TMGDW 04

Chapter 04

Jerome observed her while hiding for a few more hours, but he detected no particularly suspicious circumstances.

He immediately reported to Calix.

“She went to the garden?”

“Yes.”

“…….”

Was he displeased that his wife had gone to the garden?

Calix’s already frightening face grew even more somber.

“By the way, there were animals in the garden. Small ones—squirrels and rabbits.”

Calix, who had been stroking his chin, stiffened slightly at the corner of his mouth.

“So? What did that woman do in the garden?”

“Nothing out of the ordinary. She looked around the garden with curiosity, and instead of pushing away the animals that approached her, she took care of them.”

“Is that all?”

Calix gestured with his chin as if to tell him to continue.

Jerome honestly reported what he had seen and felt.

“In my opinion, she didn’t seem like a bad person.”

She had seemed a little—no, a lot—lonely as well.

He didn’t add the last part. It was obvious he wouldn’t hear anything good if he did.

It was a well-known fact among the knights, not just Jerome, that the Commander hated humans.

Calix twisted one corner of his mouth as if he couldn’t believe it.

“We’ll see what kind of person she is in time.”

Just as Jerome had expected.

Jerome gazed at Calix’s profile, where his misanthropy was deeply rooted.

Just then, a strong gust of wind characteristic of the northern region blew in, stinging Calix’s cheeks as if scolding him.

“Damn.”

At the sudden wind, Calix grimaced and swept his black hair upward.

No matter how much others called him a monster, Jerome, who had watched him for a long time, knew the truth.

The black eyepatch aside, and despite his scarred face, Calix was closer to a handsome man than a monster.

Back when his face had been free of scars, there was hardly a noble house that hadn’t sent him a marriage proposal.

*’But what made him suddenly decide to get married?’*

“Um…… Commander.”

Calix watched his adjutant, who was hesitating unusually, with suspicious eyes.

“I know this is presumptuous of me, but may I approach your wife closely and observe what kind of person she is in detail?”

“……Do as you please.”

It was typical of Calix to trust his adjutant, who had rolled around the battlefield with him for years, over a wife he’d only met yesterday.

Calix had no idea at this moment that he would come to regret his answer.

Her heart had been pounding nervously all throughout her walk. It was almost time for dinner with her husband.

Selena’s hands, gripping her dress tightly, were drenched with sweat.

*’Will he allow it?’*

If her husband allowed her to feed the animals, she would be overjoyed.

Upon entering the spacious dining hall, she saw a square marble table.

On the table were freshly made stew, grilled fish, and other steaming hot dishes, along with dark red wine.

At the head of the table was a fireplace, and Calix, who had arrived first, was silently watching the sparks scattering from the crackling fire.

For some reason, Selena couldn’t take her eyes off her husband.

His nose bridge, shadowed with deep contours, was high and straight, and his lips were as red as if he had bitten into a ripe pomegranate.

His blue eyes, holding the flickering flames, looked like blue waves, perhaps because they contrasted with his black hair.

The scars on his face were no issue at all—he was strikingly handsome.

As she gazed at him as if entranced, he turned his head and looked at her.

“Sit down.”

His tone was as emotionless as his gaze.

After confirming that Selena had taken her seat, Calix called over a servant standing by the door.

“Check it.”

It was the procedure to check whether the food had been poisoned.

The servant faithfully followed his orders.

Only after confirming that it was safe to eat did Calix pick up his knife and cut into the steak before him.

To Selena, the movement looked incredibly elegant.

Unlike her small hands, his were very large. The same hands that had held her and laid her on the bed last night.

“No appetite?”

Calix set down his utensils and leaned back. Thanks to that, his large pectoral muscles, visible through the gap in his clothes, came into Selena’s view.

His fierce, muscular upper body looked like a weapon at first glance.

“Ar-Archduke, your clothes…… came undone.”

At Selena’s words, Calix tilted his head slightly and looked down at his own clothes.

Indeed. His upper body was now fully exposed, likely because the knot had come undone when he leaned back.

“A woman like you wouldn’t be embarrassed by something like this.”

Calix said, tying his clothes back together as if it were no big deal.

At this point, Selena wondered what on earth her father had told him when he sold her off. But she couldn’t bring herself to ask aloud.

“Why did you go to the garden?”

How did her husband, who had been at the training ground all day, know she had gone to the garden?

“You said I could wander anywhere except the training ground.”

Calix’s lip curled. He took a sip of wine and spoke.

“Trying to play the lady of the house already?”

Selena shook her head vigorously. That hadn’t been her intention at all. She only needed to stay here.

“If you wish, I can stay in the bedroom and not take a single step outside.”

At Selena’s words, Calix gave no answer.

Encouraged by his silent gaze fixed on her, Selena continued hesitantly.

“Earlier, while walking through the garden, I saw some animals. Small, cute ones like squirrels and rabbits. If it’s alright, I’d like your permission to give them food…….”

