I Healed my Husband, the Leader of the Underworld

[Thank you so much, Arwendolyn, for the Kofi.]

“Maypool, Sylvinaire, Verelotte Lega and….” Andrew Harrison listed as he stared at Siegfried’s handsome profile before adding, “Ah yes, and Kelvermess.”

With a firm grip on the trigger of his gun, Siegfried made a loud bang echo, making Harrison’s eardrums throb.

It was a hit.

Next, Siegfried’s hand, still wrapped around the revolver, slowly moved down, and Harrison took a deep breath as he remarked:

“It’s a very strong contraceptive.”

“Is that so?” the man responded with an unchanged expression, but Harrison could read the underlying sarcasm from the slightly raised corners of his lips.

“Yes. It’s strong enough to hurt the lady’s body, but it sure is effective.”

“All right,” Siegfried only said before focusing his gaze on the revolver once again. Soon, a second bullet struck the center of the distant target.

“Your Excellency.”

At Harrison’s call, Siegfried turned his head to look at him.

“I believe it would be advisable for you and the lady to use separate chambers tonight.”

“…….”

“Forgive my indiscretion, but in order to optimize the effects of  the Kelvermess herb, it is imperative to abstain from sexual contact for at least 24 hours after consumption…”

“Oh,” Siegfried’s smile deepened. “And what happens in the opposite scenario?”

“If the contrary were to happen….” Harrison’s throat tightened. “Rather…”

When Siegfried heard the hesitation in the aide’s voice, his cold blue eyes fixed Harrison, prompting him to hastily continue,

“… It will result in the man fertilizing the woman’s body since she will be in her most vulnerable state. Of course, there’s still a chance the drug might work, but ultimately….”

Suddenly, a low chuckled echoed, cutting Harrison’s words short. The laughter was so unexpectedly cheerful, it made him flinch.

“Harrison,” Siegfried then called. “I want a cigar.”

“Yes.”

Quickly pulling an iron case from the neat jacket he had been holding, Harrison handed a cigar to his master. He then took out a well-drained oil lighter from his own inner pocket and ignited it.

 At the same time, a fierce flame came out of the lighter, burning the cigar’s tip, before it disappeared into Harrison’s inner pocket once again.

* * *

“Milena!”

Before the meal, Jane came to visit me one more time.

 She was standing at the door, looking like a child who had been caught stealing candies. Seeking for forgiveness.

“I really had no idea,” she confessed.

“What?”

“I can understand that you no longer want to hang out with me. God, I must have looked so stupid,” Jane continued, lowering her head.

It seemed she was talking about me saying I wanted to rest, and closing the door on her earlier today.

“You were going on a date with my brother, and I was being so thoughtless,” she explained.

“Oh….”

Date?

Jane really had the talent to make even ordinary words sound weird.

The words that just flew out of her lips strike me in the strangest way.

“I’m so sorry for intruding. If brother hadn’t been less lenient than usual and took me with him, I probably wouldn’t be able to lift my head in front of you right now! I just thought it would be nice if we all went out together. Are you angry?”

She looked at me with pleading, shining eyes.

 Even if, by some chance, I was truly angry with Jane for the reason she just mentioned, I would have already forgiven her by now.

Her eyes begging for mercy looked so innocent, and her tense lower lip, curled inward, was utterly lovely.

“Not in the sightless,” I finally answered.

Upon hearing my words, Jane let out a small sigh of relief.

 And when she asked if she could come in for a while, I nodded and let her in.

As I listened to her usual chatter, seated in front of the tea table, I couldn’t help but think that if this voice had been present in the quiet carriage, the outing might have left a more pleasant memory.

I settled into my seat, ready to adjust the fold of my dress, but a chill suddenly crept over me.

It was because of the teapot still resting on the table.

“Ugh, the scent is so bitter!” Jane exclaimed, after lifting the teapot’s lid and trying to smell the content, only to back off with a frown.

“How can Milena drink something like this? Ugh, I respect your taste, but this is definitely not to my liking,” she remarked.

“I share your sentiment,” I muttered, gazing at the herbal concoction in the strainer where a crimson swirl akin to blood was being drained.

“… I’ll be trying it for the first time today.”

Then, I swiftly snatched the lid from her hands and put it back where it belonged, concealing the unsightly medicine that had been revealed, back into the darkness.

“it’s not a smell I’d like to enjoy every day, “I added with a smile as Jane stared at me.

.

.

.

In order to get rid of the tea’s bitterness, I drank a lot of wine during dinner.

As always, Roam’s cooking was exquisite.

 Various dishes, centered around a well-roasted lamb complemented by fresh vegetables, and delicately cooked sea bass radiated beneath the shimmering light of the chandelier.

The cutlery neatly lined up next to the plates, seemed more like artworks than mere dinning utensils.

The delicate craftsmanship of beautifully burning candles, placed in silver candlesticks, drew my attention as the sound of Jane’s lively chatter filled the dining hall.

And as I was searching for something that didn’t sparkle in this place, my eyes fell on the phoenix ornament adorning the large serving-soup spoon.

Who the hell decorates a ladle with rubies? I asked myself.

Staring intently into the phoenix’s ruby eyes, I took a sip of my wine.

Amid my contemplation, I overheard Jane beg her brother to host a ball in Roam one day; she was also persistently asking when her debutante would finally take place.

Due to her health issues, Jane has not been able to make her debut even though she was now nineteen.

