"You—did you say that you would abandon me once the marriage period was completed?"
Only then did he realize that the man lying on the floor was Burbrook. Next to his face, which was bleeding profusely from a gashed head, there was a dented silver tray and broken cups and plates that might have been on it.
The guards brought by the butler entered the bedroom in unison, lifted up the unconscious man, and slapped him in the face.
"Eww, ugh."
They roughly wrapped his head in a towel, gave him first aid, and hit him hard, and Burbrook groaned and came to his senses.
"What on earth is this?"
He was startled by Kaian's shouting voice as if he'd been struck by lightning.
"Y-yes, my Lord."
"You will have to explain yourself properly."
Burbrook fell with his head to the ground at the feet of Kaian, who was radiating murderous energy to the point of making his skin tingle.
"S-sorry. I just wanted to see my Lady for a moment."
"Why are you approaching my wife without permission?"
"Well, didn't you promise me?"
Burbrook appealed in an aggrieved tone.
"You said you'd send the Vermont woman to me after one year of marriage."
A disgusting sound came out as if a lump of sewage had been thrown.
"What on earth does that mean?"
"You promised! Didn't you clearly say that to me on the second day of the wedding celebration?"
"Nonsense!"
"I'm not making this up. Bilton, the granary keeper, and Sir Thomas, the stable keeper, who were nearby, also heard clearly. Call them and ask."
"Shut up!"
Kaian got angry and screamed.
"Take this man and throw him in prison."
"Yes, my Lord."
"My Lord! I've been wronged!"
The man who was about to be dragged away shook off the guards and clung to Kaian's leg.
"This is all because of Antjone."
"What?"
"That woman encouraged me. That my Lady knows it all and is calling me into the bedroom."
Kaian's face distorted grimly.
"What kind of bullshit are you talking about?"
"She said my Lady was looking for apples instead of you because she had something else on her mind."
The frightened, miserable man began to sob pathetically.
Kaian mumbled a low curse and gave an order to the guards.
"Keep this man in prison. Antjone—take her too and lock them together."
"Yes, I will obey your orders."
As the guards dragged Burbrook away, the smell of blood mixed with the smell of grapes and apples that had been trampled and burst by the men's feet made the smell even more acrid.
"You too, go away."
"But..."
Hannah looked at Kaian with a sad face, not knowing what to do.
"Get out."
After a cold glare, Hannah eventually went out of the bedroom and closed the door, leaving Claudel crying pitifully.
"Oh, my... huhuhu..."
Claudel cried very softly. When she'd been held by him and experienced ultimate pleasure, the faint sounds and cries she'd made were similar. The unfamiliar feeling of a familiar sound was even more shocking than seeing it for the first time.
Claudel had once told him that since her parents died, she hadn't been able to cry. Even though she'd wanted to cry, no tears came out.
However, from her beautiful eyes, teardrops as thick as jewels melted and fell down her cheeks, containing shimmering gold, every time she blinked.
*I guess it's because I cried my whole life away then.*
The sight of the woman expressing her sorrow over losing her parents like that, her face pouring out tears, was painfully embedded in Kaian's heart.
He carefully tried to help her up.
"Claudel, get up."
But Claudel shook off his hand. Kaian felt even worse because the woman sitting on the floor crying looked like part of a very messy room. Moreover, it was even more so because her body, which he briefly touched, felt cold—not like a living person.
"Your body is cold."
"Never mind. Ugh, huhuhu."
Kaian ended up embracing the woman who tried to shake him off and carrying her to the bed. However, Claudel, who'd been put down on the bed, hugged her knees, curled up away from him, and continued to cry, as if compelled.
"Calm down."
"Ugh."
He wanted to hug and comfort the trembling, crying woman, but her gestures rejecting him were so violent that Kaian didn't know what to do. Moreover, whenever he tried to say something or calm her down, Claudel cried harder, which was embarrassing.
"You're going to kick me out after a year... did you really say that?"
Claudel cried.
"You don't plan on keeping a Vermont girl as your Lady?"
Was it true or wasn't it? As he tried to force himself to recall things he couldn't even remember, it felt like his mind was becoming increasingly paralyzed. Meanwhile, the tears that had filled her eyes once again flowed down.
"Huhu... ugh... there won't be anywhere to go, so he can take me."
"No."
Kaian felt his heart break.
"Liar."
However, Claudel, who was wiping away the wet tears with the back of her hand as if she could see through his thoughts, shook her head.
"So many people know. Ugh."
Her accusation was directed at Kaian. Kaian suffered from remorse that he'd made an irreparable mistake, but as he listened, he felt a little aggrieved.
"Yes, I did."
"Oh, my... huhuhu..."
"What? You didn't come to Rowan to become my wife anyway."
