A Tale of One Lady and Two Men

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Chapter 24

After the lingering kiss, Edwin pushed her back. The sound of her pounding heart was loud enough that she could hear it ringing behind her ears.

“Go to your room. There are a lot of outsiders, so don’t wander out alone.”

Nadia nodded like a doll, her cheeks flushed.

“Don’t walk around for no reason. Don’t meddle in other people’s business.

Their eyes met. It seemed as though what happened with the mages had already reached his ears. Nadia nodded helplessly.

Pressing his lips over her forehead as if to praise her for answering obediently, Edwin turned around unhesitatingly.

While still staring at his back, Nadia spaced out. At times like these, he seemed like the sweetest husband in the world…

If only his bad habits disappeared, she would be completely happy with him. Nadia shook her head, forgetting those useless thoughts.

Susan followed her back to the room. The maid knew how Nadia had been particularly lethargic these days, and so she poured words of concern.

“Madam, are you tired? Would you like to take a nap? Or should I bring something light to eat? You haven’t eaten lunch yet.”

Nadia looked back at Susan and smiled faintly.

“Then please bring me something to eat. Thank you.”

With a bright expression, Susan nodded and shot out the door like an arrow.

Nadia decided to have a light meal and rest until the evening.

Recently, it’s been difficult for her to keep up because she felt strangely heavy and exhausted. Unlike when she was in the capital, it was difficult for her to stand in front of people, and for some reason, she felt a sense of crisis because she was feeling more lethargic. But she pretended not to know what to do.

Entering the room with a small sigh, Nadia sat back in a fluffy armchair as if wanting to bury herself into it. Trying to see outside the window without much thought, she belatedly saw an uninvited guest’s movement over the balcony’s railing.

To her surprise, Nadia was shocked stiff, but the man pulled his legs up and approached her carefully.

“Nadia.”

“Asheel!”

Nadia came to her senses. The slowly creeping drowsiness she felt earlier completely disappeared.

She jumped out of her seat and hurriedly locked the door and put on its latch. Then she stopped for a moment and took a deep breath, calming herself down. Her gaze upon the uninvited guest was ferocious.

“Just what are you doing? You can’t come in secret like this. You’re the one who told me to get my act straight. How did you even come up here?”

“I came to ask you something. I was careful enough, so don’t worry.”

Nadia held her forehead in one hand, a headache seemingly coming in.

It wasn’t enough to just be careful! Unless something urgent came up, she expected that he would come someday, but she couldn’t be relieved because her heart was pounding anxiously. She didn’t expect him to come to her room in the middle of the day.

It was a place where Edwin could come and go at any time. She couldn’t figure out if Asheel was being brave or foolish. Whenever he did this, it felt like her heart would come to a halt.

“Why didn’t you come to meet me when I returned?”

“Is this the time to talk about that?”

Why was it that she was the only one worried about being caught. He was much too bold.

But Nadia figured that was the case. She never dwelled on it, the matter of a noblewoman being caught cheating.

In the capital, it’s said that nobles had lovers regardless of their gender, but that didn’t mean that everyone took it in stride. If so, it wouldn’t be considered taboo.

And Edwin acted like the most debauched man in the world and did those unacceptable acts like it was nothing, but Nadia couldn’t even guess how he would react once he found out. She just figured that it was best to imagine the worst and do whatever she could to protect herself.

“So you came because you had something to say. Hurry up and state your business.”

She pretended as though she wasn’t affected as much as possible, but she saw the string bracelet on Asheel’s wrist. Her first thought was to take it away, but as soon as she did, Asheel grabbed her hand lightly and narrowed the distance between them.

“I… I need to hear you out. Of course, I have my own predictions about it, and I think I can organize my thoughts once I make sure it’s true.”

“……”

Nadia’s ears seemed to have pricked up. Numerous thoughts passed through her mind and her heart began to pound relentlessly. She knew to some extent what he was talking about.

Even now, she could recall it as though it happened just yesterday. The words he uttered towards his friend.

She couldn’t breathe at all.

She bit her lower lip, blinking quickly because she feared that those ugly tears would form in her eyes.

“I knew you were a noblewoman.”

“So, did you have fun?”

She couldn’t just stay still and listen. The pain she received that day, which felt as though she was falling ceaselessly into a dark abyss, tried to encroach her mind. It was a chasm that she consciously tried not to look into all this time.

