🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 3
A single tear Anna shed fell into the bathwater.
The tiny ripple it created spread gently through the water, trembling softly as if reflecting Anna’s heart.
“At this rate, your eyes are going to look like a goldfish tomorrow morning.”
I forced out a joke that wasn’t even funny.
I didn’t want the ugly scars covering my body to ruin the mood, and more than anything, I didn’t want to make Anna cry.
Besides, I didn’t even know the story behind those scars myself…
Anna sniffled and continued her work.
Her touch was so careful and gentle that it made my chest ache for some reason.
“I wish other people knew what a good person you are, my lady.”
“Hmm… rather than that, I’d just like it if people stopped hating me.”
“They will. You’re trying to get along with people now, aren’t you? Right?”
The moment I saw Anna smile, I realized something.
She might not know Rishua’s soul had changed, but she definitely knew Rishua herself had become a different person.
“Soon everyone will understand your sincerity. Even His Grace. He’s your one and only husband, after all.”
“I wonder about that.”
Kahinel was technically my husband, but we were basically strangers.
Actually, he was more like someone on the opposite side entirely.
Suddenly, I remembered the way he had looked at me in the dining room earlier—as if I were an insect.
“Are you cold? Should I add more hot water?”
“This is the North. It’s cold.”
The weather, the people, my husband…
And even my bleak future.
Cold.
They say even hatred can become a kind of affection over time.
The problem was, there wasn’t even that between Kahinel and me.
Which meant the only emotions defining our relationship were discomfort and contempt.
In this situation, pretending to suddenly be close to Kahinel would only seem unnatural.
What could I do to earn points naturally?
The answer turned out to be simpler than expected.
I woke up early in the morning and wandered the hallway.
Soon, a maid appeared carrying Kahinel’s breakfast.
She looked startled upon seeing me, but quickly composed herself and bowed.
“Good morning, my lady.”
“That’s my husband’s breakfast, right? Give it to me. I’ll take it.”
Apparently, Kahinel always ate breakfast in his room.
Which meant I was now on my way there.
I get to see his face again… and score some points too!
How wonderful~
My steps felt light.
“What are you doing here this early in the morning?”
“I didn’t come to do anything. I brought your breakfast. Would you like to eat first, or shower first?”
“Wife.”
“Yes? What is it?”
When I blinked innocently at him, Kahinel parted his lips as if about to say something—then closed them again.
He definitely looked like he was holding back an insult.
Please let me be imagining things, husband.
I continued standing there holding the tray until he answered.
Perhaps realizing how stubborn I was, he gathered a change of clothes and headed toward the bathroom.
“I’ll wash up first.”
“Go ahead.”
I had fully expected to be thrown out, so the lack of an eviction order was a relief.
Humming softly, I set the table.
Once I placed the juice down, the simple but appetizing breakfast was complete.
“You say you hate sweets, so why do you like apple-carrot juice so much?”
In romance novels, nine out of ten male leads dislike sweet food.
Kahinel was no exception.
He didn’t even like fresh fruit much because of the sweetness, yet for some reason he loved apple-carrot juice the most.
And he absolutely had to drink it in the morning.
“You really are strange.”
I sat down and waited for him to finish showering.
I wanted to exchange even a few more words with him.
I wondered when he would come out and glanced toward the bathroom—
“…Ah.”
The pain of the curse slowly began tightening around me.
My breathing gradually fell apart as agony engulfed my body, like I had been thrown into a pit of fire.
Part of me wanted to run straight into the bathroom and breathe in Kahinel’s scent, but the last bit of my reason stopped me.
I needed to find something else that smelled like him.
Staggering unsteadily, I approached the bed.
Thud.
The last of my strength left me, and I collapsed onto it.
“Hng… haa…”
As I inhaled deeply, Kahinel’s scent lingering in the blankets quickly filled my body.
The pain disappeared, and little by little my senses returned.
Then a chillingly low voice pierced the back of my neck.
“So this was your goal.”
Like a broken wooden doll, I slowly turned my head.
Kahinel stood there with his arms crossed, looking down at me.
His eyes were filled with disgust.
And reflected in those eyes… was me.
I shot upright.
“K-Kahinel!”
“Did the Marquis order you to produce a Hyrent heir?”
“W-What heir?”
