I’m In Trouble Because My Husband Is So Cute - Chapter 122

Chapter 122

Translator and Editor: Effe and Nabi

Duchy Hessenweitz held a cherished tradition of commissioning a portrait of each new ducal couple, which would then be proudly displayed in the portrait room. The very thought of this room brought forth a wave of emotions for Iellie, reminding her of the past.

‘…Back then, the previous Duke and Zachary had a great fight there.’

Come to think of it, it had been months since Theron passed away, but the wounds from that time still lingered. Despite the lingering pain, Iellie and Zachary had slowly found comfort in each other’s presence, allowing a faint smile to grace their faces as they reminisced about the previous Duke.

“I will just do the sketch today.”

As the painter spoke to the two of them with strict eyes, Zachary tapped her on the shoulder and opened his mouth.

“Len, get yours drawn first.”

“Shall I? Though you’ll have to wait.”

“No, that’s okay. I will be in the portrait room.”

“The portrait room?”

Iellie widened her eyes. He nodded and stroked her pink hair.

“Call me when you’re done, okay?”

“Yes, sure.”

She nodded quietly.

When Zachary smiled and left the parlor, Iellie sat down feeling a little puzzle. In the background, there was the sound of the pencil moving on the canvas.

‘Zachary is in the portrait room…’

Iellie’s expression twisted with puzzlement. Knowing his aversion to the portrait room, she found it strange that he would head there first.

Just then, the painter’s stern voice called out to Iellie, breaking her train of thought.

“Duchess, please smile a little.”

“Ah, right.”

Even though she tried to raise her lips into a smile, her thoughts were always on Zachary.

While it was just a sketch, it took quite a while. When the painter said he was done, the first thing she did was get to Zachary with quick steps. She carefully opened the door.

“Zachary?”

“Ah, Len.”

Zachary’s contained no hint of surprise as he glanced back at her with an unconcerned face. Iellie came to his side.

“The painter is looking for you.”

“Alright.”

Although he nodded his head slightly, it didn’t seem like he was willing to move. She shrugged her shoulders, seeing that.

“You look like you have a lot on your mind?”

“Not necessarily.”

His face looked deeply sunken despite his casual answer as Zachary’s gaze remained nailed to both of the portraits. Standing right next to him, she turned her gaze toward the portrait he was looking at.

“…The former Duke and Duchess.”

He tilted his eyes instead of answering her. As his blue eyes slowly scanned the portrait of his father and mother, his expression was calm.

He soon spoke in a slightly hushed voice.

“It’s very strange.”

“Zachary.”

“In the past, I just hated these two… but now.”

His eyes still looked complicated as he gazed at the portrait with his mouth shut. He couldn’t figure out what he thought of his parents.

After a while, Zachary shook his head.

“Oh no, I have made the painter wait too long.”

“Yes?”

I said too much nonsense.

Zachary muttered, pulling his lips. He had already relied on Iellie too much. Despite the fact that he wanted to show Iellie only his bright side, he didn’t know why he was acting like this.

“Let’s go, Len.”

When he held out her hand to her, Iellie shook her head and took a step back.

“I’ll stay here a little longer.”

“Why?”

“Well, I have something to say to those two.”

“…Those two?”

He looked lost, but she smiled and pushed him out of the room.

“Something like that.”

Seeing the smile on her face, it didn’t seem like she would answer him. In the end, Zachary only tilted his head and went out of the room.

Walking to the front of the portrait, Iellie took a deep breath.

“You two, thank you so much for bringing Zachary into this world. But…”

The light green eyes looked at the former Ducal couple while her voice echoed in the quiet room.

“…It was bad to make Zachary suffer.”

She had been bothered by that thought for a long time. Iellie uttered firmly in front of the Ducal couple’s portraits.

“That’s not right. It wasn’t even the child’s fault.”

She always felt resentful and sorry. She felt sorry for Zachary, who got pulled into the twisted resentment and love without knowing anything. Nonetheless, it was not that she didn’t understand the former Ducal couple at all.

It was just…

“Still… it must have been the first time for both of you.”

The experience of giving birth and raising a child was not something that could be learned in advance. Moreover, Zachary was a special child born with the pure blood of the silver dragon. The kind of child most people have an instinctive fear for.

“Even so, I will do my best to make Zachary smile somehow…”

The surrounding was silent.

Like making an oath to herself, Iellie continued her words with strength.

“…Please watch over us in the future.”

Finally, she smiled slightly and moved away.

In the corner of the room, a picture lay quietly concealed beneath a cloth. Iellie carefully unraveled the covering, revealing the image of the boy she deeply loved, Zachary. As sunlight bathed the portrait, the portrait boy she loved was revealed.

“And Zachary…”

A white snowstorm and even whiter silver hair, there was a stream of red blood behind the boy’s back. She knew that the emotions in the blue eyes weren’t just madness.

“I don’t care who you are.”

Alone in his world built of snow and ice, the madness in his blue eyes was probably despair for his situation in which he could rely on no one.

Iellie whispered.

“I will stay by your side until the end.”

She couldn’t help but wish they had met a little earlier, maybe around the time when the Duchess had given up on him. It was because it was during that period when Zachary felt abandoned by everything and wore a lonely expression in his eyes.

…If only she could have been there to show him that the world could be warm and caring.

“….”

She sighed and lowered the cloth back before leaving the portrait room. It was time for her to return to his side.

* * *

A month later, the two portraits that were to be hung in the portrait room were completed. Hanging the portrait of the new Ducal couple in the Duke’s castle had a symbolic meaning. It was to say that they were the actual masters of the North.

“I never imagined that my portrait would be hung here.”

As Zachary laughed bitterly, Iellie shook her head and spoke in a firm voice.

“Don’t say that. Of course, it should have been.”

“Len.”

“Rather, I think it was too late.”

Answering so, she stretched out her hand to him before the hesitant Zachary held her hand tightly. He could feel the warmth.

Iellie was by his side.

That fact brought deep relief to Zachary’s heart.

14. A Price of Arrogance

As spring slowly passed and early summer approached, the weather in the north remained relatively cool, not yet reaching scorching temperatures. The gentle breeze that once brushed their cheeks had now turned lukewarm, and the sunbeams overhead were gradually growing hotter.

However, that summer, Iellie found herself in small trouble.

‘Salon.’

The heart of northern society had always been Countess Laurent’s salon. With her trust in the imperial family and her esteemed position as the maternal family of Duke Hessenweitz, the Countess held great influence and reigned supreme among the nobles.

It was all the more so because the position of Duchess Hessenweitz, who should have been the foremost lady of the north, had remained vacant for quite some time.

‘Honestly, I’m not very interested in the salon itself.’

Yet, as the Empire’s sole duchess and Zachary’s wife, the salon carried immense significance for the noble ladies, serving as a place to socialize and take pride in their status whether she was interested in it or not.

Usually, the highest-ranking lady in the region would establish a salon to foster an ongoing social life for the noble women.

‘The duty and right of a lady.’

Iellie narrowed her eyes.

She knew Countess Laurent might be hesitant to relinquish her position with her salon, so she must be closely observing the moment when Iellie would open her own.

“If I were to open a salon, would she try to interfere with it?”