CHAPTER 03
***
At the Kreutz family dining hall.
Wilhelm Kalrad and Renée Kalrad sat at the head of the table, waiting for their son and daughter-in-law to arrive.
Seeing Wilhelm frowning openly with his arms crossed, Renée gave him a warning.
“Wilhelm, your expression is too harsh. You’ll end up drawing your sword the moment you see that spy.”
“My honest feeling is that I’d like to, Renée. Not just me—everyone feels the same.”
At the moment, the Kreutz household could be described as one grand stage play.
All for the sake of deceiving a single person, several actors had taken their places.
Every servant there was originally from House Kalrad, half of them knights and the rest actual staff.
For instance, the butler Daniel was the vice-captain of the White Wolf Knights under Kalrad, and the chef preparing today’s meal had also come from the ducal household.
Because they had carefully chosen only trustworthy people, their overall number wasn’t large, but it was enough to subdue Jena if she tried anything suspicious.
Naturally, no one in the mansion had good feelings toward her.
“I have no intention of being kind like Aizen. I plan to pressure her psychologically so she hurries up and makes the cure.”
“Well, I agree. I have no desire to treat her kindly like I did with Joslin. She’s not even our real daughter-in-law.”
Joslin had been the late eldest son Michael’s wife.
Unfortunately, she’d been frail from birth and died after giving birth to Matthias.
During her life, Wilhelm and Renée had adored her gentle and pure nature.
So when they lost both their eldest son and daughter-in-law, they prayed again and again that Aizen would someday live happily with someone he truly loved.
But they never imagined that an imposter would take the seat beside him.
“How insolent. Let’s make sure she understands that we’re not so easily fooled.”
At the moment Wilhelm clenched his fist tightly—
“Master and Madam have arrived!”
The servant guarding the entrance announced loudly.
Wilhelm and Renée’s gazes turned toward the doorway at once.
Jena entered arm in arm with Aizen, her steps light and graceful.
Her soft facial lines and smiling lips gave her a gentle, pleasant appearance.
At first glance, it was hard to believe she had once tried to poison Aizen, but judging by appearances alone was always a mistake.
The two continued to greet her with wary courtesy.
“You’re here.”
“Welcome.”
Standing before them, Jena’s eyes went round with surprise.
Then, as if entranced, she murmured,
“Wow, so this is what they mean when they say just looking at someone can fill your stomach. I’m actually full right now…”
“…Excuse me?”
Aizen blinked at her sudden comment, but Jena only clasped her hands with a deeply moved expression.
The thought floating through her little head was this:
“So it’s true what they say—beans grow where beans are planted, and red beans grow where red beans are planted.”
It was no coincidence that Aizen was born from Wilhelm and Renée.
Aizen’s sharp, deep-set eyes came from Wilhelm, while his tall, straight nose was inherited from Renée.
His silvery hair, like moonlight, matched Wilhelm’s, and his bright violet eyes mirrored Renée’s.
The three of them looked so alike it was almost a perfect gradient, their dazzling features proving their shared bloodline.
Jena straightened her back, marveling at how youthful her in-laws looked—at least ten years younger than their real age.
“Hello, Mother, Father. It’s not our first meeting, but since I’ve lost my memory, it feels like it, so please let me greet you properly.”
“Yes, I’ve already heard about you. I am Wilhelm Kreutz.”
“I’m Renée Kreutz. Go ahead and sit.”
“Yes.”
As Aizen and Jena took their seats, servants began bringing out the food.
To reflect the Kreutz family’s “poor baronial” cover, the meal was intentionally plain.
Of course, their desire to slight Jena also played a big part.
“Normally, most people would be offended by such treatment and lose their confidence.”
Renée watched Jena closely, her eyes gleaming.
But…
‘So this is what a noble family meal in a romance fantasy world is like? Perfect, I actually love Western food!’
Having lived alone in modern Korea and grown tired of instant meals, Jena was simply delighted.
With a happy face, she spooned up vegetable soup and nibbled on the bread spread only with jam.
‘…She’s eating well?’
Renée was caught off guard by the unexpected reaction.
Her lips moved silently, unable to find words.
Meanwhile, Jena picked up her knife to cut the meat.
But since it was too tough, she struggled with little grunts.
Unlike the quiet trio, clinking noises echoed from Jena’s plate.
Seeing an opening, Wilhelm spoke up.
“Your knife work is like that of a five-year-old child. Shall I cut it for you?”
His tone was clearly sarcastic, but what met his gaze were bright, innocent blue eyes.
“Really? Thank you, that’d be great.”
She smiled sweetly and slid her plate toward him.
“…”
Wilhelm stared at her speechless, plate now in his hands.
He hadn’t expected her to actually take his words literally.
And refusing now would be awkward, since he had already said it.
He couldn’t exactly explain that he hadn’t meant it seriously.
While he hesitated, Jena rested her chin on her hands and looked at him with shining eyes.
‘Father-in-law is such a kind man! He reminds me of Dad.’
