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Chapter 17
“Oh dear! Look at me—I can’t believe this. I don’t have time to be like this!”
It was about the time she had finished braiding one side of her hair.
Sophie slapped her knee with a sharp smack and spoke.
“Sophie, what’s wrong?”
For something said so casually, her tone was stiff.
On top of that, Sophie kept sneaking glances at Esselian.
Shuwen, sitting on the sofa with her back turned to Sophie, didn’t notice and asked in confusion.
“I bought a souvenir, but I paid for it and didn’t bring it with me! Honestly, where is my head at…!”
“A souvenir?”
“Um… what was it called? I think it was something made from ground pearls or something like that. Anyway, it was pretty, so I bought it—and then completely forgot about it!”
“Really?”
Sophie’s voice wavered, rising and falling unevenly.
She was usually forgetful, so Shuwen assumed this was just more of the same.
“Then let’s finish tying my hair and go get it.”
“No! It was really expensive, so I think I need to go right now! What should I do…?”
Just how expensive was it for her to be this restless?
Shuwen could feel Sophie fidgeting behind her, as if she wanted to jump up immediately.
She had finished braiding one side—only the ribbon remained—but Sophie couldn’t move her hands, clearly distracted by the souvenir.
“Then go now.”
“But I should finish Your Highness’s hair first! Still, the merchant might close if I delay… Hmm, don’t worry about it!”
“It’s fine. Go. I can tie my hair later. I’d be sad if you missed out on something you bought just because you were doing my hair.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Go.”
After repeated reassurance, Sophie finally seemed to decide, her hands moving quickly.
She tied the ribbon in just a few seconds. When Shuwen turned around, Sophie was already outside the carriage door.
When their eyes met, Sophie winked.
…Huh?
Why did she suddenly wink?
“Thank you, Your Highness! I’ll be right back!”
Shuwen, blinking blankly and not understanding, could only watch as the carriage door closed.
Then she felt a gaze and turned her head.
Across from her sat Esselian—and herself, in the strange state of having only one side of her hair braided.
Shuwen looked at Esselian’s face for no reason, then at her own hands, then back at his face.
I should say something…
But no words came.
“Duchess.”
It was Esselian who broke the awkward silence.
“Y-yes?”
He seemed about to say something, but when he saw how tense Shuwen’s shoulders were, he closed his mouth.
Resting his chin on his hand, he began staring intently at her—
Just like Sophie had while doing her hair.
Why did he call me?
His red eyes drifted slightly downward from her face.
He was looking at her hair: one side neatly tied with a ribbon, the other loose.
Ah—was he going to tell me to tidy myself up?
If someone saw the duchess like this, it would certainly damage the dignity of the ducal house.
Shuwen absentmindedly smoothed her loose hair and glanced to the side, wondering if there was a tie.
Thankfully, Sophie had left behind a red string.
I’ll just tie it roughly.
She wasn’t used to tying her own hair—she’d always let others do it. Braiding, especially without a mirror, was difficult.
Waiting for Sophie would be best, but first she needed to get that frightening gaze off her.
How hard can braiding hair be?
With that light thought, Shuwen gathered her wavy hair.
She divided the soft brown strands, curled like ribbon, into three sections.
In truth, Shuwen had never braided her own hair even in her past life.
Her parents did it when she was young, and once she reached adolescence, she never braided it again. Not even as an adult.
Still, she knew the method, so she thought it wouldn’t be too hard…
“Is this… done?”
Without a mirror, she lowered her head to check, but even then she could tell how sloppy it looked.
I should redo it.
Just as she sighed and pulled the hair tie to undo it—
Esselian suddenly stood up and came behind her.
Shuwen, half-turned in her seat and leaving Sophie’s place empty, flinched at the threatening presence.
W-what is it…?
Why did he come over?
“Duchess.”
“Y-yes…?”
“Please look forward.”
“O-okay…”
Even summoning courage didn’t make it any less frightening. Still, there was nothing Shuwen could do here.
Only then did regret set in.
An enclosed space. A mad male lead who lived with bouts of madness. And Shuwen, married to him…!
The inside of the carriage could easily become dangerous. He wouldn’t kill her, of course—but he could hurt her…
As Shuwen straightened her head as instructed, he reached out his hand.
“Eek…”
She squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed her breath—but his hand didn’t touch her.
Instead, she felt the string slip smoothly out of her tightly clenched hand.
“I’ll tie your hair for you.”
Shuwen opened her eyes at last and slightly turned to look at him.
“…What?”
“You can’t remain like this, Duchess.”
“Sophie will be back soon.”
Holding the red string, he gave a small, amused smile and sat down on the sofa.
