Chapter 015
Thud.
With a loud sound, my body fell, but I didn’t feel any pain at all.
“Do you know how dangerous it is to fall backwards?”
With a dazed expression and wide eyes, I heard a low voice from directly below me.
As I managed to lift myself slightly, I locked eyes with the duke, who was glaring at me from right in front.
Once I regained a bit more awareness, I realized where I was and what position I was in.
The place I had mistakenly thought was the floor was actually his chest, and I was sitting on his stomach.
“I’m sorry! I just wanted to cover you with the blanket.”
“So you came quietly like a sneaky cat?”
Though I couldn’t see his expression clearly in the darkness, his voice suggested he was quite bewildered.
“If I were cold, I would have covered myself properly, so you don’t need to worry about it from now on.”
His tone was surprisingly firm.
“Yes. I’m sorry for waking you up unnecessarily.”
“No, that’s not what I meant…”
As I apologize again for my mistake, the duke appeared to have something he wanted to say. He moved his lips several times before clicking his tongue and asking me a question.
“Can you get up for now?”
“Oh, yes!”
Since the duke had caught me as I stumbled and fell, his hands were holding my waist and wrist.
Feeling awkward in this position, I quickly got off him.
“I’ll make sure to cover you with the blanket properly, so please try to sleep now.”
The duke picked up the blanket that had fallen to the floor and looked at me.
“Yes. You should sleep too.”
I nodded while looking into his eyes, barely able to distinguish his outline in my hazy vision.
Returning to the bed, I pulled the blanket over myself, listening to the rustling sound of him covering himself with the blanket.
‘Why does it feel so hot?’
I touched the wrist that the duke had held earlier.
I wondered if he had chosen not to cover himself because he has a warm body. I felt embarrassed for meddling unnecessarily.
However, that feeling quickly faded as a wave of fatigue washed over me, much stronger than before, and I began to drift off to sleep.
With the distracting thoughts slowly fading away, I completely let go of my consciousness.
ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
I woke up to the bright sunlight piercing through my eyelids.
Turning my head to look at the window, I saw that the tightly shut window was letting morning sunlight flood into the room.
Rising groggily, I noticed that the legs I had seen on the sofa the day before were no longer there.
“Evan?”
I called his name just in case, but there was no response.
‘Where could he have gone this early in the morning?’
As I looked around the empty room, I heard movement outside the door.
Knock, knock.
“Miss… no, madam. Are you awake?”
It was May’s voice, and she had come to the Duke of Ballestain’s residence with me.
“Yes. Come in.”
Soon after, the door opened, and two more maids followed May inside.
“Did you sleep well, madam?”
Unlike May, the maids greeted me with great courtesy.
Hearing the change in how I was addressed after the wedding made me acutely aware that I was now married.
“Yes. Good morning.”
I answered with a small smile toward them.
At that moment, May approached me closely and cautiously, asking about my body.
“How are you feeling? Would you like a massage before breakfast?”
“Huh? I’m fine. I don’t feel any pain…”
I stopped mid-sentence as I realized why she was asking that.
Today was the day after a married couple spent the night together. She must have offered a massage in case I was feeling uncomfortable.
‘Since I’m exhausted from the wedding yesterday, it might be better to accept the massage.’
“Yes, then could you prepare it?”
“Yes! Of course! Actually, I’ve already set everything up, so all you need to do is lie down on your stomach!”
With a confident smile, May quickly laid a large towel on the bed and spread massage oil around it.
I couldn’t help but chuckle at her proud expression as I took off my pajamas and lay down on the towel.
“Gasp……!”
“Oh my, what are all these bruises?”
May and the maids simultaneously gasped.
“Uh? What’s wrong?”
Confused, I turned around to see May and the two maids shaking their heads with flushed faces.
“Oh, it’s nothing! I’ll start the massage now.”
Soon, May began to pour oil into her hands, her fingers moving busily as she spoke.
As the warm sensation enveloped my back, the tension in my body slowly melted away.
While enjoying the comfortable massage, I asked May about the duke’s whereabouts.
“By the way, where is he?”
Realizing who I was referring to, May quickly regained her composure and answered.
“If you mean the duke, he left for the palace just after training this morning.”
He’s been busy since the morning.
“Alright. I guess I’ll have breakfast alone.”
After receiving May’s skilled touch, I got up and headed to the bathroom to wash up.
“Huh? When did I get this bruise?”
While sitting in the bathtub washing my body, I noticed a red bruise on my wrist and tilted my head in confusion.
“I definitely didn’t have this yesterday.”
Muttering absentmindedly, I suddenly recalled last night’s memories and jumped up to check my waist.
As I suspected, there were also red bruises on my waist, just like the one on my wrist.
“Did it bruise this much…”
Realizing that the location of the bruise matched where he had grabbed me last night, I muttered in a daze.
Then, belatedly, I realized why May and the maids had been so shocked just a moment ago.
“This could definitely be misunderstood.”
I could easily imagine what they’d think upon seeing this bruise.
However, there was no way I could go out now and clarify the situation, so I chose to continue bathing in silence.
Not knowing what kind of repercussions this might cause later.
ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
After breakfast, I decided to walk around the estate to help with digestion.
I wanted some solitude, so I left May behind, who wanted to accompany me.
“Is this the office?”
As I strolled down the long hallway, I found the duke’s office, a place I had visited before.
‘Where should I go next?’
Knowing that there would be no one inside anyway, I turned my body to ponder my next destination.
Just then.
“Milady?”
I heard a voice calling me from behind.
Turning around, I saw a tall man with a stack of documents in his arms, looking slightly surprised.
He was a young man with light brown hair and a gentle expression.
Seeing him in the knight’s uniform, he was likely a member of the Knights of Ballestain.
“Oh, I’m sorry, madam.”
“It’s alright. But who are you?”
As I asked, the man took a step closer and bowed his head to respond.
“Hello. My name is Roman Defra. I serve as the captain of the Knights of Ballestain.”
Upon hearing his name, I widened my eyes in surprise and asked him again.
“Could you say that once more? What did you say your name was?”
A look of confusion crossed the knight’s face at my question, but he soon repeated his name.
“I am Roman Defra.”
“Roman…”
I murmured the name several times.
I realized it sounded familiar because it was a name I already knew.
‘So this man is the Roman that the duke mentioned back then.’
As I rummaged through my memories from just before I died, I faced the man before me with trembling eyes.
