My Husband was Switched - ✿ dusk blossoms ✿

Snow was falling heavily from above.

I blinked slowly, still in his arms. If the Grand Duke hadn’t held onto me at the last moment, my body would have been shattered.

“…Your Highness!”

I quickly got off Cedric, who was lying beneath me. At a glance, his injuries looked severe.

“I’m sorry, what should I do…! You’re bleeding!”

“…It’s fine, don’t shout.”

He frowned and covered his eyes with the back of his hand. I frantically looked up. It wasn’t too deep, but it was awkward to climb out alone.

And the Grand Duke was injured because of me.

“Didn’t I tell you? There are traps set to catch monsters.”

“I didn’t know they’d be such primitive pits.”

“Primitive… Ha. In a place where it snows, this is the most efficient trap.”

“I’ll call for help.”

I stood up and shouted towards the top. I screamed until my throat was sore, but I wasn’t sure if the sound would carry out of the pit.

Still, I had to keep trying. The Grand Duke’s injuries would worsen over time.

“Is anyone there?! Someone fell in here! Knights!”

“Please.”

He sat up and grabbed my hand. Startled, I looked at him with wide eyes.

“Stop shouting, it’s making my head ring.”

“Oh…”

I finally closed my mouth and looked at his body. I had healing abilities, but they were only effective on animals.

“Hold on a little longer, I need to stop the bleeding first.”

I hesitated to treat his wounds. I had never treated a person before, and I wasn’t sure it would work.

My hand, which had been reaching out to him, withdrew. Sensing my unease, he took a deep breath and said,

“This is nothing. The knights will notice something is wrong and come.”

“But you’re too injured. It’s because of me, I have to do something…!”

“Claire.”

He called my name softly. His calm yet warm voice made me turn my gaze slowly. His blue eyes were still steady, without a hint of wavering.

“It’s nothing serious. So calm down.”

I nodded slowly. Only then did he slump back and lean against the wall. Snow continued to fall.

Feeling the cold, I wrapped my arms around myself.

Cedric remained silent, as if he had no energy to speak. I cautiously broke the silence.

“Your Highness.”

“……”

“Your Highness?”

“……”

There was no response. I turned my head to look at him. Cedric had his eyes closed and was silent.

“Your Highness! Wake up!”

I shook his shoulder urgently. But he didn’t move. I placed my hand near his nose and felt his breath. I had heard that cold could make one lose consciousness, but if this continued, he would die.

“Wake up!”

I gently slapped his cheek to wake him. Even shouting didn’t rouse him. Desperate, I slapped his cheeks with both hands while shouting.

“No! You’ll die if you sleep here!”

Slap.

“…Oh.”

He slowly opened his eyes. I was holding his cheeks with both hands, my mouth agape. I hadn’t intended to hit him hard, but it seemed I used too much force in my desperation.

“What are you doing?”

“You seemed to have fallen asleep, so I was trying to wake you.”

“Don’t you think this position is easily misunderstood?”

“…Huh?”

Come to think of it, we were very close. While trying to wake him, I ended up leaning in close, holding his cheeks with both hands. This position could indeed be easily misunderstood.

“You talked about divorce, but now you’re trying to steal a kiss?”

“Is this the time for jokes?”

“I’m not dead. I was just a bit drowsy.”

“That’s the same thing.”

This was bad. I clenched and unclenched my fists, trying to calm my breathing. I had planned to wait for the knights, but I was getting anxious.

“Your Highness, actually…”

Thunk.

His head fell onto my shoulder. Startled, I turned to look at him. He was sweating coldly.

“You weren’t drowsy; you were in pain.”

The Grand Duke seemed to have lost consciousness. I intended to tell him the truth and use my ability, but it was a relief that he was unconscious.

‘Whether it will work or not, I don’t know.’

I reached out and placed my hand on his cheek, activating my ability. I hoped my power, which healed animals, would work on him too. After all, humans are… technically animals, right?

‘Please, please.’

I prayed earnestly. If something happened to him because of me, I would regret this day for the rest of my life. I would probably never forget it.

After a while of using my ability, his complexion started to improve. Exhausted to my limit, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank goodness.”

“There they are! We’ve found them! Over here!”

I heard the voices of the knights. When I looked up, I saw the knights who had found us lowering a rope. Only then did I feel at ease.

❖ ❖ ❖

Cedric opened his eyes. It felt like he had slept deeply for the first time in a long while. When he turned his head, he saw Claire sleeping soundly, breathing softly.

“My body doesn’t hurt at all…”

Except for a slight headache, he felt in excellent condition. As he woke up, the butler, who had been nearby, approached in a hurry.

“Your Highness…!”

Cedric placed a finger on his lips and looked at the butler.

“Your Highness…”

The butler’s voice quickly dropped to a whisper. Cedric got out of bed and gently lifted Claire, placing her on the bed and covering her with a blanket. Only then did he sit at the edge of the bed.

“Are you alright?”

The butler whispered. Cedric frowned at the breath that touched his ear and gestured for the butler to step back. The butler reluctantly retreated with a worried expression.

“Yes, but what happened?”

“Don’t even mention it. You lost consciousness, and the Grand Duchess and the knights had a hard time bringing you back.”

“…What do you mean, ‘a hard time’?”

“Think about it. It was snowing heavily, and we had to carry a man over 190 cm tall to where the horses were.”

“Alright, get out. I need to rest more, so don’t come in until I call.”

“Understood.”

The butler left the room with drooping shoulders. Only then did Cedric take a deep breath and slowly examine his body.

There were scars all over his bare upper body. However, there were no injuries from when he fell into the trap. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had slept so soundly.

“…I feel more refreshed.”

It was certainly strange. As fragmented memories came to him, his eyes gradually widened. He recalled her face, holding his cheeks with both hands.

He couldn’t remember the situation in detail, but just that scene was a huge shock to Cedric. What on earth had happened?

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recall it clearly. He stroked his chin, puzzled.

As he ran his hand through his hair, trying to remember, her voice suddenly came to mind again.

‘No! You’ll die if you sleep here!’

“……”

Cedric gave up trying to recall. The more he tried, the stranger the memories seemed. Maybe he was remembering it wrong? There was no way she would say such harsh words. Cedric was confused by the memories surfacing. What kind of memories were these?

Cedric turned to look at her again. Seeing Claire still sleeping as if she knew nothing about the world, he was convinced his memory was wrong.

Although he had fallen into the trap because of her, the knights arrived later than expected, causing him to lose consciousness.

While he was losing consciousness in pain, he faintly heard her voice.

‘Thank goodness.’

Had anyone ever spoken with such a worried voice for him?

Unknowingly, he became more curious about her. He married because he had to, without caring who his partner was. But now, Cedric was curious about Claire. He wanted to know more about her.

Since they were married, he intended to do his best in their relationship. But he never thought about getting to know each other. It was just a necessary marriage, and he had no interest in his partner.

Cedric gently brushed Claire’s hair back and smiled faintly.

“She’s really an enigma.”

When she asked for a divorce, she had desperate eyes while saving him. He remembered her expression, not knowing what to do.

He covered his face with both hands and sighed.

‘What am I doing right now?’

Cedric withdrew his hand from her hair and looked puzzled.

Something was definitely wrong. Cedric rubbed his face and looked at the sleeping Claire again.

Her wavy purple hair flowed down. She had a slightly furrowed brow, as though she was having a bad dream.

“What kind of dream are you having?”

Cedric leaned closer to listen to her murmuring.

“Mmm… those bastards.”

“……”