I Have Probably Made a Mistake in Getting Married – chapter 4

Chapter 4. Is this person really our Madame?

When she scanned over the room, she found everyone staring at her with a glass in their hands, halted midway to their mouths.

Everyone here looks so scary, their eyes are especially fierce. I guess that’s just how the villain’s subordinates are.

She shrugged and turned her head forward again. Instantly, she made eye contact with a worse enemy. Altair was staring at her with fearsome eyes, even more than the ones at their wedding.

He probably wants to imply that I am late, that I wasted everyone’s time.

She wanted to get down on her knees and cry, to apologise and beg for forgiveness, but there were too many eyes watching. No matter how insignificant to get on one’s knees in some country was, to kneel in front of so many knights, one’s pride would be damned….

 Pride doesn’t matter at this point!

After all, it was a lion’s den. To be more precise, Altair’s den.

A person would easily lose their neck if they keep worrying about their pride at times like these. Pride would be meaningless if one’s head were destined to roll on the floor.

 “I am sor-…”

The moment she was about to kneel down to apologise.

“Madame, your seat is this way.”

 Anna grabbed her arm and led her to her seat.

She was seated next to Altair as the natural.

She freaked out and turned to look at Altair to check if he felt repulsed. Fortunately, his reaction wasn’t too outrageous. It seemed that he had allowed her to sit next to him.

Was it because I said I’ll work hard?

If that was the case, it was worth the courage.

As she sat down feeling relieved, the atmosphere started to come alive again. 

“Here is the food we have prepared. It is of traditional Eastern style.”

Anna served the food to her front while she was checking on Altair’s mood.

It was tomato-flavoured stew and roasted chicken.

It was unfamiliar to her because the ingredients were not usually cooked that way in the capital. Yet, it looked very appetising.

Besides, chicken is a menu item that never fails one’s palate.

She had come to know of the chef’s skill here.

The soup and bread she had for breakfast were amazing, so the chicken and stew would certainly taste great.

For a slight moment, she forgot Altair was sitting next to her, and she excitedly dug into the dishes.

However, it was not easy to disassemble a large chicken with a small knife.

How do they eat this?

She glanced over to the knights, who were enjoying the chicken with their hands.

She wanted to eat it that way, but the etiquette that she had learned while being reborn as Nadia didn’t allow it.

“Give it to me.”

Altair sighed and took the plate away from her, as if it was frustrating to see her struggling to tear the chicken apart.

She stared blankly as he took the plate. She felt as if the sky was collapsing.

No. He took away my chicken because I made him frustrated!

It was said that people who took others’ food were the worst in the world.

As expected, Altair was the utter villain among the villains.

Whether he knew how she felt or not, Altair skillfully sliced the chicken with a fork and knife. Though she used the same tools as her, unlike her struggling self, it was an incredibly neat decomposition.

As she momentarily admired the neat cuts in a daze, Altair held out the plate again.

Not knowing what it meant to have the plate returned, she froze. At that, Altair frowned.

“You’re not gonna eat it?”

“I-I will!”

Startled, she took the plate. Nonetheless, she still did not touch her knife and fork due to shock.

Altair’s face became more distorted as she remained in that condition.

“Are you going to keep doing that?”

“Pardon…?”

“Aren’t you going to eat that?”

“Oh right….I-I’ll eat now.”

Bewildered, she put the plate down in an absent-minded manner and took a piece with her fork. Altair stared at her silently.

Did he help me because I was having a hard time?

It was a ridiculous thought knowing Altair’s personality, yet the fact still stood.

Still stunned, she shoved the chicken into her mouth.

Woah….

As soon as she got a taste of that well-seasoned piece, all her concerns disappeared.

This is insane. Why is it so delicious? 

She was thrilled looking at the chicken on the plate. The soup and bread were delicious, but they were no match for the finely roasted chicken.

The meat was moist, the skin was crispy, and there was no peculiar lingering smell of raw meat, which was excellent. The chicken she ate in the capital was drier and had thicker skin.

She got excited and playfully made a small gesture of happy-dance with the fork.

She could not be any happier when she next picked up two pieces at once and stuffed them into her mouth.

Delicious food is the best. Life is about getting a taste of divine dishes.

The moment she reflexively turned her head while licking her lips, happiness overflowed, her eyes met with Altair’s. He was still staring at her with frightening eyes. His eyes were like a hawk ready to rush to his prey and tear it apart right away.

As soon as she met those ferocious eyes, she was reminded of the novel’s image of Altair killing people mercilessly.

As the scenes, which had been described detailedly as brutal, flashed through her head like a panorama, she unknowingly lost strength in her hands and the fork fell, making a clanging sound against the table.

At her carelessness, his eyebrows twitched.