“So I wondered why you suddenly changed. Turns out this was the filthy scheme you had in mind.”
“That’s not true. You’re misunderstanding.”
“Then why did you come looking for me first thing in the morning, and why were you lying on my bed? Weren’t you trying to seduce me?”
Kahinel let out a dry laugh.
It was pure mockery.
But I wasn’t about to back down so easily.
I genuinely couldn’t stand being falsely accused.
“Why would I seduce you?”
Who would benefit from me seducing you?
Once I broke the curse, I planned to leave the story immediately.
But Kahinel interpreted my denial as further provocation and began cornering me instead.
“W-Why are you acting like this?”
“Isn’t this what you wanted?”
“N-No, I told you it’s not!”
“Then why do you keep avoiding my eyes?”
“That’s because…”
Because your chest keeps showing through that robe!
The way Kahinel slowly approached me resembled a dangerous predator.
Like a dark beast emerging from water, its black fur soaked and radiating seductive danger.
“Why do you keep coming closer?!”
Every step Kahinel took forward, I retreated another back.
After several dangerously close exchanges, my escape route was completely blocked.
The back of my legs hit the bed, and I collapsed onto it.
Kahinel still didn’t stop his threatening seduction.
“Did you want an heir that badly?”
“I told you that’s not it.”
“I don’t know what kind of scheme you and the Marquis are plotting…”
“…”
“But Hyrent and Deil blood will never mix.”
Had this man spent his entire life getting betrayed?
Why couldn’t he trust anything anyone said?
Kahinel growled as if delivering a final warning.
“Even if a child were somehow born between us, that child would never become Hyrent’s heir.”
“Yes, fine, I understand. So could you please back away now?”
We were so close that I could feel his breath against me.
His wet black hair dripped water.
His red eyes looked as though they were sizing me up before swallowing me whole.
And through the opening of his robe, his broad chest teasingly peeked into view.
Ah, dear God.
I swallowed hard and squeezed my eyes shut.
My only thought was escaping this place as quickly as possible.
I shoved against Kahinel’s chest.
“Enjoy your breakfast!”
Then I ran out without looking back, sprinting all the way to my room like a madwoman.
Bang!
I slammed the door shut.
Thump thump thump.
“What is wrong with me now?”
I hadn’t even run that far, yet my heart pounded as though I had sprinted five hundred meters.
I forced myself to steady my breathing.
As my condition gradually returned to normal, another question surfaced.
Why did the pain come on gradually today?
Yesterday it had been Ugh! It hurts!
Today it was more like… …ugh, it hurts.
Was it because I had been in Kahinel’s room?
That made sense.
Simply being within his sphere of influence weakened the curse.
And Kahinel’s room was completely saturated with his presence.
“Then what was that earlier?”
It had only lasted a moment, but when I shoved Kahinel, my head had briefly buzzed.
It didn’t hurt.
It felt more like I had poured mint perfume directly into my brain—a cool, refreshing sensation.
“Could it be related to Kahinel being the cure?”
The original story had never mentioned physical contact with Kahinel helping the curse.
So for now, it was only a theory.
Still, one thing was certain.
That strange sensation hadn’t seemed harmful to me at all.
I went down to the dining room early to wait for Kahinel so we could eat lunch together.
But thirty minutes passed.
Then an hour.
And Kahinel still didn’t appear.
Is he still misunderstanding me because of what happened this morning?
Just as I was thinking that, Kahinel finally entered.
“Welcome.”
Naturally, he ignored my greeting.
The moment Kahinel sat down expressionlessly, the head chef, Hersh, began serving the dishes.
I had skipped breakfast, so I was starving and ate enthusiastically.
Meanwhile, Kahinel moved slowly.
He looked like a child dragged unwillingly to the dinner table by his parents when he wanted to keep playing.
Once I had eaten enough to settle my hunger, I cautiously tried speaking to him.
“You must be very busy. Do you always eat lunch this late?”
“…”
“If I want to match your schedule, I guess I should have a light snack before lunch starting tomorrow.”
“Can’t you simply eat quietly?”
His voice cut through me sharply, cold as a winter wind without warmth.
Kahinel frowned as he stared directly at me.
“Ah, sorry. I’ll keep quiet.”
I pressed my lips together tightly and gave an awkward smile, gesturing for him to continue eating.
…And two seconds later, the smile vanished from my face.
