Looking Back
Looking back, the man standing before her was the very superior officer who had driven Chloe to the brink of madness. It was only because the events between them had been such a whirlwind, and because they had been so busy trying to coordinate their mismatched steps, that she had temporarily forgotten.
After all, she had been so obsessed with making him kneel that she had gone so far as to... get married. She didn't know if he was reverting to his true colors now that things had finally settled down, or if he was throwing a tantrum because the King was pressuring him again. Or perhaps, after coming all this way, he had suddenly found her chatter in the garden annoying.
Who on earth could ever know what goes on inside that man's head? The unfortunate thing was that while Chloe, coming from the Navy, could vaguely guess that the Royal Guard's discipline was a mess, she still hadn't fully grasped just how disastrous it truly was. Thus, in Chloe's mind, Curtis Shan Berk was not quite what he thought he was; instead, he was closer to "a boss who throws random, sudden tantrums."
To make matters worse, Curtis was currently throwing a fit, his mood swinging wildly over a single word she had said—highly uncharacteristic of him. So, at least at this very moment, Curtis Shan Berk was nothing more and nothing less than the exact image of Chloe's assessment.
In any case, based on her three months of experience, there was only one answer in times like this: just apologize. Surely he wouldn't subject me to military discipline now that I'm the Grand Duchess, right? With that thought, Chloe quickly replied.
"My apologies. If you tell me what I did wrong, I will correct it."
But the response that came back was:
"Do I really have to spell it out for you?"
It was absolutely maddening.
Excuse me, Your Grace. I am not a mind reader. How am I supposed to know if you don't tell me? If this had been Georges, Chloe would have spat out a string of curses right then and there. But because he was the Grand Duke, she held back.
Fortunately, the man didn't act like one of those toxic, interrogative bosses who demanded, "Tell me everything you did wrong." Instead, he started repeating himself.
"Is that something you should say in front of others?"
You lunatic, you already said that earlier... Still, since she did have a share of the blame, Chloe grit her teeth and answered.
"...My apologies. I will correct it."
"...I hope you do not repeat the same mistake in the future."
"Yes." That was what she had intended to say. Truly.
But as Chloe stood in the Finance Department garden at ease, a sudden thought struck her. But you know what, Your Grace? Is this really how you should be lecturing the Grand Duchess you supposedly married out of love?
In the past, Chloe would have swallowed all her words. This was the military, where rank was everything, and Chloe was merely a Warrant Officer. The crazy bastard throwing a fit in front of her wore stars on his shoulders, while she did not. But.
"I have something to say."
"...Speak."
The situation had changed. Chloe now possessed something that trumped any number of stars.
"Brigadier General Berk."
His purple eyes widened. Did he have any idea that Chloe had originally intended to tack "you crazy bastard" onto the end of "Brigadier General Berk"?
Striving to remain as calm as possible, she asked, "Is that any way for you to speak to me?"
"...Warrant Officer?"
The man's voice was thick with bewilderment. Regardless, Chloe shifted her weight, standing with a cocky, uneven stance. She unclasped her hands from her back and crossed her arms.
"Curtis Shan Berk shall regard Chloe Amboise as his superior and treat her with the utmost respect."
"..."
"I believe that was one of the conditions of our marriage."
The man was now utterly speechless. Chloe narrowed her eyes.
"Am I wrong?"
Since she wasn't wrong, he kept his mouth shut and stared blankly at her. Instead of waiting for an answer, she called his name.
"Curtis."
"..."
"Curtis Shan Berk. Unlike you, I may be blunt, but I have manners. So I won't make you kneel here."
Heuuugh...
A groan that did not match his exceedingly beautiful face escaped his lips. He had to be flabbergasted. In all his life, had he ever heard someone tell him in the middle of the royal castle, "Hey, you're rude and classless, but I'm letting you off easy because I'm nice"?
"You agreed to grant me three requests no matter what, didn't you?"
Indeed, there was such a clause.
"If Chloe Amboise makes a demand invoking the contract, Curtis Shan Berk is obligated to accept any request up to three times within the contract period."
After a long silence, Curtis nodded reluctantly. Chloe beamed.
"I'm going to use one today."