Ugh, does he want to help me this time around too? Maybe he helped me as a way to say that I must eat up everything without leaving any leftovers

Pulling the plate close, she tried to convey her intention to Altair timidly.

“I-I’m not leaving any-..”

“If you want more, I’ll tell them to bring more.”

Did that mean she should eat until her stomach exploded and die?

Torturing people with food. As expected of the wicked.

She gritted her teeth and picked up the fork again. 

The chicken did not taste as good as it did a while ago when she realised Altair kept watching her. She felt like she was chewing sand.

“Eat the stew together with it.”

Right. He meant to eat all the stew without leaving any leftovers.

“Yes….”

She sobbed inwardly and pulled the stew bowl close to her.

Someone came up to her as she was fiddling with the tableware with a heavy heart.

“Good evening, madame!”

When she turned her head, attention garnered by the gentle voice, a friendly-looking knight pulled up a chair and sat next to her.

His voice is strangely familiar…

After contemplating for a short while, she quickly found out why.

“Oh, The knight who sang earlier?”

“Did you hear that?”

“I could hear the knight’s singing even beyond the door.”

“I see. I did not intend to show it off to madame, but that’s true.”

The knight scratched his head and smiled embarrassingly.

It was certainly not a good enough skill to show to others, but it was not a bad song to her at all because she was able to relax thanks to it.

“Why? You sang so well.”

“There’s someone else who sings really well, much better than me. I’m just a mood maker.”

“You’re an interesting knight.”

“Oh dear, please, call me Cain, don’t just address me as knight! Please have a drink with me. Oh wait, you don’t drink beer, do you? Should I have prepared some wine?”

Watching him talking gibberish while holding out his glass made her laugh. The dude looked like he was drunk.

She took the glass in his hand before the knight reached any erroneous conclusions.

“No. Beer works for me, too. I’ll have a drink, Cain.”

“That’s a relief. You don’t know how much trouble I went through to give you the first drink.”

She tilted her head, taking a sip of the beer Cain had handed her.

“Trouble?”

“Yes. Everyone was fighting like crazy over this.”

Cain threw a tired look at the knights and immediately turned to smile at her again. He was the only one who had a good impression on her among the knights with cold demeanor.

“Anyway, I’m the first, madame. Please don’t forget…”

Cain patted his chest as he said but abruptly shut his mouth, his face simultaneously turned pale.

When she followed his gaze, Altair, who had a colder face than before, was glaring at Cain.

As soon as she saw that, Cain jumped up from his seat.

“Ah, my lord! You are so rude!”

 Cain complained about the unsightly attitude that Altair held toward him with his deathly glare.

“It’s not my fault that my lord failed to be the first one to…. Ack!”

But Cain could not finish his sentence. Altair made a small sphere the size of a fingernail on his hand and shot it to Cain’s forehead.

 “Ouch, how can you use your aura at times like this?”

“It’s up to me whether to use it or not anyway, is it not?”

“Aish, I hope you’re satisfied now!” 

So that’s where it comes from. 

It was her first time seeing it with her own eyes. 

Only those who have reached the level of Sword Master can use Aura, but there were so few of them that it could be counted on fingertips.

She had seen some Sword Masters in the capital, but they never exposed their power easily.

Besides, they were all middle-aged knights, so a young talented swordsman like Altair was rare.

From here on, because he was strong enough to handle Aura, the villain was able to make a big contribution in the war and became a duke afterward. 

Information on Altair’s appearance before becoming a Duke and appearing in the capital was never described, so very little information was available. The only information was that he had played a major role in the upcoming war with neighboring countries. 

“Don’t make a noise and get out of here. If you really want to receive special training, you can stay.”

After Altair’s final warning, Cain teasefully raised both hands in surrender and left the seat. 

As he left, the atmosphere around them became heavily awkward again. 

Does he not want to see me eat comfortably?

She shed tears on the inside and quietly continued sipping her beer. 

It was hard to believe that only two nights had passed since the wedding. To her, it felt like eternity, as every passing moment was some sort of torture to her.

❈❈❈

The knights of Aylesford were overjoyed at the fact that they finally had a mistress.

Wasn’t it any knight’s dream to serve a Lady? 

As a matter of fact, they were halfway to giving up on serving their own lord. It was because they thought Altair, their captain and the lord of Aylesford, would never get married for the rest of his life.

Altair Aylesford was very distant on the outlook. He was an excellent prosecutor but had a blunt personality. He spoke rudely and had a rather rough impression…. He was a pretty good guy, but that was not enough to overshadow his scary appearance. 

However, the lord had a flaw, it was the tendency to cancel out everything, when intentionally or accidentally. 

“He’s a bum.” 

“He’s not just a bummer. He’s also a beggar.” 

