Chapter 18: 18

Chapter 18 – Shaken, Again And Again

In the distant past, there was a man who came to the dying Lena Cornelli bringing a huge amount of dowry to propose. Viscount Talian Cornelli, Lena’s father, hurried to the mansion and served him precious food and tea.

His brazenly crossed legs, his look of disdain to the other person – all of that was a rude act. Nevertheless, the viscount only had an ecstatic expression on his face looking at the list of riches that he otherwise wouldn’t be able to hold in his lifetime.

The man looked at the viscount. “This dowry will be the first and last.”

The viscount’s face immediately darkened as he looked at the list and amount of the dowry. “Yes? No… what do you mean?”

An embarrassed expression crept across the Viscount’s face. What do you mean last?

The person in front of him right now was Duke Kaligo Edmund – incomparably wealthy and powerful in all the empire. Since there was no one sitting in the position of the Grand Duke, he was the second most powerful person after the imperial family.

Such a man came and directly brought dowry with him. He thought of selling her daughter for some gold, but he didn’t expect her to become the duchess. So in an instant, he became greedy.

He could spend his life without monetary worries if he used his daughter. He would be able to exact revenge on those who despised him.

‘But this is the last?! This can’t be happening!’

His downcast eyes turned to Kaligo, who was looking for a drink of water. “That!”

But as soon as the Viscount Talian made eye contact, he flinched and shut his mouth. It was because Kalligo was looking at him weirdly. That terribly cold gaze seemed beyond mere anger.

“If you try to make a profit by selling my name, secretly meet with the duchess of my mansion, satisfy your greed using intimidation in the future…”

“…”

A deafening silence fell when Kaligo stopped talking and remained silent. Viscount Talian swallowed his dry saliva as the duke stared at him.

After a while, Kaligo’s last warning sounded polite. “You will pay a price for it.”

Having his inner thoughts discovered like this, the Viscount was shocked, stuttering, “N-no matter wh-what, this is what being blood-related means!”

“Then you can reject the proposal if you don’t like it.”

“…”

The Viscount widened his eyes in surprise.

‘Is there any reason to refuse?’

An opportunity like this to sell his sick daughter and earn this amount of wealth would never come again in his lifetime. He nodded silently, and starting that day, Lena followed Kaligo to the Dukedom of Edmund.

It was unprecedented to have ignored all procedures to take the bride on the day the dowry was delivered. This was because the honor and pride of the bride-to-be might be trampled. But Lena thought it didn’t really matter.

‘Is there a more hellish place than where I came from…?’

The fact that she could escape the viscounty was more important to her than honor or pride, however… she couldn’t shake the miserable feeling inside her of being livestock sold for gold.

That day, Lena thought and recounted her worth all the way to the duke’s mansion inside the rumbling carriage. It was obviously Kaligo’s mistake that he had not put her position and feelings into consideration – even if there were some excuses hidden behind it.

Fortunately, her life as a duchess was warmer than she had expected. It was just that her health didn’t improve quickly despite being under the care of the employees who served her to the fullest.

Your Excellency, Madam fainted again!

Not a single day passed quietly after Lena entered the duke’s residence as Kaligo’s wife. She would collapse while walking in the garden or have nosebleeds while reading a book. Maybe it was because she bled often that her already pale face looked even whiter.

Call the doctors!

Bring her medicine first!

Was it thanks to their generous care for her? The times she fainted and vomited blood decreased noticeably. It was slow, but she was definitely recovering.

A road seemed to have opened for her when she had already given up on living. The man called her husband was still cold and hard as if he was made of stone, but it boosted her spirits to see that he was looking after her health.

‘He’s obviously a scary person, but I’m not scared.’

Compared her father who beat her every day, he was a man with more ferocious and wild energy. Even so, she wasn’t scared of him. In other words, it was like she could feel that he was considerate of her amidst his indifference. At least, he wasn’t rude and coercive…

Can’t we… share a bedroom now?

One day, she sat down at the table and suggested sharing a bedroom. It was also a shame for Lena that she still hadn’t had her first night more than a year since she became the duchess.

I am really fine now. The doctor also said it was okay, … so… uhm…

Kaligo who was startled at first, slowly set down his knife.

