Translated by Gigi
Edited by Schwarzel
****
*(Asaya was unconsciously hearing Reibene and someone’s voices in her head)*
The only thing that came behind weakness was suffocating solitude and misery. Asaya hated the feeling of weakness. She felt sick to her stomach and there was nothing she could do.
-Asaya is too elegant and so obvious. She is nice and boring. I don’t feel like doing anything because she doesn’t have any charms as a woman.-
-At the same time, you spend the night steadily with her. What would you do if she had a child? Do you want to raise it ?-
-Just thinking about it makes me choke. What’s that terrible sound? Asaya will never have my child, so don’t worry about the uselessness.
-She’s a difficult woman to live with. She makes people feel suffocating. But as for a woman, probably she’s fun at night..?
-What kind of fun would you have when she just lay quietly on the bed? And it’s not a family that will last long anyway.
A disgusting voice constantly wandering through Asaya’s head. She felt nauseated. At one time, it was a sweeter voice than anything else. It always whispered the most beautiful words in the world. And the gentle touches as if they were dealing with the most precious thing. They would fall asleep every night hand in hand, watch flowers together, spray water on each other, sit together in a hut in the woods, collect pretty leaves, and exchange presents. They would hug and roll around in the snow. There were such times. It was so beautiful that it made her tearful. Even in very happy and miserable moments, the man was always with her. He brought her happiness and at the same time, he gave her misery. Asaya wanted to cut it out, but she couldn’t. Because there wasn’t a time that he wasn’t in Asaya Lubedoa’s life.
“…dirty.”
Shaking off the disgusting memories, Asaya opened her eyes slowly. Remembering the unpleasant thoughts made her whole body tremble with a cold sweat.
“You’ve been sleeping for a long time.”
A shadow cast over her face with a blank blinking eye. Asaya saw Edwin in his comfortable clothes.
“Thanks to you, my schedule was ruined as well .”
“What had happened?”
“You suddenly collapsed. The doctor said it was because you were too nervous.
“Ah.”
“I didn’t know you were so good at acting. You didn’t look nervous at all.”
Asaya blinked blankly and recalled what happened earlier in the day. As the scenes began to be drawn in her head in chronological order, Asaya’s face became pale. When the scene of kissing Edwin impulsively came to mind, Asaya bit her lips and lowered her gaze.
“I am sorry.”
“What?”
“I must have lost my mind for a moment. I… I went crazy and impulsively … “
There was no provision in the terms of the contract that Asaya could touch his body at will. Even if she thinks about it in common sense, that was disrespectful behavior. He must have been in a bad mood because it was a non-consensual contact. How annoyed it would have been that a woman who he didn’t even care about was impulsively kissing him.
“Impulse…? Oh, that!”
Unlike Asaya, who was tired and pale, Edwin who had been subjected to impulsive behavior responded leisurely.
“You mean something embarrassing like a kiss.”
“I have sinned to die.”
“A kiss is not a big deal. It is not the sin of death.”
Yes, it was a death penalty even if it wasn’t a big kiss. It was an obvious disrespect and an insult to the nobility. It wasn’t an act that was done with permission. The world in the wall was a strict society, and Edwin was, after all, the man on the top of that society. It was an unacceptable act, and Asaya knew very well the seriousness of this incident that the vulgar woman touched the body of the nobleman.
Reibene Schrandel, the thoughts of that horrible person have long blown away. It was fear that took the place. Perhaps Edwin might end the contract and throw her out of the wall again. Or would he use this as an excuse to harm her family, including herself?
Asaya bit her lips. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t see a happy ending. Edwin glanced at Asaya, who was terrified and kicked his tongue briefly.
“At this time, I can’t tell whether you are afraid or not. It’s hard to believe that you are the same person as the daring woman who stood up to me and demanded a deal.”
“It’s different when I have nothing to lose and when I have something to lose.”
“So do you think you’ll lose what you have with that impulsive kiss?
“Aren’t you offended?”
To Asaya’s cautious question, Edwin replied calmly, as if it wasn’t very important.
“If it was unpleasant, would I have gone along with it? Yes, it was an impulsive kiss, but do you think I responded without knowing that? It was sudden, but thanks to it, I was able to watch something quite interesting. Bishop’s distorted face was quite a sight.”
“…I will be careful next time.”
Asaya bowed her head. She didn’t have the courage to face him. Her face was hot and she felt strange for no reason. The sensation that wrapped around her waist and the moist yet warm that penetrated her lips remained. Edwin, who was staring at Asaya, started laughing.
“I don’t know what to think. You were like a ferocious beast in front of the Bishop, but now you just like a kitten in front of me. Which one are you really? You told me you are sorry, and I said okay. But why are you so uncomfortable?”
When Asaya couldn’t say anything, Edwin frowned as if he was frustrated. Then he raised Asaya’s chin. Their faces came in close contact. It was such a short distance that they could feel each other’s breaths. At that moment Asaya’s eyes grew round, Edwin kissed her lips. Her tightly closed lips snapped into place as Edwin’s mouth widened. Something moist briefly swept through Asaya’s mouth. Her head went blank. Asaya felt her body stiffened and her eyes shockingly wide opened. Then Asaya closed her eyes in embarrassment at seeing Edwin’s handsome face. From her head to her toes, the burning heat gradually surged upward. Edwin’s moves were very smooth, relaxed, and skillful at the same time. Even though he was just touching her lips, Asaya fell into a sense of helplessness.
