TMGDW 05

Chapter 05

It was as if someone had splashed cold water on her—she woke with a start. Selena sat up abruptly.

“When did you come?”

“A while ago.”

Why had he just been watching?

As Selena blinked her eyes, Calix spoke in a low voice.

“Surely you didn’t think I’d pounce on you while you were asleep? I may be trash, but I’m not that kind of trash.”

“……Then why did you take me as your wife?”

What kind of man was her father? Gambling, all sorts of luxuries…… hadn’t he been drowning in debt?

He had paid off all those debts, so he must have bought her for an unimaginable sum.

But was she really worth that much?

If he wasn’t going to touch her, then why…….

“My wife is quite curious. Or perhaps she lacks awareness that she was sold.”

His voice was cold.

As he said, she had indeed been sold. But…… why did those words make her feel disappointed?

As she lowered her head, a deep sigh and a low voice settled in her ear.

“Let’s be honest. You, too, think I’m horrifying, just like everyone else. But it’s too late to regret it now—the fact that you’re my wife won’t change.”

“I’ve never thought you were horrifying.”

“…….”

“I know full well that you don’t trust me, Archduke.”

Though she had been confined all her life, did she not recognize the emotion in his eyes when he looked at her? She wasn’t that foolish.

That was precisely why she had felt drawn to him from the very first moment.

She liked those eyes that couldn’t trust her—those eyes so dry they were almost cold.

Those clear eyes held no ulterior motives, no wickedness.

“It doesn’t matter to me what you think of me, Archduke. But please don’t misinterpret my feelings. I have never thought ill of you.”

Selena spoke each word with a trembling voice.

Where had such courage welled up from within her?

After she finished speaking, embarrassment washed over her belatedly.

“…….”

As if her courage had been in vain, Calix gave no answer.

He looked down at her silently for a moment, then left the bedroom just as he had on the first night.

*”I’ve never thought you were horrifying.”*

Nonsense.

A hollow laugh escaped through his gritted teeth.

Calix went straight to fetch his sword. As he strapped on the sword that was as good as one with his body, his irritation seemed to subside slightly.

After climbing the spiral staircase for a while, he arrived at a spacious terrace. The fierce wind characteristic of the North lashed at Calix’s cheeks.

Beyond the terrace railing, his territory stretched out into the distance.

Just nine years ago, it had been an empty wasteland, but now it seemed to have the scent of people living there.

It was a barren land where plants couldn’t grow properly due to the endless cold winters.

At the time, poor wanderers without homes had come all the way to this distant North to settle and live.

That was why the first thing Calix did upon receiving this territory was to supply every household with greenhouses, distribute seeds for farming, and share food for immediate consumption.

But the reaction he received was not favorable.

*”A monster! Waaah!”*

How could he forget? The people who had pointed fingers at him, calling him a monster when he stepped out into the streets to tour his territory.

The feeling of seeing a child with a tear-streaked face, having even wet his pants in fear……

*”I-I-I’m so sorry, Y-Your Grace the Archduke. The child didn’t know any better and made a mistake. P-Please forgive him…….”*

The child’s mother also said this, trembling and terrified.

After that, Calix never stepped outside the castle except when heading to battle.

Instead, on nights when the bright moon shone, like now, he would silently look down at his territory from the terrace atop his castle.

Calix silently drew his sword from its sheath and gazed quietly at his reflection in it.

His single visible eye, the scars scattered across his face, his firmly sealed lips as if he had forgotten how to smile.

Just then, the magic sword hummed and spoke to him.

—Do you regret it, Calix? Accepting my offer.

“No.”

—You seem troubled. Is it because of that woman?

Calix scoffed.

“As if.”

—Do not regret it. I went through the trouble of making your handsome face hideous—don’t tell me you want to go back to how it was. And…….

The magic sword trailed off, uncharacteristically.

As Calix looked down with curious eyes, the magic sword whispered lowly.

—Well, no normal human would ever love a monster.

Who could look at this appearance and not call it a monster?

