bricks using a hard material to replace stone, incorporating a native Northern plant called ‘Spitol’. It was said that on the eastern continent, walls had been built with bricks containing the same component as Spitol for five hundred years. The East had different soil from Trua, causing the mined stones to crumble easily, so their ancestors had developed this method long ago.

Since it was easier to procure than stone and just as hard, if it succeeded, it would greatly alleviate the burden on the villagers. From then on, Isabel secretly began researching bricks with Chef Percy, an expert in dough.

‘S-Success?’

Isabel covered her mouth with both hands as she read the end of the report, written in large letters by Percy. The hardness was perfect, and mass production had also been successful. This was the result after nearly two years of failures. Now, they wouldn’t have to go out and mine stones in harsh weather. All they had to do was bake bricks in large quantities!

‘Jerod will be happy when he hears about this too.’ She eagerly anticipated his reaction. As Isabel was about to leap with joy, clutching the report, a knock sounded, and the old butler of the Northern Lord’s castle entered.

“My lady, are you feeling better?”

“Riddan! Have you been well?”

He was the first outsider she had seen in ten days. Isabel, already excited, greeted the butler more warmly than usual. Smiling at Isabel, who looked much healthier, the stoic butler presented what he held in his arms. It was a rectangular, dark purple velvet box.

“What is this?”

“It is a gift from the Lord.”

Jerod? Isabel’s eyes widened, and she quickly took the box.

‘Suddenly… Ah, it must be a gift to congratulate me on my recovery.’

Come to think of it, this was the first time Jerod had seen her with such a high fever. When she was younger, it was just a minor cold, but since she entered her growth spurt five years ago, she had started suffering quite severely.

Of course, he knew the situation from letters, but seeing it firsthand would surely feel different. She suddenly recalled his firm hand touching her feverish forehead and stroking her cheek as he visited every dawn.

‘He looks so cold, as if he wouldn’t spare a glance, but how can he be so sweet?’ Isabel blushed and opened the box.

Click- “Huh?”

Inside was a gift she hadn’t expected.

“My lady! Is that, is that a pearl? A token of love!”

A maid nearby exclaimed with a near-scream. Hearing the fervent reaction, the other maids, who were wiping tables, rushed over noisily.

“That’s right! I saw it on display the other day!”

“That pearl is incredibly famous! They say it’s for proposals!”

“Kyaaak! The Lord for my lady?”

Inside the box lay a pale pink pearl that Isabel had glimpsed over people’s heads. Set in the center of a platinum pendant adorned with snowflakes and diamonds, it had become a necklace that suited Isabel’s fair skin.

“Oh my, my lady, you must be so happy!” “Are you getting married soon?”

The maids all cheered as if it were their own joy. Isabel touched the pale pink pearl with trembling hands.

“You’ve grown up.”

Jerod’s words from their reunion echoed in her ears.

“I’m so envious. They say receiving a proposal with a token of love leads to eternal happiness.”

She also remembered the words of her close retainers’ daughters, who had all chattered about it.

Thump, thump, thump.

Her heart pounded wildly.

Isabel closed her eyes tightly and then opened them. She wanted to scream like the maids out of sheer excitement, but she held back. It would make her seem too childish. Instead, Isabel closed the box again and hugged it tightly to her chest. Then, she asked the butler, who was watching her reaction with a pleased expression,

“Can I… can I go out? Just for a moment.”

Even though half a day remained until the physician’s prescribed recovery period ended. The butler nodded kindly.

Isabel quickly placed the box deep in her vanity drawer and, with her cheeks flushed red, ran out. Behind her, the envious and excited screams of the maids echoed.

“Butler, are the two of you really getting married?” “It is about time. You’ve been engaged for over ten years now.” “Oh, my! Then Lady Isabel will become the Madam!”

Isabel ran faster than her pounding heart. Except for when she was very young, she never ran around normally, but now her heart was so urgent that if she didn’t run, her heart would race ahead of her feet.

‘What should I say first?’ A proposal. A laugh escaped her, and her chest tickled, scattering her thoughts. She didn’t know exactly what to say, but one thing was certain: she wanted to see Jerod right now.

Isabel hurried straight to the Lord’s study, but then suddenly realized she was wearing a plain woolen dress.

“Ah, my clothes.”

Isabel stopped abruptly. It wasn’t enough to show herself dressed up; she couldn’t just go to Jerod in such a plain outfit. Hadn’t she only shown him herself delirious with fever in bed until now?

‘But it will take quite some time to get ready.’ Her desire to see him quickly and her wish to show him only her prettiest self waged a fierce battle.

Isabel quickly checked her reflection in the mirror hanging in the hallway.

Her small face, delicate features, and naturally wavy blonde hair were reflected. She looked a bit pale, perhaps from being ill, but it was her usual appearance, which everyone always praised as beautiful.

However, Isabel, disappointed, let her shoulders droop. She looked too plain. She needed to look much prettier than this for Jerod.

‘This won’t do. I need to change quickly.’