“How wonderful it would be if others could come to Roam’s beautiful mansion! Don’t you think so too, Milena? Please, help me convince my brother… isn’t it a shame that only us know about this place? It’s too big for only three people to live in.”

Jane looked at me with her hands clasped together, causing Siegfried’s to also glance in my direction.

And I, who was having a staring contest with that phoenix head spoon, was caught off guard by the sudden attention, and looked at them with surprised eyes.

After listening to Jane’s fervent plea for support, I took another sip of my wine, thinking about what I should do next,

“…I’ll give it a try.”

“Not under my roof,” Siegfried replied sternly before turning his attention back to the food.

 My body trembled at the coercive answer.

Did my opinion not matter to him at all?

He bought me all those jewelries today, but it was obviously just to make sure I can’t leave.

It wasn’t because I had some importance.

I thought we had an unspoken deal, but he and I were obviously not on equal footing.

The reality struck me so strongly.

I wasn’t a useful partner; I was nothing more than a useful toy.

So naturally, there was no place for my opinions in this house.

With a sullen face, Jane sank into her seat, directing her pent-up frustration towards the lamb on tonight’s diner table. The furious slicing seemed to threaten not only the tender meat, but also the very plate itself.

However, there’s no way her weak arms could achieve such feat.

“About the ball….”I told Siegfried.

And as his gaze turned to me, the impact of the considerable amount of alcohol I ingurgitated went straight to my head.

 I had been indulging myself because I liked the aroma, but it seemed the wine had a significant alcohol percentage.

Nevertheless, I persisted, “I’m perfectly capable of handling the ball without any difficulty.”

As Roam’s hostess.

I forced myself to swallow those final words, and my restrained lips trembled.

“That’s right!” Jane, who had raised her voice, shifted her gaze from Siegfried to me; the playfulness faded from her face.

“I know how to do that much,” I added.

I felt weird.

Perhaps because of my drunkenness, the words that I had always kept to myself easily escaped my lips, unfiltered.

And I didn’t understand why, but claiming to him that my efforts could benefit Roam left me with a sense of inferiority.

“I know,” Siegfried finally replied. His answer was decisive and cold.

“It’s something you’ve been preoccupied with for the past two years, so I’m sure you know how to do it too well.”

“…….”

“But still……” he trailed off as his meticulous hands slowly cut the lamb’s flesh, the shiny knife looking particularly sharp.

“Not under my roof. Not in Roam.”

Then, his fork slowly plunged into the delicate meat.

“I cannot promise I won’t ruin Jane’s debutante,” he added.

Blood gushed out of the three distinct holes he made in the meat.

And only then did his blue eyes looked at me.

So, under Jane’s confused gaze, I slowly put my fork and knife down and quietly headed upstairs.

‘You’ve been socializing so hard that you’ve caught eye with another guy, haven’t you?’

His voice rang in my head.

“Madam, is there anything you need?”

“I don’t feel good.”

I walked past the crowd of handmaids and looked at the daunting door before me.

I stood there for a long time.

I wanted to go in, slam the door shut and bury my head in the bed, but the bedroom I’m currently using wasn’t even mine entirely.

The bed sheets probably smelled like Siegfried.

Then my gaze shifted to the room. The room that sometimes, even though I was married to him, made me feel like a guest in Roam.

The overwhelming sense of solitude in this grand, and luxurious place had always weighted on me.

It made me look small in my own eyes.

Taking a deep breath, I wanted to walk toward the damn room.

But, at that moment, someone else’s footsteps echoed behind me.

I was afraid to look back when I heard the maids quickly stepping aside.

“Open it,” an imperious voice commanded, making me flinch.

Then, I heard the maids move again to swinging the tightly closed door open, and soon the heavy footsteps passed by me.

What would happen if I were to walk in there?

Siegfried might try to coax me, or perhaps he would torture me over that crush I had who didn’t even exist, like he just did in the dining room.

 He might take me in his arms, lay me on the bed, and do as he please with my body.

In accordance with his whims.

“Come here,” the man said sweetly, extending his hand towards me.

 Although his voice was much softer now, ultimately it was no different from the order he gave to the maids earlier.

I looked straight into his blue eyes, and replied, “I don’t want to.”

“…….”

“Even if you fill a carriage with jewels and scatter them at my feet.”

I couldn’t understand.

“I don’t want to.”

Just as he asked, I obediently lived as Roam’s mistress for two years.

When he said he didn’t want children, I accepted it.

I stayed up for so many nights, practicing over and over again, because I didn’t want to be looked down upon by people I didn’t even know.

I didn’t want to look shabby by showing up at balls without my husband, so I made efforts to change, to the point of tearing myself apart, just so that no one could ignore me.

Moreover, I didn’t just learn a completely new language; I worked my ass off to acquire specialized knowledge through it, and healing powers blossomed at my fingertips.

I nurtured and raised the child he had neglected with my own hands.

I became his sister’s confidante.

Yes, the price I had to pay to survive was high, but I strived to become a capable individual.

I held my ground and bore the weight of Roam’s prestigious name.

“I’m Roam’s Mistress,” I declared.

So, if the reward I received, for being competent, was Roam’s beautiful leash……

“Not your dog.”

I was going to refuse it.

It wasn’t just an act of defiance.

Simply put, I knew that I was useful to him.

Useful enough for him to follow me here.

And now, after two years, with this confirmation, words would finally find their way out of my mouth.