Chapter : 10
“So you were here.”
Ines was the first to speak, unable to endure the brief silence.
Yet Calian gave no response, his gaze remaining fixed on her.
“…That look again.”
Whenever Ines met his deep, unreadable stare, she always felt uneasy. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking or what his intentions were.
And whatever it was… it didn’t seem like anything good.
Feeling awkward, Ines swallowed hard and slowly approached him.
“Did you drink?”
“No.”
His short answer only made her more awkward.
Ines hesitantly stepped closer.
Her husband’s atmosphere felt slightly different—looser, somehow, as if she could almost mistake it for intoxication.
Another cool night breeze swept between them, playfully lifting Calian’s hair and Ines’s skirt before letting them fall back into place.
“Everyone was drinking… I thought you might have too.”
“Unless it’s a toast from His Majesty the Emperor, I don’t drink.”
…Was that so?
But he’s answering more than usual today…?
While she blinked awkwardly in confusion, Calian’s gaze stopped at her neck.
Ines unconsciously lifted a hand to the blue gemstone resting there. A strange ticklish sensation spread from it down her chest, settling near her heart.
What is this feeling?
As Ines stood there dazed, Calian suddenly spoke.
“Why is your wrist like that?”
“My wrist?”
Ines looked down.
The area Judith had grabbed earlier was red and swollen. She wrapped it with her other hand and shook her head.
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
“Nothing?”
Calian grabbed her wrist.
A sharp pain shot through her, and Ines frowned.
“And you call this nothing.”
He scoffed.
“Go. Find a physician.”
“No, I’m fine…”
“If you walk around like this, what do you think the nobles watching us will say about me, Ines?”
At his words, Ines fell silent.
The nobles already disapproved of her—someone who had become the mistress of the House of Elmenhart with nothing to her name. At least inwardly, everyone did.
If they saw this, it would only give them more material to chew on.
Even if she could endure it herself, she couldn’t let Calian be dragged into gossip because of her. He wouldn’t want that either.
“…Alright.”
“Lady, just a moment, please—”
At that moment, someone broke the awkward silence and pushed open the balcony door.
Seeing Aron Clayton standing there holding bandages and ointment in both hands, Ines blinked in surprise.
“Huh?”
Who is he?
The man stopped immediately upon seeing Ines standing with Calian.
Then he spoke calmly.
“Oh, I didn’t realize you were in the middle of a conversation.”
“Who is this?”
Calian frowned.
“I am Aron Clayton,” the man said, bowing politely. “Second son of Marquis Clayton.”
“So you’re the Marquis Clayton’s second son.”
“That is correct.”
They knew each other?
Ines stood quietly, observing them.
Aron’s gaze soon fell on her. Before he could speak, she introduced herself first.
“I’m Ines Elmenhart.”
“Ah.”
His eyes flickered slightly upon hearing her name.
Probably surprised that someone as insignificant as her was Calian’s wife.
“And what brings you to my wife?”
“Ah, well…”
Aron lowered his head, fidgeting with the bandages and ointment in his hands.
Sensing the intention behind them, Calian spoke with a gentle smile. At least, it appeared gentle on the surface.
“So the Marquis Clayton must have raised his second son quite well. You’re very attentive, even to minor injuries.”
“….”
“However, you should learn that even well-meant kindness can sometimes lead to misunderstandings.”
Calian held out his hand.
After a brief hesitation, Aron handed over the bandages and ointment.
“You may leave now. My wife would be embarrassed to show her wrist to others.”
“…My apologies, Duke Elmenhart.”
Aron bowed briefly to Calian, who had already turned away from him. Before leaving the balcony, he glanced at Ines once.
Ines avoided his gaze, feeling conflicted—somewhere between guilt and discomfort.
After Aron disappeared completely, Calian silently lifted her wrist.
He applied the ointment with practiced movements, then wrapped the bandage neatly around it, tying it with precise care.
He’s surprisingly good at this.
Ines watched him without much thought.
Then a low voice dropped from above.
“What did you do with that bastard?”
“Huh?”
Startled, she looked up.
“What did you do that he followed you all the way here with this?”
“I didn’t do anything. Lord Clayton just saw that I was injured.”
Ines frowned in frustration.
Even while speaking coldly, Calian finished tying the bandage neatly.
“Ines, you have a talent for ruining my mood in an instant.”
“What does that—”
“A rare talent, indeed.”
Without waiting for her response, Calian turned away.
He threw the bandage aside, picked up his jacket from the railing, and left through the door into the reception room.
Ines was left alone, stunned.
“What the…”
His mood shifting like flipping a hand—how could someone like that hold a high position in the Delphius Empire?
After a moment, she looked down at her wrist.
The clean white bandage only made her feel worse.
The whole incident had been her fault anyway—getting into a petty argument with Judith and getting injured in the process.
And yet he blames others.
Ines pressed her aching head.
After standing still for a moment, she quickly followed him back inside.
Setting aside her mood, she still needed to find out what Calian was doing meeting suspicious people.
It took about an hour for Ines to find Calian again.
She had assumed he went straight back into the reception room, but he was nowhere to be found.
Worse, Aron Clayton was still there, making it difficult for her to search openly.
After circling the large reception room three times, she finally decided to leave.
Carefully pushing open the large entrance door while avoiding attention, she stepped into a quiet, dim corridor that contrasted sharply with the noisy hall behind her.
The moment she closed the door behind her, the music and chatter faded as if they had been cut off.
Phew…
She glanced around and cautiously began walking.
Where should she go? The restroom? The palace entrance?
Only her soft footsteps echoed through the corridor as she moved slowly.
Then—
“….”
A low voice reached her ears from somewhere ahead.
Instantly recognizing it as her husband’s voice, Ines quickly moved toward it.
The voice came from the end of the corridor, inside a partially open room.
“…We will proceed as planned.”
She approached carefully, holding her breath, stopping just close enough to make out words.
There are three speakers, including Calian.
That matched her memory.
“The Eden Hospital in the capital, second-floor end room.”
“And the date?”
Ines swallowed hard.
The unknown voice speaking with Calian answered without hesitation.
“The last Friday of this month. About three weeks from now.”
“That’s enough.”
Calian replied lightly.
Last Friday of this month?
She had accidentally overheard something important.
Ines bit her lower lip in confusion as she repeated the date in her mind.
What exactly was going to happen that day?
“Then we will take our leave.”
The conversation seemed to be ending.
Startled, Ines quickly turned around. She could run back into the reception room—but if she made noise, she would be caught eavesdropping.
Panicking, she looked around and shifted nervously.
What do I do…!
Footsteps sounded behind her—Calian was coming out into the corridor.
Closing her eyes tightly for a moment, Ines turned and hurried in the opposite direction.
