Aiden shrugged without insisting on the meal recommendation, relieved that he could comfortably eat without paying attention to her.
Bang. The loud closing of the door clearly revealed the discomfort of the lady.
‘I hope this lady won’t bother me anymore.’
He thought as he carefully surveyed the living room. It felt like returning after a long absence, even though he had only been away for a few days.
The warm feel of wooden walls, furniture handmade by his grandfather, and muslin curtains crafted with his mother’s meticulous sewing.
The early moon and young branches visible through the white curtains seemed to greet him.
Compared to the noble houses he passed in the capital, this home was modest. Perhaps that’s why the lady referred to it as a barn.
‘But to me, this is a palace.’
Despite the inconvenience of a new roommate, he tried to focus on the joy of returning to the home he missed.
‘Tonight, shall I have smoked ham with buttered potatoes?’
In his haste to return to the capital for a meal, he almost missed the planting season. To reap a bountiful harvest, he needed to diligently sow the remaining seeds before the weather warmed up.
He resolved to prepare a hearty dinner for the upcoming labor scheduled for tomorrow.
At that moment, a high-pitched scream echoed from upstairs.
“Aaak, what’s wrong with my face!”
Aiden stopped stretching after hearing a strange noise. Now that he thought about it, there was a large mirror in his mother’s room.
Upon hearing the scream echoing from below the stairs, he realized she must have seen the smeared makeup on her face through that mirror.
The reason Aiden had been finding it hard to suppress his laughter at Anje’s appearance was precisely because of the state of her face.
“Sir Aiden! Water, bring it right away!”
“…Too bothersome.”
“Water!”
He had to play along for today only. He reminded himself of his grandfather’s teachings and trudged down the stairs.
Anyway, this damn royal family always brought him trouble.
“Aren’t you coming soon?”
He decided to add honey to the dinner menu.
***
This was the first time Anje had experienced such humiliation. She couldn’t get out of the doorway and couldn’t get up from the floor.
And now this.
“Princess, this is a basin. It’s a tool for holding water.”
“…”
“Oh, right, and this is water. It cleans your face…”
“I know that much.”
Anje brushed away Aiden’s hand, who was slowly writing the word “water” on her palm.
“Is that so? You’ve been standing there in a daze since a while ago, so I thought a noble like you wouldn’t know about country water.”
“I told you I know.”
At the mansion, someone would always wash her even if she just stood there, so it was just a habit that stuck with her.
Anje filled her hands with water and roughly wiped away the remaining makeup on her face.
Pat pat-
The cold water on her face made her feel much better. Anje lifted her clean face and looked up at the empty space again.
“The towels are in this cabinet. If you need more soap, it’s in the left-most closet across the hallway.”
‘Oh, right, I need to dry my face with a towel.’
Anje, who was dripping water, snatched the towel he handed her.
It was awkward to do everything that someone else used to do for her.
“I’ll be in the kitchen on the first floor, so call me if you need anything.”
“Wait!”
Aiden, who was about to leave the room, slowly turned around.
“What else do you need?”
“…”
Anje couldn’t finish her sentence and brought her fingers to her lips. Since she had taken off her gloves and the lipstick she had on was also gone, there was no problem biting her bare nails as she always did.
There had been many humiliations today, but what she was about to say was the most humiliating of all.
“Princess?”
At his voice, which seemed to be filled with frustration, Anje finally brought herself to say what she had been wanting to say.
“Clothes.”
“Yes?”
“I need… help taking off my clothes.”
Her face flushed again, but she couldn’t help it. The layers of clothing she was wearing were impossible to take off by herself because of the ties at the back.
“Usually a maid would help me, but there are none here.”
She added that explanation, hoping to convey that she would never have asked for his help with this kind of thing otherwise.
Aiden, who had looked somewhat embarrassed, quickly changed his expression and replied.
“Oh, yes.”
Even if he didn’t make a face like he hated being asked to do this, he would at least feel a little sorry for not having a maid.
He gestured towards her.
“Let’s go to your room, then.”
“Yes? Oh, now? …Yes.”
She hadn’t meant that she wanted to take it off right now, but the tight fabric and ties were uncomfortable. Anje walked along, bumping her dress here and there.
‘Annie, Sophie. I miss you.’
In this situation, the maids who had been treated casually suddenly felt missed. She realized too late how valuable they were.
“If you turn around, I’ll quickly loosen the strings.”
