If You Wish For A Married Couple’s Duties - Episode 111

“Layla.”

Dooha raised an eyebrow as she looked at her handmaiden, who was sitting opposite her.

For the first time in a long while, informal Bashal language came out of her mouth.

“You seem strangely happy. I’d said that I’m not going back for fun though…”

“I know, I know. Didn’t you say that you were going to find the real culprit that tried to kill Her Highness the Princess? I know this trip back is for something important.”

“You’re good at answering.”

“Hehe.”

Dooha eventually chuckled at the way Layla couldn’t hide her excitement.

Unlike her, Layla was on good terms with the family she’d left behind in Bashal.

On the day she’d decided to go to the Empire, the sound of weeping travelled out of Layla’s house all night long.

“You don’t have to attend to me after arriving in Bashal. You should just spend time with your family.”

“What? But I can’t do that…”

“You should grasp the opportunity that’s given to you. I’m going to stick with Leonhart anyways, so you really don’t have to worry about it.”

“Uhmm.”

Layla pretended to ponder over it seriously, before smiling.

“Then I’ll do that.”

“Silly.”

“Are you going to greet the chieftain?”

Dooha’s face hardened at the mention of her father.

He had once been a father she’d really respected, but he was the same person that drove her to leave Bashal.

Now, she didn’t have the nerve to look at his face.

Layla also wasn’t unaware of Dooha’s inner thoughts.

“Even if that happened, are you not going to greet him at all?”

“…Of course I will. I’ll do so.”

Dooha looked out of the window once again.

She spotted Leonhart leading the procession on horseback.

She remembered the string of strange questions that the duke asked her.

“How many people are there in your family?” 

“It’s been a while since my mother passed, and my father is the only one left. In terms of siblings, I have four older brothers. You don’t have to worry about them.”

Starting with taking a census randomly.

“Other than your oldest brother, what are the rest of the family like?” 

“Who knows. We aren’t that close. We haven’t had any conversations ever since I became old enough to know better.” 

To random questions about the tastes of his in-laws.

“What do you think of my Bashalian accent? I don’t sound rude, do I?”

“Not at all. I’ve been meaning to ask you this for a while now, but when did you learn the Bashal language?

He kept doubting his skill in the Bashal language, which was perfect and flawless.

“Is your father, by any chance, someone that likes to drink?”

“I’m not sure if he likes to drink, but I think he did drink a lot when he was younger.”

And even useless questions that she couldn’t get why he was asking.

Although it was rather cute to watch him make a fuss uncharacteristically, there was a sense of discomfort in a corner of my heart.

She had a strange feeling, which was neither unwelcome nor dislike, at the sight of the person she loved trying to take care of her family, who wasn’t any different from enemies.

Eventually, she ended the conversation by scolding him not to go overboard.

‘It’s not like we’re going back for a good thing, so why does he have to act like this?’

A sigh escaped at the procession of gifts, which formed a line whose end was unseen.

Anyway, he was a man who didn’t know how to not go overboard. 

“Oh, Madam!”

Just then, Layla broke the silence and got up.

“It’s Bashal! I can see the citadel of wind!”

“Yes, I can see it, too.”

Dooha blinked slowly at her handmaiden’s fussing.

A low citadel made of stone could be seen in the distance, across a low sand hill.

The western region of the kingdom of Bashal, the land of the tribe where the wind would always stay at.

It was Dooha’s hometown.

* * *

The western region of the kingdom of Bashal was cold and dry.

The place where strong gusts of wind always blew, and seemed almost like a cold desert.

And the land was guarded by Bashalians who knew how to manipulate the wind.

Silver hair, which was rarely seen in the empire, seemed to be rather common in the wind tribe. People with hair colours similar to Dooha’s flocked to the duke’s party like a convergence of clouds.

“Goodness, is all of this gold?”

“Apparently, these items were brought from the Empire by Princess Dooha.”

“Hey, look at this! The vegetables are so fresh!”

“There’s cold air coming from the box? Are there people in the empire that’s capable of controlling cold air?”

“Oh, come on, how can that be? I heard that imperial folks used magic or something.”

The tribal people gathered around the carts that were streaming in, admiring the gifts.

They were all unusual things that were rarely seen in Bashal.

“I was worried that those imperial folks might neglect our princess, but it was a needless concern.”

“Of course! Who would dare to neglect the great Princess of Bashal!”

The tribal people seemed satisfied with the fact that the princess, who’d married into the empire, was being treated properly.

However, there were those that pointed fingers at Dooha as she descended from the carriage.

“She’s become a full-fledged imperial citizen, indeed. Just look at the way she’d forgotten Bashal’s pride entirely. How could someone in those clothes shoot arrows and ride a horse?”

“I knew it when that lass abandoned the tribe and fled to the empire the moment she failed to become the chief. That traitor.”

