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Chapter 20
Crua Aloje, in the original story, must have suffered this same agony.
The name “Diello Argenta” was being forcibly carved into her back once again.
Even as she writhed in pain unlike anything she had ever experienced before, the people holding her down restrained her with unyielding strength.
‘Ah…!’
“Stop struggling. You wouldn’t want anyone to find out it’s fake, would you?”
They were obviously afraid that if she moved, the letters being engraved would become crooked.
“Stay still!”
Perhaps they even considered breathing to be movement, because Duke Aloje covered both her nose and mouth with water.
“…!”
It felt as though she had been unable to breathe for an eternity.
She struggled desperately against the pain, and only when her head had begun to grow hazy from lack of oxygen was she finally released.
In a way, that was a blessing.
At least she hadn’t been forced to endure that horrifying pain for any longer.
“Ugh…”
But of course the wound still hurt.
Beneath the blood-red letters spelling “Diello Argenta,” blood gathered at the Duke’s command, and medicinal ointment was poured over the injury.
Her skin would probably heal perfectly, leaving only his name vividly visible as a dark bruise.
Yet beneath the healed skin, the blood forcibly held in place continued to stab her with sharp pain.
“Are you all right, My Lady?”
At the Aloje estate, Pielle had acted as though nothing was wrong while facing the Duke and the servants.
But the moment she climbed into Argenta’s carriage, her expression hardened.
“It’ll be fine after some time.”
Crua frowned.
Every slight movement sent a throbbing ache shooting through her back.
“…May I take a look?”
“Sure.”
She wouldn’t be returning to Aloje for another month anyway, so applying medicine now wouldn’t matter.
“Please excuse me.”
After politely asking permission, Pielle undid several buttons of Crua’s dress, loosening it enough to expose her back.
“…!”
The moment she saw the meticulously re-engraved name, her complexion changed.
“So… this is how you came back last time as well…?”
For once, she couldn’t even finish her sentence.
Even to one of Argenta’s cleaners, the sight was horrifying.
“Yes.”
The first time the name had been carved, it hadn’t been her—it had been the original Crua Aloje.
Naturally, she kept those words to herself.
“You already knew, didn’t you? That it was fake.”
Crua looked up at Pielle.
She knew that on the day Pielle had assisted with her first bath at the Argenta estate, she had secretly applied wound ointment while pretending it was scented oil.
In this world, wound medicine infused with mana reacted even to bruising, glowing pure white before quickly being absorbed.
Pielle had undoubtedly realized then that the name on Crua’s back was fake.
Although the blood that formed Diello’s name remained fixed in place by Duke Aloje’s mana and hadn’t dispersed.
“…I did know.”
But Pielle’s face remained heavy.
After carefully fixing Crua’s clothes, she lowered her head.
“I’ll instruct everyone to be even more careful so that you won’t be uncomfortable.”
The cold expression on her face never softened during the entire ride back to the mansion.
* * *
Diello Argenta hated unexpected variables.
If something had to change, it should happen within his own field of vision.
In short, he disliked sudden news.
Because such news was almost always bad.
“My Lord, Her Ladyship will be arriving shortly.”
“…She’s late.”
This news was no exception.
Unless something had happened to the carriage wheel, there was no reason for her to arrive at this hour.
For some reason, Diello hadn’t been able to sleep.
He had simply finished the work he had been holding onto.
Not that he had been able to concentrate on it.
“…”
Crua had left here around dusk, so if everything had gone according to schedule, she would have arrived at Aloje in the morning.
And Aloje would have sent her back before it became too dark.
Whatever the truth might be, to outsiders she was still “the beloved daughter of Duke Aloje.”
Even considering the distance between the Aloje and Argenta estates and every other possible variable, there was no reason she should arrive at three in the morning.
—or so he had believed.
“Crua?”
The moment he saw her carefully walking into the mansion, his expression changed.
Having spent years on the battlefield, Diello could identify an injury just by watching how someone moved.
Between the shoulder blades.
The exact place where his name had been engraved.
Instinctively, he understood what had happened to her.
“Diello… You’re still awake? Were you waiting for me?”
His bride looked surprised.
Even while clearly uncomfortable, she widened her eyes as she looked at him.
She wore a face that pretended nothing was wrong.
But Diello, who had long since grown accustomed to death and injuries, unmistakably caught the faint scent of blood clinging to her.
“…They engraved the name again.”
He whispered quietly so that only she could hear.
He had assumed Duke Aloje summoned her every month merely to receive reports.
But the Duke was far more meticulous—and far crueler—than he had imagined.
“You knew?”
“…I only realized just now.”
And ever since that realization, something inside him had begun twisting strangely.
People often said the smell of blood made them sick.
But Diello, who stood on battlefields regularly, had long since become numb to its scent.
Yet this blood smelled unbearably foul to him.
“You should have it treated properly, Crua.”
The words escaped him before he realized it.
His voice was low.
Crua blinked in surprise.
“The outside has already healed. As for the blood trapped underneath, it’ll eventually—”
Her casual tone grated on his nerves, and he cut her off without thinking.
A rough, boiling voice escaped from the turmoil inside him.
“So—”
For a split second, the thin mask he always wore nearly shattered.
Only after taking a short breath did he cool his thoughts.
“One more treatment. Properly this time.”
A faint smile finally appeared on his face.
After blinking several times, Crua eventually nodded.
“All right. I’d appreciate that.”
Even in a situation like this…
The fact that she could still smile so easily…
She really knows how to drive a person crazy, Diello thought.
* * *
Diello Argenta.
Diello had never looked at his own name this closely before.
Not written on paper.
Not carved into stone.
But engraved on another person’s body.
“Ah…”
Perhaps because of the pain, Crua curled up slightly.
Diello’s hand, which had been applying the medicine, stopped.
“If it hurts too much, tell me.”
She burst into laughter.
“If I tell you… can you make it stop hurting?”
Ha.
A short sigh escaped him.
She was right.
There was no way to lessen the pain of a wound that had already been carved into her.
“…No.”
He whispered quietly.
“I’ll just finish faster.”
Then at least the pain would end sooner.
At those words, Crua willingly straightened her shoulders.
“Ow.”
She flinched for only a moment at the stinging sensation.
Then, as if preparing herself, she took a deep breath.
The instant she held it—
“…?”
Diello noticed a bluish bruise on her shoulder.
Rustle.
Without thinking, he gently pulled the fabric aside.
“…!”
For a brief moment, he was speechless.
Covering nearly her entire shoulder and the area above her shoulder blade were vivid red and blue bruises.
They were unmistakably the marks of someone who had restrained her with brutal force.
The bruises extended from her shoulder blade down her shoulder and even along her arm.
It meant she had struggled that desperately against the pain.
His mind burned hot—
Then instantly turned cold.
“…?”
At that moment, Crua glanced back at him.
Her gaze was puzzled, as if asking why he had stopped.
The cold expression on Diello’s face vanished in an instant.
At least in front of her, he had to remain the gentle, innocent Diello Argenta.
“Hoo…”
As he applied the medicine, he softly blew cool air over the bruised skin.
The cool breeze would ease the pain, if only a little.
Carefully tracing the letters of his own name with the ointment, he finished applying it and snapped the lid shut.
“It’s done.”
“Thank you.”
Crua let out a quiet sigh of relief.
She reached to fasten her clothes again.
Tap.
Before he realized it, Diello had caught her hand.
“You don’t have to.”
“…?”
Their eyes met.
The outer robe draped loosely over her shoulders would only rub against the bruises and make them sting even more.
Diello spoke quietly.
“Take off your outer robe… and sleep comfortably.”
