VNC 33

Chapter 33

“Has he come to his senses a bit?”

Shuwen felt slightly embarrassed.

Quite some time had passed since she’d given him the medicine, but Esselian showed no sign of moving. Because of that, Shuwen had no choice but to keep holding him.

At least one thing was fortunate—Esselian wasn’t acting frightening anymore.

“Your Highness.”

“……”

“What I gave you was a calming potion. I tend to get startled easily, so His Majesty gave it to me.”

If the healing potion were discovered, Shuwen would be finished.

Up to now, she had been secretly feeding Esselian healing potions. He likely believed he was purified through physical contact.

That was why she had held him in her arms for so long.

She thought she ought to explain, somehow.

Slowly, Shuwen loosened the arms that had been holding him. She separated her body from Esselian and opened the cap of the glass vial.

“I’ll drink some too.”

This was the only way to dispel his suspicion.

Tilting her head back, Shuwen deliberately drank the potion. Surprisingly, it had no taste at all. The colorless, odorless medicine was no different from water.

As expected, nothing happened.

“As long as we’re husband and wife, I’ll always be on Your Highness’s side.”

So you should be on my side too.

Shuwen wanted mutual cooperation, but she decided it was better not to voice the rest and swallowed the words instead.

Esselian simply stared at her blankly, like someone whose soul had wandered off. After hesitating, Shuwen gently wiped away his tears, as if telling him to stop crying.

“……For now, this place is a mess, so I think we should move somewhere else.”

It was Shuwen who broke the awkward silence.

Everything around them was in shambles. When Shuwen absentmindedly stood up and started to walk, the cord wrapped around her hand tugged tight.

“Oh, right… I forgot about this.”

Dealing with Esselian’s sudden bout of madness had left Shuwen feeling completely drained as well.

Esselian lifted his head and quietly looked up at her.

Shuwen considered speaking to him when she realized he didn’t seem fully lucid yet, and closed her mouth again.

When she abruptly turned around, she spotted a locket.

What on earth is that thing?

From afar, she couldn’t see what was inside. Each step she took toward the locket made the cord pull taut.

But the one being dragged wasn’t Esselian—it was Shuwen, who held the cord.

Is he a rock or something?

Shuwen pulled the cord with both hands. That was when Esselian, who had been docile until then, lowered his head and laughed.

“Are you treating me like a dog, my lady?”

“Gasp!”

Shuwen hastily loosened her grip on the cord. She thought he still wasn’t fully conscious…!

“No, no! Of course not! Haha…”

Worried that Esselian might get angry at being treated like a dog, Shuwen hurriedly denied it.

Though it’s kind of true.

She had no confidence she could handle the consequences if she said that out loud.

But when Esselian raised his head again, he was smiling strangely.

“Master.”

The skin beneath his reddened eyes crinkled softly.

Shuwen was startled.

He was a man who should never have uttered such a title—one that didn’t suit him at all.

And yet, somehow, it suited him perfectly.

“Please treat me kindly again, like earlier.”

Esselian lightly tapped the collar restraining his neck with his fingertips.

“My neck hurts.”

Ah—Shuwen snapped back to her senses.

What am I even thinking right now?

That title, which should have meant nothing to her, felt oddly different. To be honest, it was strangely satisfying.

Still… I almost asked him to say it again.

If she had, she would’ve been taken for a weirdo. She didn’t even know why he’d said it in the first place.

“I want to take it off for you right now, but I’m a bit worried. Wouldn’t this be better for Your Highness too? Once you’re completely better tomorrow, I’ll remove it.”

“Ah. Tomorrow.”

“Even if it’s uncomfortable, I think you should endure it.”

“Are you planning to spend the night with me?”

Why did he say something so obvious?

Shuwen gestured around the room as if to show him.

“You’ll have to sleep in my room tonight. Other people can’t come in right now, either.”

Esselian wearing a collar had to remain a memory only Shuwen possessed.

When Shuwen started walking again, Esselian stood up and followed her this time.

The moment she saw the locket, Shuwen reached out to pick it up—then froze. Her eyes instinctively flicked to Esselian behind her.

She quickly stepped in front of the locket to block his view and picked it up.

Inside was a picture of a harmonious family. The overall feeling was warm and gentle—a portrait of a happy family.

One child smiling brightly inside the locket caught Shuwen’s eye.

It was probably Esselian as a child.

***

“Madam.”

Esselian looked back and forth between the small hand gripping the collar tightly and the sleeping face.

The face already lost to dreams showed no emotion.

A handful of pale moonlight illuminated the Grand Duchess’s face.

Esselian’s hand reached toward Shuwen’s neck.

It hovered there, almost touching—then pulled away.

Seeing the delicate skin flushed red, he clicked his tongue inwardly.

When he raised his upper body from where he’d been lying face to face with her, the hand holding the collar twitched naturally.

Did she wake up?

He froze and stared at the Grand Duchess as she frowned slightly. Gently, he rubbed her brow to smooth it out.

He carefully pried open the fingers clenched tightly, as if refusing to let go.

Once her hand fell limp, he slipped the cord free and straightened up.

What am I even doing?

