I Healed my Husband, the Leader of the Underworld

“If Your Excellency is keeping my daughter out of obligation, I understand. Fortunately, my daughter is not pregnant, so she won’t bother Your Majesty with any useless heir issues.”

 

Siegfried looked calm. So calm, in fact, that it frightened me.

 

The Kelvermess; I thought.

 

In that moment, I remembered the contraceptive medicine I had taken.

 

I remembered the look on his face when I told him I didn’t want to have children that day.

 

I also remembered the touch of his hand when he caressed me then.

 

If the issue was that there’s no child in my womb, Siegfried might change his mind at any time and make me stop taking contraceptives. I didn’t know what would happen in the future, but if I were to end up with a connection with Roam that I couldn’t cut off for the rest of my life, then…

 

The soles of my shoes, which were slowly brushing against the floor, came to a stop.

 

“Isn’t that funny?” Siegfried replied as he moved his fork and knife in an all-too-aristocratic manner. “I never truly imagined it. That Milena would actually leave this place, I mean.”

 

“…….”

 

“Then, let me ask you this, Your Grace.”

 

I glanced at the man as he stared at the Marquis and spoke in a dry voice.

 

“Yesterday, you said that there was no longer any external reason for Milena to stay here, and I fully understand that. …But why do you seem to think I am trying to keep my wife tied to Roam?”

 

He wasn’t even looking at me, but as I listened to his words, I felt like I was melting under his scorching gaze.

 

“That’s….”

 

The marquis couldn’t answer.

 

At this point, it seemed necessary to change the subject, so I spoke up.

 

“Honey,” I said, forcing myself to look at my reflection on the plate in front of me.

 

My face was as pale as ever.

 

And although I couldn’t see Siegfried’s face, I noticed from the corner of my eye that his hand, which was about to reach for a glass of wine, had stopped.

 

‘Honey,’ what a strange thing to say.

 

“…Lancel is here with us today.”

 

With a clang, the fork Lancel was holding fell to the floor. Then a few seconds later, Siegfried’s voice was heard.

 

“Yes.”

 

“You were thoughtful because we had guests coming, weren’t you?” I turned my head to look into the man’s eyes, however Siegfried was not looking at me.

 

“I thought you might like it,” he answered, finally turning his gaze towards me, and my body trembled. “Do you dislike it?”

 

“No.” I shook my head in response, and his expression softened.

 

Thank goodness. Judging by his words, it seemed that he didn’t call Lancel here because of the note the child gave me.

 

I forced the corners of my mouth up to smile at him. As he scrutinized my face, I reached out and gently covered his hand with mine. Our different skin tones touched. The feeling was somewhat unfamiliar.

 

Touching him always felt strange and unfamiliar to me.

 

“And also.” I cautiously spoke to him, “Please… be a little kinder to father.”

 

“…….”

 

“I like it when you’re kind to those I care about,” I said, noticing that my cautious hand had eventually covered his completely.

 

“Is that so?” His voice was heard.

 

“Yes.”

 

I gently stroked his hand, caressing the back of it as if petting a wild beast’s back. Even though I was just touching his hand, my breath quickened slightly. He remained silent and I didn’t dare look at his face.

 

I bit my bottom lip as my hand slipped away and my gaze locked on his face. He stared at my lips for a long time. And when he finally looked away, I let out a long sigh, trying to forget the heat that had burned in his blue eyes.

 

“Roam needs Milena.”

 

Siegfried’s clean, polite voice came soon afterward.

 

The Marquis had a bewildered expression on his face.

 

He blinked several times before agreeing, “It seems so.”

 

“It does,” he repeated, looking at Bartholomew. “Don’t you think so?”

 

I couldn’t see Bartholomew’s face, who was sitting next to me, but judging by the way his hand was moving more slowly than before, it seemed like he was also deep in thought.

 

“…Yes.”

 

“Thank you,” I said, turning to meet Bartholomew’s gaze for a long time  before moving my gaze to look at the food.

 

It didn’t look much different than when it was first placed in front of me. It seemed I had been too preoccupied with everything around me.

 

I should eat; I thought to myself.

 

After all, people need to eat to live.

 

I tried to move the fork and knife in my hand, but………

 

“I also like being kind to people I care about.”

 

My hands trembled at Siegfried’s voice.

 

“….”

 

“…So, Lancel is doing well, isn’t he? I heard he’s been doing many impressive things lately.”

 

From the look on his face, it didn’t seem like he was being sarcastic.

 

“Yes,” I replied in a nonchalant tone before turning back to the food.

 

But then he asked…..

 

“By the way…..why did you use my lighter?”

