Honey, I’m Going on Strike – Chapter 19

To suddenly run up, grab her in a hug, and say ‘My wife, please don’t go!’…Seriously?

And if I don’t go, then what?

Cassia swallowed the words rising to her throat and looked down in displeasure at Zester’s arms wrapped around her.

She was planning to take Drian out to tour the territory since he had been whining all morning about how boring everything was and how there was nothing fun to see in the castle.

In truth, Cassia had felt a bit more at ease with Zester lately, thanks to his changed demeanor and that dream from the night before. If he wasn’t too busy, maybe they could explore the territory together like yesterday. She had even entertained the thought.

That is, until she heard Vita’s familiar voice echoing from Zester’s office.

What was it again? ‘Is it the Madam or is it me?’

“Huuu…”

Cassia sighed in exasperations as Vita’s voice replayed in her head.

“Let go. You’re suffocating me.”

“If I let go, will you not leave?”

“Why are you asking me not to go?”

“Because you’re angry right now. If you leave like this, you’ll just end up misunderstanding me again, won’t you?”

“Was it even a situation where I wouldn’t misunderstand? Ugh, let go of me first! I need space!”

As Cassia squirmed irritably, Zester had no choice but to release her.

“Okay, talk.”

She adjusted the front of her wrinkled dress and asked coldly.

Zester had no idea where to start clearing up the misunderstanding. As she said, it was the perfect scene to misinterpret. Someone yelling disrespectfully at the lord, then shouting “Is it the Madam or me?”, how could anyone not misunderstand?

Struggling to find a solution, Zester had a sudden idea.

“It’s you!”

“…What?”

With an uncharacteristically cheerful expression, he blurted out, ‘It’s you!’ Cassia furrowed her brows, confused at what he was talking about. Then she understood and burst into laughter.

‘Don’t tell me he’s answering that ‘Is it the Madam or me?’ question?’

“Baron, what in the world…”

She couldn’t help but laugh from the absurdity of it all. And when Zester saw her laugh, he looked pleased with himself, which only made it more absurd.

“Are you not angry anymore?”

“Are you joking?”

“You. You. Absolutely you. Even if the sky splits apart, it’s still you.”

Zester stepped forward and grabbed her shoulders, speaking with unexpected seriousness. Cassia was momentarily at a loss for words.

“I, uh…”

‘This is overwhelming. I can’t get used to it.’

Cassia tried to slip out of his grasp but then spotted Vita standing behind him.

Apparently, she had heard his answer to her ‘Is it the Madam or me?” question. Her reaction was comical: her eyes brimming with tears, lips trembling in shock. Anyone would think she just caught her cheating lover in the act.

‘Well… not entirely wrong’, Cassia thought, her lips twisting in displeasure.

Zester noticed her gaze and turned around to see Vita. Zester was just as baffled to see Vita’s expression.

“Zester, how could you…”

“Don’t address me as ‘Zester’. It is ‘Baron’ or ‘my lord’. Pick one of the two.”

Zester replied in a cold voice.

Vita’s eyes widened.

He walked up to her, stood directly in front of her, and took a deep breath. He realized if he kept dragging along their ‘childhood (really master and servant) relationship’, it would only lead to bigger problems, especially now that he had a wife.

“I’ve warned you enough. I’ve told you dozens of times that we’re not the same as we were in Bohem. You’re the one who kept crossing the line. So now.”

“…?”

“Go back to Bohem.”

“…What?”

“Not ‘what’, ‘yes’ is what I want to hear. I didn’t want to go this far, but I can’t let you keep driving a wedge between me and my wife. Go back to Bohem, Vita.”

It wasn’t just Vita who was stunned by Zester’s cold words, Cassia was surprised too.

She had made her dislike of Vita obvious, but unlike in her past life, she had never told Zester to get rid of her.

Vita clenched her trembling lips in fury.

“…Are you serious?”

“I am completely serious.”

“Hey, Zester.”

She was still the same to the end. Zester sighed and rubbed his forehead in exhaustion.

“It’s Baron.”

“Y-You’ll regret this.”

Zester scoffed.

“Regret what? I think I’ll remember this as one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”

With that, he turned his back on her. His face was cold, hardened, and indifferent, just like the face Cassia remembered from her past life. That expression could make anyone standing before him feel like they’d just been slapped.

But when he turned back to face Cassia, his coldness melted away like snow in spring. The corners of his eyes drooped, his lips softened, he looked like a puppy who’d just found its master.

“Let’s go,” he said, gently placing a hand on Cassia’s shoulder.

Then, with a final glance back at Vita, he said,

“Goodbye, Vita.”

***

Cassia returned to her room, feeling dazed. She stared blankly at Zester, who had followed her.

‘Why is he acting like a completely different person? They say when people start doing things out of character, they’re about to die. Is he about to die before me in this life or something?’

He had just cleanly dealt with Vita, whom she normally would’ve had to endure for at least two more years. With Zester’s intervention, things had become so smooth. She had to endure so much heartache and suffer alone in her previous life.

