"Ugh, seriously. Don't just stand there blocking the doorway!"
A busily moving maid irritably pushed Sonya aside.
Pushed aside, Sonya couldn't tear her eyes away from the room. The end of her aimlessly wandering gaze landed right on Rose herself.
"-!"
Upon discovering Rose, Sonya's face grew even more gaunt.
'What was that?'
Rose firmly memorized Sonya's appearance right then. Her expression and actions were far too suspicious.
"This will take quite a while."
At that moment, Dane's voice came from above. He let out a low sigh as he looked inside the room, and then,
"I will go to my bedroom."
He whipped his body around and left the room.
"Your Grace."
"Your Grace!"
The butler Bill, the head maid Selma, and the other servants scrambled after him. Rose's body was still being held in Dane's arms.
Jeobeok.
Dane walked quickly as if he didn't feel Rose's weight at all. In an instant, he crossed the hallway and headed to the opposite side.
"Huk."
A guard patrolling the hallway stopped in his tracks when he saw Dane. The guards walking behind him, unaware of the sudden stop,
Kung, kung.
slammed their heads into the back of the person in front of them in turn.
"Hik!"
The servants who were running frantically carrying new blankets and furniture came to a halt. When the person at the very front stopped suddenly,
Kung, kung.
the rest of the servants rushing busily from behind collided with one another in a pileup. It was a farcical scene painful to watch.
As this situation repeated, Rose had to swallow her embarrassment and open her mouth.
"Y-Your Grace."
"What is it."
"I can walk... Please put me down now."
"Are you done crying?"
Rose realized that tears were still welling up in the corners of her eyes.
Sseuk, sseuk.
She hurriedly wiped them away and tried to speak again, but,
"Just in time. We're here."
"Huh?"
He was right. The two of them had already arrived in front of Dane's bedroom.
"Your Grace!"
"Greetings, Your Grace."
The guards waiting in front saluted. The servants standing alongside them also bowed.
'Already?'
Rose vaguely knew where Dane's bedroom was. In her past life, she had spent every day alone in the marital bedroom, yearning for him who slept alone in his own bedroom.
'It's my first time in Your Grace's bedroom, though.'
A space that had never once been permitted to Rose was now right in front of her.
Beolkeok.
However, the moment that door opened,
"-!"
Rose involuntarily gasped.
Excluding the bed that should rightfully be in a bedroom... there was truly nothing in this bedroom. It was literally a space only for sleeping. Instead of comfort, it only felt desolate.
'My god...'
Still, the marital bedroom had the bare minimum of furniture. A table and chairs, a simple sofa, and so on. But this space seemed to have given up even on that bare minimum.
Jeobeok.
Dane wasn't surprised at all even after looking at the room. He just calmly walked into the room.
'Ah...'
Rose finally realized the truth then.
'Until now, always...'
This man had spent lonely nights preparing for raids in a room like this. The time when others should have been spending a peaceful rest was, for him, another time for battle.
'How could this be...'
She realized anew just how many blades were pointed at him, and how sharp and cruel they were.
Kkiik.
Dane stepped into the bathroom attached to the bedroom.
"Your Grace, let me assist you."
Bill, who had followed him in, spoke, but Dane lightly shook his head.
"There is no need. Wait outside."
"But—"
"I will not say it twice."
"...Yes."
Bill bowed heavily. Then he glanced at Rose and asked.
"Then may I furnish the room a bit? For the madam's rest."
"Hmm."
Dane thought for a moment, then readily nodded.
"You may do so."
"Yes, Your Grace. Please call me if you need anything."
All the servants left, and only Dane and Rose remained in the bathroom.
Dugeun, dugeun.
Rose's heart suddenly started beating incredibly fast. Only then did she realize that her body was in complete contact with Dane.
'What if he hears it?'
She put strength into her toes, curling them tightly. Her whole body was filled with tension to the point of driving her crazy.
"Your Grace, why... here."
To the question Rose barely managed to squeeze out using all her might,
"I can't just leave my wife there."
Dane answered so easily it was almost anticlimactic. His gaze reached the corners of Rose's eyes.
"I'm not good at comforting crying people."
Dane bluntly spat out, and then,
"So making sure you don't cry is the best option."
he added a rather half-hearted remark. For some reason, his tone sounded like an excuse.
For a moment, Rose wanted to ask.
Do you mean you wish I didn't cry? Or is it just my own imagination?
She chewed over Dane's words in her head several times. But she couldn't bring herself to ask the question aloud and only bit her lip.
"You must get used to things like what happened today."
"...Yes."
"My wife will never get hurt. I promise."
"I didn't even think that I would get hurt..."