For a moment, the sight of him overlapped with her late father, who used to remove fish bones for her.
Her blue eyes grew moist with emotion, and unable to withstand that silent pressure, Wilhelm finally grabbed the knife.
Until now, the only woman he had ever cut meat for was his wife, Renée.
And now, here he was, slicing meat for a fake daughter-in-law he had just met.
‘Why am I even doing this…’
He carved reluctantly, while Aizen and Renée looked on, bewildered.
When he finished, Wilhelm returned the plate to her.
“Thank you, Father. I’ll enjoy it!”
Jena happily stabbed the meat with her fork and took a bite.
Though it was a cheap cut of meat never served at House Kalrad, to her, it tasted luxurious.
In fact, it was her first time ever eating steak.
“Mmm, delicious! It tastes even better because you cut it for me, Father.”
“…Right.”
Despite his halfhearted response, Jena went on cheerfully.
“Father, you must be really affectionate if you’re this kind. I bet you and Mother are very close.”
“Ahem… well, that’s true.”
“Wow! Honey, then maybe we were a loving couple like them too?”
Jena cupped her cheeks and gazed up at Aizen with sparkling eyes.
At that affectionate word “honey,” both Wilhelm and Renée froze.
Honey…?
They had just begun pretending to be married today, and yet that term rolled off her tongue so naturally.
Both parents looked questioningly at Aizen, who cleared his throat awkwardly.
“…My lady, please try this one too.”
He shifted a piece of fruit onto her plate to change the subject.
Jena looked at him, then said casually as their eyes met,
“Is that so? Let’s see…”
“Handsome.”
Renée, who had just taken a sip of water, choked at the word.
“Cough, cough!”
“Renée!”
“Mother! Are you alright?”
Startled, Jena jumped up and offered a napkin, which Wilhelm ignored as he gently rubbed his wife’s back.
Once she recovered, Renée dabbed her lips and said,
“You should watch your words when you’re around elders, alright?”
“Yes.”
Jena nodded obediently.
She did feel a bit embarrassed, since that comment had just slipped out instinctively.
By the end of dinner, Wilhelm and Renée’s plan to humble Jena had completely failed.
And Jena’s final comment on the meal was:
“Mother and Father’s faces were delicious, and the chef’s cooking was very kind.”
***
After dinner, Aizen and his parents said they had things to attend to and left in a hurry.
Aww, I wanted to talk more.
Though disappointed, Jena spent the time chatting with Greta and managed to pick up a few bits of information.
For example—
‘So this place is in the North.’
The Kreutz household was located in the Kalrad Duchy, where it was winter all year round.
Thanks to heating magic cast over the mansion, they could wear dresses comfortably indoors.
However, only lukewarm water was available for bathing, so she had to shiver while washing.
That last fact she’d learned firsthand.
She’d nearly frozen to death in the bath.
Just as she finished drying her hair, Greta spoke while straightening the bed.
“My lady, it’s time to sleep.”
“Yes!”
Jena obediently went to sit on the bed and looked up at Greta.
Greta, standing perfectly straight with her hands clasped, looked back at her.
For a moment, the two just stared at each other.
“…Aren’t you going to sleep?”
“I’ll sleep when my husband comes.”
Married couples were supposed to share a bed, after all.
At least, that was what she believed and what made sense to her values.
“…I’ll go ask.”
“Okay!”
Once Greta left the room, Jena hugged a pillow to her chest.
Thinking about actually sharing a bed with Aizen made her heart pound and her face heat up.
‘Isn’t this a bit too fast?’
But I’m Korean. Fast is best.
She waited nervously for Aizen to arrive.
After a while, he entered wearing a simple shirt.
“Sorry I’m late, my lady.”
“It’s fine, you must’ve been busy. You must be tired, so come rest.”
She patted the fluffy blanket invitingly.
Aizen smiled faintly and sat at the edge of the bed.
That made her pause mid-motion and sit up awkwardly to face him.
“There’s something I haven’t explained to you yet.”
“What is it?”
“The truth is, we use separate rooms and sleep apart.”
“What? But we’re married.”
“Even married couples have personal lives. It’s important to respect each other’s space.”
His voice was gentle but firm, like a teacher explaining to a child.
It made sense, but there was still a strange emotional distance in his tone, so she tilted her head and asked,
“Were we… not getting along?”
“Absolutely not.”
He denied immediately.
“Then have we always lived separately? How long have we been married?”
“Only half a year. We agreed to take things slowly. Just because two people marry doesn’t mean they instantly become one.”
Hmm, half a year—that’s much newer than I thought.
As she mulled it over, another thought flashed through her head.
‘…If he asks me to do that, what do I do?’
Even though she had a crush on Aizen, something like that would need mental preparation.
So she carefully asked,
“Hey, honey.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“But we did have our wedding night, right?”
“Yes, our first… wait, what?”
Aizen’s gentle smile froze instantly.
“Did we—or did we not—consummate our marriage?”
