I Healed my Husband, the Leader of the Underworld

Thank you, Sophie and oolives, for the kofi😁.

 

 

On the day of the wedding vows, Siegfried stood up, looked down at Milena who was sitting in a chair, and slowly caressed her chin.

Milena’s eyes, looking up at him, were innocent and round like a gentle cat, and a serene smile graced her lips, thinking she had finally gotten the person she desired.

“Wife,” he called her in a languid voice, and said, “There’s something you need to promise me.”

His fingers slowly traced across her white neck.

Filled with anticipation at the thought of their imminent union, Milena said she’d do anything he desired. Her eyes were entirely captivated by him, and every single nerve in her body was directed towards the male who was about to be hers.

Milena was completely enamored with Siegfried.

She admired his well-defined muscles that were evident under his plain shirt and waistcoat, the veins that popped on his arms with every movement and his strong forearms that could be seen because of the rolled-up sleeves of his shirt.

He had an air of elegance mixed with an underlying danger. She couldn’t help but feel an indescribable excitement as she was about to step into his unknown world.

Smiling charmingly, Siegfried stroke her hair, and said,

“First, don’t let anyone into Roam.”

And Milena had followed those rules well.

She became a good wife.

There was no other choice.

In Roam’s mansion, there were no servants or people to cater to Millena’s whim as much as in in the Rochester estate, and her husband had been eagerly awaiting the day of their union.

.

.

“Shh.”

Milena had looked at her husband, who returned covered in blood, with horrified eyes.

She had slowly backed away, her trembling gaze fixed on him, then when her back hit the head of the bed, she looked so startled, her reaction made Siegfried laugh.

.

.

Please, don’t worry. My husband is always affectionate and kind. Spending time with him is so enjoyable, I completely forgot about our family.

Milena’s hand haltered for a moment.

Like a parrot, she had repeated the same words over and over again in her letters, strictly abiding by Siegfried’s rules.

Rules that were meant to dry her to death.

“It’s been two years,” I muttered after I took a deep breath, remembering Milena’s situation in the original storyline.

I, too, had to follow Siegfried’s rules to the letters.

Wasn’t I afraid of breaking them now?

I rubbed the hands I hid under the table against the hem of my dress, and looked at the Marquis of Rochester and Bartholomew, smiling like the real Milena would have.

Well, yes. I am scared.

But even if I’m terrified, I will not follow Siegfried’s orders obediently this time. He will probably be merciful to Jane who had let them into the house, and this might be an opportunity bestowed upon me by heaven, so I won’t let it slip away.

I already knew from the content of the book that I would die even if I listened to him.

“I thought you resented me.”

The conversation continued. Because of Siegfried’s current actions, they started to reconsider what Milena had told them.  They realized they were wrong, and she was right.

“As you said, it really occurred to me that the Duke of Roam might be a devoted husband,” the Marquis of Rochester replied earnestly.

“I deeply regret how we dismissed your intentions as naïve and ignorant. Yes, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime affair, and of course my daughter’s partner should be the best man in the empire. I was mistaken in wanting to marry you to some insignificant person who wouldn’t have the power to do anything against you. I was wrong,” he concluded before looking at Bartholomew.

He then gently nudged him on the side, urging him to say something as he kept his mouth shut.

“There a rumor going around,” he finally said, averting his gaze.

“They are saying Lord Roam has gone mad because of a woman.”

With those words, his red eyes pierced through me.

“At first, I didn’t believe it. I thought you were just trying to arouse people’s interest… by spreading false rumors in social circles. But then I heard about how the Imperial Palace Ball got canceled. Now I can’t doubt your words anymore.”

Like I said, everyone has secrets they don’t want others to know.

“That’s right,” I replied.

For Milena, it was the failure of her marriage.

“How kind of him….” As Bartholomew relentlessly scanned my hidden hand, I calmly lifted my teacup, savoring the warmth of the lukewarm tea on my lips.

The tea pot was perfectly placed, right in the center of the splendid tray.

“Indeed,” I said, hiding my hand under the table once again. “Be nice to me.”

* * *

My husband knew.

Someone from Roam must have already told him the news by now.

Yet, he didn’t rush home.

And that made me even more anxious.

I dumbly invited Milena’s family to stay, but after realizing they were truly good people, unnecessary anxious feelings subsided.

“I was worried. Worried… that’s why. I was afraid you might get hurt. I was afraid that Duke Roam would…. harm my beloved daughter.”

Marquis of Rochester tightly held my hand and bowed his head.

A single teardrop fell on the table.

“I cannot express how relieved and grateful I am to see you happy. I couldn’t ask for more from Him.”

Bartholomew averted his gaze and didn’t say a word, but he seemed to feel the same way.

The second brother didn’t show up, but I never expect him anything from him in the first place. After all, he hated Milena for killing their mother.

