Chapter 24. The Mark on Her Waist
The woman instinctively sought warmth and leaned into his embrace. He gently patted her trembling back. Having never done something like this before, he wasn’t sure if he was doing it right.
Pat, pat. The repetitive motion continued.
Anshi’s breathing gradually grew louder, and then, her suppressed sobs burst out.
“Hhuek…”
It was a sound that made the listener’s heart drop.
Damion, somewhere between dream and reality, looked down at the woman sobbing in his arms with a hardened expression.
She kept crying. The sound grew louder, and her sorrowful sobs filled the bridal chamber. Her cold body continued to tremble.
A sudden uncomfortable thought crept into Damion’s mind—
The woman who was supposed to take on his misfortune… was still so deeply unhappy.
But soon he shook his head.
It wasn’t as if they entered this marriage without knowing what it was.
Damion tightened his arms around Anshi.
“Mmm…”
Anshi opened her eyes with a faint groan.
The room was dark. She couldn’t tell what time it was, so she pushed off the blanket and walked toward the window. When she drew back the thick curtains, bright sunlight poured into the room.
It had already been morning for a while.
She looked around.
She remembered being embraced by Damion and entering the bridal chamber last night.
But all the decorations in the room had been cleared away. She was also wearing not her reception dress, but a cream-colored silk nightgown and robe.
She didn’t remember changing into them. Could it be… Anshi instinctively clutched the robe tighter over the dress.
Then came a quiet knock at the door.
A stranger stepped into the room. A woman with neatly tied brown hair saw Anshi and brightened.
“You’re awake, my lady!”
The woman quickly approached, set down a bowl, and bowed. She appeared to be a little older than Anshi.
“My name is Simon Perry. I’ve been assigned as your personal attendant from now on.”
“Anshi Rubel… Anshi de Orphee.”
“There’s no way I wouldn’t know my lady’s name.”
Simon smiled kindly. Hearing the word personal, Anshi felt the urge to ask about last night and who had changed her clothes—but uncertain about what kind of answer she might get, she kept her mouth shut.
However, Simon was an attentive maid. She spoke naturally, as if she understood.
“You must’ve been surprised to wake up here. I changed your clothes at dawn this morning. The master had returned to his room by then.”
“Ah… thank you.”
So that’s what happened. Anshi nodded blankly.
She vaguely remembered crying in his arms last night.
Was it just a dream? Or had it really happened?
‘How long has it been since I cried like that?’
She was used to suppressing her emotions. Her nature wasn’t expressive to begin with, and the past year had only reinforced that habit. She had gotten used to tamping down rising emotions, as though it were second nature.
So then… why? Why did it have to be in his arms?
As she wept uncontrollably, Damion had held her tightly. That firm embrace seemed unshakable and indestructible, and Anshi clung to that warmth.
He didn’t try to wake her. Didn’t tell her to stop crying. Didn’t even ask why.
He simply, silently patted her back—for a long time.
Though it was a hazy memory, that warmth still clung to her skin.
“Are you feeling alright, my lady? Are you unwell?”
Simon asked with concern, studying Anshi’s face. Anshi blinked.
“Do I look sick?”
“It’s not that you look it—you were. A doctor came by last night. Your body temperature was dangerously low. Thankfully, it returned to normal this morning.”
“…I see.”
No wonder his embrace had felt so warm.
Simon handed her the bowl. It was medicine. While Anshi drank it, Simon spoke cautiously.
“The doctor said you were under extreme stress. Are you… feeling alright now?”
Anshi’s gaze wavered. She had repeated the words I’m fine countless times in her head, but clearly, she hadn’t truly been fine—not even on her wedding day, with Cardian in front of her.
To think the bride collapsed on her wedding day…
What must Damion have thought?
What about the other guests at the reception?
Worry slowly crept in.
“It’s nothing. I must’ve been tense from all the wedding preparations. Um… did the guests see the doctor come in?”
