I’ve Probably Made a Mistake in Getting Married - Chapter 16

Altair decided to go on a solo expedition to the Rembrew Territory to catch the dragon, despite everyone’s opposition.

When the departure was scheduled three days later, Aylesford Castle was filled with a strangely chaotic atmosphere.

Altair seemed to be the only calm one.

The knights who had to send their captain away alone, as well as Pavel and Anna, could not hide their worries, and Nadia too was in agony.

What did Altair mean by asking her to worry about him more like his wife?

She had vowed to play the role of a proper wife, so she wanted to figure out the answer and care for him ‘more like a wife’ until Altair left.

But after grunting and pondering all day, she came to a hopeless conclusion that she would never be able to find an answer this way.

Up until the present, she had been locking herself up in her room, accumulating knowledge by reading books, but she still could not find any information about ‘how to take care of my husband like a wife’.

It was such a lie to say that books have all the knowledge in the world!

She grumbled and decided to ask her friend for help.

“Anna.”

“Yes, Madame.”

“Do you know how to take care of a husband like a wife?”

“How should a wife take care of her husband?”

Anna, who was combing her hair, tilted her head and fell into thoughts.

“Is this because the lord is leaving to hunt the dragon?”

“…Yes. I told the lord I was worried about him, but he asked me to show my care for him more like a wife…”

“Hmm…Then could that be it?”

“That?”

“In the East, there is a custom for the wife to make a wish bracelet when the husband leaves for a dangerous place. She would make two identical ones and both of the two would wear them while praying for the other person’s peace. If the wish bracelet does not snap and is intact, the other person is believed to also be safe.”

“So there was such a custom.”

It was a custom that could not be found in the capital. It seemed like a custom only existed in the East, where large and small wars were frequent, as it bordered other countries.

“Is it difficult to make? I’m not that good with my hands.”.

“It’s very simple. I will help you, let’s make it together! I will go get the materials right away once I’m done with your hair, Madame.”

❈❈❈

As Anna said, it was not hard to make a bracelet. In fact, it was quite easy. All she needed to do was weave three threads of different colours and knot them together.

Nevertheless, since Nadia was not that skillful with her hands, even that was difficult, and the finished bracelet was somewhat sloppy.

“Is this gonna be okay? It’s too ugly, right?”

As she murmured, looking at the ugly bracelet with messy entangled threads, Anna encouraged.

“The Lord doesn’t have an eye for aesthetics in the first place, so he won’t even know that it is ugly!”

Well, that just means this is definitely hideous….

At Anna’s words of comfort, she became even more depressed, but just went with it.

It was finally the day for Altair to depart for the Rembrew Territory.

The surrounding was dark because it was still before dawn, but he said that he had no choice but to arrive at the promised time.

Nadia cautiously stepped out of the castle, following Anna’s guidance with a lantern.

When they reached the entrance, Altair, who had already prepared for departure, could be seen talking to Blan and Pavel, who had come to greet him.

“Huh? Madame!”

As the giant black horse first spotted her and neighed, Blan smiled warmly and greeted her. Pavel then bowed politely to greet her as well, and Altair turned his head to look at her.

“I should have told you that you didn’t have to see me off because it’s too early.”

Altair sent a reproachful look to Pavel for not saying anything to her, but she quickly stepped forward and waved her hands in denial.

“It’s not his fault! Pavel definitely told me! I just wanted to see you off… You asked me to show more care as a wife at that time…so that’s what I’m going.”

As she boldly approached Altair with the pride of having found the correct answer, he looked at Pavel and Blan with a slightly troubled face.

“You will? Here? Now?”

“Yes. Do we need to go somewhere else? I think I can do it here though…”

“There are many eyes watching.”

“Uh… would it matter if other people are watching…?”

All she needed to do was deliver the bracelet, but did she need to move to another place or avoid people’s eyes?

As Nadia tilted her head in confusion, Altair muttered uncomfortably as he clasped his hand on his nape.

“Well, if you insist…”

Altair had allowed it, so there was nothing to worry about.

With that, Nadia took the bracelet out and grabbed Altair’s hand.

His large, firm hands felt completely different from hers. It almost seemed as though they could crush anything with just a little force.

Strangely how, when she touched Altair’s hand, she could feel his awkwardness.

Oh right! This is not the time for useless thought!

She quickly came to her senses and put the bracelet on Altair’s wrist. It was a clumsily made bracelet, but it did not look so bad once she put it on his wrist.

When she finished the task and looked up at Altair proudly, she turned puzzled as his eyes were shut for some reason, which was quite bizarre.

Why is he doing that?

While she didn’t know what to say, Blan, who was standing next to her, couldn’t help but burst into a fit of laughter.

“It seems that the Lord was expecting something else, Madame.”

“Pardon? Something else?”

“The Madame’s passionate taste-…Argh!!”