“You’re right. Just as you say.”

Calix laughed self-deprecatingly.

The monster reflected in the magic sword laughed grotesquely along with him.

—

* * *

Three months had already passed since Selena had come to the Archduke’s castle.

Even so, Calix still did not share a bedroom with Selena. Even when they happened to have meals together, he would often rise from his seat first.

Just like right now.

“A-Are you already done with your meal?”

“No appetite.”

“……Are you heading straight to the training ground?”

“Yes.”

With that short reply, he left without looking back. Selena’s face darkened as she watched her husband’s retreating figure.

Just then, the now-familiar voice of Jerome came from nearby.

“Your Highness the Archduchess.”

Selena looked up at Jerome. When their eyes met, Jerome’s eyes crinkled refreshingly.

“How about going out for a stroll with me today, as a change of pace?”

At Jerome’s gesture of slightly bowing and extending one hand, Selena’s gloomy face brightened as if it had never been.

“Yes, I’d love to.”

—

* * *

Wrapped tightly from head to toe in a warm woolen robe, Selena stepped outside the castle gates under Jerome’s escort.

“The roads are quite slippery, so please hold my arm.”

Perhaps because it was such a cold region, it snowed frequently in the North.

The snow that had fallen all through the night showed no signs of melting even the next day.

After hesitating, Selena cautiously took Jerome’s arm. His well-trained forearm, honed through years of battlefield life, was felt through her fingertips.

*’The Archduke’s arm was a little…… sturdier than this.’*

Recalling the first night she had met her husband, Selena’s fair cheeks quickly flushed red.

Calix never looked back at her, but neither did he push her away. And whenever she asked a question, she received at least a short reply.

No matter how much others called her husband a monster, to Selena he didn’t seem that way at all.

Whenever she secretly watched him commanding the knights at the training ground, one side of her cheek would naturally relax.

“The barbarians used to invade the North at every opportunity, causing endless headaches, but ever since the Commander arrived, those incidents have completely ceased. The barbarians’ entire line was wiped out, you might say.”

Jerome praised Calix, his teal eyes shining brightly.

At his profile, thick with loyalty, Selena smiled softly and looked around.

The streets were full of vitality.

Despite the cold weather, the people on the streets all had bright faces, and the laughter of children never ceased from within the houses.

“I don’t understand why everyone calls such a remarkable person a monster.”

Shouldn’t they be grateful instead?

At Selena’s softly added words, Jerome smiled faintly.

After a moment of choosing his words, Jerome cast his gaze into the distance.

“People judge by what they see.”

“…….”

“If something looks like a monster to their eyes, they call it a monster. All while failing to see the monster within themselves.”

Jerome’s gaze sank deep.

As if to lift the subdued atmosphere, he pointed to a stall selling various accessories.

“Would you like to take a look?”

Lately, Jerome had been frequently slacking off under the pretext of watching Selena.

*’That man has never once missed a single training session until now.’*

Even if it was to keep an eye on his wife, this was too much.

The two of them had been sticking together almost constantly.

Some servants who witnessed this gossiped.

“Jerome is quite handsome, isn’t he? And that’s not all—he comes from the prestigious Marquis family, you know. When he joined the knight order, the tears shed by the young ladies of the capital were said to have more than filled the Imperial Palace fountain!”

Calix let out a hollow laugh.

*’Anyone hearing that would think I forced him to come. That bastard insisted on joining my knight order of his own accord.’*

Then they added.

“Hey, hey, did you know the Archduchess was sold here?”

“I heard that rumor too. I mean, who would want to marry the Monster Archduke? Even I was shocked when I saw his face on my first day of work. If it weren’t for the pay, I wouldn’t be working here either.”

Monster Archduke.

Did they even realize that the one paying their wages was that very Monster Archduke?

*’People who judge only by what they see have no place in my castle.’*

Calix deliberately made his footsteps loud as he approached them.

When their eyes met, the gossiping servants flinched and bowed their heads deeply.

