18. Despite Being a Perfect Woman (※Hugues’s POV)
A week has passed since Sheryl came to the Felix ducal estate.
My room and hers are, naturally, in separate wings. I wonder if they think I am so infatuated with Sheryl that I would make a move before our wedding.
In truth, I cannot deny that I am infatuated. There is something about the very air Sheryl carries that sets her apart from everyone else. Perhaps it is just my biased view… but the mere sight of her standing, of her walking, draws the eye.
Her movements are elegant. Her sense of style is impeccable. Her conversation is sociable; she never says more than necessary and subtly compliments others, yet she never demeans herself. She is a quick study and is fluent in other languages. It may be rude to say, but she is unlike any other daughter of a count.
Perhaps this is all thanks to the fact that I proposed to her when she was so young. Her stepmother must have raised her with this future in mind.
She is a warm woman with whom I can feel at ease, and at the same time, she has no flaws that would bring shame to the ducal house.
Even my mother sings her praises. My mother is the cousin of the current king, and my father became a duke upon marrying her after she descended from the royal line.
Of course, Sheryl and I are lovers and fiancés. We make time to spend together, and those moments are truly a joy.
I will inherit the title upon our marriage. There is still much I must do and learn as the Duke Felix, but she allows me to forget those hectic times and rest my heart.
If she has any flaw, it would be the way she smiles, just a little sadly, whenever I compliment her appearance.
It is a flaw that can hardly be called a flaw. She doesn’t do it in social settings, so perhaps it is because she has opened her heart to me.
While that makes me happy, I also wonder why.
I desperately wish she would tell me. But I also feel that I must not press the issue, and it is her smile that makes me feel that way.
Sheryl’s smile, though tinged with sadness, is a shield protecting her from that problem. And so, I pretend not to notice.
Perhaps if I were to step in, the matter could be resolved, but she treats the issue with extreme delicacy.
Her ice-blue eyes seem to plead with me, as if she is protecting something precious, as if she has decided it is something she must resolve on her own, and as if she is begging me to wait until it is all over.
“Your words are a great comfort to me, Hugues.”
She always says this, as if she is protecting something from me.
This precious thing of hers… could it be her family?
The letters from her stepmother, which my father corresponded with, were always gentle, as if to protect her. She politely, yet firmly, kept our ducal house’s proposal on hold, stating that a child’s feelings might change. In return, whenever I pestered him, my father would ask about Sheryl’s preferences, and her stepmother would answer within the bounds of what she could.
We could have forced the issue as a political marriage, but my father, my mother, and I did not. Our family’s standing is different. It wasn’t impossible, but they must have believed my devotion would not waver even without such measures.
And indeed, it did not. A little lady who, even when made to wear frumpy makeup, conducted herself in public with impeccable grace.
A grown lady who became a beauty that captivated all who saw her.
To me, Sheryl is the perfect woman. There has never been a time when I have desired anyone else. I sometimes wonder if there is something wrong with me… but I have loved her for so long.
I love you, Sheryl. One day, I hope you will tell me what it is you are protecting.
Until then, I will protect you, along with your secret. And I will continue to do so, long after.