'…he's my h-husband!'
'I must be crazy, what was I thinking saying that out loud!' Ariellia didn't have enough courage to face anyone at the moment. Her shameful words keep replaying in her head as she storms into the castle. She's so distracted with her own mental tongue lashing that she doesn't resist when her maids begin to undress her. Hunting monsters in the forest is dirty business even for those in the rear. Her pink night gown looks no different than the tattered rags of a street child. Her maids don't hesitate to throw it into a bin for later disposal.
They direct her towards the bathroom where she's surprised to see a warm bath already drawn up for her use. Her worries and shame are easily forgotten as their talented hands knead and message her skin with soap and scented oils. All the tension from before was completely released, leaving her in a moderately relaxed state where she can finally analyze the series of events so far. A lot of unexpected events keep popping up ever since she decided to visit Anya in the dungeon. It could be a difference in narrative because she's not just a player seeing things one dimensionally through the protagonist's lens. Perhaps some of the things she's currently experiencing happened off script for Ariellia, but players never got to see it.
Still, players never encountered Jasper until much later in the game when leveling gets harder. David wasn't an ever-present character like he is now. His absence is one of the reasons why his fiefdom fell to ruin. It's clear to her now that if the duke had been present Ariellia would never have died the way she did in the game. No, the likely change in flow to the story is probably all due to Eren's choices. Rei would have kept his distance if she hadn't roped in Clad to go monster hunting with her, causing distasteful rumors of infidelity to start circulating town. Jasper likely wouldn't have taken an interest in her if Rei had remained distant and cold towards her.
In the end a lot has changed but the danger to her life is still present. The monster march will happen soon. She needs to get Duke Garrod to beef up security around the dutchy so even if he is absent, they might have a chance. Nodding her head in conclusion to herself, she gets out of the bath and puts on a robe. She's absentmindedly drying her hair when she bumps into a sturdy chest. Startled, the towel slips from her hand as she stares up to meet equally shocked red eyes. Husband and wife gap at each other, frozen in place by the unexpected encounter.
Arie only comes to her senses when she feels a cool draft on her bare skin, causing her to unconsciously shiver. Rei sees this and reflexively reaches out to help but his sudden movement leaves Arie in a panicked state. She suddenly becomes very aware of her current nakedness underneath her bath robe. Her face heats up for the second time today, in a moment of blind panic she rushes right back into the bathroom, slamming the heavy door behind her.
"I didn't mean to startle you." Rei's deep voice travels through the heavy wood, making it seem like he's right behind her.
"…" Arie bites her lip, in a small uncertain voice she asks, "Why are you here?"
"I will be sleeping here tonight."
"What!" His response takes her by surprise, so much so that she forgets her shyness and slams the door back open just to confirm it. "What do you mean by your statement just now?"
Rei looks startled by her sudden animated reaction, his lips twitch as though he's trying to hold back a laugh.
"I promised your father that I would take my duties as your husband more seriously. It's unheard of for a married couple to sleep in two separate rooms."
"True, but lots of noble couples do it." She's unsure if this is true but based on her high school memories of European world history it should be. There were many cases of arranged marriages between families based on politics rather than affection. Conjugal nights were arranged ahead of time while couples slept in separate rooms most of the time. She wants to protest more but the odd look of doubt in Rei's eyes sounds off warning bells. The real Arie would be jumping for joy if such an offer was given to her on a silver platter. If she wants to stay in character, she can't be too resistant to this change in arrangement.
"What I mean to say is this is so sudden, I didn't even get the maids to prepare your things. Where will you sleep?" She silently lights a candle for herself in her heart, praying he would be a proper gentleman and refrain from saying the bed.
"I'll sleep on the couch over there, that shouldn't be too intrusive for you." Maybe he's being merciful, or a higher power was listening in on her silent pleas. At least for tonight she managed to avoid the awkward situation of lying in bed with another man.
"You should put something on, it gets chilly at night. I wouldn't want you to catch a cold." His timely reminder once again made her aware of her bare legs and exposed chest. She promptly runs into her closet to find a new set of clothes. It's oddly suspicious that her two personal maids suddenly went missing in her hour of need. The two overthinking elves probably thought they were doing her a favor by letting this embarrassing moment play out. Huffing at their devious schemes, she ruffles through her nightgowns with growing alarm. She blinks twice, not believing her eyes. Each nightgown appearing more exotic and skimpier than the last. Where did all her decent gowns go! She can't go out wearing any of these thirst traps with Rei in the room.
'You can do it m'lady!'
Oh Miranda, she can just imagine the sweet older maid winking at her in support. The kind old maid was clearly trying to help her mistress successfully consummate her marriage in secret.
'Should I laugh or cry."
Ariellia stood there stumped on her next course of action. The first ten gowns were so shocking she dare not dig any further into her newly transformed closet. In the end, she chose the least revealing one she could find. A short silk slip, exposing her full chest, held together by strings on the sides, revealing her low back and shapely hips. Thoroughly embarrassed, she could only aim to hide herself from Rei. Taking a deep breath, she throws the door to her closet open and rushes for the bed like a cannonball. Upon landing, she quickly rolls herself into a human croissant, her amethyst eyes shyly peeking out towards the couch.
'Did he see?'
In fact, he did see, her elvan speed at her current level was nothing compared to Rei's keen eyesight. He'd gotten an eye full of her plump butt and chest jiggling as she raced over to the bed. His lips wouldn't stop twitching, finding it hard not to laugh at her cute antics. To preserve her pure mind, he had to keep a straight face and feign ignorance. Reclining back into the couch, he placed a random book over his face, trying to hide the full smile on his lips. Why is his wife so damn cute?