Chapter 14
However, what confused him at this moment was not just that.
‘…I know. How much you feel sorry for keeping me by your side and only letting me sleep.’
‘You even felt guilty and blamed yourself for all you could do for me was offer a pillow for my arm.’
‘…What?’
As a married couple, why had they only been sleeping all this time?
Why was the only thing he could do for his wife just offering her his arm as a pillow?
He couldn’t understand what any of this meant.
Suddenly, he lowered his hand from his face.
A possible guess came to mind.
‘Don’t tell me… I’m impotent?’
His thoughts froze as if time had stopped.
He was so shocked by the unimaginable possibility that he couldn’t speak.
Well, this body wasn’t originally his, so there might be things he didn’t know—
Even so.
‘This can’t be.’
He rubbed his face again in confusion. He paced the room, covering his face with one hand.
Why hadn’t he noticed any signs of it earlier?
Even though the body was different, basic bodily functions hadn’t felt any different, so he had never even imagined such a thing.
‘I can’t believe it… I can’t believe I’m—’
It seemed this place was not the reward he received after saving the world.
This was yet another tremendous ordeal.
A “system reward,” they said, yet there was no money, no house, no title—and now even this…
And he had never even used it in his previous life!
He calmed himself and placed a hand on the window.
Maybe there had been some mistake.
Maybe before the soul changed, the original owner had really not been incapable…
Or perhaps he was someone who couldn’t be with women?
Or what else?
With no memory of Alec’s past, he could not know the truth.
‘Damn it.’
Grinding his teeth, he turned his gaze toward the door.
Convinced no one would come in, he subtly lowered his eyes.
Now that he thought about it… earlier…
During that sudden hug, his body had instinctively reacted…
He swallowed hard.
A heavy silence filled the room.
After swallowing once, his Adam’s apple moved noticeably.
Slowly, he lowered his hand.
A sense of weight, a pulse as if it had its own consciousness, and a warm, living heat.
‘It’s completely normal…?’
There was nothing wrong with his body.
He should check again tomorrow morning, but even now, everything seemed normal.
Just to be sure, he checked his condition again.
At that moment, a sharp wave of sensation ran through his entire body like an electric shock.
“…!”
Overwhelmed by heightened sensitivity, Alec quickly pulled his hand away.
This wasn’t just healthy—it was almost overly sensitive.
Had it always reacted this quickly?
Then he stood up and walked toward the bed, running a hand through his hair.
He felt utterly foolish for what he had just been doing.
After only a few steps, he suddenly stopped.
“….”
That brief hug.
Where had his blood rushed during that moment?
It felt as if all his blood had surged at once.
His body had never reacted that quickly before.
In fact, his body was not very responsive to sexual stimulation.
No matter how beautiful a woman was, he felt nothing.
Even accidental touches felt like stone to him.
Even deliberate attempts to seduce him were merely tedious and bothersome.
But that did not mean he was incapable of love or desire.
He simply had never met someone who could awaken such instincts.
And yet, what about now?
He had reacted to the simplest stimulation from the opposite sex.
Alec stood frozen for a long time at that realization.
‘Ah… I shouldn’t have said anything.’
A wave of regret washed over me.
I stared at the place where Alec had disappeared and returned to reality.
The half-burned candles still lit the second-floor hallway.
“…How embarrassing. I’m going to cringe so hard later.”
I hadn’t expected Alec to reject my words so bluntly.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had overstepped into something he never wanted.
His calm voice echoed in my mind.
‘I’m sorry.’
‘I’ll go in first today.’
“….”
Then what did he mean by “I’ll be a perfect husband”?
Unless he planned to become a ghost husband after death.
I tightened my grip on my dress.
I tried to understand his situation after he suddenly talked about divorce and now acted like this.
I had thought he might be trying to live properly again after unexpectedly finding us a house.
But if he couldn’t even sleep beside me…
I couldn’t help but feel miserable.
‘Alec… does he dislike me?’
Or maybe he was just too exhausted from finding a house outside all this time.
Yes. That must be it.
There was no way he could hate me…
As I tried to comfort myself, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
‘Come to think of it… we’ve never once said we liked each other, have we?’
We had never expressed romantic feelings even once.
We were simply husband and wife, both trying to fulfill our duties.
I had no idea whether he loved me—or even had the slightest romantic interest.
If we weren’t married, would he have even looked at me?
‘…I don’t know.’
I let out a heavy sigh.
Then another thought followed.
‘Then… do I love him?’
I couldn’t deny he was my type, but I wasn’t sure if this was love.
Maybe he was simply the only person I was allowed to love now that we were married.
I sighed softly and raised the snuffer toward the candles.
Time to put out the remaining lights and sleep.
But—
Fwoosh.
Before I could reach it, the candle went out.
“…Huh?”
Did I blow it out with my movement?
I didn’t think much of it and walked to the next candle.
I lifted the snuffer again.
Fwoosh.
“…?”
It went out again.
Is there a draft?
I looked around, but the air was still.
No open windows.
I tried to ignore it and stepped toward the next candle.
Then I remembered Alec’s words.
‘Apparently there’s a ghost in that house, and everyone who enters runs away.’
Oh, crap.
No way.
It can’t be…
I slowly looked around.
No one was there.
The idea of a ghost that helpfully extinguishes candles like some kind of household AI suddenly didn’t seem so appealing.
I wanted to run to Alec immediately, but my frozen legs wouldn’t move toward my cold-hearted husband.
‘It must just be wind somewhere.’
I tried to convince myself and approached the next candle.
There were still five left.
If these also went out on their own, I wouldn’t be able to deny it anymore.
I took a deep breath.
The small flame flickered as wax dripped down.
‘Please don’t go out. Let me do it myself.’
I covered it with the snuffer.
The flame went out.
I exhaled in relief.
‘Ah… thank goodness. I guess I was wrong.’
I finished the remaining candles and returned to my room.
I took off my coat and slipped into bed.
Let’s sleep.
But why couldn’t I fall asleep?
This was the first night in this house.
The soft bed felt unfamiliar, like I didn’t belong here.
‘Think of it as a hotel.’
Tomorrow I’ll wash the blankets first.
I’ll remove all the curtains and clean them.
Then I’ll have to feed three meals to the household…
So busy…
‘Sleep. Just sleep…’
But my mind wouldn’t stop racing.
A voice kept echoing.
‘Sorry.’
‘I’ll go in first today.’
“….”
And long after that, I still couldn’t fall asleep.