His cold attitude toward Vita baffled Cassia. She had thought there was more between them than just friendship. But if there had been something, would he have dismissed her so easily?

“I should’ve done this from the start. I’m sorry for troubling you.”

“Ah, no…”

“By the way, why did you come to find me? You came with Viscount Havelyn too.”

“Oh, right. The Viscount said he was getting bored staying in the castle, so I came to ask if it would be alright to take him on a tour of the territory.”

Zester frowned at her flat response.

“If he’s so bored, he should go home already. What’s the fun staying here? He’s clearly staying longer because of you.”

“That’s not it.”

“Sure it isn’t.”

Seriously, why was he acting like this?

He tossed Vita aside without a glance, acted sweet toward her, and now he was even acting jealous. Cassia was completely dumbfounded by the 180-degree shift in Zester’s behavior.

“I’m leaving on deployment tomorrow.”

“Deployment? To where?”

“Viscount Viche has sent several requests for reinforcements. Apparently, a tribe of barbarians controlling monstrous creatures has taken up residence near his territory, and the damage to the territory is severe.”

Now that he mentioned it, she remembered Zester’s first deployment happening around this time in her previous life. Time was moving along just the same. Cassia sighed.

That first departure had marked the beginning of his near-constant absence from the castle. They had become even more like strangers than before. She had hoped their relationship might change this time, but maybe nothing would.

“How much compensation are you receiving for the expedition?”

“…500,000 silver upfront. Another 500,000 after the subjugation.”

“I’m sorry, what?!”

He hadn’t expected her to know or even ask about reinforcement compensation, so her sudden question caught him off guard. And when he answered, Cassia looked outright appalled.

“The advance payment won’t even cover the cost of hiring mercenary, will it?”

“I’ll get another 500,000 after the subjugation.”

“And how far does that get you? Did you try negotiating the compensation with Viscount Viche? Who risks their life in battle for such little money?”

In fact, this had bothered her in her past life too. Zester had accepted every request for reinforcements without complaint.

Many nobles took advantage of him, and Zester bore some blame for never trying to negotiate compensation.

Obviously, things hadn’t changed. Viscount Viche, from what she remembered, had used Zester more than anyone. Even before the wig business succeeded, his territory had been wealthy, yet he was stingy to the core.

“Still, this is better than past compensation offers. I’ve worked with Viscount Viche for a long time…”

“What does that matter? Business is business. You need to demand fair payment.”

Cassia’s blunt tone left Zester stunned. How did she even know how much it cost to hire mercenaries or what a fair reward for reinforcement was?

“Is money not important to you, Baron? Is money the secondary goal and the primary goal is to enjoy war? Stabbing, slashing, all that?”

“What are you saying? I’m doing this to earn money. As you know, the territory barely has any income. If I don’t earn something through battle, we’re in trouble. And besides…”

“…Besides?”

“You know how Viscount Havelyn mentioned beef and pork and sugar and milk and all that. To get those, I’ll have to try even harder than before.”

“…What?”

Cassia was stunned by Zester’s honest confession. Then she remembered what he’d said before dying in her past life:

『Why is buying one mere necklace a splurge? Damn it, what did you think I was breaking my back earning money for?!』

She’d tried to be frugal, thinking he was obsessed with hoarding wealth. But this… what did this mean?

“Wife.”

“Ah, yes, yeah?”

Still dazed, Cassia responded, and Zester hesitated before finally speaking, his face slightly red with embarrassment.

“I know this place doesn’t live up to your standards. Of course, you wouldn’t like me either. That’s why I’m going to work hard. So that the more you’re here, the more you’re able to let go of your former home, a little bit.”

“…”

“I know it’s not something I can force so I thought it was best to let you miss your old life if that’s what you needed…”

He looked at her with a serious expression, as if he had made a firm decision. But she could also see a flicker of hurt in his eyes.

“…But no. I don’t like this. I’m more narrow-minded than I thought. Please try to understand.”

“What are you even talking about? I don’t understand. When have I ever complained about wanting to go back home?”

“But you miss it.”

“No, I do not?”

True, she had considered returning to Ruberno after Rael and Lucy were born, but that was just because there was nowhere else to go. It wasn’t because she missed it.

Of course she didn’t miss it. Her father had sent her off without a second thought, never once checked on her, and only reached out when it benefited him. Why would she want to see his face? He had even sold off her younger sister purely for profit. There was no way he’d welcome a divorced daughter back.

Cassia stared at Zester in disbelief, silently asking, ‘What are you talking about?’

He had tried so hard not to say it, worried he’d seem petty and immature. But Cassia’s dismissal made him blurt it out.

Last night, she called another man’s name in front of her husband, talking about missing him and loving him. How could she say she didn’t miss home?!

“Y-You say that, but I know how much you miss that Rael guy!”

That final outburst left Cassia’s face painted in shock.

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