This was why she didn’t want to come back.

With a resigned expression, Dooha held back a sigh.

Oddly enough, it was Leonhart who expressed anger at their blathering.

“How insolent. What do you know to make a clamour…”

Dooha quickly grabbed the duke’s arm.

“Ignore them. No matter what you say, to those people, I’m just a shameless princess who went to the empire in pursuit of wealth and prosperity.”

Everyone knew that Dooha chose to marry for the sake of peace between Bashal and the empire.

Yet, despite this, those who were deliberately belittling her were the same ones who’ve long since disapproved of Dooha.

“They’ve been mocking me for meddling and not knowing my place as a girl since way back, so just ignore them.”

Leonhart shut his mouth at the sight of his wife’s unusually stiff side profile.

For some reason, the duke’s expression became equally serious, mirroring Dooha’s atypical demeanour.

Just as he was about to bring it up again.

“Please come in.”

A Bashalian warrior emerged from the building’s interior and gestured to them.

A tense glint appeared in the ducal couple’s eyes.

* * *

“…Yes, so you are the Duke of Esbaden.”

Dooha lowered her gaze and remained still.

The scent that tickled her nose and the terribly familiar voice that invoked memories even if she disliked it.

Memories of the years she’d spent here resurfaced one by one.

Though It was regrettable that there were only a few memories pleasant enough to be called ‘memories’.

“Yes, Chieftain.”

“As I’ve already passed the chieftain’s position to my son, there’s no need to address me as such. I am Dooha’s father, called ‘Kahar’.”

Originally, he was addressed by the chieftain’s title, ‘Yel’, and not his name, but that wasn’t the case anymore.

Since he’d handed the chieftain’s position over to Nihir, he too should be addressed by his real name.

“I am Leonhart von Esbaden, the lord of Halton and the Duke of Esbaden.”

On the other hand, Leonhart introduced himself to Dooha’s father in fluent Bashal language.

He didn’t show any discomfort, despite the inconvenience of sitting cross-legged on the floor in accordance with Bashal’s customs.

“Please feel free to call me by my name, Father-in-law.”

Not only did the term ‘Father-in-law’ made Dooha uncomfortable, and even her father, Kahar, seemed to stiffen like a statue.

It was because the both of them had never thought they’d hear such a term.

“…Father-in-law?”

“I can’t casually address an elder by their name, but I apologise if it was unpleasant.”

“Oh, no. You can call me Father-in-law.”

“Thank you, Father-in-law.”

Kahar seemed momentarily taken aback, but he didn’t seem to dislike the term ‘Father-in-law’.

Rather, he seemed pleased to hear the term ‘Father-in law’ after receiving his son-in-law for the first time.

It was none other than Dooha that spoiled the unexpectedly warm atmosphere.

“I heard you weren’t feeling well, but it seems like it wasn’t that serious, Father.”

Dooha stared at her father with a cold gaze.

“Since you’ve already handed over the chieftain’s position to Nihir, I thought you might pass on any day now.”

“Madam.”

Leonhart tried to stop her with a slightly startled expression, but it didn’t work.

“I thought that it would only be right to visit you once as your child, so I came. I also had something to ask as well.”

Dooha added coldly.

“I don’t mean anything else.”

“Right, I’m well aware of it even without you pointing it out.”

A chilly air flowed between the father and daughter.

Even the Duke of Esbaden found it difficult to speak freely in such an atmosphere.

“By the way.”

Dooha surveyed the chieftain’s residence, which had become much more lavish and extravagant than before, and furrowed her brows.

From the gem-studded furniture to the golden incense burner, as well as the large floor rug made of snowy white sable fur.

It was all a far cry from her father’s tastes.

“It seems like after becoming the chieftain, Nihir has developed a taste for extravagance. Where did he manage to get all these things?”

“It wasn’t purchased, actually. They were gifts from the Eastern traders we’ve been dealing with for a while.”

Considering their magnitude, it might be more fitting to call them bribes.

Dooha’s expression showed her inability to comprehend, but it was short-lived.

“Is that so? Then what is our new and excellent chieftain doing, for you to be the one receiving us, Father?”

As her gaze grew sharper, Kahar’s pupils trembled slightly.

“Nihir, where’s that punk?”

“No matter how bad your relationship with him is, you shouldn’t call your older brother ‘that punk’. You should maintain some decorum.”

“Do you think I’ll still have the patience to show respect to that punk?”

Kahar suppressed a displeased sigh and refrained from berating Dooha further.

It wasn’t like he was unaware of how his eldest son had treated his younger sister.

“But why are you seeking out Nihir? When you despise your older brother.”

“Why else? Because it’s customary for the chieftain to receive guests in Bashal.”

It was both an obligation and privilege for the Bashal chieftain to welcome guests for the first time.

However, only Kahar was receiving the two visitors.