FCMD 20

Chapter 20

Lauren looked up at the shadow of the man standing as if shielding her front. The tall man’s back was like a massive rock, so much so that it seemed more than capable of hiding her completely from Delania’s eyes. Aster. Lauren rolled his name inside her mouth. Why had he come here? Her eyes blinked slowly. Her dazed gaze met a pair of sunken green eyes. Even through her blurry vision, she could see Aster furrowing his brows.

“W-What is this?!”

At Delania’s fierce voice, Lauren unwittingly pulled her shoulders in. She had intended not to show any sign of weakness, but perhaps due to the shock of being slapped, that resolution had vanished without a trace. There was no leeway left to even think.

“I asked. If Lauren isn’t the real Duchess, then what is she?”

At the low growl that seemed to vibrate through her head, Delania took a step back. The emotionless green eyes looking down at her felt menacing. ‘The Murderous Fiend.’ She had forgotten about it because he had been quietly guarding Lauren’s side, but that was undeniably his moniker. The deep green of his eyes—resembling a poisonous herb growing in the shade—sent a chill down her spine.

“T-That is…”

“It seems those damn newspaper articles made me look utterly laughable. All sorts of bizarre things are crawling out.”

Pulling up one corner of his mouth, Aster let out a brief chuckle. It was a handsome man’s smiling face that would surely draw everyone’s eyes on the street, but the temperature felt in his eyes was anything but warm. At his sinister gaze that looked ready to wring a neck at any moment, Delania’s eyes opened wide.

“How dare you slap the Duchess of Lilywood?”

Aster stepped right up to Delania. His shadow fell over Delania’s face. Her body trembled violently. Her brown eyes became drenched in terror. As Aster approached step by step, Delania retreated bit by bit. Eventually, she bumped against a settee and fell backward. A gasping screech leaked from her throat.

“G-Get away!”

As if sensing a threat to her life, Delania sprang up and shoved Aster—or rather, tried to shove him. Stepping aside by a single pace, Aster avoided Delania’s last desperate struggle. Stumbling, Delania ultimately ended up falling over. A loud clatter echoed through the room.

Oh dear. Aster’s gaze turned to Lauren. Lauren had her eyes tightly shut. Perhaps because of the loud noise, her shoulders were heavily hunched up. Aster clicked his tongue with a tch. Even that sound carried a fierce edge. Whatever she had thought, Delania let out a scream and burst out of the room. Aster followed her retreating figure with his eyes. Well, leave her be; she’ll run away on her own. There was something far more important than that.

“Lauren.”

Lauren didn’t answer. Aster carefully approached and sat beside her. He could feel her trembling, head lowered, even from where he sat beside her. Aster took her hand and gently patted the back of it. At the external touch, Lauren raised her pale, bloodless face. Her light-purple eyes stared at him blankly.

“It’s alright, Lauren. The guest has left.”

As if she couldn’t understand his words, Lauren blinked her eyes. Then, her body flinched.

“L-Left?”

“Yes. She left.”

As if trying to confirm it, Lauren spoke in a whisper. At her trembling voice, Aster answered her once more. Only then did Lauren let out a long sigh. Even the sound of her breath leaking out was finely trembling.

His gaze fell upon Lauren’s bright red, swollen cheek. How hard had she been hit? The puffy cheek looked painfully tender. Aster unconsciously brought his hand to her cheek. As the burning heat touched his fingertips, Lauren turned her head away.

“…I’m sorry. That must have hurt.”

“No, it’s… it’s nothing.”

Lauren’s eyes became a bit clearer. She was quick to snap out of the shock. Did that mean she was accustomed to this kind of situation? He didn’t quite like that thought. Furrowing his brows, Aster checked her injury. The torn corner of her lips was even beaded with blood. He needed to find out what had happened, but before that, it would be better to apply medicine and let her rest. In his eyes, Lauren looked far too exhausted.

“The wound…”

Lauren let out a small ah. The pain in her cheek—which she hadn’t felt while frozen in shock—finally crashed over her. She knit her brows at the throbbing ache. Biting her lip tightly, she tried to stand up, but her legs gave out and she ended up collapsing back down. Aster clicked his tongue internally and scooped her up into his arms.

“Let me down, Aster. I can walk on my own.”

“Stay quiet.”

Aster moved forward while holding her in his arms. Lauren tried to resist in her own way, but she stopped moving at Aster’s warning that she should stay still unless she wanted to squirm and fall. Though not as tall as Leti, he was also quite tall. Falling from this height would undoubtedly hurt quite a bit.

Aster Lilywood, the renowned war hero—she had wanted to look strong enough to suit his family, but she couldn’t. Weak just as she was in her childhood, she had simply frozen solid in front of Delania. Because of that, she had ruined everything.

Lauren looked up at Aster, who walked without hesitation while holding her. His sharp, sculpted jawline looked exceedingly strong. Envious for no reason, Lauren swallowed a sigh and quietly rested her head against his chest.

“Madam!”

Holding Lauren in his arms, Aster skillfully opened the door. Lize and Anna hurriedly approached the two. Seeing Lauren’s bright red, swollen cheek, Lize let out a scream-like gasp. Anna stood there blankly, forgetting to make a sound, her face as pale as if she had seen a ghost.