At eighteen, she had joined the military solely for the steady paycheck, but that didn't mean Chloe had fit in perfectly from the start. The rigid vertical hierarchy was incredibly infuriating, and life after being deployed to her unit was far worse than her recruit training days. Seeing Chloe groan every night over the endless absurdities of daily military life, Leah had always told her:
"Sis, I know you have a hot temper, but just bear with it. If you hold it in for a moment, everyone can be happy. Even if you're furious and want to blow up, just endure it for now." Of course, after saying that, she would always add, "But I don't want you getting sick from bottled-up anger, so if it's too hard, just quit."
So she had endured. For the sake of her siblings who spoke so sweetly. Once she learned to endure, the military became somewhat bearable—though that was likely just self-rationalization because she had no other choice. But Chloe didn't have to endure anymore. So, she decided not to.
If Leah saw Chloe now, she might be appalled, saying, "You're wasting one of your precious three chances on this?"
But why should I care?
"Two paces forward."
She hadn't expected Curtis to obey so easily. Yet, to her surprise, the man let out a dry chuckle, took a couple of steps forward, and stood right in front of her. She knew he wasn't one to break his word, but she hadn't expected him to be this submissive.
However, Chloe slightly regretted calling him over. He was so tall that she had to look up at him, which ruined the authoritative mood.
"Sit down first."
She gestured with her chin toward a nearby garden bench. The man laughed again in disbelief, then walked over and sat down. Chloe stood before him, crossing her arms.
"There's something I've wanted to say for a while. If you're going to lecture me, shouldn't you stop calling me 'Warrant Officer' this and 'Warrant Officer' that?"
"'You'?"
"What, should I call you 'Your Grace' instead?"
He repeated "You?" with a look of sheer absurdity, so she immediately snapped back before she had to look at his annoying face any longer. For the record, Chloe was benchmarking Curtis Shan Berk—the very man sitting before her. She perfectly mimicked his usual tone, which lacked even a shred of politeness when commanding others. He stiffened for a moment, then began to chuckle softly as if he had lost his mind.
Of course. Anyone would be dumbfounded if the aide they had been scolding just moments ago started pointing fingers and addressing them so casually. Naturally, Chloe wasn't dumbfounded at all. In fact, it felt absolutely fantastic.
With Curtis sitting before her, she mentally browsed through alternative titles for him. The options that flashed through her mind were:
1. Hey.
2. You.
3. You bastard.
All of them were highly appealing, but the downside was that she feared the aftermath. Chloe valued her life, after all. No matter what was written in the contract, grudges were a very real thing in this world. Thus, Chloe settled on the fourth option.
4. Brigadier General.
It was the safest bet.
"Brigadier General."
"..."
"Aren't you going to answer?"
"Please, speak."
Surprisingly, he gave a proper response. There was a hint of amusement in his voice, which Chloe found more relieving than irritating. If the Grand Duke had glared at her with a fierce expression and growled, "Please, speak," Chloe would have thrown the contract out the window and immediately prostrated herself, squeaking, "My apologies?"
"How many years have you been in the service?"
"...It is my twelfth year, but..."
"'But'?"
"I stand corrected. It is my twelfth year."
His lips were tightly pressed together as he spoke. Is this funny to you? Chloe narrowed her eyes and asked with a tilt of her head, "Do you know how long a raw recruit trains before being deployed to their unit?"
"Two months."
"How long has it been since the Brigadier General married me?"
"...Ten days."
"Then practically speaking, we should consider this a training period, shouldn't we?"
"...That is correct."
As Curtis Shan Berk spoke, his gaze drifted downward. He seemed to have a rough idea of where she was going with this. Or perhaps he was just playing along.
"The reason there is a training period is because everyone knows raw recruits are bound to make mistakes. In that sense, did the Brigadier General not expect me to make mistakes?"
"..."
"I admit I made a mistake. But couldn't you have just left it at that?"
If Chloe could go back in time to the moment she drafted the contract, she would give her past self a double thumbs-up. Hey. Great job.
"You were the one begging me to marry you, and now you're nagging me like this over one little mistake? How am I supposed to enjoy married life under these conditions?"
"My apologies."
"Brigadier General. Do you love me?"