Chapter 11 – Isn’t It Natural to Recognize Your Husband Anywhere, Anytime?

“Ugh……”

Groaning, Cecia opened her eyes.

‘My head hurts……’

A fierce headache overwhelmed her.

Her stomach churned, and her head felt heavy and pounding.

But when she opened her eyes, she realized she wasn’t in the mansion.

‘Where am I?’

Her last memory was being seized by strangers at the incinerator.

‘Did they really kidnap me and bring me here?’

As Cecia staggered to sit up, she confirmed that her hands and feet were free.

Fortunately, she wasn’t tied up.

But it was dark everywhere, and she couldn’t figure out where she was.

Stumbling through the darkness, Cecia found a door and tried desperately to open it, but it seemed locked from the outside.

Bang, bang, bang!

“Is anyone out there?”

She knocked and shouted, but it was useless.

“A window……”

When Cecia discovered there was a window, she hurried over.

But the window was nailed shut and wouldn’t open.

Looking outside, all she could see were tall trees.

This house was probably a cabin in the woods.

She thought it was a cabin because all the walls were made of wood.

The floor was dirt, and no matter how she looked, it wasn’t a house for people but more like a storage shed.

Old, discarded tools were piled in one corner, and there was nothing else.

‘Cold……’

Cecia wasn’t dressed warmly.

Standing in front of the incinerator had made her sweat, so she’d taken off her thick coat and was only wearing a thin dress. Now, her whole body was frozen and she was terribly cold.

Her mind gradually cleared, the headache faded, and her queasiness subsided, but the cold remained.

“Haah…… haah……”

Cecia blew warm air onto her frozen hands.

If things continued like this, she might freeze to death.

Aeon’s winter—especially at night—was unimaginably cold.

She’d heard that in Aeon, people often froze to death wandering outside at night.

Now, she herself was about to freeze to death.

‘Why did they kidnap me?’

She didn’t know who had kidnapped and locked her here, but the reason for kidnapping had always been one thing.

Money.

To demand a ransom, nothing more, nothing less.

‘If they want ransom, they have to keep me alive. If I freeze to death here, what ransom will they get?’

She wanted to scold the foolish kidnappers, but she’d have to see their faces first.

“Ugh…… it’s so cold…… please……”

Hoping the kidnappers would return soon, Cecia stomped her feet.

Then, noisy laughter sounded outside.

The kidnappers had finally returned.

Clunk.

The unmoving door opened, and several men entered.

They were all strangers, wearing thick coats and hats.

Even gloves.

‘They bundle themselves up while leaving me to freeze…… how shameless……’

But now was not the time to scold their conscience.

“She’s awake.”

“Should we tie her up?”

“No need. There’s nowhere to run, and she couldn’t escape anyway.”

“Right, if you run from this cabin, you’ll just freeze to death in the woods.”

Cecia completely agreed with their words.

She could try to escape from them in the cabin, but outside, all she saw was a dark, snowy forest.

Snow hadn’t been cleared, so it had piled high.

Dense woods, snow still falling, mountains of snow that would swallow her up, biting cold.

How long could she last outside?

An hour? She’d freeze to death within an hour.

Even if they left the door wide open, she couldn’t leave.

“Marchioness, we’ll let you go once we get the ransom, so stay quiet.”

She was planning to stay quiet anyway.

“When the Marquis brings the ransom himself, we’ll exchange you for it, so he’ll come in person, right?”

“Of course.”

“Let’s just drink.”

“Should we light a fire?”

“That’ll get us caught. We’re dressed warmly, so we’ll be fine.”

Listening to them made Cecia angry.

They dressed warmly, but didn’t realize she was only in a thin dress.

‘His Lordship won’t be able to come in person.’

But Cecia’s worry wasn’t about that.

They said they’d make the Marquis bring the ransom himself.

But Adam was probably still a tree.

He couldn’t come in person as a tree.

‘But these men don’t know what His Lordship looks like……’

No one outside the mansion staff knew the Marquis’s face.

Whoever came could deceive them, but Cecia worried about Adam.

Would he blame himself for being unable to do anything in his tree form?

Would he suffer?

Or would he try to force himself to come?

But if the Marquis came out as a tree, he’d surely freeze to death instantly.

Trees are weak in winter.