“You were chattering so merrily just a moment ago. Have you all suddenly become mute?”

“A-Ar-Archduke…….”

“As of today, you’re all fired. I hired humans to work, not garbage.”

At Calix’s dry words, the servants’ faces turned pale.

“Y-Y-Your Grace the Archduke! We’re sorry! We’re truly sorry!”

“Get the hell out of my castle. If I see you again, take it as a sign that I’ll personally cut out those useless tongues of yours.”

Calix curled one corner of his mouth and grinned.

His smile was so chilling that they screamed and fled.

His fearsome face proved quite useful at times like this. Just a little intimidation and people would run away as if they’d seen a real monster.

“Not even funny.”

*”I mean, who would want to marry the Monster Archduke?”*

Calix chewed over the words one servant had uttered.

He knew it himself. That was why he had paid a high price for a wife and had never treated her like a proper lady of the house.

He had practically neglected her, so it wouldn’t have been strange at all if she and Jerome, whom he had assigned to watch her, had grown close.

*’Come to think of it, that bastard Jerome is getting on my nerves.’*

Lately, hadn’t honey been dripping from Jerome’s eyes whenever he looked at his wife?

He had assigned Jerome to keep watch, but all Jerome did was prattle on about useless things concerning Selena.

*”Her Highness the Archduchess smiled brightly when she saw the white flowers in the garden.”*

*”Her Highness the Archduchess feels the cold easily, so I’ve ordered a few more warm garments.”*

*”Her Highness the Archduchess praised the Commander at the training ground, saying he looked magnificent.”*

Was he completely insane?

He wasn’t interested in any of that.

*’Before that bastard’s head gets any weirder, I should tell him today to stop the surveillance.’*

With that thought, Calix stepped into the training ground.

It was just past two in the afternoon.

Normally, this would be the time when the sounds of clashing swords, battle cries, and the smell of sweat all mingled together……

But for some reason, the training ground was dead silent.

*’What on earth is going on here?’*

As he looked around the empty space with a bewildered expression, he heard murmuring near the wall surrounding the training ground.

Following the sound, he saw the bizarre sight of knights vying with each other to look at something beyond the wall.

“Hey, move your head. I can’t see well from here.”

“That’s because you’re short, you idiot.”

“Wow, she’s really pretty. No wonder the Vice-Commander’s got his head turned.”

Calix concealed his presence and approached from behind the knights.

Seeing those foolish backs of heads that didn’t even notice him until he was inches away, he felt his temper flare up.

They were clearly all insane.

“You goddamn bastards.”

At the cool, familiar voice, the knights slowly turned their heads.

Their Commander stood before them, his face even more terrifying than usual.

“AAAH! C-Commander!”

Startled, some of the knights even fell on their backsides.

“What were you so engrossed in that you didn’t even notice me coming…….”

Calix belatedly followed the direction of the knights’ gazes.

In that instant, Calix’s face froze cold.

Outside the castle, before a street stall, a man and a woman were laughing brightly as if nothing in the world could trouble them.

The woman with her long golden hair neatly braided to one side was his wife, and the gray-haired man with a sword at his waist was his adjutant.

Walking shoulder to shoulder, they looked just like a happy couple.

*’That bastard, who’s supposedly my adjutant…….’*

A sense of betrayal surged within him.

It was Jerome who had pleaded to be accepted into the Elixion Knights, abandoning his prestigious Marquis household.

And that wasn’t all. Even after grueling training, he never complained.

He was even the strange one who had requested that the training ground remain open so he could train more afterward.

He had tenacity and skill. Calix had recognized that and had even given him the position of Vice-Commander three years ago.

And now that man had fallen so hard for his wife that he couldn’t think straight.

Before the knights could stop him.

Suddenly overcome with rage, Calix vaulted cleanly over the training ground wall and charged toward the two.

“C-Commander!”

Even though it wasn’t wartime, Calix had stepped outside the castle on his own feet for the first time in exactly 8 years and 15 days.