35

『You’re my type.』

A decadent voice hummed against her ear, and a wave of fragrant wine swept over her. A sensation she had never felt before rushed in and spread through her, hot and consuming.

『Learn how to feel it properly first. And don’t hold back the sounds.』

『Aah.』

Fleeting words wove between them, and the dizzying sounds that slipped through were both strange and familiar.

A sensation always new, and a burning, heightened sensitivity, moved together like drifting through clouds.

Pushed to her limit by pleasure and rapture, Lavian shed tears drop by drop and trembled at the peak.

『I’m sorry.』

And before the warmth that had filled her entire body could even fade, he had gone cold and left her.

“Ah!”

Lavian let out a sharp, startled sound and snapped her eyes open.

She hadn’t done anything, and yet her breathing was rough, her chest heaving, her vision hazy. The dream of their wedding night, arriving without warning, refused to release her easily.

Even awake, the moment Klen had coldly walked out of the bedroom kept pressing itself in front of her eyes.

The buttons between us must have been torn off entirely in that moment. Not just fastened wrong, but ripped away for good.

If she hadn’t made that mistake that night, would things be better between them now. Lavian thought it dully, her mind still slow with sleep.

“My lady.”

A familiar voice slipped into her ear as she sat there, unable to shake the memory.

“My lady?”

“Oh, Camilla?”

“I thought you had fallen asleep, and I was going to put a blanket over you, but I’m afraid I woke you instead.”

“No, it’s all right. What time is it?”

“Three in the morning.”

Lavian blinked several times and shook off the last of the sleep, realizing she had slept for less than an hour.

“Anyone watching would think you were standing in the corner as punishment.”

Camilla had meant it with concern, but the word punishment made Lavian laugh despite herself.

“Did I say something wrong, my lady?”

“No.”

“The master doesn’t seem to be coming home tonight either. Please go to your room. Why do you always wait until he’s back. You’ll make yourself ill.”

“It’s a duty and a responsibility of a wife. I don’t work outside the home. What else is there for me to do.”

“You’ve told me that many times and I understand, but I still worry about your health.”

Camilla’s expression drooped.

“The person who should be coming home hasn’t come. How could I sleep comfortably on my own. I haven’t received any word that he won’t be back. I’m fine, so go in and rest.”

“Then at least let me bring you some tea. The temperature drops so much at night. What if you catch a cold.”

“Just that, then. Thank you.”

Lavian watched Camilla leave the sitting room and smiled softly.

When Klen had refused to let her bring a single person from her family home, she had felt quietly desperate. But now she was grateful not one of them had come.

Back then I didn’t know what I’d do, but I’m glad they’re all such kind people.

Camilla, who had been with her only a few months, felt far closer and more comfortable than Melang, who had been at her side for years.

For that, she was genuinely grateful to Klen. Separate from the ways he chose to be difficult.

“Punishment, I suppose. He knows I’m waiting.”

She recalled what Camilla had said, laughed tiredly to herself, and murmured while picturing his infuriatingly handsome face.

“He really is awful.”

On ordinary days, he always let her know whether he was coming home, through the communication device or by sending someone. But tonight, not a word, even at this late hour. Keeping her waiting without so much as a message meant his mood was considerably sour.

Lavian sensed it. Tonight, she would likely be in the sitting room until morning. Like a dog waiting for its master.

“I am a little tired tonight.”

She let out a weary sigh, touched her hollow cheek, and looked out the window.

In the dark world outside, the mana stone lanterns cast a faint, blurred light.

She was tracing the roses in bloom one by one by that dim glow when her reflection in the glass brought the dream rushing back.

It had been a dream, and yet so vivid. Even that first night with him. Lavian felt her face heat and quickly looked away.

Of all the dreams to have. Ah, it must be because I was thinking about it earlier.

She let out a small sigh, rubbed her face with dry hands, and tried to shake off the images that kept floating up. But the dream clung to her stubbornly.

It felt almost like that night again. A low, warm ache in her lower abdomen, and something that throbbed faintly.

“My lady. Your tea.”

“Oh, yes.”

Camilla pulled her back to the present. Lavian had been sitting there in a daze, one hand drifting over her stomach.

She lifted her hand away and picked up the teacup, steam rising gently from it.

“Oh? This is……”

The scent was entirely different from what she usually drank. Lavian looked up at Camilla.

“It’s lemongrass. Apparently it’s good for preventing colds. I believe it was also said to help with inflammation.”

“I see. But I don’t remember ordering this.”

Lavian managed every small thing that came into the household herself. Not a tea leaf or coffee bean went unaccounted for. And she had no memory whatsoever of purchasing lemongrass tea.

Camilla smiled pleasantly and answered the puzzled question.

“The master brought it. It seems he may be arranging a contract with a new tea company. He said it was for tasting, and the quality seemed quite good, so I brought some out.”

“It smells lovely.”

