Chapter 32
32. Is There a Wife Who Fears Her Husband?
Yuan gave up on supporting him and instead opened the bedroom door, standing in the doorway.
Claude's bloodshot eyes turned sharply towards Yuan.
"If you don't want to, I'll go alone."
"You. Come here right now. Answer me."
Yuan stared at the staggering Claude for a moment, then scurried to his side.
Claude, who habitually expected her support, stood there blankly, watching the black hair disappear again.
Yuan held the empty dishes Claude had eaten from.
"I'll take these away. Hille said that once the bleeding stops from the arrow wound in your thigh, it's good to walk around a little, so I was going to help you... If you don't want to, walk around alone in the bedroom."
"Hey. Aren't you coming here?"
"Are you going to hit me if I don't?"
Is that something a noble lady should say?
Claude glared at her as if she were talking nonsense.
Who would hit someone as tiny as her? It was such an absurd assumption that he couldn't even muster a scoff.
"What's wrong with your head? You've completely lost your fear."
"Is there a wife who fears her husband?"
Claude flinched.
Wife. Wife. That damn wife.
He clearly thought they had agreed long ago that she was just a subordinate to be used when needed, a lord-vassal relationship in name only.
The expression on his face threatened to burst through, as if wondering why she was acting like this.
But the frustrating thing was that he, as the guilty liege, couldn't even refute her words.
He couldn't bring himself to say, 'Honestly, you should be a little afraid of me,' to that gaunt and pale face.
After all, he was the one tormenting that Crow subordinate every night to the point where her face looked so worn.
Unlike his repentant mind, his mouth, already preparing to lash out, was filled with sharp words, causing him to break out in a cold sweat.
It was an action that went against his 'hellish temper,' to borrow Lancelot's words, causing an allergic reaction throughout his body.
But whether she knew Claude's heart or not, his foal-like 'subordinate,' who was scratching at his nerves by mentioning family and wife, left the bedroom with a slight smile.
"I'm always outside, so come out whenever you want."
Claude Euphris leaving this bedroom on his own two feet in broad daylight.
She was speaking while imagining something that would never happen.
***
"Madam. Don't wait too long. I've been working here for over three years, but I've never seen him come out during the day. Would he come out while we're walking around like this?"
"That's right. I've been here for five years, and I only saw him for the first time when His Majesty the Emperor visited last time!"
"Since the Madam came to this Mansion, I've seen the master's shadow more than I've seen him in all my years working here!"
Yuan smiled at the maids who said a word each while carrying laundry and disappearing.
It had been a week already.
Claude had not accepted Yuan's offer to take a walk together.
Not only that, but he would say heartless things like, "Don't waste your energy on useless things," to Yuan, who prepared his meals three times a day, and he would start asking her how old she was every time she supported him, as if he had been waiting for it.
Even when she suggested taking a walk outside if he was curious, he stayed cooped up in his room.
'Actually, he's probably not that curious.'
Yuan pondered the reason why Claude didn't come outside and wondered if it was really because half of his face was hideous.
Claude had only come out when people were around once.
It was only when the Emperor visited, and he wore a mask to cover half of his face then.
What if she could completely eliminate his pain?
'But if I do that...'
Yuan would have to bear that pain for the rest of her life.
All pain had a 'core' of pain.
Every time pain was generated from that core, people felt pain, and Yuan had been helping her uncle by absorbing the pain discharged by that 'core.'
The same was true in Claude's case.
The core of pain that Claude possessed was slowly active during the day and went berserk at night.
What Yuan was doing now was taking a little of that raging pain and sharing it.
If Claude were to be freed from that pain forever, Yuan would have to uproot the very 'core' of his unique pain and absorb it.
If that happened, Claude's body would be cleansed, but Yuan, on the other hand, would be immersed in a swamp of pain, even if she relaxed just a little, after keeping the core of pain that Claude had within her.
Ordinary people like Claude would at least have their pain expressed on their skin so that people would recognize it, but if Yuan only absorbed the pain and felt it instead, she would be just as hurt, but no one would know because there would be no visible symptoms.
This ability became more proficient the more it was used, and Yuan had now reached the stage of mastering how to store pain and manifest it little by little. But that didn't eliminate the total amount of pain.
