***

“What an unlucky bastard!”

Back in her bedroom, Helena removed her make-up, washed up quickly and changed into a fresh set of soft pyjamas.

“Can’t stand the sight of him…!”

After placing her fluffy slippers – also taken from her own luggage – neatly beside the bed, Helena suddenly looked underneath.

There seemed to be some dust, but fortunately no socks.

“Hmph.”

She had just settled into bed and was about to bury herself under the pillows when the bedroom door opened – and in walked Benjamin, freshly bathed and looking soft and clean.

Helena glared at him with a sharp, irritated look.

“What is it now?”

He casually put the pile of papers he was holding down on the table and replied.

“Is there a problem?”

“Why are you here?”

Why, he thought.

Benjamin looked at her, a little taken aback.

“You seem to have forgotten – this is my room. The annex is where you should be staying. It’s my fault that the annex isn’t ready yet, so I’ve been generous enough to let you share my room.”

Helena stared at him, equally incredulous.

“Oh, is that so? Then where did you sleep last night, hmm? Surely not here in your precious room?”

“I slept in the study.”

“Well, why don’t you go back there tonight? Because I can’t bear the sight of you right now.”

“The sight of what?!”

Stunned by the outrageously harsh words, Benjamin was speechless.

‘How could such a person – no, how could such a person even exist?’

This was nothing like any kind of married life he had ever imagined.

Their marriage was a political arrangement through and through. As far as he was concerned, they would simply take what they needed and move on.

He would get the money. Helena would have a refuge from scandal.

After that, their life together as a married couple would be cold, distant and strictly formal – nothing more.

But to think that every single day would feel like a battlefield…

‘This is all her fault. She’s completely unhinged.’

But what was even more unbelievable was that he was beginning to get used to this strange woman.

‘Do you lose your mind just by living with someone who’s already lost theirs?’

Last night, shaken by what had happened in the bathroom, he had gone to the place where he usually felt most comfortable.

But what he hadn’t expected was how piercingly cold that familiar, icy bed would feel – right down to his bones.

It had only been one night. Just one night of sharing a bed with Helena.

And yet the very bed that had always felt uncomfortable – next to this utterly irrational woman – had somehow begun to feel like a place of comfort.

‘It was completely absurd.’

And yet it was he who felt regret.

Even after all the fighting, even after being told she couldn’t stand the sight of him, he found himself wanting to stay.

And in the end, Benjamin said it.

“No. I’ll stay. I’ve got nowhere else to sleep.”

With that, he turned his back on Helena and dropped onto the edge of the bed with a heavy thud.

Helena was equally stunned.

‘What is wrong with this guy? Seriously, what kind of person does this? Didn’t he say he didn’t even sleep in beds?’

She was about to snap at him to get his annoying butt off the mattress – but she held her tongue.

Instead, she looked between Benjamin’s broad back as he sat looking at the pile of papers, and the bedside drawer.

‘That drawer… I had a really bad feeling about it.’

The drawer Benjamin had brought in had a slightly rough side. By comparison, Benjamin’s back looked a hundred times better.

“Hmph…”

After a brief moment of thought, Helena lay down and began to lightly tug at the hem of his clothes with her fingertips.

Startled by the strange sensation, Benjamin turned around, only to jump back.

Helena was buried deep under the blankets and pillows, only her face peeking out – expressionless – as she tugged at his clothes.

“What is it?”

“Lie down.”

“What did you say?”

“You said you had nowhere else to sleep. So sleep here. Hurry up and lie down.”

As he realised what Helena wanted, Benjamin’s eyes trembled with disbelief.

‘This woman… seriously…’

But in the end, he had no choice but to do as she asked.

He wanted to sleep here, and if he wanted to sleep peacefully, he’d have to give her what she wanted.

Besides, it wasn’t that difficult.

In the end, Benjamin lay down beside Helena, as slowly and reluctantly as possible, making it abundantly clear how much he hated this.

The moment he did, Helena – almost as if she had been waiting for it – slipped her hand under his back.

She couldn’t contain the smile that broke out.

‘Wow, this feels amazing.’

There was no denying it.

Benjamin’s back felt better than any drawer or pillow she could imagine.

‘Heavy in just the right way, warm enough, firm enough… ah, really, it’s perfect.’

Wiggling her fingers, she savoured the feel of his taut back muscles.

Benjamin’s body jerked.

“P-Please don’t move. Doesn’t that tickle…?”

“Oh, really? Then I’ll be quiet.”

Now that she’d got what she wanted, Helena’s voice had completely softened – so much so that it was hard to believe that she’d snapped at him just moments ago.

There was even a hint of laughter in her tone, which left Benjamin speechless as he turned to look at her.

Buried deep under the covers, Helena rubbed her face against the pillow and smiled blissfully.

“Ha…”

Benjamin felt so stunned that it was as if the blood in his body had gone cold.

He felt like a fool.

‘She’s really smiling like that over something so trivial? After all the fighting?’

Helena, now in a good mood, narrowed her eyes and looked at him with a smile.

Her hair was down, her face bare and without make-up – yet somehow she looked more beautiful than ever.

Caught off guard by the smile, Benjamin blurted out something spontaneously.

“The former butler might know.”

“The former butler?”

“He was the last of the staff to leave the estate. Since he seems to have run the household affairs, he might know something about the key.”

Helena beamed at his words.

Then she slipped a finger out from under his back and began slowly tracing something on it with the tip of her finger.

“What are you doing?”

“Don’t you get it? So dense. I wrote ‘thank you.”

Helena said matter-of-factly.

And with that, she quickly drifted off into a deep sleep, her breathing soon settling into a gentle, steady rhythm.

As Helena’s breathing became more regular, Benjamin slowly turned onto his back and stared up at the ceiling.

He still had the letter in his hand, but the words no longer registered in his mind.

Instead, he turned his head to look at the sleeping Helena.

“Snorrrre…”

Her sleeping face looked like a child’s.

Perhaps it was because those sharp, ever-daring eyes were now gently closed.

With her peaceful expression, Helena seemed – surprisingly – quite endearing.

And once again, Benjamin ended his day with a long, deep sigh.