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Chapter : 34
After Laying Him Down
A large body loomed over her head.
“I’ll put you to sleep. Let’s turn in now.”
Benjamin brushed back his dark red hair. When the strands tangled in his fingers, his lips loosened.
“Is the fire weak? Your cheeks are cold.”
“The corridor was cold.”
“Honestly… that’s because you came out dressed so lightly.”
Charlophe slipped her hair free from his grasp. Pulling up the blanket, she made Benjamin lie down first.
“Did you call me to put you to sleep, or because you wanted to put me to sleep?”
“I’ll lay you down first and then think about it.”
Charlophe lay down beside him.
She pulled the blanket up to his shoulders and tucked him in.
Is this not enough?
As Charlophe touched his forehead with the back of her hand, a chuckle came from beside her.
“You’re copying exactly what I do.”
“I don’t really know what else I’m supposed to do. Am I clumsy?”
“It’s fine.”
“Thankfully, you don’t have a fever. It’s not a cold.”
“If a knight who wields a blade catches a cold, he might as well go die. Wouldn’t that mean he can’t even take care of his own body?”
How could someone so careless about himself claim to take care of another?
Benjamin’s tone was light, as if he were joking.
Was that meant for me to hear?
Your body is barely holding together, and you say you’re taking care of me?
It sounded almost like a reproach.
“After laying me down, then what?”
“I’m going to sleep too.”
Charlophe settled beside him.
“The night wind is loud. I don’t think I could fall asleep alone.”
“You’re scared to sleep alone, Charlophe.”
Charlophe blew out the candle. She set the candlestick back on the table and sat on the edge of the bed.
She felt around beneath the blanket.
The blanket rustled softly.
She wriggled in, finding a place to lie down.
As she turned her back, his body touched hers.
He stretched out his arm to make room for her.
“Come closer.”
It felt like he was looking at her.
“You came planning to sleep together anyway.”
Benjamin pulled Charlophe into his arms. His chest pressed against her back.
It was like crashing into an angry rock—his embrace was hot and solid.
Charlophe turned around.
As her eyes adjusted to the dark, his figure became clearer.
As expected, Benjamin was looking at her.
His pitch-black pupils gleamed faintly in the darkness.
He brushed aside her stray hairs and wrapped an arm around her waist.
“You can’t be the one who brought me here and then turn your back on me.”
He whispered.
“And after that?”
What should she do now?
“Was that all? Just soothing me and putting me to sleep beside you?”
He lightly patted her stomach.
As if asking, Is that all?
His touch was gentle, like patting a child’s belly.
Sometimes fast, sometimes slow.
He cupped her lower abdomen and tapped lightly with his fingertips, like pressing piano keys.
“So that was all.”
Lying slightly on his side with his arm propped up, he stopped moving his hand.
As if he’d fallen asleep, his breathing gradually became calm.
She quietly traced his features. His posture was neat, his expression unchanged.
His eyelashes were long, and the eyes hidden beneath them no longer carried their usual menace.
“Why?”
Sensing her gaze, Benjamin opened his eyes. They were dim with sleepiness.
Charlophe held his chin.
It was smooth. His hands were full of calluses and scars, yet his cheeks were pale and unblemished.
It made her heart ache.
Charlophe closed her eyes and leaned in.
Their lips met.
If cold warmth existed, it would feel like this.
Hot breath escaped. She bit his lip, moistening it.
As she sucked lightly, her teeth pressed into the soft flesh, taking a gentle bite.
“You drive people crazy.”
You pull the rope taut like a dangerous tug-of-war, then let go—drawing close only to pull away again.
“Charlophe.”
The whispered name scattered in the space between their mouths.
Benjamin looked down at the sleeping Charlophe.
The candle by the bed had gone out.
He pulled up the blanket to cover her.
When he lay beside her and soothed her, her expression relaxed.
She slept with her hands folded over her navel.
She lay straight, tidy even in sleep.
“I made a foolish promise.”
I shouldn’t have made that promise on the wedding night.
“You look very at ease.”
Charlophe turned onto her side.
Her dark red hair scattered over the white blanket like spilled traces.
He couldn’t look away.
She lay facing away, only one cheek faintly visible.
Even in the darkness, her skin was pale and clear. Her slender neck stood out.
He buried his face against the nape of her neck.
“I didn’t do anything.”
Not yet.
“You were the one who told me not to leave you alone, Charlophe.”
As if she heard him, Charlophe turned to face him.
That meant she was deeply asleep.
You don’t know this while you’re asleep, but you have a habit.
You fumble for warmth, burrowing into someone’s arms.
She murmured softly.
“Don’t go.”
Don’t leave me alone. It was a desperate plea—a true wish whispered in sleep.
“Don’t leave me by myself.”
Please. Come back.