“Where is the bedroom?”

At Aster’s low voice, Lize hurriedly opened the bedroom door. Aster walked with swift strides to the bed and carefully set Lauren down. Then, he ordered them to bring ice and a first-aid kit. Anna dashed out of the room, while Lize began helping Lauren change her clothes.

She had thought he would leave after that, but the one who returned holding the first-aid kit in hand was Aster, not Anna. Sitting on the bed, Lauren smiled bitterly. She felt sorry for making him worry unnecessarily. Waiting for him to sit down beside the bed, Lauren opened her mouth.

“I’m sorry, Aster.”

Unless spoken aloud, one’s true feelings cannot be conveyed. Lauren bowed her head and apologized to Aster. His words to Delania about being ‘made to look laughable’ weighed heavily on her heart. Because she had suggested publishing the newspaper article—no, because she had suggested marrying him—she had dragged him into something he never needed to experience. No amount of apology would ever be enough.

“Give me your hand.”

Letting out a faint sigh, Aster merely said that without responding to her apology. Her hand? Not her cheek? Lauren looked down at her own hand. On her pale palm, deep fingernail marks remained red along with oozing blood. No wonder it felt stinging when she washed her face. She hadn’t realized she had such a wound. Her gaze shifted back to Aster.

“There is no resident physician at the mansion. I’ll call a military surgeon tomorrow. So for now, just disinfect and treat it.”

There was an irresistible authority in Aster’s words. She extended her palm toward him.

“There’s no need to call a military surgeon for a minor wound like this. I’m not a soldier, after all…”

Aster, who was pressing a cotton ball soaked in disinfectant against her palm, raised his eyes and stole a glance at her. As his sunken green eyes seemed to examine her, Lauren pulled up the corners of her lips to form a smile—though she ended up letting out a small groan as her torn lip throbbed in pain.

“Then what if I call one of the servants who holds a doctor’s qualification?”

“That much is…”

“Alright.”

Answering briefly, he lowered his gaze back to her wound. She had meant to say it wasn’t a wound serious enough to call a doctor, but Aster seemed to have understood it the opposite way. Yet Lauren couldn’t bring herself to mention it again. Right before he lowered his gaze, he seemed to have smiled slightly, as if relieved. Was it just her imagination? It was a smile different from the usual sneer directed at who-knows-whom, or his fierce grin.

Lauren sat quietly with her head lowered, watching Aster treat her wound. Long golden hair cascading down past his shoulders. His eyelashes, the same color as his hair, looked longer than she had thought, perhaps because his eyes were cast downward. Intending to let her sleep early, the lights had been dimmed, making his hair and eyelashes shimmer softly. He looks pretty when he’s focused. Thinking that to herself, Lauren flinched in surprise.

At that moment, having finished the treatment and wrapped a bandage around her palm, he raised his eyes. Green eyes met hers. Not knowing where to place her gaze, Lauren buried her head low. Aster tilted his head slightly while looking at her.

“Raise your head, Lauren.”

he instructed in a low voice. Following his words, Lauren slowly raised her eyes. That person is just trying to check my wounds. Don’t be shaken. She murmured to herself. His hands disinfecting her torn lips and cheek and applying medicine were endlessly gentle, so she didn’t know why she kept becoming so conscious of him. She had resolved so firmly not to do so.

Lauren forced away the gaze that tried to wander back to him. Even so, she kept checking what kind of expression he was making—much like that day long ago preserved in her memories.

​* * *

Inside a dark room. The light from a streetlamp seeped through the gap in the open curtains. The shadow of a man sprawled on a settee moved sluggishly. It was because the commotion outside the window had penetrated indoors. Setting down the newspaper he had been reading for a while, the man approached the window. High-pitched screeching voices grated on his ears.

Sweeping back his long golden hair, the man looked down beneath the window. A woman with dark brown hair that almost looked black was practically being dragged out. Her voice, spewing curses resembling incantations, sounded vicious. Pulling up one corner of his mouth, the man let out a brief chuckle.

“A curse on the Murderous Duke… How fearless.”

the man muttered in a low voice. He then yanked the curtain shut and turned around. Returning to the settee, he flopped down with a thud. Propping his legs up on the open space and stretching his body long, a bitter, sharp smile spread across his lips.

“It seems something interesting is taking place.”

Contrary to the blade-like light rising in his bluish-green eyes, his voice was soft. Lowering his head, he looked down at his own arm. Beneath his rolled-up sleeve, a pitch-black thorn chain engraved on his forearm caught his eye. Letting out a dry laugh with a ha, the man lay back on the settee.

“Aster, just what on earth are you thinking?”

The man muttered with one corner of his mouth raised. Resting his head on the armrest of the settee, he stared up at the ceiling. His gaze, which almost looked blue, drifted along the patterns of the ceiling until eyelids settled down over his eyes.

“I really don’t get it at all.”

The man’s small voice seeped into the darkness. The faint light beyond the curtains fell over the newspaper the man had set down. On the folded newspaper, a large photograph of Lauren and Aster, along with an interview of the two, was printed.