At Aiden’s instruction, Anje slowly turned her body. In the mirror, she saw herself, helpless, surrendering her body to Aiden.
‘Though I’ve realized it again, the prettier the dress, the more uncomfortable it is.’
The dresses worn by noble ladies, including Anje, typically required a complicated sequence to put on.
First, a light and thin chemise, followed by the corset over it. Then, a few maids would unmercifully pull the strings at the back.
Once the corset was satisfyingly tightened, a tent-like crinoline petticoat was secured around the waist.
Layering at least two skirts on top of it, they concealed the bumpy wire structure so that it wouldn’t be visible. Afterward, they would put on the bodice, a robe, and the neck ornament, a bertha.
Anje’s corset, particularly tight to emphasize her slender waist, made undressing even more uncomfortable.
‘Even if it’s him, asking a man I’ve just met to undress me is a bit…’
If her last nanny, Marianne, had witnessed such behavior, she would have found it scandalous and probably sought a cudgel—the very same cudgel she had cut into pieces and used as a fire poker.
‘Well, we are a married couple now.’
‘Wait, could it be that they have to consummate the marriage tonight? Is it happening right now?’
She looked at her index finger, which was bitten and bruised.
“Excuse me, sir… are we going to use this room…?”
“No.”
He answered curtly without a moment’s hesitation.
“You won’t have to share a room with me, so don’t worry.”
Anje sighed in relief, making sure he couldn’t hear her. Not only his words, but also the expression on his face reflected in the mirror was dry and hard, showing no sign of desire.
In fact, he was too busy concentrating on untying the complicated knots with his thick fingers to have any lascivious feelings.
‘Why do nobles always wear such complicated clothes? It looks so uncomfortable.’
He wondered for a moment, but he focused more on not ruining the fabric. He was more eager to get away from her and rest alone.
Anje recalled the warnings her former tutors had given her. They said that men turn into beasts when they are alone with a woman, but he seemed to be a herbivore.
‘Or maybe he just hates me.’
She prayed in her heart that he would continue to hate her.
“I’m done.”
As soon as he curtly declared and disappeared out the door, Anje quickly took off her layers of clothes and threw them on the floor. Now she finally felt like she could breathe freely.
Anje, dressed in a chemise and drawers, lay sprawled on the bed, a belated worry surfacing in her mind.
‘What am I going to do when I have to put on clothes again?’
She didn’t want to ask him to help her dress. To do that, she would have to show him this chemise outfit.
But she couldn’t go on without wearing clothes either.
Anje, continuing her fruitless worrying, buried her face in the pillow and cried out in a muffled voice.
“I really, really hate this place!”
She hated this house, Aiden Fitzroy, and most of all, herself for not being able to get away from here.
It was a futile hope, but she wished someone would come and rescue her. Like a prince who comes to rescue a princess locked up in a castle.
Anje sobbed for a while and then fell asleep, exhausted by fatigue and hunger.
***
It was early dawn, just as the sun was beginning to rise. Aiden woke up abruptly at the loud noise coming from outside his room door.
“…What is it?”
He couldn’t be sure because he was half asleep, but it sounded like someone was banging around and falling to the floor.
‘It can’t be a thief, but I’ll check just in case.’
He got out of bed quietly and took out the pistol from the drawer.
Matching the sound of footsteps running towards him, he slowly loaded the gun and raised it to shoulder height.
Bang!
“What the hell is that horrible sound, oh! Don’t shoot!”
The person who burst into his room raised his hands at the sight of the gun pointed at him.
Aiden slowly lowered the gun and sighed.
“What’s going on?”
The one who ran in with a loud noise was the ‘new bride’ whose existence he had momentarily forgotten. Her hair was disheveled and her face was pale, but it was a familiar face after all.
“Why the gun… .”
“Isn’t it stranger for an ex-soldier not to have a gun?”
In order to protect himself in case of an unforeseen event, he always kept a gun in his bedroom and living room.
Whether she showed signs of trembling or not, he urged her to answer.
“What’s going on anyway? Making all that noise since dawn.”
“I hear a strange noise outside, what is it?”
“A strange noise?”
Aiden raised his eyebrows. A strange noise.
On cue, a rooster crowed loudly outside.
Cock-a-doodle-doo!
“That’s it, that’s the sound! I’ve never heard such a sound in my life!”
He stared at her silently and then gave her the answer in a quiet voice.
“Rooster.”
“Yes?”
“The sun is up and the rooster is crowing.”
