Episode 10
My shoulder felt so numb when I found the source of the pain.
“What’s wrong with your hand?”
As I lifted my hand, I could see that it was tightly wrapped in a bandage. I didn’t remember how bad my hand injury was until just now.
“Oh, no.”
The grip was so tight that I thought my hand bones would break.
Rona placed cold packs with cold water on my hand all night because the swelling wasn’t going away quickly.
“It doesn’t matter.”
Even though I said it wasn’t much, it hurt a little. How tight was his grasp?
I looked up at him and gently touched the wrapped hand with my other hand.
He had a confused look on his face, as if he was trying to remember something.
Do you know what you’ve done now?
I held back a laugh that was about to come out and instead looked at his face very carefully.
“Did I really do that?”
He asked with some doubt.
“Maybe…?”
I thought he would jump up and deny it while giving me a look like he’d seen it all, but the feelings on his face were a bit of a surprise.
He looked a little embarrassed and unsure of what to do.
‘Might it be?’
I had a strange feeling that I should act more sad, even though I didn’t want to.
“You know, it hurt a lot.”
I put out my hand to him and shook it.
“Did it break?”
He was surprised, so his eyes widened. Because I was so close, I could see every change in his face.
“No, it didn’t.”
Maybe if he gripped it a little tighter, but nonetheless, the pain is still there.
“But this still hurts.”
My eyes drooped and my face showed a hint of sadness.
I felt his eyes on me and didn’t know what to do.
“Can’t remember, huh?”
I put my chin up and looked him in the eye.
“Why on earth do you squeeze someone’s hand so hard when they say it hurts, then completely forget about it?”
In an instant, the mood changed. The man who had been pushing me against the wall with a lot of force was gone.
In his place was a man who felt very bad about himself because he was embarrassed and ashamed.
‘…Did I go too far?’
Still, he was the one who hurt me so much that I almost passed out.
At that moment, he said things I had never thought I’d hear him say.
“…I apologize.”
Did I misunderstand? Could Amoide have actually said those things?
He roughed up his hair with his big hand.
I knew what that meant, even if we were only a couple in name.
He must feel really bad about himself.
He seemed very uneasy, nervous, and troubled by the fact that he had gotten my help by accident.Then, should I use this to my advantage?
I just stared at him. First, I wanted to make sure I had heard right.
“I didn’t hear it.”
When I put my ear closer to him, he backed away with a disgusted look on his face, as I had expected.
“What’s going on?”
“I told you I wasn’t able to hear you.”
I looked at him with a strong desire to hear what he had to say.
“I apologize. From now on, I’ll be more careful.”
I could see that the area around his cheekbones was getting a little redder.
It was a waste for me to be the only one to make such a beautiful guy blush. I jumped at the chance and whispered.
“If you’re sorry, do you want to take a walk with me?”
A person’s guilt can sometimes be a good reason to move a relationship forward.
—
Amoide and I were walking along the Ifrit Ducal House’s beautiful walkway.
The air was cool and fresh, and the smell of the flowers made me feel even better.
“See, being outside is nice, isn’t it?”
He didn’t answer my question.
He just walked stiffly and tried to keep up with me, but he didn’t show any emotion.
“Come on, since we’re already out here, it wouldn’t hurt to smile a little.”
I complained to myself, but I knew that even this was a huge, huge effort on his part.
But today was the first time, so that was a win in itself.
“Let’s take more walks like this.”
I walked with my arm connected to his as we went.
Of course, I linked arms with the one whose hand was tightly wrapped in a bandage.
When I put my hand on his arm, he couldn’t pull away or shake me off, so he just let me stay there.
He went through it all with a face like a wolf with a collar on.
“Hello, my lord, my lady.”
The people who were tending to the trees in the yard bowed to us and gave each other looks.
They probably had never seen anything like it before, so it was a strange sight for them.
I walked by them with a classy smile on my face.
Even the busy workers looked at us with interested eyes as the maids picked flowers from the garden to decorate the house.
They smiled at us when they saw us, but as soon as they turned away, they talked quietly to each other.
