Honey, I’m Going on Strike – Chapter 39

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T/N: Here’s the latest chapter!! If you missed my notice, I wasn’t able to post last week because I fell ill but I’m all better now 😊

“You don’t need to go out of your way to keep praising his greatness. I am well aware of Count Axios’ fame.”

“No, I mean, I am just telling the truth. If it weren’t for the Count, I wouldn’t have gone on that campaign, and I wouldn’t have achieved anything…”

“I get it. Count Axios recognized your talent and that’s why you were able to step on the battlefield. I understand that now, so you can stop saying it. But regardless of whether it was his orders or not, you’re the one who defeated the retreating enemy force of 150,000 with just 50,000, right?”

“Th–that’s… true, I suppose?”

“I’m not here to praise Count Axios, whom everyone already admires. I just want to hear about my husband’s achievements, which I didn’t know about before and I want to know more.”

“Ahem.”

“So, how did you come up with the idea of fighting in the gorge? Was that the Count’s order as well?”

Cassia smoothly shifted the direction of the conversation as she picked up her fork and knife again.

Zester, watching her elegant profile as she sliced the bread, answered with a slightly embarrassed look.

“Ah, no. The order I received was simply to deal with the retreating Bert forces.”

Cassia’s hands paused mid-cut.

“With just 50,000 men?”

“Yes. At the time, the Bert army seemed to be retreating toward Algore Gorge, so I cut across the gorge first and waited at their escape route. The battlefield was truly so narrow that I can’t really call it 50,000 versus 150,000. They couldn’t go back either, with the Count’s main forces pressing from behind, so the only way out was that narrow gorge which couldn’t allow the passage of 150,000 men at once. So…ah, I’ve said too much. Ahem. I’m sure this isn’t that interesting for you.”

“No, actually. It’s quite interesting hearing it like this. That’s a really clever tactic. Truly amazing.”

“Ah, I wouldn’t say amazing…”

“It was incredibly amazing, Madam! Even after the war ended, everyone couldn’t stop talking about it. They said the Bert army fell into the Red Hound’s trap!”

“Indeed, they did.”

Cassia had heard that ridiculous nickname in passing before. She smiled as she exchanged a look with James, while Zester coughed awkwardly and scratched his head.

“Still, compared to the Count, I’m nothing…”

Clang!

Cassia’s fork suddenly stabbed down the neatly cut piece of bread on her plate. Zester flinched again in surprise.

“Even His Majesty the Emperor must’ve thought your achievements were worth recognition too. Why else would he have granted you a title and this territory?”

Otherwise, what would that make Cassia, who had been married off as part of the Emperor’s favor in the prime of her youth? Forcing a smile, she popped the bread into her mouth. Seeing her displeased expression, Zester gave a stiff nod.

“Haha, and really, I just don’t understand why our Baron here just keeps praising only Count Axios. Honestly speaking, if you order someone to stop 150,000 troops with only 50,000 men, that’s no different from ordering them to die, wouldn’t you agree?”

“That is true,” James chimed in, “I doubt even Count Axios thought my lord could actually capture the Bert army with a third of their numbers.”

“That’s what I’m saying. So, honey, please, I think you should take a bit more pride in what you achieved during the Imperial War. Right?”

If he said no, Cassia’s fork might just end up in his face next so Zester nodded up and down vigorously, feigning agreement he didn’t quite feel.

So foolish. Cassia glanced sideways at Zester’s sheepish grin and shook her head inwardly.

Hearing about what had really happened in the Imperial War only deepened her resentment towards Count Bertol Axios. 50,000 men against an army of 150,000? Anyone could see how absurd that was. It was only because Zester had succeeded that it turned into an achievement. If he had failed, it would have been nothing but a suicide mission.

Why was this man so clueless? Was it really that hard to tell whether someone’s actions were sincere or something else entirely?

“Today’s bread must have come out especially well. Here, have some of mine too.”

Misreading Cassia’s endless chewing, Zester smiled brightly and moved his share of bread onto her plate.

A husband who needed everything to be spelled out, step by step. Cassia looked down at the extra bread now added to her plate and let out a soft puff of laughter, like air escaping from a balloon.

***

After James left, a reply arrived from Ruberno. The Count’s handwriting, which was still familiar after so long, formed surprisingly warm words in the short letter.

My daughter, Sia.

It was a joy to receive your letter after so long. It relieves me to know you are adjusting well in Greze.

Of course, I never doubted that you would manage well, as you always have.

I feel rather sorry that, despite knowing the situation in Greze, I failed to prepare in advance and ended up making you write such a letter.

I miss you, too. I’ll make the necessary preparations, so come visit as soon as you receive this reply.

—From Ruberno.

After reading the letter several more times, Cassia folded it carefully and put it away. Then she glanced down at the parchment that she had been absentmindedly scribbling on with her pen.

Even though the funding issue had fortunately been resolved without needing to visit Ruberno, it didn’t mean all her concerns were gone. She still had to deal with the upcoming territory war and for that, she needed to accept Count Axios’s invitation. She already had a plan to prevent the territory war from breaking out in Greze, but the idea of meeting Bertol again made her heart feel heavy.