Claudel looked at him with eyes filled with all kinds of emotions.
"You came to deceive me, betray me, and die under the name of my wife."
Meanwhile, Kaian had turned a blind eye to Claudel's many lies, excuses, and things she'd tried to cover up without telling.
"I feel bad for saving someone who should have died long ago from consumption."
He'd tried so hard to save her life, but she didn't know how to thank him, and he became upset at her attitude of criticizing him for his mistakes.
It wasn't intentional. He'd just had his wedding night and had no thoughts about Claudel, good or bad. Regarding the marriage, he'd only been dissatisfied with his anger toward Valquiterre and Vermont, who'd forcibly given the King's orders.
And at that time, she was the one who'd stabbed him in the back and hid her illness. She'd been planning to die, but he felt aggrieved at the thought that he'd caught her with a single word.
"Do you think it's appropriate for me to talk about it like that?"
Once his words broke out, he couldn't control them.
"The Duke of Vermont didn't know you were mortally ill? Knowing that, he turned a blind eye to the fact that you married empty-handed, without even a single pearl or proper clothes."
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
"You acted as a spy in my house and I pretended not to notice that a telegram was being sent to the Duke of Vermont using the same code."
"A spy... it's not like that."
"No?"
Kaian was so dumbfounded he laughed.
"What did I hear in the royal castle? You were told you'd put a knife to my throat any time he gave you the order."
"...Kaian."
"After hearing those words, did you expect me to match your acting and tell you that I like you?"
"..."
Claudel looked at him with her mouth open, as if speechless.
*I guess she has nothing to say.*
He didn't want to drive her like this. The reason he'd pretended not to notice until now was because he didn't want Claudel to feel indebted to him and be intimidated.
It was just nice to see her becoming more and more comfortable around him. She'd looked at him awkwardly and intimidated, but the woman who watched him smiled, and then she'd hug his body first, leaning her head on his shoulder and humming, which was endearing.
Kaian had thought it would be okay if he wasn't fooled by Claudel's clumsy deception. Kaian, considering his relationship with Claudel so far, had been self-evaluating that it was an ideal marital relationship between two enemy families that he could maintain because he was strong.
After saying it condescendingly and openly like this, it only took a moment for the tower he'd worked so hard to build to collapse.
"Then..."
Claudel hesitated and barely opened her mouth.
"If I have a child, you'll... you also said you could trust me... was it a lie?"
Once the flimsy trust began to crumble, it reached the bottom out of control.
"In the first place, what else is there to do but distrust Vermont?"
"Ah..."
The woman with hurt eyes suddenly stopped crying.
*If I hadn't pushed her away when she tried to embrace me, I wouldn't have said this.*
He was resentful of the woman who'd turned all the work he'd put his heart into into nothing.
"Don't say anything presumptuous from now on."
Kaian left the bedroom, leaving the woman who couldn't respond.
"Butler!"
When he called harshly, the butler looked at him with a stern expression.
"The bedroom has become messy due to an unfortunate incident, so Claudel... please guide her to the guest room."
"Yes?"
"Let's replace the carpet with a new one."
"I will, my Lord."
Kaian headed to his bedroom. He was afraid that if he forced Claudel into his bedroom, she'd cry and lose her breath.
"Ha, shit."
Kaian sighed in pain as he rubbed his heated forehead.
---
"I need to finish tidying up your room quickly."
From early in the morning, Hannah was troubled.
"There are no vacant rooms due to the ball, so you have to sleep in a room like this."
Because the castle was so full of guests, everyone had had a hard time just cleaning the empty guest rooms at night.
"I'm okay, Hannah."
Claudel had a pale face. Hannah patted her, thinking about Burbrook.
"Burbrook, that crazy man. Ugh, he should have been killed on the spot."
Hannah was furious. The warrior who'd defeated Burbrook was none other than her. Hannah had knocked him unconscious with the rather heavy silver tray she'd brought intending to feed Claudel.
She'd gone so far as to say that if she'd had a fork or knife on the tray, she'd have taken Burbrook's life with it. She hadn't taken the utensils separately because she'd wanted Claudel to eat fruit and juice.
"I'm going to go for a walk."
"Why don't you rest more?"
"It's chilly and I want to get some sun."
At her words, Hannah wrapped a shawl around her body to keep her warm without saying anything.
As she reached the shore of the lake in the back garden, Valquiterre, who'd been lying like a portrait in a sunny spot, stirred.
"The owner has returned, so I'll have to move out of the way."
Claudel gave Hannah a look and Hannah took five steps back. Seeing Hannah standing a little away, Claudel sat down close to him, holding the hem of her skirt.
She lowered her voice and spoke softly.
"Bark, please help me."
---