I’ve Probably Made a Mistake in Getting Married

Chapter 5.
Her clothes must be changed by her husband

Altair gazed at her with his fierce eyes.  She had no choice but to finish up her plate and knock back her drink.
Consequently, she felt sick.

Her face heated up as she got drunker than she initially thought.

What should I do now..?

She started to feel the repercussions of her actions.
She felt sleepy. 

It would have been better if someone had spoken to her, but no one approached her after Cain. 

A few knights tried to approach her discreetly, but they all wore a distorted expression for some reason. 

She felt like a loner amidst the turmoil. 

I’m so grateful to Cain.

Had it not been for him, she would have sat still without saying a word throughout the dinner. 

As she held the already emptied glass, she began to feel dishearted. 

She couldn’t believe she was struggling to live in a strange place where no one welcomed her. 

The knights kept pouring and drinking endlessly.
They all ended up drunk and hungover as a result.
Altair seemed to be the only one to be fine. 

Why should I live like this? I’m a precious and prestigious lady, too! Oh? Should I flip it over? 

She felt as if she had the audacity to do anything now that she was drunk. 

She jumped to her feet as her instinct told her.
She must have been more drunk than she thought, as her body was staggering. 

Right, I guess I am drunk.
That’s why I can flip everything upside down! This filthy world! 

But as soon as she met Altair’s frosty gaze, who stood up right after her, that great confidence got extinguished in a blink of an eye. 

I’m still scared of him even while I’m drunk. 

She lowered her head with agreement to the survival instinct her body just remembered. 

She could feel Altair approaching from the side. 

“You look drunk.” 

“No, I’m fine.
All is good.” 

“…You surely look drunk to me.” 

Altair grabbed her arm with a frown. 

She leaned towards him, staggering.
Altair was a bit stunned at the close distance. 

At that, she promptly bowed in a hurry. 

“I’m sorry I touched you.” 

“Why do you keep apologising whenever you see me?” 

“I apologise for only saying ‘sorry’.
I will try to improve my vocabulary.
There is nothing that cannot be done.” 

“What the hell are you talking about?” 

“So I will try….” 

Before she got the chance to ramble any further, Altair raised his hand to stop her, and swept her up in his arms. 

She reflexively wrapped her arms around Altair’s neck, her legs could be felt floating above the ground. 

As she blinked dumbfoundedly at what seemed to happen in a split second, Altair, who had become incredibly close, turned his head. 

His ears, which were exposed at the side, were red. 

“See, it’s much better if you don’t flail around.” 

The usual cruel look in his eyes was nowhere to be seen.
The grumbling Altair seemed strangely shy.
Her mouth was slightly agape in surprise. 

Don’t tell me he’s…. 

Was it because of alcohol? 

Right, it’s probably because of the alcohol.

Eventually, she arrived at that conclusion.
Because a crazy villain could not have possibly been abashed just from carrying a girl. 

Wow.
This liquor is real strong.
It made me see things.

With that, she made a firm commitment. 

Alcohol is the problem.
This drink.
I guess I’m never drinking it again.

❈❈❈

Once they at her room, Nadia had long fallen asleep in Altair’s arms. 

Altair smirked at the sight. 

Every time their eyes met, she would start trembling and tend to fall to her knees.
To think that she would be this sound asleep in his arms because she was drunk… 

If she was sober, she would have jumped out of his arms in fear.
Just like when he ran into her in the hallway, she flailed around, trying desperately to get out of his arms. 

Altair looked down at Nadia with a complicated gaze. 

How could they be so different despite being the same age? 

Small hands with white skin.
Her skin was well-cared and her pink hair was soft.
Looking from whatever aspects, she would always look like a daughter of a high-ranking noble. 

In contrast, Altair’s skin was tanned, and his large hands were full of minor wounds and calluses.
In fact, he seemed more like a mercenary than a noble. 

It was inevitable since he went out every day and had to wield a sword to deal with the enemies. 

The knights of Aylesford, including Altair, all had a rough outlook like that.
All of them could be innocent countrymen, or even foolish at times, but their appearance was full of intimidation. 

Mercenaries who often visited Aylesford were also afraid of them, so it was natural for a weak young lady from the capital to be frightened. 

“My Lord.” 

Pavel paid Altair, who was still looking at Nadia’s face, a quick visit.
The drunken Anna was on his back. 

“With Anna’s condition right now, I think it would be difficult to for her serve Madame.
Maybe, my Lord can help her change in Anna’s stead.” 

“What?” 

“What do you mean? These are Madame’s clothes.” 

“…What?” 

“She can’t just sleep in this stead, can she? If you don’t do it, she will not be able to rest properly.” 

“So, am I supposed to do it?” 

Altair stiffened like a doll. 

Pavel looked at Altair pathetically and shook his head helplessly. 

“The husband should do it.
Or do you want me to do it?” 

When Pavel shrugged indifferently, Altair, who had been stiff, responded. 

“What are you trying to do?” 

“That’s why I’m saying that the lord should do it.” 

“….” 

“You have yet to spend the first night together because the Madame collapsed, when will you be able to sleep with her and give birth to a successor?” 

“ Just looking at me alone makes her tremble.
Sleep with me? Give birth to an heir? I am already more than glad when she doesn’t faint.” 

I would still have to try hard just so she could look straight into my eyes, let alone….

Altair smirked helplessly and subsequently frowned, discouraged.
But Pavel’s attitude did not change. 

“It’s understandable.
Who told you to show up with blood on your wedding day?! If it were an Aylesford resident who’s used to having big and small clashes every day, they wouldn’t have been bothered, but she’s a precious lady who grew up in a safe capital, so of course she was shocked to see that, horrified even.” 