Ah… I didn’t know it was also hard… for you.

A rush of heat rushed to her cheeks. Those were the words Lena dared to say after having courage that she would never have again. But…

I am fine. I don’t have a strong desire for that. So let’s wait and see in the meantime.

He stood up from the chair and left the dining room. Kaligo once again pushed Lena away just like that, and Lena had to stare at his vacant seat again. The two of them stood still as always. The invisible wall between the two of them showed no signs of disappearing – until the day they died…

The bushes shook violently at the blade Ashia was wielding in the quiet forest. Countless branches and leaves fell onto the forest road every time danger brushed past them.

She glanced at Kaligo, who was following her, constantly cutting the grass in front of him.

‘What the hell are you thinking…’

Obviously, her relationship with this man was the same as back then, but how did she end up in this situation.

‘It would be easier if only I could look inside this person’s head.’

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She sighed and continued swinging her dagger. “All the plants here are young with strong vitality. Even if they are cut like this, they will return to their original state in about a week.”

“I see.”

Ashia’s voice filled the forest road. Kaligo looked at Asha for a moment and then strode behind her back.

“Oh?”

His large hands wrapped around her shoulders, and her hand stopped.

“…Your Excellency?”

With the warmth that wrapped her shoulders and back revealing a sudden proximity, she didn’t even think of looking back, merely freezing in place.

“I will do it from here.”

She flinched slightly at the low voice coming from nearby. It reminded her of a memory she had just forgotten. That day when Kaligo lost consciousness due to a seizure, she also felt his heat on her body.

Asha subconsciously rubbed her neck as she pulled herself out of his grasp. “…Y-you don’t even know the way, and… please follow me from a distance.”

Kaligo approached Ashia. “You may get hurt, too. And can’t you tell me the direction?” His large hand carefully wrapped around Ashia’s small hand holding the dagger. “Give it to me.”

“…Your Excellency.”

His voice was soft as he ran his fingertips through each of Ashia’s fingers. “Kaligo.”

“…”

“Call me Kaligo.”

“That…”

“I heard that the mages of the Magic Tower weren’t bound by the rules of aristocratic rank.”

“…”

“You can treat me comfortably.”

Just like what he said, mages of the Magic Tower weren’t shaken by titles as long as the proper level of courtesy was observed.

But the problem wasn’t the title.

Kaligo.

Calling him by his name reminded her of the old days. Though Lena thought she was sold as a commodity, she eventually fell in love with him.

During their marriage, she learned a little bit about who he was. He was indifferent but not rude, and he was helplessly drawn away by his restrained but evident strength.

‘It’s a problem that he was playing his role in the original novel wrongly, but…’

The idea of possibly giving her heart to him again and seeing him hurt gave her a sense of deja vu.

‘I can’t… I can’t.’

Ashia handed him the dagger and stepped back, pulling down the hood even more out of habit.

At the same time, he pressed his face once more on the shoulder where he had buried his face.

‘Calm down, I don’t think anything will change even if you turn up the heat like that.’

Nevertheless, the places he touched throbbed as if her heart had made its way there.

“…”

“…Let’s go.”

Kaligo smiled faintly as he looked back at Ashia, who was running away from him. “Alright.”

He looked down at his own hand holding the dagger. He can still feel the vague heat of her body from where she held it. Whatever he was thinking, those red eyes stared like that for a long time.

As he repeatedly clenched and opened his fest, Ashia turned around.

“Kaligo.”

His gaze turned to the woman who called out his name. His eyebrows twitched slightly.

“The sun is setting. We have to move quickly…”

“Again.”

Ashia, who was at the forefront to check the way forward, turned around. “…Yes?”

“Please, call my name again.” His voice was clear despite the distance between them, red eyes gleaming beautifully today – something between the color of a sunset or a blazing fire.

Asha, who had completely lost her gaze to his eyes, opened her mouth as if was possessed.

“…Kaligo.”

“…”

A brief moment passed as they stood facing each other for a while. A faint wind blew. Her red robes fluttered and his dark hair swayed.

At this moment, the only thing that moved was the wind blowing through the bushes.

It seemed that their relationship was being shaken once more.

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