[The Husband with Two Faces]

Belita woke up late and grimaced at the pain she felt throughout her body. Her joints ached, and her legs, which had been spread all night, still seemed to tremble.

Her v*lva stung and burned as if wounded from enduring the man’s lust all night. Belita, who had become battered overnight, glared at the culprit who had inflicted such pain on her.

The sky that had poured such violent rain was now cloudless and blue as if nothing had happened. The sun, hanging round in the sky, embraced her as if telling her to be grateful it only lasted one day. The blazingly bright sunlight was welcome. But she felt hatred and resentment towards it.

Can’t you shine like this every day?

However, the damn weather here was rainy for more than half the year. Not only was the incessant rain unpleasant, but what was so angering that it had to thunder and lightning with such roars. She resented the gods.

Slowly rising, she put on the robe strewn on the floor and headed to the mirror. When she opened the robe, red marks were colorfully imprinted all over her body, making it difficult to find any pristine white spots.

“Anyone who sees this would think I’m a battered woman. Haah……”

No longer wanting to look at her appearance, Belita closed her robe and headed to the bathroom. While turning on the shower, she finally burst out in frustration.

“How long do I have to pretend not to know! Do I have to keep living like this?”

When she vividly imagined her husband’s face that she would soon encounter, anger boiled up inside her. If it hadn’t thundered, she wouldn’t have been so frightened.

She was irritated with her broken mind. Also, she couldn’t stand to see her husband who would treat her as if nothing had happened. She was sick of these days that felt like walking on thin ice.

Suppressing her rising anger, Belita finished getting ready alone and gritted her teeth at the throbbing pain. Though she was merely a figurehead Grand Duchess, she couldn’t just lie in bed all day. Although she had nothing to do and nothing she needed to do, she inevitably dragged her aching body down to the first floor.

Opening the door and stepping out, the wind still heavy with rain brushed against her nose. Having made it a habit to check the weather first, she keenly smelled the wind.

“Surely it’s not going to rain again.”

The wind still laden with moisture made her uneasy. If only it would just rain. She prayed and prayed that there would be no thunder at least. Well, not that anyone would listen.

“My lady, would you like to have breakfast?”

At the butler’s polite inquiry, Belita looked at the sky and asked back.

“His Grace……”

“He has gone out.”

“……Bring me some tea in the garden.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Still gazing at the sky, she stepped into the garden. The grass still wet with moisture reminded her again of last night. She felt thoroughly unpleasant as last night’s particularly frightening experience still seemed to bind her whole body.

“Tsk.”

Perhaps it was fortunate. She was secretly glad of his departure as she didn’t have confidence to act normal in front of her husband feeling like this. Sprawled unladylike in the garden chair, she kept staring at the sky. She hoped the night sky would be filled with stars.

She truly wished to stop seeing the wretched thunder and lightning. If it hadn’t been for that day, she wouldn’t have broken down like this. Her memories led her back to the past, one after another.

The day she lost her parents was also a day of violent thunder and lightning like yesterday. The carriage overturned on the rainy road and she was the only survivor. The terrifying thunder that seemed to split her ears and the momentary flash of light deeply etched in her mind the sight of her parents dying miserably, bleeding.

That night left deep trauma in Belita, who was just a child then. That’s why she was afraid of thunder. She feared seeing unwanted scenes between the flashing lights. But now the thunder brought another terror.

Whether cursed by the gods or perhaps carrying deep wounds like herself, her husband had a fatal flaw. Had she known this fact from the beginning, she would not have taken his outstretched hand.

After her parents’ death, Belita, who grew up as a poor noble daughter, spent days trembling and crying herself to sleep in her room corner. Her already nominal family declined further, and she learned that some relative had sold the family to her husband.

She didn’t know the exact details. No, she wasn’t even interested. She just felt saved then. Because she desperately needed someone’s warmth, she wanted to escape that lonely house even if it meant being sold.

Later she wondered why he, a Grand Duke of the empire, had sought her out among noble ladies from respectable families, why he had proposed to her at first sight, but she didn’t ask. She didn’t want to expose her circumstances of being sold.

Fortunately, after coming to the Grand Duke’s residence, she gradually stabilized. Though her husband was brusque, he did what was expected of a husband, and above all, there were servants here. When they exchanged even brief words with her, she could forget that day’s memories for a moment. Just being able to briefly forget the terrible memories that filled her mind all day made her feel like she could live.

So she thought she would be fine now. She thought she wouldn’t be afraid even if she heard thunder here again. But the fear already embedded in her mind wouldn’t easily disappear. Because on nights when she slept alone, there was no one by her side.

That day too, the thunder tormented her relentlessly. With the fierce wind and rain beating against the windows and the vicious lightning making her heart jump, she simply couldn’t sleep.

So she had no choice but to go to his room. She thought if even he was beside her, she might at least be able to breathe. She naturally thought he would be asleep at such a late hour, but he was standing by the window, looking somewhere.

“Your Grace…?”

The moment she faced the man who slowly turned around, Belita was struck with a strange sense of dissonance. Though he was clearly her husband, he somehow didn’t feel like her husband. And that dissonance felt even stronger in his tone, which was different from usual.

“What brings my wife to my room?”

His expression was somehow strangely distorted as he stared blankly at her, feeling very unfamiliar. The man who usually addressed her so politely spoke like a different person. Her husband’s atmosphere seemed unlike the person she knew.

“I-I’m sorry. The thunder was so frightening……”

Then, she thought he was angry because she had entered his room without permission. Since they had never shared a room after the wedding, she thought he might have been upset that she had entered his space without a word. But that wasn’t it. He was smiling. That smile was unlike any she had seen since meeting him.

“The thunder? Then, come here. Why are you standing there?”

Something felt off about the man smiling kindly and reaching out his hand. His tone and expression were strange. She should have been suspicious then. She just thought it was another side of her husband she hadn’t known. Everyone has two sides after all. Another side of her husband she hadn’t known until now… She thought so carelessly.

Then.

Rumble CRASH—!

“Hic…!”

At the fierce thunderclap, she instinctively hid herself on Rian’s bed. As she trembled, clutching the blanket tightly, he approached and asked.

“Are you afraid of thunder?”

“Yes. I’m so scared……”

He sat on the bed and met her eyes with a bright smile. But in that moment, chills ran down her whole body. Was he originally such a smiling man?

His jet-black hair matching his stern features reminded one of night. Yellow eyes stared intently like a beast revealing itself in the dark night. Though his face was already handsome, his smile was charming enough to entrance. But perhaps because she was so frightened, his unfamiliar smile somehow felt scary.

Seeing her husband at night for the first time, he had a completely different atmosphere from during the day. As the man caressed her cheek with a smile she still couldn’t get used to, Belita unconsciously flinched.

“Are you afraid of me too?”

“Ah, no…. That’s not it……”

Though married and became husband and wife, she had never shared a bed with her husband. He had naturally given her a separate room and never once sought her out. On the surface he seemed to respect his wife, but that was strictly it.

Simply put, though closer than strangers, they were in some ways no different from strangers. So she couldn’t help being startled by her husband’s suddenly changed behavior.

Belita found the approaching man very unfamiliar and strange.