“Did you two plan this? You sound exactly like Blan.
Well, I guess it is to be expected.
You guys are brothers after all.” 

“My lord, it is a prejudice to think that we would think and look alike just because we are brothers.” 

The two were siblings with a two year age gap.
Blan was the older and Pavel was the younger one. 

“I can’t spot any difference from your appearances to the way you two speak.
The same goes for your troublesome nagging.
The only difference I see is that one wears glasses while the other doesn’t.” 

Pavel was the one with glasses, and Blan was the one without. 

Altair clicked his tongue while shaking his head in a fed-up manner, a habit of his.

“Anyways, it was inevitable back then.
You know I was the only one who could handle that situation on the wedding day.” 

“That’s true but….I wish you would have shown up after taking a bath and changed into a new set of clothes that were not stained with blood” 

“Then I would have had to keep the bride waiting for a few more hours.” 

“Well…Wouldn’t it at least have been better to have her stand there waiting for a few more hours than to show her that terrifying scene?” 

Altair, who had been responding to Pavel’s words, kept silent.
He knew Pavel’s words were not wrong. 

“That’s enough.” he said. 

As the conversation kept going in an unpleasant way, Altair tried to change the subject. 

“What happened to the guy I spared back then? It’s about time he opened his mouth.” 

“Blan said it seemed to be the work of ‘that person’.
I’m certain he’s after her.” 

“As expected.” 

Altair frowned and looked down at Nadia in his arms. 

Does this woman know what kind of situation she is in right now?

Balhail was a despicable man.
He will continue to aim for Nadia, a relatively easy target. 

She’s a weak girl who trembles just by looking at my face, if she finds out…

“Anyway, I’ll deal with him.
My lord, please take good care of Madame.” 

Before Altair could sink into deeper thoughts, Pavel glanced at Anna on his back, sighed, and left. 

As soon as Altair, left alone, looked down at Nadia again, she dug into his warm arms and snuggled closer. 

Ugh. 

Altair’s flinched, leaning back, his ears turned red as if they were burning.

❈❈❈

She opened her eyes, feeling terrible heartburn. 

She did not remember anything after jumping out of her seat, wanting to turn the world upside down due to being drunk. 

Uh…

She grabbed her head in agony and looked around.
The scenery of the room she had become accustomed to in just two days caught her eyes. 

How did I get back? 

She racked her brain hard in anxiety and was quick to find the answer. 

Maybe it’s thanks to my creepy homing instinct.
It’s still there!

T/n: *homing instinct: an animal’s innate ability to return to its territory after traveling away from it. 

Long ago, back in her previous world, though it might seem like sleep-walking, she had a habit of quietly waking up and going home when she was drunk.
Her friends were even amazed at how she still wore her coat and packed her bag meticulously before leaving. 

Back to the present, her outlook was now completely different, but the habitual spirit inside her must have still been the same.
Apparently, it applied to drinking habits as well. 

But why is the string untied?

Strangely, her clothes were loose, and when she stretched her hands behind her, the strings used to tighten the upper part of her dress were loosened clumsily.
It looked like she gave up halfway through an attempt to loosen it. 

Did I try to take it off and fail? 

She thought that it was loosened at her will.
Since it was hard to untie the strings in the back herself. 

Once she had gotten a general grasp over the situation, she got out of bed.
She felt nauseous and wanted a glass of water. 

Kettle… water…

She staggered to the table like a zombie.
But there was no kettle there. 

As soon as she realised, the door opened and Anna, who looked much more like a zombie than her, walked inside with a kettle. 

“Madame…You’re up…I thought you might be thirsty, so I brought you some water…” 

Despite being a little clumsy, Anna always seemed to know what to do or what she needed.
In addition, Nadia was grateful that she came to her to work even with the hangover after such a tiresome day.
She could have passed her work to other maids. 

“You should have sent someone else if you weren’t feeling well.” 

“Someone else?” 

Anna tilted her head at my words, confused. 

“By someone else,… you mean Pavel? I think it’s strange to leave Madame’s in Pavel’s care.” 

“Pavel, the butler you mean? Why are you mentioning the butler’s name all of a sudden?” 

“Because you said it could have been someone else.
Oh, or were you referring to the chef, uncle Brett? Well, it’s even stranger to leave it to uncle Brett.” 

For some reason, the conversation with Anna kept going around in circles. 

“I meant, you can leave it to another maid.” 

“Pardon? But I am the only maid here.” 

“What?” 

“There are three people working in the castle.
Pavel is the butler, uncle Brett is the chef, and I am the maid.” 

“What?!” 

There were only three people working in this big castle.
It was ridiculous. 

The numbers of maids, butlers, and cooks were all of a minimum. 

Formal castles used servants for various positions, including footmen, gardeners, coachmen, housekeepers and maids. 

Until now, Aylesford had no mistress, so it was understandable that there were no housekeepers or maids.
But wasn’t Altair a lord? Having a servant to wait on him was essential. 

“It’s the first time I have seen a household without servants.
Then who will serve the lord?” 

Anna shrugged at my question. 

“He doesn’t need that, nor does he want it.
Most of the time he is on his own, and Pavel will provide help if he ever needs anything.” 

“And when you greet a guest? If there’s no footman, who’s going to do it?” 

“Actually, there are very few guests in the countryside.… If that’s the case, Pavel will take on that part as well.” 

“And as a butler, he must have been in charge of managing the ledgers because there was no mistress.” 

“Yes, that’s true.” 

It seemed that Pavel had been in charge of all the duties of male servants. 

If that’s the case, then Anna must have taken care of all the chores of female servants as well.

She could see how things were working. 

Why is it so abnormal?

As she agonised over it, she came to a chilling answer. 

The Lord is…for real….

It was beyond her imagination.…

__________________________________

Pavel