Rose stuttered out, mustering her courage.
"The bed's defensive Magical Device... you activated it, Your Grace."
"Hmm."
"I also know that you continuously protected the area around the bed."
Dane tilted his head slightly. A strange light spread across his deep blue eyes. He paused for a moment as if he was about to say something, and
Tak.
soon silently put Rose down on the floor.
Then he dragged over a simple chair from the corner. It looked like the one the servants used when attending to someone.
"Sit."
"Yes..."
The moment he moved away and the warmth departed, Rose almost grabbed him without realizing it. But she stopped when she discovered blood on her gown.
"Your gown has gotten dirty."
Dane took a step back from Rose and said.
"I will have a new gown brought soon, so change into it later."
"Ah, yes..."
As Rose answered hesitantly, her gaze lingered on Dane.
"What about you, Your Grace?"
Instead of answering, he shrugged his shoulders and moved deeper into the bathroom. He disappeared beyond the partition.
"...?"
Rose sat quietly in the chair and looked toward the partition.
Cheolbeok.
The sound of him handling the blood-soaked gown was heard, and then,
Ttak.
the gown was tossed over the partition.
'Huk!'
Rose was so surprised that she froze stiff on the spot.
T-Then right now, His Grace beyond the partition is...?
'!!'
Rose's innocent mind could not progress to any further imagination. Instead, her entire face and the nape of her neck flushed bright red.
'Oh, my goodness...'
Rose ended up covering her face with both hands and leaning forward. It was too big of a stimulus for her to handle.
Chwaak.
Soon, the sound of Dane splashing water over his body could be heard. He washed himself roughly and ruggedly. He seemed quite accustomed to washing by himself.
Even though there was nothing to see anyway, Rose couldn't bring herself to lift her eyes and only looked down. Then she discovered blood slowly spreading on the floor.
"Your Grace!"
"What."
"The blood on the floor..."
"It's not mine."
Dane's answer was simple but full of conviction. The conviction that not a single drop of his blood was present.
"Are you not hurt? Not at all?"
"That's right."
Rose found it so fascinating and unbelievable that she barely held back the urge to ask again several times.
A few years ago at the academy, Rose had once observed a swordsmanship class he participated in.
'He was always victorious.'
But back then, it was a sparring match where they crossed blades while keeping a certain line. It was not a combat with fierce killing intent flying around, aimed at taking the opponent's life like today.
Despite that, Dane looked very accustomed to situations like today. Even though it had only been barely three years since he took a leave of absence from the academy and came here.
'How much must he have suffered all this time.'
In her past life, they had lived together in the castle, but her living radius had been completely disconnected from Dane's.
Her experiences back then were merely witnessing servants occasionally moving broken furniture, disposing of blood-stained rags, and discarding silverware tarnished black.
Watching from a few steps away like that and directly experiencing it like today were completely different issues. The fact that such a thing could happen again, no, that it would surely happen, was even more terrifying.
'I guess I'll have to spend nights like this with Your Grace from now on.'
The things she had only vaguely expected now brushed against her skin. Things she would inevitably have to experience by being by Dane Schmaichel's side.
It would be a lie to say she wasn't afraid. But an even greater trust accompanied it.
'Because he will definitely protect me.'
The conviction that she would be completely safe as long as she was with Dane became even clearer with today's experience.
'I want to say thank you.'
She guessed that Dane must have overexerted himself quite a bit today. Fighting while protecting someone would be much harder than just fighting.
What should I say? No, shouldn't I get closer to him first? But how do I approach him and what do I say?
Ah, right. He's taking a bath...
"Your Grace."
Rose's lips suddenly moved.
"May I assist you with your bath?"
Dane beyond the partition didn't answer. It wasn't that he hadn't heard her. Because the splashing sound of water had stopped.
'What did I just say?'
Rose ended up slapping her own mouth.
'I must be crazy!'
Because she wanted to get closer to him somehow, because she wanted to do something, she had agonized over it.
But what she only meant to think had suddenly popped out of her mouth.
'I'm so embarrassed!'
Rose hugged her head and let out a soundless scream.
Cheolbeok.
Soon, the halted sound of water began to be heard again.
"Didn't you say you'd treat me with respect as your wife?"
Along with Dane's nonchalant voice.
"I cannot have my wife do a task that I would assign to a maid."
"I'm fine. I don't care about things like that. And..."
Rose said as she fidgeted with her fingers.
"Because I know how much effort you put into protecting me today... I want to help you somehow."
"Help me, you say."
After Dane murmured,
Chwaak!
the sound of water cascading down could be heard, as if he had stood up from the bathtub.