Chapter 65

Meanwhile, Sabina returned home and forced herself to take a nap.

When she came back looking even paler than usual and asked for a glass of warm milk, the maids all exchanged glances and hurriedly moved about.

They undressed their master’s outdoor clothes, changed her into comfortable clothing, and warmed her body. It was not very cold yet, but for their master, whose body heat cooled easily, they revived the embers in the fireplace as well. Sabina sat in the armchair as if half-lying down, and closed her eyes.

She slept for only about thirty minutes. Considering she had almost stayed up all night, it was sleep of miserable quality. But she seemed to find it enough. Mitchell looked at Sabina with concern.

“Could you bring me stationery and a pen?”

“To whom would you like to send a letter?”

“Helio.”

In simple sentences, Sabina explained the situation.

“I had a bit of a quarrel with him. Because I wasn’t being mature. I think it was because I couldn’t sleep.”

She had not the slightest desire to remain on awkward terms with Helio. Sabina was Helio’s guardian, and as a guardian she had a role she ought to fulfill. Stopping Helio’s possessiveness itself had not been wrong, but when dealing with a boy of sensitive temperament at a sensitive age, her way of speaking might have been too rough.

So Sabina forced her stiff mind to turn, and wrote Helio an apology letter to that effect. Seeing Sabina’s lips pale to a chalky white, Mitchell worried.

She could not help but worry, when her mistress had gone somewhere to seek comfort and returned with one more concern.

“Now seal this and take it to the Academy.”

“Lady Sabina.”

“Yes?”

“Even if no reply comes back, please don’t worry too much.”

Sabina’s silvery eyes lifted to Mitchell. Mitchell was a wise person who had lived more than twice as long as Sabina, and she also knew that in a situation like this, the person asking for reconciliation could not control the outcome. She was worried Sabina—who already looked as if she had been unusually worn down over the past day or two—might simply collapse.

“Relationships…… sometimes it may be better not to try too hard to patch them up. He will need time to think in his own way, too.”

Sabina blinked slowly and answered.

“Yes. Thank you for worrying.”

“You always make me worry.”

“It’s fine. I’m a bit tired, but it’s because of what I did. Still, I’m the lucky one, because I have you all. You take care of me like this.”

Mitchell said nothing more.

Sabina was stubborn, too. She absolutely tried not to reveal her heart to those beneath her.

D’Vialis’s head maid urged Sabina to rest and closed the door. Outside the door, Julia stood with a worried face. Mitchell let out a deep sigh and whispered to Julia.

“It’s a relief our master isn’t interested in society rumors.”

Julia nodded. With slightly anxious eyes, she stared at the door.

“She will learn someday that His Highness the King’s brother is meeting Helio…….”

Rumors about Helio’s friendships had been spreading quietly by word of mouth. She kept thinking she should say it, say it—yet the timing was always hard to grasp.

“I’ll choose the time. For now, it isn’t now. Julia, seal this and pass it to Vicky. I need to get ready to go out.”

“Where are you going?”

“I should go to Mr. Bryant’s residence. We can’t leave Lady Sabina to sink like that.”

Julia nodded.

* * *

Mitchell hurried to the Bryant mansion.

Ashton gladly opened the door for Mitchell.

To him, Mitchell Valium was always a welcome guest. Anyone who cherished Sabina was.

“Hello, Ms. Valium. What brings you here?”

Mitchell promptly committed the rude act of grabbing Ashton’s cheek. Ashton, wearing a puzzled smile, calmly let her hold his face. She scrutinized every feature of that handsome face, then spoke solemnly, as if declaring him approved.

“You’ve healed the wound.”

Ashton replied, bewildered.

“After I went out and came back, a healer sent from the D’Vialis side had arrived.”

At that offhand answer, Mitchell arched one eyebrow.

“Went out? With such a flashy wound on display, where did you go? No, I’ll ask that later. You’ll need to prepare to go out again.”

Ashton did not do something foolish like ask, “Why?” It was clear Sabina’s mood was low. And since one of the causes would be Ashton’s wound, showing Sabina that he was cleanly healed would lighten her heart, at least a little.

