Chapter 4.3

It was the day before returning to Biente Castle. Theo left hurriedly under pressure, and the sky was filled with ominous clouds.

“Looks like it’s going to pour soon.”

“Indeed.”

Dame Rozen muttered as he scratched his head, and Tina quietly agreed and fell silent again.

Tap tap, only the fireplace burned in the lazy afternoon. Viscount Rayford and Cherilian had gone out for early morning inspections and would probably return before evening.

Dame Rozen, left with Tina, glanced at the unusually quiet Lady. After a few attempts at conversation got only weak responses, he gave up and started tending to his sword.

Tina was lost in thought.

Why did he say he wouldn’t send her to the capital? Wasn’t it an unnecessary obsession?

‘He’s never been like this before.’

Cherilian wasn’t the type. He was never a man who forced Tina.

‘I just… want you to look only at me. I don’t need anything else.’

He’d said something like that as a child, but she’d thought it was just the possessiveness of a boy wanting to monopolize his childhood friend.

Now Cherilian was an adult, married, so she thought he’d never act that way again.

But… was that just Tina’s mistake?

One thing was certain: Cherilian Biente was not mature when it came to Tina.

But Tina wouldn’t choose to run away like Cherilian’s mother had. It wasn’t that her mother-in-law’s method was wrong; Tina just saw no reason for such extreme action.

Tina recalled her experiment about onions hearing bad words. She’d compared him to an onion.

She tried to imagine the onion’s feelings. Even an onion grown with bitterness would surely want to hear good words, too.

It seemed now was that time.

She thought she’d said plenty of good things, but apparently Cherilian-onion wasn’t satisfied.

‘Maybe I’ve taken the curse problem too lightly.’

He’d been worrying not just about the curse but about all sorts of unknown variables. Maybe he was experiencing late-onset marriage blues, and she regretted just brushing it off.

Today, she needed to have a calm talk with him. Tina was determined to soothe his anxious heart.

“Oh, the knights. They’re here.”

Dame Rozen, hearing the horses, looked out the window and told her. Tina, who had been tidying yarn, went to the entrance to greet them.

But only the knights returned.

“The Viscount stayed behind to inspect the last village. He’ll probably stay at the village chief’s house.”

“And Cherilian?”

“The Duke said he’d take a walk on the forest path.”

“Why now, of all times? It’s about to rain.”

“He said he’d return before the rain, so don’t worry too much.”

Tina looked anxiously toward the forest’s edge. Having walked the forest path with Theo before, she wasn’t worried about Cherilian getting lost.

She was just worried that the onion, full of bitterness from hearing bad words, might burst inside. At times like this, she felt she shouldn’t leave him alone.

“Well, there’s a treehouse for shelter. He’ll be fine.”

Tina recalled the treehouse at Damsel Manor.

As a child, there was a safe forest near Damsel Castle for picking mushrooms and berries, and at the entrance was an old hunter’s hut.

That hut was converted into a treehouse, a playground for the children of the Damsel Family. Older brothers stopped going there as they grew up, but Cherilian especially liked the place for its wet wood smell and birdsong.

Naturally, the treehouse became a hideout for young Tina and Cherilian, until Cherilian left Damsel Castle.

To Cherilian, Damsel was like home, but not his real home. Because of his conspicuous mother and stories he couldn’t share, he grew up hearing things he shouldn’t.

Probably, the only place he truly felt at ease was not Damsel Castle but the treehouse.

Tina used to enthusiastically interrupt Cherilian’s solitude there, pounding leaves with stones and playing house as if they were married.

‘Honestly, until he was about eight, Cherilian seemed really annoyed with me.’

Deep in thought, Tina reached a conclusion.

She had to go interrupt his solitude again. On sentimental days like this, being alone leads to strange thoughts.

Soon she smiled and asked a knight,

“Could you lend me a horse?”

* * *

The forester’s treehouse was empty but well maintained. Cherilian breathed in the familiar scent of wood and recalled old memories.

It was the day he heard the nasty rumor that his mother was a runaway noble’s mistress and that he himself might be the noble’s illegitimate son.

Adults thought a seven-year-old wouldn’t know such a difficult word as “illegitimate child,” but even without knowing the exact meaning, he understood from the tone that it meant an unblessed birth.

The people at Damsel Manor weren’t hostile to Cherilian and his mother. On the contrary, they pitied the dazzlingly beautiful woman and treated her kindly, subtly enjoying her misfortune.

People always want to confirm that their own situation is at least better than someone else’s.

Cherilian felt a strange shame at the sympathetic looks of the servants and spent most of his time in the treehouse.

At some point, a same-age girl started sticking to him like goldfish poop.

‘Here, ah—open up, dear.’

The blonde girl started a one-sided play, offering mashed greens on a stone.

Her skirt was already dirty with earth and crushed wild plants, but neither the nanny nor anyone else blamed the rambunctious youngest Miss. They just smiled and pinched her cheek gently.

Tina was loved as a matter of course. Unlike Cherilian, who’d run away from home with his mother.

Surprisingly, Cherilian had never disliked Tina.

She was bothersome, but he always ended up watching her, helping her, and by the time he realized his first love, his blunt world was already revolving around Tina.

At nine, he learned from his mother that he was the sole heir of the Biente family. Having run away at three, he hadn’t known his father’s family.

Rather than surprise, he thought maybe he could use the family’s power to win Tina. Looking back, that was when he wanted to monopolize her.

“You hated it, so I couldn’t show it, but actually I…”

Cherilian, thinking of ways to bind Tina to him, felt a sick disgust and fell silent.

He thought he should head back now, but hesitated—if he saw Tina like this, he might blurt out something childish and absurd.