In an instant, tears filled her eyes. There was no use trying to hold back, and a faint sob leaked through Nadia’s lips. With her head down, she clenched her hands into fists. She wasn’t confident enough to face him—just like before.

She was a coward. She wanted to run away right now. But the reason why she didn’t do that now was because she would have to end it now, somehow. If not, this man would come to her suddenly again just as he did now.

“…What are you talking about?”

“Why are you asking me that? It’s the word that came out of your mouth, so you should know.”

She wanted to answer coldly and rationally, as if nothing had affected her. All that was left in her was that pride.

However, the voice that was barely squeezed out sounded so devastated that it was difficult to understand her through her tears. It was a shameful sight. She didn’t mean to reveal that she was still swayed so emotionally by that incident.

Just as she was nothing to him, she wanted to express that he was nothing to her. But if she was going to cry like this, her lies would be caught…

“Wait, Nadia. What are you talking about, just now?”

His voice held shock. Nadia clenched her teeth as she stared at the tears that were trickling down to the floor. She wouldn’t be swayed. She had been fooled once, but she wouldn’t be stupid enough to be fooled a second time.

Asheel was restless as he grabbed her hand. He placed it over his chest. There was no sign of coldness anywhere.

Through the palm of her hand, she felt his racing heart and his exceedingly warm body temperature. Even the resentment that she had been holding onto so deeply in her heart was pushed out.

She bit her lips to hold back more tears that were threatening to come out, but because she couldn’t hold it in any longer, those tears dripped down as well. Nadia shook off the warm hand that was holding onto hers with all her might.

“Do I look like a fool? Don’t play tricks on me! I’m neither foolish nor naïve enough to be deceived twice!”

Nadia raised her head. Her tears finally stopped, but her emotions couldn’t be held in. She didn’t intend to be swayed at all, no matter what he said. One such difficult ordeal was enough. After completely ending her relationship with Asheel, she wanted to lead a decent life while trying not to go against her eccentric husband’s mood.

“Nadia.”

“Don’t call my name so carelessly! How arrogant! I’m the Madam that you serve!”

She should have done this earlier. She should have threatened this man, who kept trying to cross the line between them by calling her name like this without hesitation.

Ignoring Asheel’s furrowed brow, Nadia backed away with her arms folded in front of her. As if she couldn’t even bear to be near him.

After hesitating several times, Asheel looked more determined. But then, there were two knocks on the door.

She was so surprised that Nadia’s shoulders completely flinched. It was only then that she remembered telling Susan to bring something to eat for her. She was shocked by how she forgot about it entirely. Flustered and out of sorts, Nadia hurriedly pushed Asheel’s chest.

“Go! Leave!”

She pushed himself towards the balcony door and hurriedly wiped her soaked cheeks. Then, she went to the door and undid the latch on it.

“Come in.”

When permission was granted, Susan came in with a tray and Nadia smiled awkwardly. On the tray were a bowl of fish stew, a large steak, a piece of white bread, a few pieces of cheese over ham in butter, and pale pink carbonated water with rose syrup.

“I was a little late because the kitchen was busy preparing for the banquet. I apologize, Madam.”

“No, it’s fine. Leave it there.”

Susan immediately placed the plates and bowls onto the table. When Nadia saw the food, the hunger she had forgotten came back up. She took in a whiff of the spices and the fish stew. However, her stomach suddenly felt like it was twisted.

“Urk…”

Susan’s busy hands stopped. In a different sense, her stomach seemed to fluctuate. Nadia raised a hand to her lips in embarrassment. The moment she smelled the food, her stomach turned upside down and her nausea was persistent.

It was strange. This had never happened to her before.

“M-Madam, are you alright…?”

She barely gestured for Susan to return the food, turning away. With a puzzled face, Susan moved the plates and bowls back to the tray, but then she suddenly smiled as though something pleasant had crossed her mind.

“Could it be that the Madam is carrying a child? Oh my, oh my—at a time like this! Madam, I’ll call the doctor!”

Susan made a fuss right then and hurriedly went out the door, bringing the tray of food with her. Nadia just blocked her nose without answering back. Then, her eyes that were out of focus met the frozen gaze of Asheel who was still standing outside on the balcony.

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