 

Time seemed to stand still for a moment. In that instant, I thought of many things.

 

My husband’s oil lighter snug in my hand.

 

The note burning brightly in the fireplace.

 

The things….Traces that I thought I had perfectly hidden.

 

“That’s……”

 

Clang.

 

With a loud noise, the fork and knife that slipped from my hand clashed on the plate.

 

My breath got stuck in my throat.

 

My reaction was intense.

 

Too intense.

 

I felt my heart pounding uncontrollably, unable to hide the sense of impending doom on my face. I needed to say something, but my mouth wouldn’t open.

 

About half a fist in size. Small enough to fit in one hand. Something to hide under the mattress. Something that I burned and had to be kept secret. The sender’s identity was written on that paper, and the contents were something he shouldn’t know.

 

There weren’t many reasons for someone to contact me secretly, and the most likely one was the topic that had just come up at the table. If even I could figure this out, surely he would too.

 

“So….”

 

“Your hand,” he cut me off as he gently took my hand and looked at it. “Is your hand okay?”

 

Siegfried’s blue eyes scanned me, and his concerned expression seemed so genuine that I couldn’t say a word.

 

Fortunately, nothing much happened after that. Siegfried let go of my hand, looked at my plate, and asked again,

 

“Why aren’t you eating? Do you not like the food?”

 

At his words, the faces of the cooks standing quietly in the corner darkened.

 

Oh no;  I thought as I hastily nodded, trying to comfort them.

 

“Please, eat comfortably.”

 

His voice, as if knowing everything, made my hand tremble. He then looked at me as he placed soft and easily digestible food like mashed potatoes on my plate. His actions resembled the gentleness of a large wolf nudging a reluctant mate towards a shared prey, momentarily easing my tension.

 

He ate elegantly and perfectly, intermittently observing how much I ate. …Did he put poison in it? When my thoughts veered that way, he shifted the conversation towards my family and slowed the pace of his meal.

 

It seemed like he was pouring all his attention into the conversation, but as soon as I emptied my plate, he would refill it with another serving. It strangely felt like he was being considerate, wanting me to eat slowly and as much as I could.

 

Lancel looked at me with a strange, respectful gaze throughout the whole meal. It was an emotion I never expected from that little beast. While I could speculate that he highly regarded my attempt to destroy evidence using the lighter, It still felt weird.

 

Then, I glanced briefly at Siegfried. Whenever he decides to become the ever-so-gallant and respected ‘Lord Roam,’ hiding his true nature, he becomes an extremely refined and excellent gentleman. He could easily be touted as an impressive young man with a favorable impression.

 

He was well-informed about Rochester’s business, and by sharing his opinions on the intricate topics brought up by the Marquis, he became an excellent conversationalist. Eventually, he took the lead in steering the conversation. Even Bartholomew seemed to listen attentively, suggesting how adept Siegfried was at handling people.

 

I myself was filled with curiosity.

 

About his true intentions in keeping me here, and why pretended not to know what happened this morning… What did he really want?

 

As Siegfried’s gaze, previously directed elsewhere, slowly turned towards me, I quickly shifted my gaze to the nearly empty plate in front of me.

 

I didn’t want to eat more, and thought that If I ate a little slower, perhaps he wouldn’t offer more food, so I gently poked at a small bean beside a piece of meat with my fork.

 

“Clear your schedule for today,” he suddenly said.

 

I turned to him as I ate the bean on the end of my fork.

 

“Huh?”

 

His sophisticated smile seemed to dispel all thoughts from my mind. When I came to my senses, I found myself nodding to his words

 

“Good,” he replied and resumed his conversation with the Marquis.

 

What just happened?

 

Bewildered, I absentmindedly stared at plate, before lifting my head to see Jane entering my field of vision.

 

She looked a bit downcast; I wondered why.

 

Well, I did have a hunch, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

***

 

 

When Jane felt tired of what she had, she usually spent her time looking out the window.

 

She turned her head to the outside world, the one she could never reach. The sunlight touched her crimson hair, making the edges of her hair look faint, and her green eyes looked distant and vulnerable.

 

When I went to see Jane the next day, she was sitting quietly by the window, staring out. If it were any other day, she would have come running to me with sparkling eyes as soon as she heard I was coming, but today, she was unusually quiet.

 

Today, she just sat on the marble stool by the large window, hugging her knees.

 

I sat down next to her as if I didn’t know anything.

 

The marble was cold.

 

“It’s truly a rare beautiful day. The sunlight is nice, and with the rain, the ground will be fertile.”

 

The conversation started with something mundane.

 

With the weather.