IDLYITL CH 7
- Feb 19
- 7 min read
Chapter 7
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Reason for Falling in Love
“Yes.”
So much time had passed, yet she had only received one invitation from the noblewomen? Ikali was surprised, but Psyche’s face remained calm. Anger began to build inside of him.
“It's a salon hosted by the Marchioness Williams. I sent a short reply saying I would go.”
Ikali went silent. But everyone, especially the servants nearby, could tell he was furious. Hans, standing behind him was dismayed, he alternately looked between the two.
Clang!
“Williams?”
Ikali put down his cutlery.
“Are you aware that they are the family that funded Warren?”
He asked in a deadly voice. An awful silence fell, like walking on thin ice. Weighed down by his sharp glare, Psyche was baffled but managed to squeeze out her words.
“…Yes. I know.”
“Then why did you reply that you would go to a salon like that?”
Didn't you just tell me to go out and socialize?
And now, he’s calling it a salon like that? Especially one hosted by a marchioness? Psyche clenched her hands and strained her voice.
“I heard Lord Warren has gone down to the estate to discuss the reinstatement of his Viscounty. Even if the Williams are close to Lord Warren, they’ll likely never meet again, and it’s difficult to treat the Marchioness as an enemy in high society. She’s the centre of the capital’s social scene...”
“Warren is no longer a Duke’s son, but a Viscount now.”
“…Yes.”
Ikali corrected the title. Psyche was a little flustered but calmly searched her memories of her past life.
The Williams family had indeed lent money to Warren after he was stripped of his title. But after that, they didn’t have any significant contact for four years. Once Warren recovered his Viscounty and paid back the debt, the connection faded. It was simply a financial loan in exchange for interest.
However, having regressed four years, a twenty-five-year-old Ikali couldn’t possibly know about that future.
“What I’m saying, Psyche, is that you’re my wife now, so why would you seek out a family that supported your former fiancé?”
He said her name, and Psyche stared blankly at him before snapping back to reality. She made a mistake, but at the same time, she calmly dismissed it as a minor issue.
“I was thoughtless about that point. If it makes you uncomfortable, Your Grace, I won’t accept the invitation. Would that be enough?”
But Ikali was already looking at her with displeasure. He glared at her with a face full of annoyance.
“The Williams are very close to Warren, so what am I supposed to think when my bride goes to their salon right after she marries me?”
“…”
“Answer me.”
His voice was terrifyingly low. This was the first time Psyche had ever seen him so visibly suppressing his anger. She was so flustered she couldn't say anything. To be precise, Ikali looked beyond dissatisfied—he looked humiliated.
Psyche couldn't even guess that this emotion stemmed from a deep-seated sense of inferiority.
Ikali’s voice strained with suppressed rage.
“Do you want things to work out with Warren now, of all times?”
“Your Grace.”
“Right, it might be better to have things work out with a Viscount who has ducal blood than with some orphan brat who killed his adoptive father.”
“…”
“But now, you can’t back out. You can either repay the debt and leave me as a divorced woman, or you can leave this family by dying. Those are the only two options you have left.”
Psyche's face went completely white at his clear sarcasm. She had grown used to her husband's indifference over the past four years, but this kind of blatant accusation utterly drained her. Gathering her composure, Psyche forced to meet his eyes.
“Or should I give you a chance right now? A chance to go back to Warren.”
“I told you a few days ago, Your Grace. Stop belittling me.”
“Good, at least this time you understood my intention precisely.”
The tense atmosphere made Psyche feel sick to her stomach, and she stood up from her seat first.
“I know this is rude, but I’ll take my leave now. I will definitely decline the salon invitation.”
Ikali took a sip of the wine instead of answering. Seeing his nonchalant attitude, the heated argument they’d had just moments ago felt like a lie.
Psyche shot him a resentful look, then left the dining hall without looking back.
• ───────── ☽༓☾ ───────── •
As a child, Psyche's reason for falling for Ikali was simple.
He had eyes more beautiful than the stars in the night sky. He always smelled wonderful up close. When he called her, he would always use a gentle voice.
“Princess.”
When he would slightly raise the corner of his lips to call her, Psyche, a girl of only six, would feel a tingle in her chest.
