TGDN 12💖

Chapter 12

[Day 6]

Selene did not leave her room all day. Baras had said he had no intention of sending her back to an old lover, but she felt that if she had asked to leave with him, he would have let her go without hesitation.

Everything about this situation made her feel as if she did not belong here either. That sense of being out of place weighed on her, and sorrow surged up.

She cried without pause.

Anna stood guard outside Selene’s bedroom door. When the crying quieted, she would enter, leave tea and meals, and check whether Selene was entertaining any dangerous thoughts.

Most of the time, she simply stood there, relieved that the duchess was at least quietly crying instead of doing something worse.

Baras also stayed shut in his room all day. Sitting by the open window, he drank while using the faint sounds from upstairs as his only company.

When he heard words like “idiot” and “bastard” drifting down through the open window, he almost wanted to burst into her room and demand who she was talking about. He wondered who she kept thinking about even while crying like that.

Of course, if she was crying after seeing her old lover, that would be obvious. But her gaze hadn’t seemed that affectionate when she saw him. So perhaps the “stupid bastard” she referred to was him.

Strangely enough, he found himself hoping she was crying because of him rather than because of that man. No matter how negative the reason, it would still be better if her thoughts were directed at him.

Jart, meanwhile, had locked Robin back in the dungeon and assigned a trusted subordinate to guard him.

He continuously brought alcohol to his lord’s room. Since Baras was easier to manage when drunk than when fully conscious and explosive, no one stopped him from drinking excessively.

He could barely remember the last time his lord had drunk this much. Honestly, in his eyes, Baras was the biggest idiot of all idiots. What kind of man lets the woman he likes meet her former lover?

Then again, the “top idiot lord” didn’t even seem to realize that he liked the duchess.

Watching his increasingly twisted possessiveness over the past few days gave Jart a headache. His thoughts were turning in an aggressively violent direction.

This wasn’t a battlefield anymore, so concern was beginning to creep in. Would things get better with time?

He sincerely hoped the Duchess would place a sturdy leash on his lord.

[Day 7]

It was still dark before sunrise.

Baras finished his early morning training and entered the courtyard, glancing toward Selene’s window.

The curtains were tightly drawn over the shut window.

Yesterday, she hadn’t stepped outside even once. The woman who loved wind and sunlight so much had stayed inside that cave-like room all day.

Well. She had been upset yesterday, so it made sense. She would come out today.

But Baras was wrong. Selene’s condition was exactly the same as the day before. She still hadn’t eaten properly, yet somehow had enough energy to cry endlessly.

Good. If she kept herself locked away, he didn’t have to think about it anymore. If she was going to stay shut in like that, so be it. It was convenient.

[Day 8]

“….”

Damn it.

Damn it.

Damn it!

Before he knew it, he was standing in front of her bedroom door.

Anna, who was about to enter with a bowl of soup, was surprised when Baras snatched the tray from her hands.

After clenching and unclenching his fists several times, he knocked roughly and entered.

Selene’s room was darker than expected, quiet and still. Baras remained tense until he saw her lying in bed, and only then did his tension loosen slightly.

Her pale skin had become even more colorless, and the vitality had drained from her lips.

He placed the tray on the nightstand and looked at her.

She lay on her side, blinking slowly at him as always. At least she still met his gaze.

She looked weaker, but the fact that she didn’t avoid his eyes made him think she was still somewhat the same.

And then, her eyes filled with moisture again.

Baras spoke carefully.

“You should eat something…”

“Why are you here?”

She cut him off immediately. He had no answer to her question.

Because even he didn’t know why he had come.

“You still haven’t gone outside,” he said.

“So what? You’ve closed the inner fortress anyway.”

Baras felt something strange. Watching her cut off his words and snap back at him oddly made him feel better.

Even though she hadn’t feared him before, she had always been somewhat cautious. But now her tone was sharp, cold.

And yet… why did it feel almost cute?

“Completely lost it,” he thought.

She kept meeting his eyes while tears fell, and despite everything, she still expected something from him. Even he couldn’t understand what.

Selene had imagined a happy married life all on her own. Then she discovered Baras felt nothing for her, and it felt like she had been dumped.

Why give her jewelry, shoes, visit her at night? Why hold her arm, catch her when she fell? So annoying.

No, wasn’t it strange?

A man suddenly visiting at night, giving gifts, holding her when she fell, walking together—wasn’t that basically a green light? Or was she just clueless? …So annoying.

She kept replaying memories of him. At the time, it felt like he might have feelings for her. But thinking of him bringing her former lover made her angry again.

Then Baras entered.

He looked cold, but his tone carried concern.

That concern somehow irritated her even more. Because of that tone, she felt like she had been misunderstanding everything.

Her mind, in its unstable state, was filled with extreme thoughts.

Half of her wanted to tell him to just kill her if that was what he wanted. The other half insisted he was the protagonist and wouldn’t die anyway.

Baras felt as though something was wrong with him too.

It shouldn’t fluctuate this much. At this point, he just wanted her to step outside even a single step.

To eat something. To feel the wind.

He cleared his throat.

“I’ll leave the door open again. And you should keep your promise—go horse riding with me.”

Her crying slowed, and she replied reluctantly.

“When are we going?”

He wanted to go immediately, but he forced himself to delay.

“In the afternoon. Three hours from now.”

Selene pulled the blanket over her head.

“Then leave if you’re done talking.”

Does he really not know how to ask if she’s okay? Or wipe her tears?

Courtyard Stables

The stables of Belias Castle were always busy, managing all the horses owned by the fortress.

The people here were known as the “Shield of Belias,” one of the few groups not afraid of Baras.

As he entered, they greeted him casually.

He chose a horse in the relaxed atmosphere. Though she said she couldn’t ride, he knew she actually could.

She had grown up in a place where most people rode horses. She could handle a bow with such skill that she could shoot birds mid-flight and even deer or squirrels deep in the forest.

There wasn’t much entertainment in that small town—just hunting on horseback.

He had investigated her past because of Robin, her former lover.

At first, her past didn’t matter. All that mattered was whether she could bear children. That was all he had considered when bringing her here.

…It was good he had looked deeper. If he had investigated further, Jart would likely have replaced her with someone else.

He loaded the horse with food supplies. She had barely eaten for three days, so some irrational part of him insisted she needed to be fed properly.

While securing the supplies, he noticed the growing noise around him.

The soldiers were whistling and teasing, as usual.

Those idiots reacted like this whenever a maid passed by.

Still, he understood. Most of them were unmarried or long overdue for marriage.

At night, the fortress must be full of restless energy.

Now that they weren’t fighting wars, chasing women was all they had left.

He thought idly about it—until he turned.

And then—

Right in front of his chest, almost touching him, was a head of pale golden hair.

And as always, she smelled faintly sweet.

Like sugar.