Chapter 3
Selene walked as far as she could in her uncomfortably wide dress, heavy coat, and overly long cloak, wearing equally uncomfortable shoes.
Fortunately, she was sure she would be able to walk well after a little more time to get used to them.
She glanced up at him as she reached the door, intending to walk hard after him if he got as far as she did again.
Selene was surprised to see no annoyance on his face as he watched her carefully this time.
So much time had passed in just a few steps, she had thought he might be annoyed even if he hadn’t said anything. His expressionless face was still impassive.
Behind him, seemingly unmoved, was an open doorway. She scanned the corridor cautiously. It looked like a castle hallway she’d seen in a foreign soap opera.
The windows in the corridor were all jammed in, which gave her an idea of how thick the walls of this castle were.
From floor to wall to ceiling, the corridor was made of a cold gray stone that matched the war hero’s title of Grand Duke of the North.
When Barath shifted slightly to clear his vision, she straightened her robes a little more and clutched them in her hands, eager to get going. She gripped it more than she thought she should and held it higher.
Then, in front of her, Barath held out a folded arm.
No. Was that a gesture? It was clearly in front of her, but he didn’t say anything, and maybe he was just folding his arm and his elbow came into his line of sight.
Selene decided to wait patiently until he started walking.
If she made a fool of herself and she couldn’t even take a step out of the room, she’d regret the foolishness of it.
Barath knew that if he held out his arm, Selene would take it, for her gait was unsteady to say the least, and she seemed to be struggling quite a bit herself.
Zart, his lieutenant, had told him that if a woman was dressed uncomfortably or wearing shoes, and a man asked for an escort, he would usually take her arm.
Unless she’s married, has a fiancé, or is someone she really doesn’t like.
Selene and herself were married. He wouldn’t say they were close, but they were getting to know each other.
The way she looked at him sometimes, he didn’t hate her.
It was just her brain being delusional.
Barath’s eyes went cold. He looked down at Selene’s head, which he could barely see, and wondered what the hell he was doing.
The woman he’d brought to get offspring. No, she’d been bought.
Since when did he see people as people? On the battlefield, the only people he knew were his real men, the Shields of Velias, the men he had brought with him to this estate in retirement.
Friend or foe, ally or enemy, meant nothing to Barath, who had become a demon himself to protect their lives. They were all means, objects, and numbers.
What’s the point of treating others the same way if they don’t see themselves as people anyway?
He bought a woman as an extension of his mind that didn’t see people as people. The purpose was clear. To have a child of his own blood.
Barath was conflicted for a moment.
‘Maybe it’s time to put an end to this nonsense and lock her up.’
Selene had no idea what he was thinking.
All she knew was that she was looking forward to walking through the uncharted passage before her and seeing the world outside the room up close.
‘It’s not going to be like a film set.’
Being in the room was less real. The gray stone of the corridor made me realize that this was a different world.
So why aren’t we walking?
Selene looked up and searched his face. It was so large she had to squint to find his eyes.
Barath happened to be looking at her, too, and their eyes met instantly.
Selene was stunned. She had been cold before, but compared to him now, it was like a spring breeze.
Unsure of the reason for his sudden change in mood, she decided that perhaps a walk would not be in order today. Anxiety creeped into her stomach that if he didn’t get to go for a walk, he’d be lucky, and maybe today would be the start of his confinement.
Selene found the situation so frustrating that she finally spoke up. She prayed her voice wasn’t too shaky.
“Shall we go back in?”
To Barath, her sullen question sounded like a grumble, like she was wondering why they weren’t leaving sooner.
She definitely sounded sullen, and he wasn’t sure why he was taking it so casually.
Anyway, her words made up his mind. She’d already asked him to go, so he figured it was worth a shot.
It was. If she hates him enough to turn down an escort, she must really want to go for a walk with him, right?
Barath decided to grant her wish, feeling like he was looking at a cow about to become meat.
