MHPUW 15

Chapter : 15

“Ah.”

Briseis slowly opened her mouth as Calisten instructed. He was looking inside her mouth, but nothing could be seen.

“I can’t see it. Should I touch it a bit?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

Briseis grabbed his hand and pulled it away. He stared at her blankly for a moment, and Briseis, still feeling the pain in both cheeks, let out a sigh without realizing it.

“Try feeling the inside of your cheek with your tongue. Are there any teeth marks?”

Briseis hesitated to do as he said, but then thought that if she didn’t, things might not get better, so she followed his instructions.

She rubbed the inside of her cheek with her tongue. Her face contorted in pain as she felt something uneven.

“If there are teeth marks, it doesn’t feel smooth like usual. It’s bumpy and hurts.”

“There are.”

She had never been hit in the face before, so all of this was unfamiliar to her.

“Are your ears okay? You didn’t hear any ringing?”

“Yes.”

“That’s good. If hit badly, your eardrums could get damaged. Are you dizzy or is your nose hurting? Or maybe your forehead?”

“Why do you know so much about medicine all of a sudden?”

“I usually know but don’t say anything, yet it keeps coming out.”

He looked at her as if worried. Briseis didn’t trust this man pretending to be gentle. By any standard, he was not exactly normal.

• Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

Ella entered with a large container full of ice she had broken into pieces.

“I’ll do it.”

“No, you go to the palace and bring my seal. My assistant knows your face, so it won’t be difficult.”

“Eh? Why?”

“I’ll send a letter directly to Zeronis’ law office.”

Usually, it took time to assign a case. Zeronis’ office was the most prestigious for divorce cases in the capital. Divorces had become easier, so wives who were abused or those who had new loves could get clean divorces and start over.

All thanks to the emperor, who changed laws to marry the current empress and stirred the people to avoid blame. Zeronis, who had served as the Minister of Justice during that time, retired and established this office.

Noble marriages were more complicated than commoners’, so one shouldn’t enter divorce cases without a lawyer. But society’s view still hadn’t changed much. Divorce was still a stigma and required serious determination.

“I’ll go!”

Ella left, though she didn’t wish for her precious lady to live this way.

Briseis sighed and looked at Calisten. He pretended to be indifferent and placed the ice on a white cloth, then wrapped it and came over to her.

“Stay still.”

Briseis stared at him. He pressed the cloth with ice against her cheek.

“It hurts.”

“Of course it does.”

The heat from her cheek slowly melted the ice. The cloth became damp and seemed to take the heat away faster. When one cheek was completely cold, he poured the melted ice back into the container, wrung the cloth, placed only the ice back on it, and pressed it against her other cheek.

He stiffened slightly when Briseis looked down instead of at him. His pinky brushed her lips, and Briseis groaned in pain.

Her lips were swollen too.

“Ugh…!”

It seemed the inside of her front lips had marks too.

Suddenly, Calisten tensed and let out a scream without realizing it.

“Cal?”

“It hurts too much.”

“Ah.”

Briseis worried for a moment but then looked at him with cold eyes.

“While I’m here, take the key.”

She tried to move his hand, but he held her shoulder tightly, trembling.

“Let go.”

“Keep it on your cheek.”

He was holding his breath as he spoke, and Briseis found the situation ridiculous.

“You’re reacting just because I got hit and swollen?”

“I react even if you just smile at me. Wait a second.”

He lifted his hand to cover her face, careful not to touch her cheek with the ice. Her face was hidden by his large hand, so she couldn’t see his expression.

“Does this help?”

“It almost did, but you talking made it worse.”

“I’ll give you the key, so let me go.”

“If I let you go now, I don’t think I can control myself.”

“Then go to the palace and let me go there.”

She waited, not moving his hand. She wondered when he would calm down.

But his hand stayed in front of her face for a long time. The bed creaked, and the mixed sounds of metal and wood made Briseis feel strange.

“Brise, tell me something that would make me calm.”

“My ideal type is Kaz.”

“What?”

He lowered his hand and looked at her.

“Because of appearance.”

He smiled again, and it seemed the pain had faded.

“What’s so great about a plain face? Maybe the Duke of Maiz is better.”

“Kaz is fine, isn’t he? I like bright hair. And Kaz has a nice voice too.”

“My voice is better. I’m taller. My face is more handsome.”

“You’re overconfident.”

Not wrong, but Briseis intentionally didn’t agree. Anyone could see Calisten looked better than Casias physically.

“And Kaz communicates well. He’s caring.”

“I can be caring too.”

“Want to try being caring first?”

Briseis had never seen his caring side, so she said that.

“Casias is useless. If I want you, you can never belong to him.”

“Who said anything? I only said Casias is handsome.”

“Exactly.”

Calisten’s eyes flashed like a madman’s, and Briseis sighed.

“Are you calm now?”

“No, completely excited. Angry.”

“I was joking. Casias isn’t my type.”

“Really?”

“Yes. But he is handsome.”

He laughed again. Briseis knew this expression from when he got angry, so she decided to handle him carefully.

“Thank you for coming today, Cal.”

She looked down and spoke, unable to meet his eyes. He lowered his hand with the ice and said:

“If you want a divorce, come live in the palace. There’s plenty of space in my palace. Too much, actually.”

“If I become the at-fault spouse, I can’t demand a divorce. I’d have to prove Damien is at fault.”

“What’s wrong with living separately?”

“To request a divorce, I must prove the marriage break is because of Damien.”

“There’s already plenty of proof. You even brought the mistress.”

Calisten was a warrior. Although academy knowledge came easily, he wasn’t a Minister of Justice. He only knew the law in theory.

“But there isn’t enough proof that Delilah is the mistress.”

“What do you mean….”

“If a trial happened today, would Damien admit it? He’d just say I’m a weird woman and that I’m his officer’s favorite.”

Briseis didn’t expect explaining why she couldn’t leave the mansion to feel so strange.

“Then I’ll just kill him.”

“There you go again. This isn’t a battlefield, Cal.”

“The battlefield is easier. Kill him and claim disobedience—it’s done.”

Briseis looked at him, wondering if he was serious. He looked away as if not, but she realized he truly meant it.

He would act as the perfect partner she wanted until he had her. But then, he would abandon her cruelly.

Seeing him act well toward her only made her heart colder. He wasn’t someone capable of normal love.

“I’ll help you with your divorce. Allow me that.”

Briseis nodded.

“But shouldn’t the Duke not know while we gather evidence?”

“He should know. In court, it’s better to prove I warned him and he ignored it.”

Calisten noticed Briseis’ lip was split, a little blood had gathered from being hit.

“Brise, you need to put medicine on your lips.”

She nodded. He squeezed ointment onto her lips. Though the bed didn’t move, a strange metallic squeak could be heard somewhere, like twisting a spring.

“Ugh…”

His face and ears were red, and Briseis, uncomfortable seeing him like that, closed her eyes. The cool, tingling feeling on her lips was easier to sense.