He traced the collar encircling his neck with his hand.

It wasn’t tight enough to hurt.

Still, it was absurd that he was wearing a collar meant for a dog. And it was strange that the Grand Duchess even owned such a thing.

Narrowing his eyes, he examined the collar—it looked similar to one he’d had custom-made.

Just a coincidence.

For a moment, he thought of the woman he’d encountered at the shop, but soon dismissed it.

The Grand Duchess would have been at the palace then.

As he gently brushed aside her brown hair covering her face, he noticed the first-aid kit on the bedside table.

She really overreacts.

Thinking that, he took out some ointment.

He carefully spread it over the swollen redness on her neck.

Had he gripped her that hard?

He couldn’t quite remember.

The only thing that stood out clearly were the words that had sounded sweet for a fleeting moment.

“I’ll protect you.”

She said she’d protect him.

It was the first time he’d ever heard such words.

It was ridiculous. Such a weak, defenseless, sometimes timid woman saying she would protect him.

“As long as we’re husband and wife, I’ll always be on Your Highness’s side.”

Still, he didn’t dislike it.

He recalled the sensation of seeing only the Grand Duchess clearly, once the hallucinations and voices had faded away.

With eyes full of fear, she had spoken words sweet enough to cloud his judgment.

“Tittiana.”

For the first time, he called the Grand Duchess by her name. Tittiana. Once more, as if engraving it into himself.

“Foolish. Making promises you can’t keep.”

His index finger traced her collarbone, slipping away as the hand that applied the ointment slowly withdrew.

“What will you do if I bite down on you someday?”

A languid curve formed at the corner of his lips.

He thought that something interesting had rolled into his life.

***

[To my mother, whom I miss dearly. Mother, it’s me—Shuwen.]

Shuwen wrote a letter.

Seeing Esselian’s family portrait naturally made her think of her own family.

She also realized she’d been so focused on Esselian that she’d neglected them.

They must have been worried.

She wrote a brief greeting, telling them she was doing well and not to worry.

What is Esselian doing right now?

When she opened her eyes, no one was beside her.

Looking at the empty collar, Shuwen remembered him waking her at dawn—and how she’d half-asleep undone the collar for him.

It bothers me.

She had glimpsed Esselian’s past last night. She could infer what had happened from his words, but she had no intention of bringing it up again.

She had already stored the locket separately.

“Do you know what the Grand Duke fears the most?”

Why did Roni’s words suddenly come to mind?

That statement—that she would never know—kept bothering Shuwen.

“Zenith.”

Shuwen tugged the cord connected to her maid Zenith’s room. When Zenith appeared, Shuwen handed her the locket with an uneasy feeling.

“Can you check if there’s any spell or curse on this?”

“I’ll request it from the guild. It may take some time.”

Like Shuwen, Zenith was an ordinary person.

Shuwen entrusted the locket to Zenith and asked another servant to send the letter.

“Esel, did you sleep well?”

Shuwen spoke to the rabbit inside the iron cage.

She’d named the rabbit “Esel.” There was no special meaning behind it.

She couldn’t think of a proper name, so she borrowed Esselian’s, since they looked somewhat alike.

Perhaps because of that, seeing the rabbit’s red eyes made her think of Esselian even more.

He’d be upset if he knew I pitied him.

Even so, she was worried—so she had to go check on him.

Shuwen tidied herself up and stood. She planned to peek at Esselian through the door crack so as not to disturb him.

“Your Highness, good morning.”

The moment she went downstairs, she ran into Naiven.

She had completely forgotten they were still here.

“Good morning.”

Hoping they would leave soon, Shuwen headed for Esselian’s office.

Perhaps it truly was a coincidence—Naiven didn’t follow her.

I need to get rid of them somehow. Quickly.

Should she transform into Esselian again and chase them out?

With such grim thoughts, Shuwen slightly opened the office door.

She pressed her face close to the narrow gap.

A modern interior came into view. Without effort, she immediately spotted Esselian.

He was seated at the desk bathed in sunlight.

He looked nothing like the unstable man from the night before.

Resting his chin on one hand as he read documents, his face was coldly expressionless.

What? He looks perfectly fine.

Her worry seemed pointless—Esselian looked just as he always did.

It’s not like his mental strength is especially strong…

“I was worried he might be struggling, but this is a relief.”

I can finally relax.

Because of Roni’s cryptic words, Shuwen had been on edge the entire time.

Seeing Esselian looking fine put her at ease.

Just as she muttered to herself and was about to close the door—

Esselian tilted his head. As if something had caught his attention, he stared intently at the bookshelf across from the door.

Then he picked up his teacup, his movements elegant and refined.

The incident happened just as Shuwen, who had been spying on him the whole time, turned halfway away.

Crash—!

The sharp sound of shattering glass rang out.

Esselian, having broken the teacup, wore a grave expression.

He raised a hand to cover his face. A long sigh dispersed like smoke. Because of the shadow cast by his hand, Shuwen couldn’t see his face.

He turned his body completely away. Gripping the doorknob, Shuwen glanced at the back of his white head.

“Ah… this is exhausting.”

It sounded like a sigh.

“I can’t even drink tea.”