After tomorrow, he wouldn’t be able to tread on grassy ground.
He took the first two or three steps, and the rustle of her robes behind him, and after two or three more, her rustling faded away, as if she were uncomfortable with her gait.
Barath cleared his throat and turned around, their eyes locked, and she shifted her feet hastily, leaning forward more and more.
This is not a chamber, he thought, his mind flashing back to the hard, rough stone floor and the white, fine flesh of her body beneath her unstrapped dress.
Before he had time to think about what to do, he was catching Selene’s fall.
He moved into her fall and knelt down, supporting her as if she were a cushion.
Her arms passed between his ears, and soon her wispy hair tickled Barath’s face. Her scent lingered.
‘So sweet.’
And it was a bit of a shock that she felt so light when she must have been carrying her full weight. Wasn’t she about the same weight as a real rabbit?
Barath looked like he was going to lose his mind for a moment, but he managed to pull himself together, grabbing her by the waist and lifting her up in a swift motion, landing her safely on the ground.
She was still too shaken to open her eyes.
Barath looked at his hands and shook his head.
She was dressed thickly, but from the feel of his hands, her waist was only a handful.
Suddenly she seemed as thin as a glass doll. Or should he say sugar doll, because she smelled so sweet. Anyway, it’s spring, so it’s okay now, but it will be too cold in autumn.
He thought about feeding her a lot of food to make her plump up before winter, but then he stopped thinking.
He must have thought earlier that after tonight’s walk, he should lock him up in the room.
He’s started the tapestries and blazing the fireplace… Yes, it would be better if we put up another layer of windows and boarded them up tightly to keep the drought out.
It was strange to think of locking Selene in for him own greed, and to be worried about her being cold at the same time, but the thought didn’t last long.
Looking at her, her eyes still tightly closed, he understood.
She looked like she could handle the cold pretty well anyway.
Selene squeezed her eyes shut tight and tried to calm her racing heart, but it wasn’t easy.
She would have rather hit the stone floor, dusted herself off, and started walking again with Barath behind her back.
But the man suddenly lunged at her, bracing himself against her, and she found herself hugging him tightly.
He thought he was a big man, but he was not, and when she buried her nose in the nape of his neck, she thought she smelled wood.
She doesn’t remember how she got back on her feet after that.
She kept thinking about his arms, which were both firm and reassuring.
Her eyes were still closed tightly, and she leaned her head back and furrowed her brow at the same time.
Whether it was because he was her ideal mate or because it was the first time she’d ever been so close to the opposite sex, she found it funny that her heart was pounding with excitement at the accidental embrace.
Was it love at first sight or something?
To someone who shouldn’t be.
Selene remembered the original story, which she hadn’t seen all the way through, but was clearly written somewhere in the middle.
[Barath Velias was a man who lived and died without ever knowing love. He was a man who was lonely all his life and died without ever realizing it was loneliness].
But why?
In the original novel, the imprisoned Selene exhibited Stockholm Syndrome. Slowly but surely, she opened up to him, and at one point, even had a rational crush on him.
Most obviously, Selene was perfectly content in her marriage to him.
The male lead, Barath, was not. Up until the point of the pre-possession book, Selene was just a ‘purchased object’ for him to bear his child.
She didn’t get to see the end of the book, but she’s pretty sure it had a sad ending.
When Selene finally stirred and lifted her head, she met her now-familiar observant gaze.
“Thank you.”
Barath made no response to her greeting, but turned and resumed walking.
Selene resolutely prepared to walk again.
Just a moment ago, she’d panicked when he’d suddenly turned around, but now she didn’t mind. Just when she thought he was getting used to her outfit, he turned nervously and walked back to stand beside her.
His arm suddenly appeared in front of Selene. He seemed to be in a bad mood after this earlier. Is this his way of saying he’s angry?
As Selene stood there, unsure of what to do, Barath spoke up.
“If it’s so hard for you to walk, wouldn’t it be better to hold onto me when walking?”