“Then doesn’t that make us beggars too? Since he is our lord.” 

There could never be a woman who wanted to marry a poor aristocrat, who lived in a rural village. 

However, one day, news of a marriage between him and a noble lady from the capital came. It was said that the marriage was decided almost in an instant without much thought. 

The whole Aylesford estate was completely stunned. 

It was said that the other party was the precious daughter of the marquis. 

“… has the lady gone mad?” 

“Maybe there is something wrong with her? You know, maybe she is ugly, or unable to talk.” 

“Or did she not find a place in the capital city to settle down because it was too crowded?” 

After collecting their thoughts, the knights concluded that the bride of the lord was clearly not up to their expectations. Otherwise, this ridiculous marriage would not have been possible. 

“But what else can we do? It is something to be grateful enough just for her to come to this estate.” 

“That’s right, the lord is in a position where he should be bowing and thanking any lady who dares to come here.” 

The knights’ assessment was relentless, but it was also true. 

They gathered together and attended the wedding, deciding that however their future madame would be like, they would serve her with all due respect as their rightful mistress. 

However, the bride who appeared on the wedding day was a completely different person from their predictions. 

The Madame was neither ugly nor muted whatsoever. She was a beauty with lovely light pink hair and sparkling blue eyes. 

Throughout the wedding, the knights’ mouths were wide agape and just stared at her with disbelief. 

The lady stood upright and maintained her dignity even in a chaotic situation where the groom did not show up.

“Am I dreaming right now?” 

“Such lines are meant for the groom.” 

“Still, I don’t know if it’s a dream or reality. Can you hit me once?”

Knights sitting side by side pinched each other’s arms to confirm that the moment was not an illusion. 

The knight, who stood next to her as the groom’s representative, thought that even her writing on the marriage pledge was beautiful. He looked ecstatic, receiving everyone’s envy. 

“But I didn’t think that the Lord would appear like that.”

“It was even staggering to us too, no wonder the madame passed out.” 

“ I’ve never seen a lady faint before.” 

“The lord caught the lady as she fell gracefully though! Lucky!” 

“If that had been my sister who is a native of Aylesford. I would have slapped him in the back for getting blood stained on him on the wedding day.” 

The knights reminisced about the first time meeting their elegant madame and chatted with excitement. 

In fact, they had no idea what their ‘elegant madame’ was thinking inside. 

On the night after the tumultuous wedding, there was a battle over who would be the first to swear a knightly oath to the madame. 

Their battles were more practical and wilder than the graceful battles of the capitalists. It was a habit that came from using a sword practically in a border area where there was always danger. 

The best in this field was by far Altair. 

Without Altair, Cain took the first place. He was considered the most talented man among the knights, so everyone had to accept it. 

Cain sang excitedly when the dinner, where his first face-to-face meeting with the madame took place, began. 

Some fell to the table holding their stomachs at the bizarre song, while others covered their ears and threw peanuts at him. 

Amidst the chaos, the madame appeared. 

The knights stopped everything they were doing and stared at her in raptures.

That’s the madame we’re going to serve!

The knights looked at Nadia, holding their breath until she sat down. 

When Nadia started eating, they shed tears of joy, admiring her every small action.

I can’t believe we have such a lovely madame.

It’s the first time I feel the need to thank the Lord like this.

The knights shed tears inwardly, but remained solemn on the outside. It was because they wanted to show the madame that they were excellent knights. 

But Cain wasn’t interested in anything like that. He had an out-going personality and was far from being serious. 

Among the natives of Aylesford, it could be said that he was a different species. 

“I will have a drink, Cain.” 

Cain seemed to have earned the world when Nadia called him by his name. 

As he patted his chest, intended to become Nadia’s first knight, he made eye contact with Altair, who looked as if he was going to kill him before he could finish his speech.

Altair was gritting his teeth, seemingly said. 

First one? You? Do you have a death wish? Beat it. If you don’t want special training. 

The special training that Altair was referring to was a one-sided sparring battle under the guise of training.

It would definitely help after it’s over, but while they were doing it, they felt like they would get killed from the hitting. 

Cain protested in silence, but was easily overpowered by Altair.

He was the best among the Knights, but Altair, the Master Swordsman, was invincible.

The knights comforted Cain by patting Cain’s shoulders as he was ruthlessly defeated.

“Just be understanding toward him. Somehow, he has been humiliated from the first night as they didn’t spend it together. Therefore, of course he would be angry to see you sit next to her like that.” 

“That’s right. I noticed he hasn’t even called her name yet.” 

“Maybe he won’t be able to call the madame by her name for the rest of his life.” 

“True. If it’s the captain, that could be the case.” 

In the whispering conversation of the knights, Altair was becoming more and more of a pitiful man.

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Character’s close-up portraits

Cain

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