I didn’t need to hear what they were saying to understand what they were talking about.
Selene was a woman who would live if the Madame told her to live, and would die if she was told to die.
The monthly money that was sent to my siblings every month was enough to keep me hostage.
So, I had to abide by Camilla’s will.
Selene couldn’t move anything in this house, not even a single blade of grass.
She was nothing more or less than a tool for making a child.
I felt even worse about the situation after hearing what the maids were saying to each other.
<She’s just a breeding mare; won’t she be kicked out as soon as she has a son?>
<It’d be a miracle if she could even have one.>
<Won’t she be kicked out as soon as she gives birth?>
<Didn’t the Madame gave her a lot of money?>
<Is that true?>
<Do you need to verify it?>
<It is clear. If that weren’t the case, they wouldn’t bring a girl from such a poor family to marry the Duke.>
<Yup. They don’t even have past relationship, the first time they’ve met was the first day that she came to this house.>
<My word, my word.>
When they looked at each other, the maids laughed out loud and whispered and giggled.
Then they turned around and saw me behind them. As they walked by, they looked at each other sideways.
Yes, that’s what happened.
This is how Selene used to be. Even when the maids made fun of her right in front of her, she couldn’t say anything back.
It was because she knew too well where she belonged.
Noble marriages were meant to bring families together, create blood ties, and further cement money and power.
But my situation was different. I was just a woman who was brought into this house to have a child.
I was called a Duchess and a Lady, but those names didn’t mean much in real life.
Because I was sold just to get money.
People said it was only normal that they brought in the eldest daughter of a poor family, one loaded with a mountain of debt, as the Duchess.
In the deal, it was clear from the start.
<Now, read this first. These are the terms of the deal I’m giving. You don’t have to accept them if you don’t like them.>
Camilla, who was standing there with a judge, gave me a piece of paper.
Then, as if she was doing me a big favor, she said right after I signed the contract,
<I’ll find someone else right away if you don’t.>
It meant that if I wasn’t chosen, there were plenty of other people who could be.
She still came to me first, possibly because I was the easiest person to find.
I had a lot of debt, and my siblings stuck to me like a vine in the middle of summer.
For me, their welfare is the top priority.
“What do you hope to get out of this kind of walk together?”
Amoide asked in a low voice, barely opening his mouth. He looked like a ventriloquist.
“None really.”
So, I also answered without moving my lips much while smiling at him.
“Amoide, I just care about your health.”
I did say that, but it wasn’t the whole truth.
Under the cover of worrying about his health, I had a very important goal for my own life. I told myself, ‘This way, everyone will think that Amoide and I have a special relationship.’
When Selene was charged, the evidence of the servants in the ducal home was the most important thing.
People said that the Duke and Duchess did not get along, and that the Duke did not like his wife very much.
Especially bad for Selene was the evidence that she had married into the ducal family for money.
All of these witnesses made a big difference in Selene’s judgment, which led to her death on the gallows.
Now, I hoped that if I looked like I was close to Amoide, I could make those stories seem less true and change how people saw our relationship. This could help me stay safe and change what people think about my role in the house.
So, it was time to change that image.
It was important to find people who would speak in my favor ahead of time, in case something bad happened.
That could not have happened without the direct help of one person.
Amoide. On paper, my husband.
Even though we never had a wedding and I never walked into high society with confidence as his wife, I was without a doubt his legal wife.
This was true until our marriage was thrown out.
So, we were going to be a very loving couple from now on.
So that everyone would know I would never hurt him.
“…So now you want me to believe that?”
I heard a voice that sounded like a sun-kissed cat meowing. I slowly came out of my dream.
His voice. I wanted to put his voice in a music box so I could listen to it every night before bed.
…This is madness.
I coughed and slowly turned my head.
“I’m your wife, so you have to believe me.”
“Can you stop talking about how you’re my wife?”
He looked annoyed by the way he frowned.
“But it’s true.”
I said, with my eyes wide open.
“At least until the divorce papers are signed.”