Something irresistible felt right all over her. Unknowingly, an embarrassing sound flowed out. Only the sound of moist lips and the occasional violent breaths filled the bedroom. At the moment when Asaya felt like she was going to lose her mind, their lips fell apart. Asaya blindly blinked and looked at the beautiful man who had just kissed her.
“This way, you and I are even.”
“Yes?”
“You kissed me impulsively, and now I also kissed you impulsively.”
“Ah. “
“Now stop making the scared facial expression. How is your body?”
As being asked calmly, Asaya regained her senses and answered with difficulty.
” I am fine”.
“You don’t need to stop by my bedroom for the time being. Stay here until your body is fully recovered. “
“Yes, thank you.”
“You will have to recover quickly. The longer I take care of you, the more difficult it gets.”
Just like that, Edwin stood up and left the room with an expressionless face. Asaya, who was left alone, recalled the moment they kissed while staring at the door, and hurriedly lowered her head, feeling the burning sensation. What happened in a short period? A great storm swept through. The aftermath of that moment remained vivid in the vacant seat, even though the owner who had driven the storm had left.
“What on earth was that? “
No matter how hard she tried, Asaya couldn’t understand the situation. She kissed the most terrifying and uncomfortable man in the world twice very impulsively …..
Asaya blinked her eyes slowly, raised her hand, and gently rubbed her lips. The heat of that moment still lingered.
“What a strange man!”
The mansion where the notorious devil of August lived was as luxurious and gorgeous as its prestige, but it was unexpectedly peaceful. Edwin granted Leah access to the Kabelheider mansion. To obtain that permission to visit Asaya at any time, Leah had to tell him everything she knew and vowed to be cooperative in his future affairs. She asked Marshall to give her time to organize her thoughts, but in fact, it was a problem that Leah didn’t have time to worry about for long. Because Edwin Kabelheider was holding the lifeline of her family, including Asaya, the moment she entered August, and in order to live in this place in the future, she had no choice but to be obedient and cooperative. Even if that cooperation was a constant visit of the terrible past which she wanted to erase. She must do it to continue living here in the future.
“Follow me, I’ll take you to the lady’s bedroom.”
Leah was amazed at the atmosphere completely different from what she expected throughout her way to Asaya’s bedroom under the guidance of a maidservant. Well, she thought the house where the infamous Grand Duke lived would have a gloomy atmosphere somewhere, but the inside of the mansion was very spacious and neat, and above all, it was full of life. Leah saw a few maids walking by and chatting happily. It was far from a hard and still atmosphere. Rather, it felt bustling.
Arriving in front of Asaya’s bedroom, the maid carefully knocked on the closed door.
“My lady, your friend has arrived.”
Instead of being told to come in, the door popped open. At the same time, Asaya came out and hugged Leah’s body as hard as she could.
“Welcome, Leah!”
Leah laughed and looked at Asaya’s clothes which were an ivory-colored dress that looked cool and soft. Asaya looked so healthy that Leah couldn’t believe she just collapsed the other day.
“How are you feeling?”
“I am good.”
“I was so surprised when you suddenly fell.”
“I was too. I guess I was too nervous. “
It’s amazing. Even if Asaya starved for days in that barren land, or even if the injured part festered and burst into a high fever, or even if she couldn’t sleep for days, Asaya never lost her mind.
“How did you come here anyway?”
“Duke Kabelheider told me I can stop by the mansion often to visit you.”
“He said that?”
“Because it will take some time to adjust to an unfamiliar environment. You’ll be very anxious, so he told me to be by your side. So I came. I will stop by often unless there is anything that happens in the future.”
Was he more sensitive than he looked? Asaya was amazed at his unexpected move. She had been thinking that he was not the type of person who cared for others. Wasn’t he a more cold and rational man than anyone, who had always poured out cold words from the moment she met him? However, Asaya soon regained reason.
“What did he ask for?”
His actions were largely followed by exhaustive calculations. After all her relationship with Reibene Schrandel was discovered by him, and Asaya thought it was extremely unlikely that he, who had been pretending with the church, would pass on this fact.
“From your reaction, I can see that this marriage wasn’t about the love of the century, it was just a deal with him. I heard that Grand Duke Kabelheider has a bad relationship with the church and in a terrible political relationship. Is it okay to accept it because of the power you had? “
Asaya did not answer. However, it was enough. Leah understood. She was always sensitive to the surrounding situation and knew how to read the flow well. That’s how Leah survived the barren land.
“What did he ask for? I decided to give him my memory in exchange for coming here to see you.”
“Memory?”
“The memory of that incident seven years ago.”
Asaya’s eyes widened.
“The incident seven years ago? Does that mean he knows about the case?”
“He knew about it. He researched you before he brought you in, and he’s still investigating. If you think about it, it’s a natural procedure. It would be impossible to put an unknown woman who he knows nothing into the mansion. However, he doesn’t know for sure if Reibene Schrandel was involved.”
Asaya blinked her eyes blankly, then laughed weakly. Her head was throbbing.
“I wanted it to be buried. ….”
Leah grabbed Asaya’s hand and murmured.
“Maybe it’s an opportunity. “
“Opportunity?” Asaya asked curiously.
Leah answered in a steady voice.
“An opportunity to get revenge.”