Before Blan could finish speaking, Altair kicked him in the shin.

“My Lord! Were you intending to break my leg for real?”

“It’s not broken. And it’s not like I’ve only done it once or twice, it’s under control.”

“No but, you shouldn’t have kicked it in the first place.”

“Then you should shut your mouth first.”

“When did I ever say anything wrong…”

Altair ignored the grumbling Blan and turned to Nadia.

“What about yours?”

“Yes?”

“It must be a pair. My bracelet and yours. I’m sure I’m not the only one wearing it, right?”

“Of course not! I have mine too.”

She took out the other bracelet. Altair then grabbed the bracelet and put it on her wrist without an ounce of hesitation.

Altair, who was meticulously tying the knot, frowned.

“…I feel like your wrist is going to break if I put in too much strength. Your wrists are too thin.”

“It’s not that thin.”

“You say that it’s not thin, yet I can hold it entirely in one hand.”

Altair clasped her wrist with one hand, as if to prove what he was saying. It was kind of a careful movement, as it seemed that he feared he would break her wrist if he applied force.

Somehow, she felt strange, and when she slightly pulled her hand out of his, he immediately let her go without trying to hold on.

“…Please be careful.”

“I will.”

The greetings were plain and curt, but not unkind.

Altair left a few last words to Blan and Pavel, then got on the huge horse and departed in an instant.

Now that Nadia had escaped the sight of the terrifying villain, she would be able to live unnoticed for a while. However, in contrast with her thought, a corner of her chest felt strangely empty.

“Come on in, Madame. The air of the early morning is cold.”

Seeing her standing there, zoned out, Blan said with a smile. She nodded and walked into the castle, but occasionally looked back.

It felt peculiar.

❈❈❈

While Altair was away, the knights began exploring the mountain range.

Blan confessed frankly that he had not kept his promise to Nadia and did not keep it a secret from the lord. He was one of Altair’s loyal knights, so it must have been an inevitable choice.

While the knights were exploring the mountain range, Nadia began to seek out experts through Pavel, who could take charge of the mine development. She was confident that the mine would be found.

Pavel wondered if there was truly a need to look for someone, but he didn’t bother to stop her. Maybe it was because he felt a strange underlying certainty from her actions.

Contrary to expectations, however, there was no news that the mine had been found even after a long time had passed.

The longer the search, the more tired the knights became. It was natural to be exhausted as they had been wandering around the mountain range without clear results.

Blan’s face grew darker by the day as he reported the same ‘there was no result today’, but she stood her ground and still pushed on with the search. If she had continued to stay meek, this would have been impossible.

I guess one can become this strong if they know they have the right answer.

If this was the privilege of the possessor in the novel, she was thinking of enjoying it to her heart’s content.

“Madame.”

And today, as always, the time for reporting had come.

Blan had always sighed with a dark face, but today his expression was a little different. A positive sign was felt from his slightly changed expression.

“Could it be…”

When she asked in anticipation, Blan smiled.

“Yes, we found it. Because the ground was unusually set, and when we searched around there, a mana stone was found. It’s true… there is a Manastone Mine in our estate!”

“I knew it.”

She jumped out of her seat with joy and walked over to Blan. She wanted to hug him and dance around, but that just stayed in her mind.

“Did you tell Pavel? I told him to find a mine development specialist… “

“Of course. He was so elated that he contacted them right away. The knights were excited too… I really don’t know what’s going on here, it still feels surreal.”

Blan scratched his head, smiling, but still a little troubled for some reason.

“But it’s not over yet. The reserves of manastones are still uncertain, and it may not be possible to develop them because the ground is weak……”

“No. We can definitely make it.”

It was a groundless conviction, just like when she first spoke of the existence of the mine, but this time Blan just nodded with a broad smile.

“It seems like it will really come true, since the Madame has said so.”

Altair in the novel was already a wealthy duke. That meant the manastone reserved in their area was considerable. Development was of course possible.

Now that Aylesford is rich, the knights no longer need to suffer, and I’m getting recognition from Altair!

A smile crept upon her lips at the thought of the flourished future that was already drawn before her eyes.

“First of all, I need to talk to Pavel. What should we do next…”

But as she was about to take a step, her wrist suddenly felt empty and something fell to the floor. It was the wish bracelet she shared with Altair.

“…”

“…”

The moment she confirmed its existence, both Nadia and Blan, who were overly excited, became dead silent as if they had been splashed with cold water.

It was said that wish bracelets show the well-being of the other.

It could just be a superstition, but…

She smiled awkwardly and quickly picked up the broken bracelet.

“How clumsy I am. I made such a mess of it that it snapped on its own.”

“Is-, Is that so…”

Blan was also wary, so though tensed, he forced up a smile and responded.

I-, I don’t believe in superstitions!

Although she tried to show some pretentiousness, the ominous feeling in her heart did not go away.