Irene decided to take a nap as she felt her consciousness slowly fading away.
“I’m sorry, Louiselle. I’ll take a short nap.”
“I will stand by and watch over you while you sleep. Have a good sleep.”
Irene, smiling at Louiselle’s words, closed her eyes. A minute had barely passed, but she had already fallen asleep.
After a long time, a knock was heard once again and the maid from earlier came in.
“I’m here to pick up the tea-set. Is the Duchess sleeping?”
“The tea-set is over here. Take it with you.”
As the maid looked over at the sound asleep Irene, Louiselle pointed to the tea set. The maid checked the inside of the teacup. There was some left, but the tea was almost finished.
“Then I shall take my leave. Oh, but is it really okay for the Lady In Waiting to not stop to eat at all? If you want to, I can look after the Duchess in your stead.”
“I’m already done.”
“Yes.”
When Louiselle immediately refused, the maid quietly left the room. Louiselle only stood silently by her side, protecting her the whole time as she slept.
♔♔♔
“What is my wife doing?”
“She is napping.”
In the evening, after completing the investigation, Noel returned home. When he asked the butler about Irene’s status, he stated that she was asleep.
She’s sleeping? She must haven’t slept well all night.
It was a little strange, but if she could not get a good night’s sleep, he was thinking of changing the environment. With that thought, Noel headed to her room.
Noel went into the room quietly to avoid waking Irene up, who was deep asleep and made his way to the bedside.
She’s sleeping so peacefully.
Noel pulled the blanket up to the tip of her chin. He looked at Irene without saying a word. She looked like the sleeping beauty he had read in a fairy tale as a child.
Then, I must kiss her to wake her up.
His thought was so ridiculous that he immediately mocked himself inwardly.
“Did nothing happen while I was away?”
Noel asked Louiselle, who was guarding her by the bedside.
“Yes. After you left, she drank tea and went to take a nap right away.” She nodded in response.
“Tea?”
“Yes, my Lord ordered it to be served.”
“Ah, yes I did.”
Belatedly, he remembered having told the butler to take special care of his wife, especially to pay extra attention to the refreshments, since she enjoyed them.
“You should leave now. I’ll take care of Irene.”
“The Madame asked me to stand by her while she was sleeping.”
“Irene?”
It was a little odd as she was not the type who would usually say things like that, but Noel just nodded.
“I’ll tell Irene that you have been with her during the time she’s asleep. So, you can leave.”
“...Yes, sir.”
Louiselle was forced to leave the room. Shortly after, Noel changed into comfortable clothes and sat on the edge of the bed, next to where she was lying. He silently watched Irene sleep. Seeing her loose hair curving around the corner of her eye, he carefully tucked it behind her ear, brushing her lightly with his fingertips.
“Umm...Noel?”
Irene opened her eyes and looked at him. Noel smiled gently at her hazy eyes and parted his lips.
“Good evening, my wife.”
As soon as she opened her eyes, Irene’s eyes widened at Noel’s endearing face. But soon a soft arc was drawn on her lips.
“…that’s nice to hear.”
“What do you mean?” Noel asked tenderly.
“What you said a second ago, wife…” Irene replied in a sleepy voice.
“Do you like it?”
“Yes... it’s like we’re really married…”
“We are a true couple though. But if you like hearing it, I’ll call you more often. Wife…”
“Haha…”
Irene, who burst into laughter at Noel’s immediate execution, raised her body.
“If you’re sleepy, you can sleep more.”
“No…”
At Noel’s words, Irene smiled and shook her head. Seeing her still half asleep, Noel asked as she ran her hands through her dishevelled hair.
“Did you happen to feel uncomfortable sleeping last night? I think you slept more than usual.”
After living with her for quite some time, he learnt to some extent things like her sleeping hours and habits. But this was the first time she had slept this long. Irene appeared to contemplate for a moment and shook her head.
“No, I guess I got more sleep because the room was cosy. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to welcome you when you return.”
“Aren’t you cold by any chance? I’ll light up the fireplace.”
“It’s okay. It’s not cold. But I think it will be way better to light up the fireplace. When the weather gets a little colder, please put the fireplace into use.”