The man obediently put on a jacket, and told the maids in advance that it would be best not to prepare dinner.

By the time the two arrived at the D’Vialis mansion, nearly two hours had passed since Mitchell had set out.

“Where is Lady Sabina?”

When Mitchell asked, Julia whispered.

“She just woke up. Mr. Bryant, please wait here for a moment.”

So she had taken a nap. 

Ashton said quickly, reading the room.

“It’s fine to dress her comfortably. She doesn’t seem to be in good condition.”

At that, Mitchell and Julia looked at each other. Soon Julia nodded and disappeared.

Ashton, as usual, waited for Sabina in the parlor. After about fifteen minutes, Julia knocked on the parlor door.

“Um, Lady Sabina says to have you come to the bedroom.”

Blue eyes rolled in thought. It seemed like someone was weighing this and that. Wasn’t the bedroom too intimate and private a space? But the fact that Julia had relayed this to Ashton meant that even the strict Mitchell had agreed to this request to some degree.

Ashton added nothing and went up to the bedroom. When Julia knocked, a thin voice came from within.

“Come in.”

Ashton signaled to Julia and entered alone. Sabina was sitting propped against the headboard.

“I’m sorry.”

Sabina looked up at Ashton and apologized first.

“I haven’t been feeling well. I think it’s because I couldn’t sleep.”

“That’s understandable.”

Ashton sat on the edge of the bed, brought his face close to hers, and closed his eyes. His straight forehead and eyebrow had healed seamlessly. Sabina’s fingertips carefully traced the place where the wound had been. As expected, seeing that Ashton had recovered seemed to improve her mood a little.

Ashton took her hand down and studied her face.

“That isn’t the face of someone who’s only tired from lack of sleep.”

He had assumed Sabina had gone to see Helio today. To clear her muddled head, that would have been the best option. But clearly, things had not gone the way she wanted.

“Who is making you suffer like this. Hmm?”

“You.”

“Haha.”

Ashton laughed and brushed Sabina’s hair back. Sabina was docile, like a well-behaved cat.

“……Actually, it’s Helio.”

“I thought so.”

“How did you know?”

“Isn’t it obvious? You went on something like a honeymoon trip with me. To a brat who’s jealous of me at every turn, that must have felt like an enormous event.”

Sabina sighed.

“You and Helio are different beings. Helio is someone under my protection, and you’re my lover. I don’t think he understands the difference in those relationships.”

“He’s young.”

“I hate the idea that because you two don’t get along, I’ll end up in a situation where I have to choose only one of you.”

“Oh dear.”

Ashton supported her back and held her. Sabina was gently pulled into his embrace.

She said countless “I hate it” aloud. She hated that things were not going the way she wanted, and she hated that she was feeling low. With her arms around Ashton’s neck and her face buried against his collarbone, she whined.

“Why did you say things like that and confuse me?”

It was a crack in Sabina that she never showed to those beneath her.

Without saying much, Ashton only rubbed her shoulder.

“Even after you got hurt, and even as I came back after arguing with Helio, I thought, ‘Should I turn back time?’ Normally I wouldn’t have even thought of that. But because you put that idea in me…….”

“So time reversal rose as one possible option, is that it? That isn’t something I find very dissatisfying.”

“Be quiet and just say everything I say is right.”

Ashton laughed soundlessly. The woman in his arms tried desperately to behave like an adult, but in truth she was nothing more than a stubborn child. Time might have refined her conduct, but it had not changed her essence.

“All right. Everything you say is right.”

He had not the slightest dissatisfaction with Sabina’s near-irritable childishness. As he held her, sided with her unconditionally, stroked her hair, and repeated that he was at fault, Sabina’s mood slowly loosened.

“You don’t actually think everything I say is right. You lie so well.”

“You’re the one who made me lie.”

Sabina looked sulky at those words, but she did not snap. She seemed to be regaining, little by little, enough stamina to think rationally. That did not mean her gloom had completely vanished.