It was a first love so unripe it was almost bitter.
Little Psyche Dawson was a truly wild and unpredictable tomboy. But in front of the person she liked, she would act clumsy like a broken machine, even stumbling on perfectly flat ground.
One day, when Ikali was at the palace as a playmate for her older brothers, she was secretly hiding to try and surprise him. She was behind a pillar when she sensed Ikali approaching and jumped out, yelling,
“Surprise!”
She tripped on a stone and fell flat on her face.
Thud!
Ikali turned around.
“…Princess?”
When she heard the shocked voice of the young duke, Psyche's face instantly turned bright red from her prone position. The humiliation was worse than the pain in her knee and chin. Unable to hold back her tears, she curled up and sobbed. Ikali thought she was in severe pain, hesitated for a moment.
“Just a moment,”
He helped her up and carried her on his back. Psyche let out a short shriek. Ikali ran with her to the princess’s palace, where the doctor and maids were.
“It doesn't hurt anymore, does it?
Psyche, who had safely arrived at her palace and received treatment, simply stared at Ikali's flushed cheeks.
Even though the neatly ironed shirt he was wearing was now wrinkled, Ikali didn’t look bothered at all. Instead, the slightly stiff expression he had when he arrived at the palace softened into a smile. That smile was dazzling. His face was so clear and beautiful that Psyche couldn't take her eyes off him.
Perhaps her first love had begun then, Psyche later reflected as an adult.
• ───────── ☽༓☾ ───────── •
The next day, Psyche wrote a letter to the Marchioness Williams, stating she wouldn't be able to attend the salon. As she sealed the letter with wax, Anna was disappointed.
“Madam, are you really not going? It’s a salon you were invited to for the first time. You haven't taken a single step outside the manor since you arrived.”
Anna also knew very well that the single invitation was all she had received in a week. Upset that a rare opportunity for her mistress to go out was being wasted. Psyche forced a smile.
“I guess I have to. If I go, it might just cause a rift between me and the duke. It's not like I want to bicker with him every day.”
“That may be true, but…”
Even though Psyche resolved not to have any expectations for Ikali, she didn't intend to provoke him either.
Well, unless he's so fed up that he asks for a divorce first, then I suppose that's a different story.
“I don’t want to upset the duke anymore… I'm sure there will be other opportunities for parties later. The Marchioness will understand.”
“Then why don't we go shopping instead of to a party? After all, Sir Hans gave you some money!”
“Shopping?”
Besides the money she got from selling her jewellery, Psyche had also received some funds as the mistress of the house. Last night, Ikali scolded her for not using that money, if she kept it in the safe, she might hear another lecture. She should at least pretend to get some fresh air so she won’t hear that again.
Is it a bad look if I don't spend any money? I have been cooped up for a while.
Psyche rolled her eyes, considering what Ann’s suggestion. Ikali thought not spending a single penny was a protest about being married to a monster.
“Hmm, alright. Let's go out for a little while in the afternoon. I can't stay cooped up in the manor forever. The ground should be dry now, too.”
“That’s great!”
Before Psyche could finish her sentence, Anna cheerfully pulled her over to the dressing table. Psyche's eyes widened.
Was she really that worried about me staying in my room?
Psyche looked at the excited Anna with a slightly awkward expression, then smiled softly.
After putting on some light makeup and stepping into the hallway, she saw Hans, the aide, standing there. His grey hair neatly combed and greeted Psyche with a bow.
“Are you going out, Madam?”
“Yes. I thought it wouldn't be right to just stay inside. I figured I'd go to the tea house in the plaza for a cup…”
Anna’s face stiffened, and quickly responded from behind her.
“I-I was the one who begged the Madam to go out! I was the one who insisted!”
She was clearly worried that the duke’s right-hand man would find fault with them. Hans looked between the two with a blank look, then nodded in agreement.
“That’s an excellent idea, Madam. I’ll tell them to prepare a carriage for the square right away.”
“Oh?”
Hans had also been concerned about Psyche secluding herself in her room for over a week. At his quick offer to prepare the carriage, Psyche was surprised.
“…Thank you.”
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