Chapter 10

A “pathetic man.”  

Hearing a word so ill-suited to him flow from his own voice left Charlotte utterly dumbfounded.  

“What do you mean by that…?”  

She began to ask, unable to grasp the meaning of his words, but suddenly, the realization struck her.  

The fact that she had summoned the Rosenheim Ducal Family’s guards and even called for Lucas’s protection—it was enough to make Erhen feel that way.  

It wasn’t that Charlotte didn’t trust Erhen. She simply, and purely, wanted to protect him from any threats that might arise again.  

“Your Grace, that’s not what I meant…”  

“……”  

Charlotte hurriedly attempted to explain herself, but Erhen continued to stare at her with cold, detached eyes.  

Ah. That look.  

It was the same gaze she had occasionally seen during their marriage.  

So, he thinks I’ve wounded his precious pride again. Does he think I did all this for my own benefit?  

Anger flared within her. Without waiting for permission, Charlotte strode into his room.  

“Then tell me, how am I supposed to trust you in this situation, Your Grace?”  

Charlotte raised her voice.  

Her unexpected counterattack caused Erhen to falter momentarily.  

“If the rebellion succeeded, you should be living well! Instead, you show up injured!”  

“That’s not the point—”  

“And on top of that! You worried everyone by not waking up for days!”  

Bang! Cutting him off mid-sentence, Charlotte slammed her hands down on the desk. A few papers fluttered to the floor.  

“Even His Majesty the King said so! That you should rest at our home! Recover until you’re fully healed!”  

Once she started speaking, Charlotte couldn’t stop.  

Even as she yelled, a part of her knew she should stop, but the words, fueled by her pent-up frustration, poured out like a broken dam.  

“And yet, here you are, not even fully recovered, sitting at a desk piled with documents! What kind of work could possibly be so urgent?”  

“……”  

The atmosphere shifted in an instant.  

As Charlotte began to pant in frustration, Erhen’s eyes widened in surprise, and soon tears welled up in hers.  

Charlotte felt wronged.  

If she was going to reincarnate, why couldn’t it have been properly? Instead, she ended up possessing a character destined to die. She had barely survived that ordeal!  

And now, Erhen, whom she had saved along the way, was attacked and nearly died, facing yet another life-threatening situation.  

“How can I trust you when you’re working like this instead of focusing on recovery? How can I trust magic, Your Grace?”  

“……”  

“It’s a hundred—no, twenty thousand times better to just spend money hiring more guards!”  

“Charlotte.”  

“I don’t care anymore!”  

Tears streamed down Charlotte’s face.  

Seeing her cry, Erhen instinctively reached out to wipe her tears, but Charlotte turned away before he could.  

With the same heavy steps she had used to enter, she stomped out of his room.  

Alarmed, Erhen quickly followed her, but Charlotte slammed her door shut before he could catch up.  

***

“Madam says she won’t have dinner.”  

Carrying back a tray full of untouched food, Lida sighed as she spoke.  

Philip, who had finished his dinner and was leaning against the wall drinking water, glanced at Erhen.  

Despite claiming he wasn’t hungry, Erhen had come down to the kitchen and was now brewing tea himself.  

“Did you two have a fight?”  

“……”  

Erhen’s hand, which had been pressing the tea leaves into the cup with a muddler, paused.  

“I thought it was strange to see you in the kitchen, of all places, Your Grace.”  

Ignoring the comment, Erhen picked up the cup. The tea would steep sufficiently by the time he returned to his room.  

Philip, who had sidled up to him, whispered quietly.  

“Whatever it is, just apologize and say it’s all your fault.”  

“You’re crossing the line.”  

“There must be a reason you came to Heringen, Your Grace.”  

…This brat.  

Erhen cast a sharp glance at Philip, wondering how the man had once again managed to read his thoughts. Still, Philip’s words were tempting.  

Noticing his reaction, Philip added one more thing.  

“Just make sure you figure out exactly what you’re apologizing for!”  

With a hardened expression, Erhen brushed past Philip and headed upstairs.  

Watching him ascend, Philip exchanged a glance with Lida and shrugged.  

It’s probably because she saw the documents on his desk.  

Philip’s guess was half correct.  

***

Right after her not-quite-a-fight with Erhen:  

“This is insane!”  

Charlotte muttered to herself as she slammed her door shut and flopped onto her bed.  

In truth, there hadn’t been any need to yell at Erhen like that.  

She had only wanted to clear up the misunderstanding, but her own impatience had turned her into someone who yelled at an already injured person.  

When Erhen had hurriedly followed her and knocked on her closed door a few times, Charlotte couldn’t bring herself to open it. She was too embarrassed and ashamed.  

