MDIHC 14

Hair darker than the black night sky fluttered in the night breeze. Bathed in the moonlight filtering through the clouds, Lord Winchester looked strangely unreal.

A vampire… or perhaps, an incubus.

That word suddenly popped into my head. Something that enchants people.

“Miss Naeri.”

His mellow voice, aged like wine in an oak barrel for decades, called my name. Our eyes met as he picked up an empty wine glass from the windowsill and held it out toward me.

Like someone under a spell, I walked toward him. And again, as if bewitched, I accepted the glass he offered.

Even as the wine flowed into my glass with a gentle trickle, I kept staring at him. Once the glass was about a third full, Lord Winchester lifted the bottle away, and only then did I snap out of it and look away.

“Do you like wine?”

I remembered that he had also been drinking last night.

“Not particularly.”

As expected, a short answer.

“You drank last night too, didn’t you?”

This time, he nodded instead of speaking.

“You don’t even like it, yet you’re drinking again?”

“It helps me sleep.”

With that, Lord Winchester took a large gulp of wine. Not a slow, savoring sip, but a big swallow that made his throat bob.

Though he answered, that reply only stirred more questions in my mind. I tried to swallow them down with a sip of wine, but the questions only lingered more on the tip of my tongue.

“Do you have insomnia?”

In the end, I couldn’t help but ask. I didn’t realize I was such an impatient person.

Strangely, I always ended up like this around Lord Winchester. Whether it was because he spoke so little, the stifling awkward silences, or maybe a side effect of being in a new body—I wasn’t sure.

“……”

What I received in return wasn’t an answer, but a gaze. I was supposed to find an answer in that gaze, but instead, I felt like his piercing blue eyes were searching for answers in me.

“Drinking every night isn’t good for your health.”

I turned my head away, slightly flustered under that gaze, not knowing what he was trying to ask or what answer he sought. Then I took another sip of wine.

This wine was completely different from the sweet aperitifs I’d had before. The harsh bitterness scraped against my tongue, clashing with the rich oak and sweet fruit notes.

“Are you always this meddlesome, Lady?”

The wine caught in my throat at his unexpected question.

“…If I was being rude, I apologize.”

I finally swallowed and managed to say it. My face flushed even faster than when I’d misread the situation earlier.

Only two days had passed since the wedding—just two days. I had reminded myself of that over and over, yet here I was again, meddling needlessly.

“It’s getting late.”

I set my wine glass down on the windowsill. As I turned to leave, something caught me—and I froze.

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

He said, holding my wrist. There was a hint of embarrassment in his voice.

“I think I chose the wrong words. What I meant to ask was… are you always this… kind?”

After searching for the right word, that’s what he settled on.

Kind.

When I turned my head, I saw his hand still holding mine. That hand had reached out urgently, stopping me from turning away in embarrassment. A hand trying to explain that he hadn’t meant it that way.

Kind.

A large hand, with pronounced knuckles, rough palms, and calluses. The emotion it carried was just that—kindness.

From the excuse about being warm-blooded, to the open window, to the cool night breeze drifting through it, and even the two wine glasses—all of it, I finally understood, had stemmed from that word.

“No. Not really.”

I gently pulled my hand from his and shook my head. I wasn’t especially sweet or warm-hearted.

“I’m only like that with people I want to be kind to.”

Did those bright blue eyes find the answer they were looking for?

Once again, when I woke up this morning, only an empty space remained beside me. Whether it was all the walking around yesterday or the wine before bed, I’d fallen asleep early and woken up early—but still, he was already gone.

I reached out and touched the spot where Lord Winchester had slept. It was cold. He must’ve left at least thirty minutes ago.

“Yawn~ What time does he even wake up?”

I muttered after a long yawn.

“Milady! There’s trouble!”

Just as I was about to wash up, the door burst open. A maid with a panicked face came rushing in.

“Trouble? What trouble?”

I asked, startled. I’d only been a countess for three days—what if something serious had happened?

“…Oh.”

Having rushed downstairs in only my robe after hearing the word “trouble,” what greeted me was a mountain of boxes piled up at the entrance.

“Where should we put this?”

Two men carrying a desk asked as they stepped inside. It seemed furniture had arrived as well.

“Just put it over to the side for now.”

Normally, furniture would go straight into the room, but Daniel’s room wasn’t ready yet.

‘I should have done this in order… I bought too much all at once. Good thing Daniel stopped me yesterday.’

Honestly, I’d lost my mind a bit yesterday. Daniel needed so many things, I had so much affection for him, and I had too much money—it was inevitable.

“What is all this commotion so early in the morning?”

Madam Perede appeared, frowning in disapproval. Her frown deepened when she saw the mountain of boxes and incoming furniture.

Hmm… so this is her first time seeing these items? That means the maid came to me first instead of her?

“You there, what’s your name?”

I turned to the flustered maid beside me.

“Huh? Oh! My name is May.”

Alright, May. You pass.

I quietly repeated the name of the freckled maid with orange hair to myself.

“There must be some mistake.”

Madam Perede spoke to the furniture movers trying to set the desk aside.

“We didn’t order these…”

“I did.”

I cut her off.

“I went out shopping with Daniel yesterday.”

Even I knew it was too much to call it “a little shopping,” but I said it shamelessly. Madam Perede couldn’t hide her disbelief for a moment.

“Milady.”

By the time she calmly addressed me again, she had already regained her composure like a true professional.

“Isn’t this a bit much to call ‘a little’?”

“Is it?”

“Spending the precious family fortune of the Winchester House so recklessly right after marriage is… problematic.”

“Why? I’m using the precious fortune of the Winchester House for the precious lady of the Winchester House.”

“….”

Madam Perede flinched. Then her eyes shifted sideways.

While you couldn’t tell from the unopened boxes, the furniture was clearly child-sized.

That was exactly why I’d brought in new furniture. The existing furniture in Daniel’s room, though luxurious and antique, was too large for a child.

The wardrobe was too tall for Daniel to reach, the desk and chair were not sized for him, and the wall mirror only reflected the top of his head—if that. Daniel couldn’t even see himself.

“An interior decorator will be here around noon. Before that, move all of Daniel’s things into another room or storage. We’ll need to paint and wallpaper. Once that’s done, replace the furniture in Daniel’s room with these.”

I gave instructions like a proper countess and turned away. I hadn’t even washed my face yet—I needed to get cleaned up and have breakfast.

“Oh, right—where’s Daniel?”

I almost forgot the most important part.