It was strange. He thought that marrying her would erase all his vague anxieties, but instead, unsatisfied emotions seemed to run wild.

Maybe he really should lock her up in the castle?

As he entertained such a terrible thought, his eyes lowered. Bang, bang. Suddenly, the door was being kicked.

The door opened, and his wife entered. The hem of her skirt was stained with mud. Seeing her like that overlapped with memories of her as a little child.

No matter where he hid, Tina would always find him and proudly declare she’d caught the mole…

“…Tina?”

“Mole. Caught you.”

Cherilian stared at her in bewilderment, then was pushed back a few steps by Tina’s unstoppable entrance.

Outside, a faint drizzle was falling. Raindrops beaded on Tina’s crown.

“How did you get here?”

“On horseback.”

“Alone?”

“With the horse.”

“……”

Cherilian frowned, thinking about punishing the knights who let Tina come alone. Immediately, Tina raised her finger and rubbed his brow hard.

“What are you doing alone here? I almost thought you’d run away.”

“Don’t say such terrible things…”

“Then why are you here by yourself, brooding?”

“Tina, the curse seems to be getting stranger. Like my father, I love you so much that I want to lock you up and ruin you.”

Listening calmly, Tina found him rather pitiful. She held back from scolding him for being unable to love easily.

“My anxiety keeps making you into someone who runs away. What if what I do for you… is a mistake?”

Oh, this was more serious than she thought…

Tina looked at him with slightly troubled eyes. In Cherilian’s eyes, a dark, ashen abyss flickered. It felt as if he’d put chains around her neck and ankles and pull her close at any moment.

Tina grabbed his approaching wrist tightly. Then, with a clear voice, she shouted,

“Stop thinking!”

Tina took a deep breath. To her, it was clear Cherilian hadn’t escaped the shadow of his parents’ marital fights.

Ever since becoming a Duke at such a young age, he’d constantly been compared to his father.

He’d often heard he resembled his father a lot during those times. A son with a flawed father seems greatly afraid he’ll inherit those flaws.

‘Honestly, such a coward.’

Even Cherilian Biente, the Duke who made his name slaughtering monsters in battle, had things he feared.

Having sorted out her thoughts, Tina looked straight into his wavering eyes and spoke.

“You’re not the previous Duke Biente, and I’m not your mother, Cherilian.”

“……”

“I’ll let you hold me forever. No, actually, what if you think that I’m the one holding you?”

Tina cupped Cherilian’s cheeks with both hands. His surprised eyes met hers, and she continued playfully with a mischievous smile.

“Because, honestly, a collar suits you better than me. So I’ll take responsibility for you forever.”

“……”

“Let out whatever’s in your heart. I’ll accept anything. That’s the duty of the one holding the leash.”

Cherilian squeezed his eyes shut and opened them.

“…Yes, Tina, you must take responsibility.”

A low, soft voice slipped through his handsome lips. Tina hugged him tightly, making his heart pound like a small, pitiful bird.

* * *

Swoosh.

Rain poured down madly. Tina stared blankly out the window.

“Will the rain stop soon?”

“Who knows… Still, the knights will come. They know where we are.”

The two looked at each other. Neither seemed particularly worried. Rather, being alone in an unfamiliar environment gave them a strange feeling.

Tina listened to the sound of two horses tethered outside the treehouse and drew her legs together.

“There was a treehouse like this at Damsel Manor, too. Remember?”

At Tina’s words, Cherilian’s lips softened as he recalled a memory.

“Yes. Long ago, I hid inside to play hide-and-seek and fell asleep. It happened to rain, so everyone thought you were inside the castle and searched only there. It was a huge commotion.”

Recalling the same memory, Tina’s cheeks flushed like apples.

“Why do you still remember things like that?”

“There’s nothing about you that isn’t precious to me.”

Cherilian answered seriously, leaving Tina at a loss for words, fiddling with her fingers. The sweet words Cherilian spoke were filled with love.

Tina quietly listened to the sound of rain and leaned against Cherilian. The scent of wet grass and wood was fragrant.

A unique scent from him lingered in the air. As she moved her face resting on his chest to look up, she met his gray eyes that had been watching her.

From those eyes, Tina read the same feelings she had. She whispered,

“Do you think the knights are coming right now?”

“If they’re clever… maybe they’ll come a bit later.”

Though his voice was dry, Tina could sense his impatience. She rather liked this thrilling situation.

As she smiled lazily, assembling a witty retort in her mind, her hand unconsciously brushed something.

“…Oh, what’s this?”

His body had become aroused without Tina’s permission.

“I didn’t say anything, so why did this happen?”

Sensing the unusual reaction, Tina looked at him suspiciously. Cherilian, with an aggrieved expression, replied,

“Tina… this is normal…”

“…Ah, that’s right.”

Just as Cherilian said. Having grown too used to their recent escapades, Tina had come to treat Cherilian like a husband whose chastity belt she’d unlocked at will.

Embarrassed, Tina coughed loudly, then mumbled that she was glad the curse was finally lifted.

The words of that high priest, an authority in suspicious succubus research, had proven true: after a few blessings, the dam would break completely.

But she hadn’t expected it to break in this situation, so Tina’s reaction was awkward.

“Then, I guess I shouldn’t say things like that anymore, right?”

And it seemed… Cherilian felt the same.

“…Why not?”

“Huh?”

“You’ve turned me into a fool who only gets aroused by your insults.”

‘Me?’

Tina tilted her head. Something seemed off about the sequence of events. The incident where he couldn’t get aroused without Tina’s insults had come first, after being affected by a succubus.

“Ugh…!”

Before she could point this out, his lips pressed against hers, swallowing her retort.