Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Chloe responded calmly, although she was a little puzzled.

“Ah, yes.”

‘What are you trying to say?’

Originally, she had thought it was just an extension of her hobby of making a few milk jams and selling them to her friends. However, after talking to her calmly, it seemed like her husband’s thoughts were not just that simple.

Chloe only then realized that she and her husband had different ideas about the so-called ‘milk jam business’, but she couldn’t turn back now. Alphonse had prepared more than she had thought, and in fact, Chloe didn’t mind the milk jam business growing a little bit.

She didn’t know it at the time, but it would later be revealed that it wasn’t just ‘a little bit’.

Anyway, for that reason, Chloe approached Alphonse (and started talking seriously).

“Isn’t it a bit large, Your Grace? I think it would take me all day to make that much jam.”

“Of course you should hire workers. Wife, you are a duchess. The many servants in this mansion exist to do your dirty work.”

Chloe felt slightly embarrassed. She still had not completely let go of the habits she had developed from living in 21st century South Korea, and had a tendency to do dirty work herself rather than leaving it to others.

Alphonse said, spitting out smoke.

“There is absolutely no need for investment for this business, wife. The family’s surplus income is sufficient. However…”

Chloe had a feeling that Alphonse was emphasizing this statement. As she had once experienced, Alphonse hated it when someone questioned his abilities and wealth, especially when that person was his wife.

“If you want to invest in fellowship, you are welcome to do so.”

Chloe thought of Lady Fortnum and said she knew.

Meanwhile, Alphonse, although he didn’t show it on the outside, was secretly feeling surprised while talking to Chloe.

In the empire, women have fewer educational opportunities than men. The areas of education generally recommended to noble girls are limited to the arts, musical instrument playing, singing, dancing, embroidery, and other liberal arts. Other than that, they are taught at most a little math and accounting that they will need when they become the mistress of a noble household.

Practical subjects such as sociology, management, and economics were not recommended for women in the empire, due to the superstition that studying such subjects would make them ‘manly’.

In any case, Alphonse, in order to talk to Chloe about the progress of the business, prepared an appropriate explanation for her, assuming that she was completely ignorant of the relevant field.

But something happened that exceeded his expectations.

‘You even know this part?’

Surprisingly, Chloe had a solid foundation in business knowledge. When Alphonse spoke, she understood it like water without any further explanation, and even expressed her own opinion on it. This meant that she did not just memorize the knowledge, but understood it completely and was able to apply it.

Also, she had in abundance the only weakness of Alphonse, who was the master of Battenberg and possessed great ability. That was creativity. Fresh, new and brilliant ideas were the only things he lacked, but Chloe had them instead.

Alphonse looked at Chloe with new eyes. The woman in front of him was not only his wife, but also his almost perfect partner.

Of course, the relevant knowledge was something that Chloe took for granted, having been in charge of all sorts of tasks at the company for many years in her previous life, but Alphonse had no way of knowing that.

Besides, Chloe enjoyed talking to Alphonse about business. Unlike at work, Alphonse listened to her opinions and questions without ridiculing or ignoring her.

This was a pleasant experience.

After finishing the discussion that was immediately necessary, Chloe stood up. Alphonse also stood up to see her off.

“Thank you for your hard work. I will take you to your bedroom.”

“Thank you.”

Chloe smiled and spoke honestly.

“I really enjoyed our conversation today.”

Alphonse did not answer.

In fact, he felt like time was passing quickly as he talked to Chloe today. He thought he could keep talking like this all the way until dinner.

Also, whenever his opinions or business ideas coincided with hers, he felt a tingling sensation somewhere in his chest. But he did not know what it meant.

Alphonse never realized that it was the pleasure he felt talking to Chloe, and that the tingling sensation he felt whenever their hearts met was ecstasy.

Finally, they reached Chloe’s bedroom. Chloe sat down on the bed and looked up at Alphonse. Alphonse nodded to her.

“Then I’ll take my leave now…”

“Would you like to sit down for a moment?”

Chloe was having quite a good time now, having an interesting conversation. She felt like she wanted to enjoy this afterglow with him a little more.

But Alphonse’s reaction was strange. He was usually quick to make decisions, but this time, instead of saying yes or no, he just stared at her with his characteristically expressionless eyes.

Chloe said with an embarrassed face, thinking that it was close to rejection.

“If you are busy…”

“No, I’m not busy.”

Alphonse said bluntly.

“I’ll sit down for a moment and then go.”

After saying that, he sat down next to Chloe.

They sat side by side and chatted a little. They had been having a cup of tea together every evening, and now they could share personal stories without feeling awkward.

Chloe was so proud of it. To be this close to that robotic peacock! This was truly a human triumph!

Her philosophy was that, whether you like it or not, if you were going to live under the same roof, it was better to be close.

With that in mind, she tried hard to think of the next topic. Unfortunately, Alphonse was not the talkative type! So it was Chloe who had to work harder to keep the conversation going.

Meanwhile, Alphonse stared at the chattering Chloe. To be more precise, he was observing.

‘Her expression is quite rich.’

This was the feeling Alphonse got when he saw Chloe laughing when told a funny story and frowning when told a sad one.

‘Surely, it wasn’t like this until recently.’

Until recently, her expressions had been extremely limited. She would go around with a gloomy face and the corners of her mouth drooped, and her only emotions seemed to be fear and resentment.

‘Even that might be better than me.’

Alphonse doesn’t even have those feelings now.

Alphonse, thinking that way, turned his attention back to Chloe in front of him. She was laughing again, as if she was telling an interesting story.

It was then that Alphonse suddenly became curious.

What about her other faces? He wanted to see an expression that Chloe doesn’t usually make.

“Wife.”

“Yes?”

Chloe, who had reacted innocently, not knowing Alphonse’s intentions, soon felt her body being carefully pressed down and thrown backwards.

“Ah?”

And the next moment, when she realized the situation, she was already… being wrapped in Alphonse’s body.

Chloe’s eyes shot open. She was lying on the bed, and Alphonse was looking down at her, his arms supporting her body. She felt his large hands pressing down on her shoulders.

The posture was strange, but the location on the bed made it look even more dangerous.

Chloe was incredulous at the situation. Alphonse’s face, which seemed to be less than seven centimeters from the tip of her nose, was expressionless to the point of being annoying.

Although his face was truly breathtakingly handsome, Chloe was so flustered that her eyes were completely blank at the sight of his good looks.

“Uh…. D, D, Duke?”