Chapter 23. Blood-Colored Shoes
Anshi’s eyes widened in panic.
“Damion!”
What in the world was happening? Anshi couldn’t struggle much, but she pushed at his chest with her hands. Naturally, the man didn’t budge.
He simply stared at her and opened his mouth.
“Actually, it’s been harder on me… not even being able to talk to my beautiful wife. I think it’s best we head inside now—do you mind?”
The man in love gave a gentle smile as he raised his voice. He was addressing the guests, but his gaze never left Anshi.
“Go ahead, young master!”
“When they go in is up to the newlyweds!”
“Yes, it’s time for the couple to enjoy some alone time!”
What kind of conversation do newlyweds have on the first night of marriage? Everyone knew it wasn’t going to be a spoken one.
An eager groom and a flustered bride.
Their figures drew cheers and laughter from the crowd. Sighs also escaped from the lips of women who had secretly admired the man—one with a mesmerizing smile and a body so sculpted it looked carved from stone.
Some clucked their tongues at the couple leaving the banquet early, but since the groom was none other than the second son of Duke Orphe, no one dared voice their discomfort. Their reaction was quickly drowned out by the surrounding excitement.
“Congratulations on your marriage, Damion,” said Cardian, smiling warmly.
Damion gave a slow smile in return.
“Enjoy yourself while you’re here.”
With that, Damion turned and strode away from the hall. His expression was that of a man deeply in love—one who couldn’t bear to share his bride with anyone else.
“Put me down,”
Anshi whispered from within his arms.
She had expected the banquet to last for several more hours—was it really okay to leave this early?
Besides, if they entered the room now…
She would be alone with Damion de Orphe.
Anshi knew what that meant. And she wasn’t ready. Not yet.
Nerves and fear tangled within her. She couldn’t hide her complicated emotions, and her brow furrowed.
“Let’s… go back.”
Her voice came out thin and weak, even though she thought she had spoken clearly.
Damion didn’t reply. Instead, he tightened his hold around her.
As they climbed to the second floor, a servant hurried after them—Simon, who had just been appointed as Anshi’s personal maid.
Traditionally, after the banquet, the couple would bathe separately and then enter the bridal chamber. Simon, unsure of what to do, hesitated.
But she couldn’t stop her master.
She opened the door to the bridal chamber, and Damion stepped inside with Anshi, glancing back briefly.
“Later.”
With that, the door shut.
Inside, Damion gently laid Anshi on the bed.
She tried to sit up, but her body wouldn’t cooperate.
Her eyelids felt heavy, and her limbs limp. Her head throbbed like something was being squeezed out of her brain. Her vision shattered like fragments, then reassembled. Her pale face had long since drained of color.
The man didn’t climb onto the bed with her. Nor did he touch her body.
He simply pulled the covers up to her chin.
“Actually…”
A soft voice slipped from her lips. Strangely, she couldn’t stop the words from coming out.
“When you first spoke to me… I wanted to collapse on the spot.”
She hated pretending to be a happy bride in a hall full of strangers.
When she saw the face of her enemy, when she had to hold his hand, when she had to smile while burying her feelings—
All of it felt like dancing barefoot on a path of thorns.
Just like the girl in the fairy tale she read as a child, wearing red shoes that forced her to dance endlessly—she felt as though she’d have to cut off her own feet to finally stop.
But the moment she saw Damion’s face, the moment she heard his gentle voice, a different thought had crept into her mind.
Maybe… I can stop?
It was a thought she shouldn’t have had. The moment she realized it, a wave of dread swept over her.
How could she want to lean on this man—this man, of all people? Her enemy’s younger brother.
That’s why she had firmly said she was fine.
Even now… this shouldn’t be happening.
She needed to get up…
Anshi slowly blinked. The grand crimson curtains of the canopy bed came into view.
Again with that blood-red.
The wedding dress. The decorations on her reception gown—all red.
Like her father’s dog tags, stained brown with dried blood. She felt as if her entire body was drenched in red.
How badly she had wanted to tear those awful, disturbing colors off.
And now, even the space where she was supposed to sleep was soaked in it.
“Close your eyes.”
Came the quiet voice of the man sitting beside her on the bed.
Closing her eyes… something as simple as that. Maybe, just that much, she could do as he said.
As if following an order, Anshi obediently shut her eyes.
The world went black. Nothing remained.
No crimson curtains, no blood-stained decorations.
No red shoes she couldn’t stop dancing in.
Only sleep descended upon her.
“What did Cardian say to you?”
The voice came faintly through her slipping consciousness. It sounded angry—low and sharp with emotion Anshi couldn’t understand.
And then, she fell completely asleep.
Her eyes, which had stubbornly stayed open, finally closed. She hadn’t drifted to sleep—she’d passed out. That was more accurate.
Foolish woman.
She had looked so pale she might faint any moment, and yet she insisted on standing strong.
What was she thinking?
Damion sighed and pulled the blanket higher over her. She naturally curled to her side, hugging herself.
That small gesture made his brow tighten. It was just the way she lay down—yet he didn’t like it.
On this wide bed, she still made herself as small as possible. As if that was the only space she was allowed. As if she had lived like that her whole life.
“What did Cardian say to you?”
Damion asked quietly, lowering his gaze.
As expected, there was no answer from the sleeping woman.
Cardian de Orphe.
He knew how to break someone by pressing on their weaknesses. It wouldn’t be surprising if he had said something cruel to Anshi.
Something that tore through her heart.
But even if he had—
Damion wouldn’t do anything about it.
He wouldn’t bother to ask what they had talked about. He wouldn’t confront Cardian.
He had no luxury to care for her to that extent—not if it meant attracting Cardian’s suspicion.
In the world of Orphe, Damion’s standing was still far beneath Cardian’s. Now was the time to lay low. To keep any internal discord invisible.
And yet… what he had done earlier—
Damion rubbed his face roughly with his hands.
The moment he saw the pale, frozen woman in the hall, he had moved on instinct.
Why did I do that?
His amethyst eyes lowered to gaze at Anshi.
The answer came quickly.
If she had collapsed in front of Cardian, people would’ve started talking. It could’ve stained this marriage, made people question its legitimacy, and raised Cardian’s suspicion.
It was better to say he was eager to spend time with his wife and quietly take her away.
Yes, that was all.
Just that.
Having a reason eased his mind.
The tight furrow in his brow relaxed. Damion looked away from the sleeping woman and turned to the window. Outside, the sky had turned red with sunset. The light pierced the thin canopy and splashed even more red across the bed.
She doesn’t like red, does she…
Damion began to rise from the bed, intending to move toward the window—
But Anshi suddenly clutched his sleeve.
He froze.
“Father…”
Her voice was barely a whisper, close to a sob. Was she dreaming? Her hand, grasping his sleeve, trembled.
Damion reached out and shaded her eyes with his palm.
Tears welled beneath her tightly shut lids… and soon, they spilled down her cheeks.
Impulsively, Damion caressed her face.
Her soft skin, damp with tears, felt cold. Unnaturally cold—like ice.
“Brother… don’t go…”
The expression on her face—one so vulnerable, so fragile—was unlike anything he’d seen from her before.
She must’ve been having a nightmare. But Damion didn’t wake her.
It felt like, for the first time, he was seeing the real her.
If he woke her, she’d probably go back to saying she was fine—just like she had back at the banquet.
Damion quietly lay down beside her.
She frowned in her sleep and whimpered, lips pressed tightly shut, her body trembling and curling in on itself.
As he gently wiped away her tears, he whispered softly.
“Just cry.”
And then, he wrapped his arm around her back.
Her small, fragile body fit into his embrace.
Such sad, broken people.