“So, is he really that rich?”

“All the land and mines around here belong to the Marquis, right?”

“He must’ve spent a fortune on the wedding.”

Looking closely, Cecia recognized one man’s face.

‘That man is definitely……’

Yes, it was the one who scammed her father about mining investments.

And another was the errand boy from the dress shop.

‘They all conspired……’

They must have known the Marquis was incredibly wealthy after the extravagant wedding, tracked her from the South to here, and kidnapped her for ransom.

‘Such wicked people……’

Truly terrible people.

They scammed her father, made him suffer, and now targeted the Marquis’s money.

If they got a taste for ransom, they might do it again when money ran out.

“Drink up.”

“Where are we meeting?”

“At dawn, at the edge of the forest. He won’t come into the woods, anyway. The snow’s too deep to walk. Guys like us can slog through, but a noble like him couldn’t.”

“Let’s just drink until dawn.”

While the men drank together, Cecia quietly hid in the corner.

But she wasn’t without thoughts.

She knew she’d freeze to death if she ran, but she didn’t want to simply hand over the ransom.

‘Isn’t there a way to escape…… without freezing……’

No matter how much she thought, she couldn’t come up with a good plan.

‘Will they take me when they go for the ransom? Should I escape then? But if I get lost and never meet His Lordship……’

That would be a terrible ending.

‘Should I just stay quiet and be exchanged for ransom…… I don’t want that……’

She suddenly felt powerless and sad.

If she hadn’t married, or at least had a modest wedding instead of a lavish one, maybe none of this would have happened.

She had dozens of dresses, diamonds, pearls, and all kinds of gold and silver, so greedy people swarmed like flies.

But it was too late for regrets.

‘Will they get drunk and fall asleep?’

Cecia’s only hope was that the men would get drunk and pass out.

Then she could escape.

But her hope was shattered.

Dawn approached, but the men were still sober despite all the drinking.

Unlike Cecia, who got drunk after just two glasses.

As dawn neared, the temperature dropped further, and Cecia was close to freezing to death.

Her body was frozen, she couldn’t move properly, and her hands lost feeling.

Her mind grew hazy, and she thought she might die like this, but thoughts of the Marquis kept her barely conscious.

She couldn’t die.

If she died, the Marquis would be alone again.

She couldn’t let that happen.

She had to survive and return no matter what.

“Should we go now?”

“Take the woman, too?”

“What if she dies on the way? She’s already weak.”

“We were planning to k*ll her anyway. She saw our faces.”

Cecia’s heart sank at their conversation.

They never intended to let her live or return her to the Marquis after the exchange.

“We told the Marquis to come alone, so after showing him the woman and getting the ransom, we can get rid of both.”

“Will the Marquis really come alone?”

“We said we’d k*ll the woman if he didn’t, so he’ll come alone. He’s rich, so he’ll think he can get her back by paying. He won’t imagine we’ll k*ll them. Nobles are all naive.”

Their words were terrifying.

But they were right.

The Marquis would surely come alone to ensure Cecia’s safety.

He wouldn’t risk danger.

Money meant nothing to him, so he’d pay any ransom to get her back, but these men would never let them live.

‘I have to warn His Lordship……’

But how?

While Cecia was worrying, the men left, and the last one grabbed her arm tightly.

“Hurry up and move.”

But Cecia’s frozen body wouldn’t cooperate.

“M-my body’s frozen……”

Cecia collapsed.

Now, she could only pretend her legs were frozen and couldn’t walk, hoping to buy time.

If she delayed, maybe something would happen.

She had to stall as much as possible.

“My legs are frozen, I can’t move……”

She deliberately groaned.

“What’s that?”

“Huh? Do you see something?”

“Isn’t there something in the woods?”

Outside, the men’s voices grew agitated.

“Don’t you see it? That dark thing?”

“Where?”

“There! There’s something there!”

Their voices grew louder.

“What is that!”

“Uwaaaah!”

Cecia didn’t know what was happening outside, but it was definitely something frightening.

“What? What’s going on?”

The man holding Cecia grabbed an axe and ran outside.

But as soon as he left, his scream echoed back into the cabin.

“Uwaaaah!”

A terrible scream.

After that, everything went silent.

‘What is it? What’s happening?’

Now Cecia was terrified.