And hadn’t I cried at the end? How humiliating!  

But then again, wasn’t she right? Why was someone who had just escaped death not focusing on recovery and instead diving into work?  

Her anger hadn’t completely subsided. Torn between lingering frustration and embarrassment, she gripped her pillow tightly, taking out her feelings on it.  

The knocking eventually stopped.  

She wondered if Erhen had given up and returned to his room.  

If he had wanted to, he could have easily opened the locked door with magic. But he must have decided against invading a lady’s privacy.  

“Sigh…”  

Charlotte let out a deep sigh.  

Before leaving work earlier, she had resolved to get along with him, considering they were once again in the same boat.  

But somehow, things had ended with her venting her anger at him.  

As her feelings of embarrassment and anger began to fade, a bitter taste lingered in her mouth.  

***

Outside, darkness had already fallen.  

It was winter, so the days were short, making it hard to tell the time.  

However, considering how long it had been since Lida had knocked on her door with dinner, it was probably close to 9 p.m.  

That thought made her feel a bit hungry.  

She debated whether to just go to bed and chalk it up to dieting, but her hunger and lingering frustration won out.  

Just as she was about to get up to wash up—  

Knock, knock.  

There was a knock at the door.  

“Charlotte.”  

It was Erhen’s voice.  

After hesitating for a moment, Charlotte got up and approached the door.  

Cautiously, she opened it.  

Standing there was Erhen, his disheveled hair falling over his forehead.  

“Can we talk for a moment?”  

“……”  

“I know your personality well enough to know you won’t be able to sleep in a situation like this.”  

Erhen’s calm voice made Charlotte look up at him.  

During their marriage—though it had been a contractual one—not everything had been handled rationally.  

Charlotte sometimes yelled, and Erhen sometimes acted coldly.  

“Erhen! No, I mean, Your Grace!”  

“……”  

Grabbing the hem of her dress, Charlotte ran after him and grabbed his arm.  

Caught, Erhen turned to look at her coldly.  

“I really don’t understand! Why are you acting like this?”  

“Because I don’t want to fight with you.”  

“And yet, you keep ignoring me—is this right?”  

“Ah. This is a waste of time, Charlotte.”  

Erhen, furrowing his brows deeply, pulled his arm free from Charlotte’s grip and spoke curtly. He was sometimes cold like this.  

“You’re just afraid you’ll lose if we fight!”  

As he walked away, she would occasionally shout at him.  

Whenever such clashes occurred, Charlotte, filled with indignation, found it hard to fall asleep.  

On those nights, she would pace back and forth on the terrace of her bedroom before finally going inside.  

The truth was, Erhen had always known about this.  

But it wasn’t until after their divorce that he realized, and regretted, how he had left her to deal with it alone.  

Now, however…  

“I’m sorry. I acted small-minded.”  

Charlotte blinked up at him, wondering if she had heard him correctly.  

Seeing her stunned expression, Erhen repeated himself.  

“I apologize.”  

The words jolted Charlotte back to her senses.  

During their marriage, she had only ever heard him apologize once.  

And even then, it had only come after she had first lowered her head and admitted her own faults.  

But now, here he was, apologizing first…?  

This was truly strange.  

Charlotte’s ears turned red. She awkwardly ran her fingers through her hair and said,  

“I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have yelled like that.”  

Erhen smiled faintly.  

“I’ll do as you said. I won’t do anything until I’m fully recovered.”  

“Really?”  

“But I have a favor to ask.”  

“Hm?”  

It was the first time Charlotte had seen the Duke of Rosenheim listen to someone else or ask for a favor.  

His face, though, still carried his characteristic indifferent expression.  

Even so, Charlotte could tell that he was feeling quite embarrassed.  

After a brief hesitation, Erhen leaned his head toward Charlotte’s shoulder.  

The soft black strands of his hair brushed against her cheek.  

What’s going on with this atmosphere all of a sudden? Should I close my eyes?  

Before she could decide how to react, Erhen whispered softly to her.  

“…Spend some time with me.”  

Was he really so embarrassed to say this?  

Feeling a bit deflated, Charlotte glanced to the side.  

Erhen’s ears were bright red.  

It was then that Charlotte realized: the reason Erhen had been working despite not being fully recovered wasn’t because he was a workaholic, but because he didn’t know how to rest.  

She thought back on Erhen’s life.  

Born as the second son of a poor marquis family, he had devoted himself to research after his magical powers manifested to help support his household.  

Then, after becoming a marquis, he had thrown himself into the rebellion, leaving no room for rest in his days.  

Charlotte suddenly felt a pang of pity for him.  

She tilted her head toward Erhen.