For now, she planned to visit Ruberno first, then head to Axios with Zester.

‘It’ll work out somehow.’

Cassia sighed softly and rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache creeping in.

Unfortunately, the looming territory war wasn’t the only thing she was worried about.

Her monthly cycle.

Cassia bit her lip, staring down at the words she had unconsciously scribbled on the parchment. Her period, which should have started three days ago, had yet to come.

‘Why hasn’t it come yet? My periods were never perfectly regular, but still…’

Sometimes it came early or sometimes it was late by a few days, but she had never thought much of it before. Before marriage, she brushed it off as irregular cycles. After marriage, she hadn’t needed to worry about pregnancy. Of course, that was in her previous life.

‘I think I’ve been too careless.’

Cassia gnawed at her fingernail. The whole reason she had stayed stubbornly in Greze after returning, instead of running away, was to see her children again yet now, the situation was becoming uncertain.

Now that she thought about it, everything she touched had been steadily changing. James had become a citizen of Greze and partner in the wig business. Mrs. Margaret, whom she had seen in town days ago, was looking much healthier than before.

Not only that, her long-strained relationships with people like Drian and her father, Count Ruberno, had improved. The barbarians who should have died, now lived, and had become part of Greze’s strength. And most of all…

‘Our relationship wasn’t like this before!’

Her relationship with Zester.

In her previous life, they barely saw each other even while living under the same roof. Now, they shared a bed every night. It would be one thing if they merely slept but lately, once things got started, neither of them wanted to stop until morning came.

Everything was steadily changing. So who could say that Rael and Lucy’s births were still guaranteed?

In her previous life, because their marital relations were so scarce, Cassia could remember exactly when Rael and Lucy had been conceived. Which was why, after returning to the past, her plan had simply been to wait for that day, close her eyes, and get it over with.

But then…

Unexpected things happened. One thing led to another, and she ended up sleeping with Zester far more often than she had planned. Still, she thought that was fine. She even figured it might be better to be comfortable with such relations than stay distant.

The problem was now, her period was late. She felt foolish. If everything else she touched changed so easily, why hadn’t she considered that a completely new life might be conceived too? One that hadn’t existed before.

If Rael and Lucy ended up with an older sibling they never had before… well, she could accept that. What worried her was whether Rael and Lucy’s births would still be guaranteed.

‘Please, let it just be a late cycle.’

Trying to calm her anxious heart, Cassia crossed out the word she’d written on the parchment.

Knock knock.

“Cassia, it’s me.”

At the sound of Zester’s voice, Cassia’s gaze reflexively darted to the grandfather clock standing against the wall. 11 o’clock. Ever since they had begun sharing a room, Zester had never been late once, by even a minute.

She even joked inwardly to herself that she could toss the clock now because her husband kept time better than any watch.

As always, Zester only cracked the door open after receiving her permission, then he strode inside and climbed onto the bed first. Looking at Cassia, who was still seated, he casually asked if she was going to sleep soon.

“I should, yeah.”

Cassia rubbed her cheek and lay down. The moonlight streamed generously through the wide window, but the magic lamp on the bedside table shone far too brightly for the late-night hour.

As she settled under the soft wool blanket, Zester immediately grabbed her hand, startling her.

“That gift from Count Havelyn…”

“…The magic lamp?”

“Yes.”

“What about it?”

“It’s nice and all, but it’s a pity you can’t turn it on and off. Don’t you think?”

It seemed he didn’t like that the brightness couldn’t be dimmed. Judging by the way he kept squeezing her hand, his intentions were all too obvious. Cassia swallowed dryly.

“If I don’t need the light, I can just cover it with the blackout cloth. Not much of a pity there.”

“Oh, is that so?! Where is the cloth?”

“W-why?”

Zester suddenly sat up and began looking around the lamp like an eager beast.

“I want to cover it. It’s time to sleep.”

Suppressing a groan, Cassia opened the drawer of the nightstand, took out the blackout cloth, and draped it over the lamp. At last, the soft glow of moonlight was all that remained in the room.

“Let’s sleep, then.”

Cassia didn’t dislike Zester. But right now, with her period late, she really wanted to avoid being intimate. She pulled the blanket up over her head, pretending not to notice his gaze.

‘Why is this man like this?!’

She thought ignoring him would make him give up and sleep, but soon he pulled her into his arms along with the blanket she used to cover herself. Then his hand slid slyly to tug the blanket down from her face. He was clearly determined tonight.

“H-Honey?”

“Ahem. Yes.”

Zester brushed a timid kiss along the skin beneath her ear. Hearing her call him ‘Honey’, he seemed encouraged. He suddenly flipped over her, pinning her beneath him. The look in his eyes as he hovered over her was full of unmistakable desire.

Cassia stared blankly as his face got closer and closer. Then she shot up her hands and clamped them over his mouth. Zester’s eyes widened in shock.

“T–tonight, I don’t want to!”

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