The whisper slowly faded.
After seeing you like this, how could I leave you alone?
I kept my promise not to leave you.
I listened to the words you murmured in your sleep.
That’s why I’m still here.
Charlophe reached out. Her white fingers grasped at his clothes.
Lacking strength, she barely clung to the hem of his shirt.
Benjamin pulled her into his arms.
Charlophe was warm yet cool.
Her hands and feet were cold, but her nape and forehead were hot. He brushed over that lukewarm warmth with the back of his hand, then stopped.
“I can’t act like a beast at your side.”
What should I do with you?
He gently stroked her fragile back. As his hand moved slowly, her breathing grew lighter.
He drifted into a light sleep. Her steady breaths lulled him.
Dawn came.
After that—
Time continued to pass.
And a few days later—
News arrived from outside.
The old man who had returned the Empress Dowager’s remains passed away.
As if he had fulfilled his role and quietly departed.
The old cabin was small but cozy.
Built of wood, it smelled of dry firewood.
“The old man passed away just a few days after completing the repatriation ceremony,” the imperial official reported.
As if his last thread of life had been tied to the Empress Dowager.
“Did he have any family?”
“No. It seems he lived here alone.”
“And the funeral rites?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Everything was carried out properly.”
The official scratched his head awkwardly.
“The old man said he knew the day he returned here would be his last. He said that if he were to die someday, he wanted to die in the place he had lived for over seventy years.”
“He said that himself?”
“Yes. They say the elderly have deep insight. He claimed he had lived longer than his destined life—staying in this world solely to return the Empress Dowager. Having completed his duty, he said he could finally close his eyes. We were fortunate enough to be present at his passing.”
Even when the palace offered him an estate, the old man had refused. He had already glimpsed his death.
“Then that’s enough.”
It was nearing evening. Benjamin pulled on a fur cloak.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been out after the royal marriage. I’d like to walk a bit more.”
“Shall we visit the night market?”
“Ah… since we’re already out, that sounds good.”
As Charlophe left the cabin, her gaze lingered on the forest path.
The old man had cleared it all himself. She could easily imagine his bent back, cutting grass over and over.
A mountain cabin, I suppose.
The scent of dry firewood seemed to linger at the tip of her nose.
The captain of the guard approached Benjamin.
“Your Majesty, how many guards should accompany you to the night market?”
“Just a few. Have them follow at a distance.”
“Understood.”
The night market was held in a wide plaza.
With the New Year’s Festival approaching, it was bustling. Temporary stalls lined up under lantern light, and crowds filled every corner.
How could anyone guard properly in this chaos?
When Charlophe glanced back with curiosity, Benjamin’s answer was simple:
If you can sense them, they might as well give up their knighthood and retire to the countryside—so stop looking back.
The night market was filled with mixed scents of street food.
Spices heavily sprinkled over meat made her nose tingle.
Vendors shouting, children running past with pinwheels in their hands.
For a moment, she lost herself.
Children brushed past Charlophe.
When she turned her head, small figures carrying skewered chicken disappeared into the crowd.
“Should we try that?”
“The spices probably won’t suit your taste.”
“But I’m curious. What makes them so happy, running around like that?”
I never got to do that as a child.
“Would you like a chicken skewer?”
A woman in an apron handed over a skewer drenched in spicy sauce.
The grilled chicken looked appetizing.
It had that distinctly unhealthy street-food vibe—but not in a bad way.
When she took a bite, the scent of cinnamon rose. As she squinted one eye, Benjamin opened his mouth.
“Doesn’t suit you?”
He took a bite and paid.
“Give it here.”
“Are you sure?”
“I used to eat these often as drinking snacks.”
Benjamin finished the skewer, then went on to demolish grilled octopus and squid as well.
“Come this way.”
They moved through the crowd.
People bundled in winter clothes lingered around gambling stalls.
Charlophe glanced around, then stopped in one spot.
“Why did you stop?”
They were in front of the central tower.
A narrow alley branched off from the busy street.
They stood there for a moment before someone stopped them.
“Your Majesty, you should come this way for a moment.”
“A—someone’s been stabbed! Someone’s been stabbed!”
A scream rang out.
“Chase him!”
The man fled down the alley. It grew darker the further he ran.
“You’re surrounded! Surrender peacefully!”
The man’s eyes rolled back. He gagged and swallowed, his breathing eerie.
“…You idiots. Die, all of you.”
He pulled something from his clothes.
A transparent bottle, filled with a dark red liquid.
He smashed it onto the ground.
The glass shattered, and the liquid seeped into the earth. A toxic stench corroded the ground.
“Ugh! What is this stench?!”
The ground began to heave. A wave rose from below, bricks crumbling like dirt.
“E—everyone, fall back!”
“Grrrr…?”
Bones burst up from the ground.