The fresh lemon fragrance settled over Lavian and she felt herself relax almost immediately.

It was like stepping a little further away from the dream, which had been not so different from a nightmare.

But she couldn’t even enjoy that small, quiet peace at her leisure. She was just about to take a sip when something red dropped into the cup.

“Oh! Blood!”

“Ah……”

Camilla quickly took the teacup from Lavian’s hands and set it aside, then pressed a handkerchief firmly against her nose.

“It happened yesterday too……”

“The air has gotten dry.”

“I worry when you keep losing blood like this.”

“This always happens in spring and autumn. I’ll take care of it myself, so don’t worry.”

“How could I not worry……”

Lavian stood to go to the bathroom and patted Camilla’s shoulder lightly to say no more.

As though it truly were nothing at all.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

Klen did not come home until morning.

Just as he had on their wedding night.

Lavian waited for him all night in the sitting room like a dog waiting for its master, then rose early to go to him.

No matter how humiliating his treatment of her, her model-student nature hadn’t gone anywhere. She had been raised to believe a wife must fulfill her duties, so whether he cared about her or not, whether he treated her as a person or not, carrying out her responsibilities was the only path available to her.

“My lady.”

“Yes?”

“Your father has sent a letter.”

Lavian had been checking her appearance before heading out and took the letter Camilla held out.

“Hmm…… just a moment.”

“Of course. Take your time.”

Lavian took out fresh stationery and a feather pen and moved her hand quickly.

Her father was asking her to come home. She wrote back that she would need her husband’s permission first, and today was not possible.

The short reply came together quickly. Lavian let the ink dry, slipped it into a fine envelope, sealed it, and handed it to Camilla.

“Send this to my family home.”

“Yes. I’ll have it delivered right away.”

But just as Camilla was about to leave with the letter, Ethan knocked at the door.

“My lady. It’s Ethan.”

“Yes, come in.”

Ethan stepped in carefully and delivered unexpected news.

“My lady, your sisters have arrived.”

“What?”

The gentle, composed expression Lavian always wore developed a faint crack. At this hour, with no word sent ahead, she had no idea what could have brought them.

“Your sisters. They said you’d know them as Lena and Seian.”

“Where are they now?”

“I’ve shown them to the sitting room. Miss Seian was crying.”

“What on earth has happened.”

Lavian’s brow creased with bewilderment and she went downstairs quickly. Her footsteps were louder than usual.

“Lena, Seian.”

“Sister!!”

The moment Lavian stepped into the sitting room, Seian, who had been shaking with sobs, came running toward her.

Lavian crouched down and gathered the child in her arms, patting her back while sending Lena a look that asked for an explanation.

Lena, who had been sulking and sipping tea with puffed-out cheeks, answered with visible reluctance.

“Apparently Father flew into a rage and said to bring you home. Seian decided she’d come here herself because she didn’t want you walking into that. On her own, and without telling anyone.”

“Sister, don’t go home. Okay? Father is like a demon. He’s got horns everywhere.”

“What happened at home?”

“How should I know. He was raging and demanding they bring you back immediately, and she got scared and ran off. It’s not like Father would actually kill you.”

Lena finished with a pout and went back to her tea. It smelled far better than anything at home, and she savored it diligently.

“Seian.”

“Yes. Sister.”

“Even so, you can’t just run off on your own like that.”

Lavian wiped the tear tracks from Seian’s cheeks with a handkerchief and spoke to her gently.

“But…… Father was making such a terrible noise. What if you came and got hurt.”

“That won’t happen.”

“It will. That other time, your arm was……”

“Shh. Seian.”

Seian had been about to say something about an old incident without thinking, and Lavian shook her head and raised one finger to her lips.

Seian’s still-damp eyes went round, then landed on Camilla and Ethan standing at the sitting room doorway, and she snapped her mouth shut. The effort made her hiccup, her small shoulders jumping with each one.

“Camilla.”

The hiccups shook the child’s whole body, and Lavian raised her voice slightly to call for Camilla.

“Yes, my lady.”

“Please bring some lukewarm water.”

“Of course. One moment.”

Camilla moved quickly and disappeared, and Lavian lifted Seian into her arms and sat down. The child clung to her like a koala, pressing her cheek against Lavian’s shoulder as the hiccups continued.

A little while later, Lavian carefully fed Seian the water Camilla brought until the hiccups stopped.

The ease with which she did it made it look like something she had done a hundred times before.

Even after the hiccups stopped, she kept patting Seian’s back for a while longer, then seemed to come to a decision and spoke.

“Let’s go home.”

Back at her family home, Lavian had always asked Klen’s permission before going anywhere. It was never anything more than answering her father’s summons, but she had asked every time without fail.

Today, she couldn’t do that, and it sat uneasily with her. But she couldn’t send the child back alone, either. Lavian braced herself for a scolding from Klen and made up her mind.