Before Selena could finish, Calix set down his glass with a loud clink.

The glare he shot her was fierce.

In the uncomfortable silence, only the sound of utensils tapping against plates passed between them.

How much time had passed like that?

It was Calix’s irritated voice that broke the silence.

“Let me correct myself. If you want, you may wander anywhere, even the training ground. Of course, I won’t stop you from going outside the castle or feeding the animals either.”

“What?”

At the completely unexpected words, Selena’s already large eyes grew as round as saucers.

“Instead, wherever you go and whatever you do, you’ll have to take my adjutant with you.”

“When you say adjutant……?”

“Jerome.”

At Calix’s call, Jerome, who had been waiting like a shadow, immediately appeared.

Startled, Selena flinched, and Jerome placed one hand over his chest and spoke in a calm tone.

“I apologize if I startled you, Your Highness the Archduchess. My name is Jerome Devan Heinrich.”

The gray-haired man who politely introduced himself was the one she remembered seeing at the training ground earlier.

Unlike the other knights who had been swinging their swords vigorously, he had been standing beside her husband with his sword still in its sheath.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Selena.”

“Please feel free to call me Jerome.”

“Ah, then Jerome…….”

As Selena cautiously spoke his name, Jerome’s eyes crinkled as he nodded.

Calix, who had been silently watching the two, finally spoke.

“I’ll be taking my leave now.”

“Oh.”

As he turned his back without hesitation, Selena urgently caught the hem of his sleeve as he passed by.

She had only barely grabbed it, but a deep furrow formed between Calix’s brows.

At his cold gaze, Selena gently released her hand and answered.

“I haven’t had the chance to thank you yet……. Thank you, for granting my request.”

“…….”

As Calix silently tilted his head, Selena’s clear sky-blue eyes were filled entirely with his face.

As her husband gazed straight at her, her mind went completely blank.

“Ah…….”

Selena sighed unconsciously.

The neckline stretching above his black collar and his firmly set lips exuded a strong masculinity.

How had this man come to be called a monster?

Selena simply couldn’t understand the people who called her husband a monster.

“Do you truly mean that you’re grateful?”

She couldn’t tell what his intention was, but Selena found herself nodding as if entranced.

Tilting his head, he grasped Selena’s chin with one hand.

Startled, Selena gasped, and Calix immediately withdrew his hand and spoke in a cold voice.

“If you’re grateful, repay me in the bedroom.”

That was hardly something a man who had left the bedroom last night should say.

Without looking back at her, whose lips were parting, Calix calmly disappeared down the corridor.

“He’s always been that way, but you don’t need to worry.”

Jerome said, though he wasn’t sure why he was making excuses for his superior’s behavior.

Having observed him for years, Calix was truly a madman in his own right. He acted as if he didn’t even know the meaning of consideration.

Though they had rolled around the battlefield together for a considerable ten years, he was still a superior Jerome couldn’t understand.

“His face is frightening and he has a sharp tongue, but he’s not really a bad person…….”

“I know.”

“Pardon?”

“I’ve known he’s not a bad person since the first time I saw him.”

Selena smiled faintly as she looked at the spot where Calix had been.

With a shy blush on her cheeks, she looked exactly like a woman in love.

*’Good heavens…….’*

For a moment, Jerome doubted his own eyes.

He thought he finally understood what his superior meant when he’d said that woman was suspicious.

—

* * *

—

Dusty floors, sunlight coming through a palm-sized window crack, old mildew stains, and the smell of damp rotting wood.

Her childhood, when she had been driven to the annex attic by the Viscountess Serius’s pressure.

Her mother used to sing her a lullaby every night.

—

*Baby, baby.*

*Even when the deep veil of night’s darkness tries to swallow you, do not be afraid. Dana, the god of light, will protect you.*

*When sorrow comes rushing in like water, do not hold back your tears. Nyeph, the goddess who descended to earth, will soothe your grief.*

—

Selena fell asleep listening to her mother’s gentle singing.

But at some point, her mother’s words had noticeably decreased, and she no longer sang lullabies.

Ah, her mother, who had turned her back again, was moving far away, leaving her behind.

*’Don’t leave me alone.’*

Selena reached out toward her disappearing mother, but she had already vanished beyond the fog.

Then suddenly, the scenery changed.

Everything became blurry except for a voice she could hear.

Above the hazy landscape, only a man’s voice was clear.

*”Does sitting down and crying your eyes out solve anything?”*

As she held back her tears, a rough hand roughly tousled her hair before falling away.

*”Good job.”*

*”…….”*

It was an awkward but gentle touch.

Just as she opened her mouth to ask who it was, bright moonlight poured in through the window.

—

*’When did I fall asleep?’*

A single tear had rolled down Selena’s cheek.

She rubbed her eyes and lifted her head.

Calix, with a dry expression, was looking down at her from above.