“She won’t.”
“W-why not…? She said she’d be right back.”
The certainty in his voice was suspicious.
D-don’t tell me he got rid of Sophie…?
The thought made her swallow hard. Her heart pounded like a drum. Her hands tightened, and she sprang to her feet without thinking.
No. That might not be it.
“Why do you think she won’t come…?”
Sophie had never lied to Shuwen. She had never broken a promise.
Esselian guided the tense Shuwen back into her seat.
Then, without asking, he grasped the end of her still-untied hair.
Even though it was only the tips, a chill ran down her spine.
His red eyes were fixed on her brown hair.
He let out a soft, deflated chuckle.
“Because the maid deliberately made herself scarce.”
“…What? Sophie did?”
“Yes. The duchess’s maid.”
Why would Sophie deliberately leave?
After thinking for a while, Shuwen realized Sophie’s intention—belatedly.
Ah. To help us get closer?
So that was why she’d winked earlier.
Even before the wedding, Sophie had said she needed to look pretty on her wedding night since she’d be seeing the Duke of Ranied.
Shuwen knew she meant that, even if the marriage was forced, it would be better if they got along.
“Please look forward, Duchess.”
Still dazed, Shuwen faced forward. The solid weight of Esselian sitting behind her pressed into the sofa.
Soon, his hands divided her hair into three sections. She was used to others touching her hair.
But with Esselian doing it, her body tensed and her nerves sharpened.
I’m scared…
Even if he was mad, people always had reasons for what they did.
Was Esselian really the kind of man gentle enough to braid someone’s hair…?
“Then why is Your Grace tying my hair…?”
“Leaving without finishing your hair means the maid intended for you to ask me to do it.”
“……”
“And yet you never once considered the maid’s deeper intentions.”
“Ah…”
“And I didn’t want to watch you embarrass yourself by staying like that.”
In short: You’re painfully oblivious, so I’m doing it for you.
For the first time, she resented her own lack of awareness.
If she’d realized sooner, she would have desperately stopped Sophie…!
“But why were you so tense? It’s not like I’m going to eat you.”
I am going to eat you. Unfortunately, that’s the princess’s fate.
The words she’d heard in the bridal chamber overlapped in her mind—followed naturally by what had happened afterward…
Thankfully, she wasn’t facing him, so he couldn’t see her flushed face.
But her ears were already bright red. His gaze briefly touched them before moving to the back of her head.
“I-it’s just… I couldn’t believe you were tying my hair.”
Good thoughts! Good thoughts!
Trying to chase away improper thoughts, Shuwen focused on things she liked.
Yellow freesias. Delicious cookies. Soft, fluffy cake. A cute puppy she’d seen on the street. And then, then…
“I’m only doing this because your dignity ultimately reflects on me.”
“Yes. I thought so.”
She’d already expected that. Now that they were married, if the duchess behaved sloppily, it would damage the Ranied family’s prestige.
And Esselian wouldn’t be able to tolerate that.
“Still, it’s unexpected all the same. It feels a little strange.”
“I see.”
At some point, the braid was finished. He tightened the ribbon knot and turned Shuwen by the shoulders.
In that instant, Esselian’s expression stiffened visibly.
“…Why?”
“……”
“It doesn’t suit me…?”
Was that why he looked so frightening?
All her life, Shuwen had only heard good things—pretty, cute, it suits you. So his reaction puzzled her, but she couldn’t help wondering.
Her parents would naturally call their child pretty. The maids, no matter how close, were still employees—they might have just been flattering her.
Come to think of it, she’d never really heard comments from anyone else.
They said I was plain-looking…
Ah. Except for what Esselian had said on their wedding day!
“It’s not that it doesn’t suit you. It’s just…”
Esselian held the braid he had made in one hand and the braid Sophie had made in the other, comparing them before sighing.
“I tied it badly.”
“Oh. So that’s why…!”
“I thought I’d watched the maid braid it carefully earlier, but apparently not. This is bad enough that it might be better to undo it.”
“No, it’s fine. Having it tied like this is okay—”
Shuwen stared blankly at Esselian, who looked as though he desperately wanted to undo her hair.
So he could make a face like that, too.
“Ah—then I’ll just tie it to one side!”
That much, Shuwen could do.
When she undid both Sophie’s braid and Esselian’s braid, her fluffy hair fell in waves all the way to her waist.
She gathered her hair together, fully revealing the slender line of her neck.
Ignoring the gaze fixed on her, she swept her hair to one side and tied it.
“All done!”
“You’re good at that.”
After that, there were no more words exchanged inside the carriage until Sophie returned.
Shuwen alone had to endure Esselian’s piercing gaze.