The men weren’t scary, but what was happening outside was.

What attacked the men?

‘Could it be a wolf?’

It was possible.

This was the middle of the forest, and Aeon’s woods were said to be full of wolves.

Half the people who died in the woods froze to death, and the other half were killed by wolves.

‘Is it a wolf?’

If a wolf appeared, Cecia was doomed.

Unable to do anything, she trembled as something big and dark entered the cabin.

Huge paws, pointed ears, gray eyes, fierce teeth, ashen fur.

No matter how she looked, it was a wolf.

A huge wolf entered the cabin.

That wolf must have killed all the men.

‘Huh?’

Strangely, the wolf’s gaze was familiar.

She felt she’d seen this wolf before.

But she couldn’t have known a wolf.

“Could it be…… His Lordship?”

Even as Cecia thought it was impossible, she called out to the Marquis.

The wolf approached and began rubbing its head against Cecia’s knees.

“Your Lordship, is it really you?”

The wolf couldn’t answer, but it kept rubbing its head against Cecia’s knees, then licked her face with its wet tongue.

This wolf was the Marquis.

At dawn, as soon as he changed from tree to wolf, he had rushed to her.

He must have found her by scent.

Overcome with emotion, Cecia hugged the wolf’s neck tightly.

She buried her face in the wolf’s warm, soft fur and finally felt relief.

The huge wolf stayed with her, letting her hold him for a long time to comfort her.

When Cecia returned to the mansion, she was riding on the wolf’s back.

From the forest to the mansion, the Marquis carried her on his back.

Before dawn broke, Cecia warmed herself by the fireplace, and the wolf approached, laying his head at her knees.

He was a wolf, but felt like a big dog.

But according to the mansion staff, his body was twice the size of a normal wolf.

‘His fur is so soft.’

Cecia had never owned a dog.

But strangely, she wasn’t scared at all.

Of course not.

This wolf was Adam.

“Sorry for worrying you.”

At Cecia’s words, the wolf growled softly and closed his eyes.

Cecia couldn’t understand wolf language, but she could tell from the growl that the Marquis was feeling good.

It was still far from full daylight.

Her frozen body had almost completely thawed now, and drinking warm tea helped as well.

The fireplace crackled as logs burned, and beside her, a large wolf lay growling softly.

With all these sounds, Cecia’s body grew more relaxed, and her eyelids drooped.

Unable to resist the sleep that came as her tension faded, Cecia finally buried her face in the wolf’s fur and fell asleep.

There were still many things she wanted to say to the Marquis.

For example, she wanted to ask if it wasn’t cold when he became a wolf, if he really found her by scent, and whether he was scared when he killed those men.

There were so many things she wanted to ask, and she wanted to thank him for coming to rescue her, but right now, her eyelids felt heavier than her voice.

Moreover, the soft fur and the Marquis’s scent drew Cecia deeper into sleep.

Most of all, Cecia had something she wanted to tell the Marquis.

‘I think I can recognize you no matter what form you take, Your Lordship.’

When the wolf entered the cabin earlier, Cecia immediately knew it was the Marquis.

Even if all similar wolves were mixed together, she was confident she could find the Marquis among them.

No, even if animals, trees, and people were all mixed together and she was told to find the Marquis, she was confident she could do it.

She felt certain that she could find the Marquis among all things in the world.

How could she not recognize her husband?

Even if he became grass, a flower, a bird, or a beast, she would find the Marquis.

No matter what form he took.

‘I can always find you……’

A gentle happiness wrapped Cecia.

Wasn’t this true happiness?

A state without any anxiety that she might not recognize him.

A state filled with certainty that she could recognize and find him anywhere, anytime.

Wasn’t this complete happiness?

Of course, the curse didn’t matter.

The curse needed to be broken for the Marquis, but for Cecia herself, it didn’t matter if it wasn’t.

Now, she didn’t care what form the Marquis took.

Even if she lived like this her whole life, Cecia could be happy.

No matter what form the Marquis took, she could live together with him.

“I love you……”

Half asleep, Cecia barely whispered those words.

Then she fell deeply asleep, buried in the wolf’s ashen fur.

The wolf glanced at Cecia, who had fallen asleep in his embrace, then lowered his head again.

The wolf’s gray eyes were smiling contentedly.