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Chapter: 19
A little while later.
When I arrived in front of the study, I lightly knocked on the door.
“Evan. May I come in for a moment?”
“Come in.”
As I stepped inside, he was much the same as yesterday, standing behind his desk and reviewing documents.
“What brings you here?”
he asked in his usual flat tone.
Looking at his expressionless face, which seemed incapable of revealing even the slightest emotion, I got straight to the point.
“It’s about the new bed in the bedroom. Why did you suddenly replace it?”
At my question, he finally lifted his gaze from the papers.
Then, in a tone as though it were nothing important, he answered,
“If the bed was uncomfortable, you should have told me immediately.”
“…What?”
I stared at him in complete confusion, and he let out a short sigh.
“From now on, if anything is inconvenient while you’re living here, there’s no need to endure it. Just have it changed.”
He added that if the household allowance I received for maintaining appearances wasn’t enough, I should simply increase the budget as much as necessary.
The conversation had felt strangely out of sync from the very beginning, and I couldn’t stop tilting my head in confusion.
After quietly watching me, Evan looked away and spoke.
“I merely happened to overhear the servants talking this morning. They said you had bruises on your waist because you hadn’t slept well.”
“……”
When I simply stared at him without saying anything, his tone grew even rougher.
“At the very least, you should be able to sleep comfortably. I had the bed brought in because everyone said it was excellent. I didn’t think it would suit your body that poorly.”
By now, a frown had formed between his brows, and that intimidating aura of his had returned.
I could only gape at him like a fish while thinking,
This man… surely…
Did he misunderstand and think the bruises on my waist were caused by the bed?
My waist wasn’t hurting at all now.
Which meant he’d almost certainly overheard the maids talking about the bruises and come to the wrong conclusion.
“If you’re finished, would you please leave now?”
He withdrew his gaze from me and coldly dismissed me.
But I couldn’t bring myself to leave.
If I let this misunderstanding continue, it might become an even bigger problem later.
“Um… Evan.”
The moment I called his name, his sharp gaze landed on me again.
After clearing my throat a few times, I spoke.
“I don’t think you heard why my waist ended up bruised… But it’s completely fine now. It doesn’t hurt at all.”
He looked utterly confused about what I was talking about, but I continued awkwardly.
“It was our first night together.”
“What does that have to do with—”
“The maids offered to give me a massage, and when they saw my body, there was a large bruise on my waist. I think it happened when you caught me so I wouldn’t fall. But when they saw it, they all misunderstood.”
I deliberately emphasized the last part while giving him a meaningful look.
That should be enough for him to understand—
Rustle.
The stack of papers in his hand suddenly slipped free and scattered all over the floor.
“Are you okay?”
I looked back and forth between the documents strewn across the floor and Evan in surprise.
It was as though all the strength had suddenly left his hand.
He stood there completely frozen, unable to move.
After remaining like a statue for quite some time, Evan calmly reached for another stack of documents beside him and said,
“I see. I didn’t hear that part.”
“…Yes. I thought you should know. We’re married, after all.”
“I understand.”
After saying that, Evan kept his eyes fixed on the papers without looking up again.
The atmosphere had suddenly become unbearably awkward.
I was about to leave when a quiet voice called out behind me.
“…Did it hurt a lot?”
When I turned around, Evan was looking at me with an unusually serious expression.
“No. It didn’t hurt. My skin is just naturally sensitive. I bruise really easily, even from a small bump, so you don’t have to worry about it.”
“Who said I was worried?”
he replied, shifting his gaze back to the documents.
His posture silently told me it was time to leave, so I simply said I’d be going and walked out of the study.
Though I noticed the documents he was holding had been upside down for quite a while now, I decided there was no need to point that out.
On my way back to my room,
what had just happened kept replaying in my mind.
So he could actually get flustered.
For just the briefest moment, his pupils had trembled like leaves in the wind, and the sight had left quite an impression.
For someone who looked like you couldn’t squeeze a single drop of blood out of him…
“For some reason, that was kind of cu—”
I stopped myself before finishing the sentence.
To think that a man feared throughout the world with terrifying titles like “Monster” or “War Demon” could seem cute…
Maybe it was the alcohol I’d had while eating with Father that made me almost say something so outrageous.
“Ah… I forgot to thank him.”
I had been so distracted by Evan’s rare look of embarrassment that I’d forgotten to say it.
There had been a misunderstanding, but regardless, he’d replaced that enormous bed for my sake.
It ruined the room’s appearance a little, but that hardly mattered.
From now on, every time I looked at that bed, I felt like I’d remember the duke’s flustered expression from just now.
The thought made me smile.
“I’ll see him again later anyway. I’ll thank him then.”
After glancing once toward his study, I continued on my way.
That night.
I tossed and turned on the enormous new bed that I’d suddenly had to get used to.
Then Evan quietly entered the room.
His footsteps were so careful that if I hadn’t still been awake, I never would have noticed.
Our eyes met.
“…Why are you still awake?”
“I just… can’t fall asleep yet.”
When I checked the time, it had just passed two in the morning.
“Tomorrow, ask the butler to prepare some tea that helps with sleep. It’s quite effective.”
Evan said it in a businesslike tone as he walked toward the sofa.
Looks like he’s planning to sleep there again tonight.
Watching him, I suddenly spoke.
“If you’re sleeping there because sharing a bed is uncomfortable… doesn’t that reason no longer exist?”
The new bed was so huge that you could probably roll from one end to the other ten times without reaching the opposite side.
We’d be sharing this room from now on, and seeing him sleep on the sofa every night would only keep me awake.
“At the very least, you should sleep comfortably.”
I repeated the very same words he’d used earlier.
He stared silently at the bed for a long moment before quietly replying,
“…I’m comfortable here as well.”
His stubborn insistence on the sofa made me become equally stubborn.
“I’m the uncomfortable one. How am I supposed to sleep peacefully while I’m lying comfortably and you’re over there on the sofa?”
Faced with my persistence, Evan was the first to give in.
He turned away from the sofa and walked toward the bed.
To the opposite side from where I was lying.
And so we ended up sharing the same bed, each occupying one far end.
Even lying side by side, the bed was so ridiculously large that there wasn’t any awkwardness between us.
Instead, silence settled over the room—quiet enough that we could hear each other’s breathing.
I secretly glanced in his direction.
Even while lying down, he maintained perfectly straight posture, staring up at the ceiling.
After turning off the bedside lamp completely, I quietly spoke.
“I don’t think I’ll have to worry about my back hurting anymore. This bed is really nice.”
I was simply grateful that he’d replaced the bed immediately after hearing I’d been in pain.
But apparently, he didn’t take it that way.
From the darkness came his blunt reply.
“You don’t have to go out of your way to praise this ridiculous bed. If you want to laugh, just laugh.”
I let out a small laugh.
“This situation is funny, but it’s not something I’d laugh at. More importantly… when someone does something for me, I’m genuinely grateful.”
After living with Delos, I’d hardly ever experienced this kind of consideration.
That was why all of this felt so unfamiliar to me.
