Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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The original Krua Alroze must have felt the same pain.
The name 'Dielo Argenta' forcibly re-engraved on my back.
I writhed in the face of the unfamiliar pain I was experiencing for the first time, but those who held me down bound me with their strong force.
'Ah…!'
'Don't struggle. You don't want to be exposed as a fake, do you?'
They must have thought it would be a disaster if the letters being engraved were to be misaligned because of my movements.
'Stay still!'
As if even breathing was considered movement, Duke Alroze completely blocked my nose and mouth with water.
'…!'
It felt like I had been holding my breath for too long.
I writhed in pain until my head became hazy due to lack of oxygen, and then I was released.
That was rather fortunate.
Because I didn't have to feel that terrible pain for long.
"Ugh,"
But there was no way the wound wouldn't hurt.
Blood gathered under the red 'Dielo Argenta' name at the Duke's gesture, and wound medicine was poured on it.
My skin would probably be fine, and his name would be clearly raised as a bruise.
But beneath the skin, the forcibly trapped blood was still causing sharp pain.
"Are you alright, Madam?"
It was Pielle, who had been treating the Duke and servants with an indifferent expression at the Duke Alloze's residence.
But as soon as she got into the Argenta carriage, her expression hardened.
"It'll be alright after a while."
I frowned.
Even a slight movement sent a stinging, throbbing pain crashing through my nerves.
"May I… take a look?"
"Yes."
Since I wouldn't be coming to Alloze for a month anyway, it didn't matter if I applied medicine.
"Excuse me for a moment."
Pielle bowed and then undid a couple of buttons on my dress, loosening the clothes and exposing my back.
"…!"
Pielle's complexion changed when she saw the elaborately re-engraved name.
"Did you… come back like this last time too?"
Uncharacteristically, she couldn't finish her sentence properly.
It seemed to look terrible even to the Argenta's cleaner.
"Yes."
The first time the name was engraved, it wasn't me but the original Krua Alroze.
Of course, I swallowed the rest of the words.
"You knew, didn't you, that it was engraved as a fake."
I looked up at Pielle.
I knew that on the day she gave me my first bath at Argenta, she had applied wound medicine to my back, pretending it was scented oil.
The wound medicine imbued with magic in this world would react to the bruises, emitting a pure white light and quickly seeping in, so she must have been certain then that the name on my back was fake.
Although the blood pooled on my back, drawing Dielo's name, was held in place by Duke Alloze's magic and did not scatter.
"…I knew, but."
But Pielle's expression was heavy.
She rearranged my clothes and bowed her head.
"I will tell them to serve you more carefully so that you are not uncomfortable."
Her cool, hardened expression did not ease until we returned to the mansion.
* * *
Dielo Argenta did not like variables in his plans.
At least, if variables were to occur, they had to happen within his sight.
In short, he didn't particularly like sudden news.
Most of those were bad things, even more so.
"Madam will be arriving soon."
"…She's late."
This news was the same.
Unless there was a problem with the carriage wheels, there was no way she would arrive at this hour.
Dielo felt inexplicably restless and put away the work he had been holding onto.
Not that he could focus on the work anyway.
"…."
Krua had departed from here around dusk, so if she had followed the proper schedule, she would have arrived at Alloze in the morning.
And Alloze would have sent her back to Argenta before it got too dark again.
Whatever the truth, outwardly she was 'Duke Alloze's beloved daughter.'
Considering the distance between the Alloze mansion and the Argenta mansion, and other variables, there was no reason for her to arrive at three in the morning.
—Or, that's what he thought.
"Krua?"
Dielo's expression changed at the sight of her cautiously walking into the mansion, more so than usual.
Having spent a long time on the battlefield, he immediately identified the injured area by observing her movements.
Between the shoulder blades.
And that was where his name was engraved.
He instinctively realized what had happened to her.
"Dielo, were you waiting up without sleeping?"
His bride seemed surprised.
Seeing her looking at him with wide eyes despite her discomfort.
Her face was as if nothing was wrong.
But Dielo, who was accustomed to death and injury, clearly detected the faint smell of blood emanating from her.
"…You came back after having your name re-engraved."
He whispered softly so that only she could hear.
He had thought that Duke Alloze wanted to see her every month simply for reports.
But Duke Alloze was a much more thorough and cruel person than he had imagined.
"Did you know?"
"…I just found out."
And from a little while ago, his insides had begun to twist strangely.
People usually felt sick when they smelled blood, but he, who stood on the battlefield every time, had long since become desensitized to the smell of blood.
But this smell felt strangely toxic.
"It would be good to treat it properly, Krua."
He opened his mouth without realizing it. His voice was low.
Krua's eyes widened.
"The outside has already been treated. The inside where the blood is pooled is bound to—"
Her voice, speaking lightly, grated on him, and he cut her off without realizing it.
A murky voice, as if boiling from his twisted insides, leaked out.
"—So,"
For a moment, a thin mask that had always covered his face was about to break.
He let out a short breath and then cooled his head.
"One more time, properly."
A faint smile barely leaked out.
Krua blinked a few times and eventually nodded.
"Okay. I'd be grateful if you did that for me."
Even in this situation, that face that smiles so well, Dielo thought, makes people go crazy.
* * *
Dielo Argenta.
Dielo had never seen his name in such detail before.
And not on paper, nor on anything else, but on someone else's body.
"Ah…!"
Perhaps because of the pain, Krua curled up.
Dielo's fingertips, which had been applying the medicine, stopped.
"Tell me if it hurts a lot."
At those words, Krua burst into laughter.
"If I tell you, will you make it not hurt?"
Ha.
A short breath escaped.
Yes, as she said, there was no way to alleviate the pain that had already been inflicted on her.
"No, I'll make it quick."
Dielo eventually whispered.
If so, it was better to end the pain quickly.
At those words, Krua willingly straightened her shoulders.
"Ouch."
The flinching as if it stung was only for a moment.
As if prepared, she took a deep breath.
And the moment she held her breath.
"…?"
Dielo discovered blue bruises on her shoulder.
—Rustle.
Without realizing it, he brushed over the area.
"…!"
And he lost his words for a brief moment.
The red and blotchy marks covering almost the entire shoulder above the shoulder blades were clearly traces of someone being violently restrained.
The marks extended not only to the shoulder blades but also to the shoulders and arms.
It meant that she had struggled that much in pain.
His head became hot and then cold.
"?"
Then Krua looked back at him slightly.
It was a questioning gaze. As if asking why he wasn't doing it quickly.
Dielo's cold expression disappeared in an instant.
Because at least in front of her, he had to be the gentle, innocent Dielo Argenta.
"Hoo-."
Dielo blew on that area while applying the medicine.
The cool feeling would help her forget the pain even a little.
He applied the medicine along his name and then snapped the lid shut.
"It's over."
"Thank you."
Krua let out a short sigh.
And then she tried to fasten her clothes again.
—Click.
At that moment, Dielo grabbed her hand without realizing it.
"There's no need for that."
"?"
Krua and his eyes met.
The barely draped outer garment seemed like it would brush against the bruises and sting even more.
Dielo said.
"Take off your outer garment and sleep comfortably."