Especially pain like Claude's, which would never disappear unless it was transferred to someone else, would be even more difficult.
Just sharing a little of his pain made her dizzy enough to scream for a moment, so bringing the core of pain? That was unimaginable.
However, if it was because of that devilish pain that had spread to his face that he was confining himself like that...
'I can help.'
If she were to consider this place a true home and him a real family, she could handle the pain that had spread to his face.
If she could divide and bear the pain that slowly spread like poison every night, just enough so that it didn't reach his face...
Claude might be more peaceful during the day and be able to leave the bedroom and engage in normal activities.
"Madam."
"Ah, Sir Lancelot."
"I would appreciate it if you would call me Lancelot."
Lancelot, who had visited Claude early in the morning, approached Yuan, as if his business was finished.
Yuan remembered cornering Lancelot the day Claude returned with an arrow wound and smiled a little awkwardly.
"I must first express my gratitude, Madam."
Fortunately, Lancelot spoke first.
"Claude has become much brighter."
...Is he?
Yuan suppressed the words that were about to burst out and perked up her ears.
Lancelot, who had swept back his fine caramel-colored hair, glanced upwards just enough for Yuan to see, then lowered his voice.
"It's thanks to you, Madam."
"What did I..."
"Claude's complexion has improved a lot since you came to this Mansion. He also talks more. Originally, he was the type to just nod or shake his head because he couldn't even be bothered to speak. That guy says no with his eyes and orders people around with his chin. As you well know."
Lancelot continued smoothly, like a fish in water, and then let out a sigh of relief.
"He's a master at saying nasty things, but what can I do? I'm his only friend, so I have to put up with it. It's only natural for a sick person to be sensitive. I'm relieved that someone who understands that has come in and brightened up the atmosphere of the house. There's a line of young ladies looking for me in the capital, but I've been wasting my youth coming to this gloomy place and being his companion every time, so how much of my youth have I been wasting?"
"Ah."
The reason she understood that Claude was in pain was only because she could feel that pain.
The reason she had willingly done that in the beginning was to somehow please him and stay in this house, and to confirm the truth about Louise's death.
If he had any sins in the end, she wanted to hold him accountable for Louise's death.
Although she was now a sinner herself.
Yuan just nodded, feeling pricked by her conscience.
"He told me not to wait for Claude to come out."
Of course.
That must be a euphemistic expression, and he must have said, "Don't do useless things and tell that stupid woman not to wait for me." Yuan smiled bitterly.
Lancelot stared at Yuan, who was not affected by those words, then cleared his throat and changed the subject.
"You must be bored without a companion."
"The servants are busy, but they're all kind, and the Mansion is so big that you lose track of time when you look around."
She really meant it.
The servants who acted as if they had a master for the first time. The chef, Ralph, who started researching recipes with a flushed face just because she said it was really delicious. Mr. Mazarin, the coachman and stableman, who was happy to travel to and from the village often because there were many things to buy since the mistress had arrived.
The young maids who followed her around whenever they had a chance. Even the usually stern butler, Gustav, had become quite polite. She recalled the faces of the servants, who had recently had their uniforms changed, shining brightly, even though they pretended not to care.
A faint smile bloomed on Yuan's lips.
"The Mansion is big, but there are so few servants that everyone is suffering too much. I want to help in any way I can. The butler jumps up and down if I try to do anything, and the maids glare at me with daggers in their eyes if I even try to lift a finger, so I don't know who's the servant and who's the employer."
"Haha-."
Yuan chattered in a slightly excited voice.
"The reason I'm out here is partly to wait for His Highness to take a walk, but I guess they think gardening is a hobby, so they don't say anything, so I come out here every day."
Lancelot shook his head and smiled as if he understood, then glanced up at Yuan again, that is, at the window on the second floor.
The corners of his lips, which had been twitching as he tried to suppress the laughter that was about to burst out, stretched mischievously.
So, the guy who would throw a fit if I even opened the curtains to let in some sunlight has been standing by the window all the time, just looking outside.
"But I think it would be good if His Highness came out. He was completely pierced through the thigh, so if he doesn't walk around steadily, he'll be limping for quite a while."
A faint mischief appeared on Lancelot's face as he crossed his arms and looked up at the second floor.
"Have you been to the west Annex?"
"The west Annex?"
