My Secretly Hot Husband

Chapter 10

It seemed Bastian wasn’t the only one who was acting strangely. She had clearly seen with her own eyes how Alexa—the strongest out of the three hags in Halstead—had suddenly started to dawdle after spotting Letitia. Alexa would linger even after she finished her tasks, seemingly waiting for the young lady to notice her—something she never would have done for anyone else.

“Madam Alexa!” Letitia dashed toward her.

Alexa reprimanded her sternly, “There’s no need to call me madam. Just call me Alexa.”

Letitia ignored her and produced a small item. “Look at this. I found the brooch you lost yesterday.”

Alexa could not believe it. She took the item with surprise, but her stern expression returned to her face once more.

“My lady, please don’t tell me that you were lying on the ground and rooting through the cracks on the floor simply to search for this.”

Letitia was quiet.

“A lady must not kneel,” Alexa warned. “You must follow that rule both inside and outside of the castle.”

“All right,” Letitia replied obediently. Though she had been sharply rebuked, it didn’t crush her spirits.

I wish I were as eloquent as her, Letitia thought. She was filled with awe. Alexa looked like a provincial old woman with an updo, but no one could compare to her in elegance and grace. She was impressive, though in a different way from Bastian. Moreover, she could easily read and dissect difficult ledgers.

Letitia had no idea why she had come to live in the castle, but she was surely a high-ranking noble. I doubt I could ever become like her, even if I work really hard. After admiring Alexa, Letitia headed to the dining hall.

Cassaro, the cook, was waiting for her there. Letitia hurried over and bumped her fist against Cassaro’s in greeting, as the crew of a large ship would.

“My lady! Try this.” Cassaro handed her some bread studded with red berries that had been baked into the batter.

“It’s delicious! But what are these red things?”

“They’re swamp frog eyes.”

What? The eyes of what? Letitia flinched internally. However, she could not let Cassaro have the last laugh. She showed no reaction as she pointed to some pork sausages. “Then is this made out of imp meat?”

Cassaro tilted her head back and guffawed. “I see you’re already familiar with the cooking at Halstead!”

Alexa and Bastian both gave Cassaro a pitying look. “You should know how lucky you are. Nobody else would play along.”

“There’s not a chance in the world she’ll keep it up once she turns thirteen.”

Cassaro, of course, paid no attention to what they said. The three old women seemed to be very close, though Letitia was told that they hadn’t known each other originally. The previous lord had rescued each of them from the wilderness, and Erden practically thought of them as his grandmothers since they had been in the castle even before his birth.

Letitia felt much the same way as him. In fact, she was no longer scared even when they made the most terrifying expressions. It wasn’t just the people—the gray castle itself looked different to her. At first, she thought of it as gloomy and dreary, but now she could see it was calm and dependable. It wasn’t crumbling; it was classic.

The dark corners of the castle seemed cozy and inviting, which fired up her imagination. After eating as much northern food as she wanted, Letitia set out to explore. Even though she had been wandering around the large castle for the past few days, she still hadn’t seen all of it.

“Let’s see.”

In one of the corridors she investigated while in the western wing, she discovered an old mural depicting all manners of monsters—the sort of art that she wouldn’t have glanced at twice back when she still lived with her uncle. However, things were different now.

“Wow...” Letitia’s eyes twinkled as she approached it.

This is a good reference! Letitia just so happened to have a small goal in mind—she wanted to greet Erden naturally without feeling conscientious of the fact that he was the Monster Lord.

Though she planned to do that the next time she ran into him, she didn’t trust her timid self not to startle easily, so she needed to practice in advance.

I wonder which one of these is like him. Letitia began to study the monster mural intensely, when at that very moment, Erden entered the western corridor with his soldiers. As they trekked through, they discovered Letitia.

“Huh? Isn’t that her ladyship?”

Erden abruptly paused and the soldiers could feel his dilemma. The young lady just so happened to be looking at the old monster murals at the same moment the Monster Lord had appeared. This was the perfect situation for the phrase “speak of the devil!”

How were they to handle this situation? Should they pass by quietly so that she wouldn’t notice? Or announce their presence by purposely making noise? They pondered which option would be better at minimizing shock. While they were agonizing over the best option, Letitia herself noticed that something was off. She absentmindedly turned from the monster mural to find the Monster Lord himself standing near her.

“Eek!” Letitia had failed once again.

I’m a fool! She berated herself, but it was too late. Erden had already seen her startle upon seeing him and, though he didn’t curtly turn his head to look away this time, she was sure it had still been upsetting.

I can still save this! Letitia racked her brain. Let’s move on as if nothing happened. I’ll think of a topic that’s casual and light.

Letitia opened her mouth and said, “Um, you know how we’re getting married?”

Well, that didn’t seem very casual or light. However, Erden seemed to welcome Letitia’s friendliness and conversation regardless.

“Yes, of course,” he replied.

“When is the wedding?”

“That hasn’t been decided yet. There are so many things we have to prepare for you. We need more step stools, and we also need to take in your dresses. I reminded everyone that you are a very small girl.”

Everyone stared at Erden. Alexa fought her way through the crowd to approach them, looking undeniably flustered despite her normal tidy and orderly appearance. Letitia had never seen her like this before.

“Um, well… That is… My lord?”

“What is it?”

“I know this is just a contractual marriage, but she is to be your wife. It’s not proper to speak to her so flippantly or to call her a ‘very small girl.’ You need to speak to her more respectfully.”

Letitia was quiet as she froze in place.

“What does it mean to be respectful...? How do I speak respectfully...?”

“How am I to explain this? Your respect for her must come from within.”

That was impossible. Letitia’s eyes darted between the two of them, her face clouding over. Erden already knows who I am. I’m just a child who falls while trying to get on a bed.

Her face turned red. “It’s fine,” Letitia said, waving her hand dismissively. “I don’t mind. Feel free to talk however you want. You’re three whole years older than me. That’s three rounds of spring, summer, fall, and winter.”

“Oh, okay,” Erden said awkwardly. “Well… Make yourself comfortable in my castle. There’s somewhere I need to go while preparations are being made for the wedding. It’s quite far from here, so I’ll be away for a while.”

Letitia flinched in surprise at this revelation. Whenever anyone traveled far, the pit of her stomach would sink. She couldn’t help but recall her own parents’ journey when they left her as an infant and never returned home. That had left a deep trauma.

No. Tell him not to go. Letitia’s head filled with more such childish thoughts.