I held my breath while waiting for Siegfried. And as the clock continued ticking, I anxiously chewed on my nails. Then, I heard his voice growing closer.

“… Then, let’s do it that way. Step away now.”

I tightly clenched the warm pocket watch in my hand, still holding my breath; and when I heard the door open, I gripped the watch even tighter.

Not immediately realizing thar the flesh of my hand had got stuck in the hinge of my pocket watch, I didn’t feel any pain. I took a deep breath and bit his bottom lip as the sound of his footsteps got closer.

Despite my firm resolve, my body stiffened, and I couldn’t bring myself to look back. But when the creaking sound stopped, I nervously turned around to see where he was, and his arm instantly wrapped around my waist.

When I looked up at him, his alluring blue eyes met mine and without hesitation, he pressed his lips against mine. With one hand he roughly untied his cravat, and with the other he wrapped his arms around my arm and slowly went down.

The hand holding the pocket watch trembled, and since he wouldn’t let me go, the watch soon fell to the ground with a thud before and rolling away.

“How are you doing?”

He seemed to be in a very good mood.

His fingers dug between mine, then he placed my hand on his shirt.

So, of course I tried to withdraw it, but he asked, “What’s wrong?” with a hint of confusion in his voice.

As if he was unaware of everything that happened today.

“My hand….” I replied.

“…….”

Scared of his face that hardened in an instant at my response, I quickly spread my fingers to show him the blood on my bruised palm.

“I didn’t want to dirty your shirt,” I explained.

Everything Siegfried wore always seemed the most noble and refined, so I didn’t dare to touch, let alone soil them.

“Are you hurt?” He lowered his head and whispered into my ear.

“I can heal it….”

“What about me?”

His hand gently cupped my chin.

“Just because your blood was all over it.”

“…….”

“Does that mean I have been dirtied?”

“When are you referring to….” I blurted out, then slowly lowered my head when I saw his smiling face.

“When you looked the most beautiful to me.”

My heart sank at his whispered words, and memories of a particular night flashed through my mind.

“Don’t be afraid,” he murmured as his hand slowly stroke my hair.

He continued to caress my head while locking eyes with me.

“Siegfried.”

As I dared to utter his name, a nice smile hung on his lips.

“Yes.”

“… My brother and father came to visit today.”

“Yes.”

“And Jane let them in.”

“…….”

“And broke the promise….”

Encouraged by the warm touch on my head, I looked straight at his beautiful face and asked:

“Do you… dislike it a lot?”

“I don’t like it,” he replied.

“…….”

“My wife, getting out of my control.”

The hand that had been stroking my hair stopped.

“But like I told you before,” he said soothingly. “I’ll let you do whatever you want now.”

He was surprisingly kind.

“So, act a little more like a villainess. Roam will pay the price.”

He chuckled softly and stepped away.

* * *

Franz Rochester, the second son of the Rochester family, was quite a sharp-tongued critic.

“Just a few weeks ago, the wine she spilled was the talk of the town,” he had said, closing his book.

“After hearing the rumors about how busy her husband was, she couldn’t hold back and poured wine on that woman’s white dress. It became such a scandal that my lovely youngest sister’s incident even reached Rochester’s territory.

He shook his head as if it were unbelievable.

“If there’s anyone who deserves attention for the Imperial Palace Ball’s cancellation, it’s the young lady Loam, not Milena. The Duke cares about his sister a lot.”

.

.

“… I wonder if we came here for nothing after listening to these pointless rumors.” Bartholomew looked toward the door with worried eyes.

Then, lowering his head, he ruffled through his neatly arranged hair. It felt much more comfortable that way.

“I never meant to hurt that child. I promised myself over and over again that when I see her, I’d treat her well without fail.”

“Bartholomew.” The Marquis swept a comforting hand across his sturdy firstborn’s back.

The young man had a desperate look on his face.

“You did your best. Didn’t you give Milena the heartfelt apology you worked so hard on?”

“She didn’t look pleased at all.”

“…….”

” I saw Milena… lose her liveliness for the first time…. I did everything to make her smile, but it all seemed to have come to naught….”

His manly eyebrows twitched and below them, two cold eyes drooped in the shadows.

“I wanted to tell her to come back, but the words wouldn’t come out. What can Rochester do against Roam anyway? What was I doing in Rochester while my sister was turning into a corpse and wasting away here, damn it? That kid … How much resentment she must have held against us? That proud girl, she never even said anything.”

“…….”

“Even if she hated me for the rest of her life, I should have stopped that marriage. Offering a deal to Roam was a mistake. Yet, here I am, unable to do anything….”

“Be careful with your words.”

The Marquis’s low voiced carried a chilling warning.

Shortly after, the parlor’s door opened, revealing two figures.

Instead of a cheerful girl with flowing curls, Milena stood next to her husband, pale, and with her hair neatly pinned up.

And there was Siegfried, the new lord of Roam, whom even the Imperial Family would never dare to sneer at.