“No, he entered through the back quietly and left the same way. Even the Countess of Rubel doesn’t know.”
That was a relief. Anshi’s face visibly brightened, and Simon raised her eyebrows.
“Just as the master said.”
“Hm?”
“He said that the lady wouldn’t want anyone to know she fainted. That you don’t enjoy being the center of attention.”
“Oh…”
It was a thoughtful gesture—even keeping it from Sophia.
“From now on, we must take care of your health before you collapse again. I’ll do my best to help.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s my job.”
Simon smiled lightly.
“This afternoon, you’ll be heading home. Before he left, the master instructed that you and the Countess of Rubel should have some private time together. Would you like a bath and then breakfast?”
Even though she hadn’t been here long, Anshi felt reluctant to leave. It felt oddly like home. At least she’d have a chance to properly say goodbye to Sophia.
“I will.”
Anshi rose. Simon walked ahead and opened the bathroom door.
“I’ve already drawn your bath.”
Anshi froze for a moment, then slowly nodded. It had been so long since someone served her that it felt awkward.
“I’ll help you undress.”
“No, I’ll bathe myself.”
At Anshi’s polite refusal, Simon blinked but soon nodded gently.
“If you need anything, just call me, my lady.”
As Anshi stepped into the bathroom, she thought she was lucky to have been assigned an attendant who, despite being talkative, knew how to maintain boundaries.
She didn’t know it had been Damion himself who chose someone well-suited to her temperament.
“Phew…”
Standing in front of the mirror, Anshi began to undress, looking at her thin body with a soft sigh.
Nothing had happened last night between them.
The thought brought both relief and unease.
She hadn’t entered the marriage without preparing herself for the wedding night. She knew what could happen.
She’d read about such things in the romance novels Elise had shown her and had even researched reproduction and childbirth in the library.
It was supposed to be a normal, expected part of marriage. Something everyone went through—flowers, animals, all for the sake of reproduction.
She’d even taken contraceptives in advance, so there’d be no unwanted consequences.
That dry kiss on the night of the fireworks—that had likely been no different. So all she needed to do was endure it, play along, and it would pass.
She had told herself that, bracing her mind.
And yet… she still felt nervous.
It might’ve been better just to get it over with.
She sighed and turned to the mirror again—
“…What’s that?”
There was a faint mark on her right waist she hadn’t seen before.
Anshi frowned and examined it closely.
The thumb-sized pattern didn’t look like a mole. It looked… drawn.
A cluster of shapes that resembled either flowers or twisted lumps of earth, from which extended four large pipes. It reminded her of an anatomical drawing of a heart she’d seen in a book.
Anshi quickly wet her hand and rubbed at it.
But the mark remained.
“A tattoo?”
It didn’t throb or appear red, so it clearly wasn’t fresh.
“Was this always here?”
The waist wasn’t a place she looked at often. Still, she had no memory of getting a tattoo like this.
Should she ask her mother?
Suppressing her unease, Anshi stepped into the bathtub.
“Goodbye, Anshi. Be happy.”
In front of the elegant carriage symbolizing the couple’s departure, Sophia held Anshi’s hand for a long time.
Though she called her Anshi instead of Reine, it proved she now saw her daughter not as a memory, but as someone living in the present.
But the smile on her face didn’t only hold joy.
There was also longing—bitterness for those who could not share this happiness with them. That fact pricked at Anshi’s heart.
Still, Sophia smiled.
This was the happiest she had looked in the past year.
“I will, Mother. I’ll be happy.”
Anshi spoke with effort.
It was a lie. She was walking into hell with her own two feet.
But if this path would end in hell regardless, she wanted at least this moment to give Sophia peace of mind.
“Thank you for entrusting your daughter to me, Mother-in-law.”
Damion smiled affectionately as he used the teasing title. Sophia laughed, slightly flustered.
“Please take good care of our child, my lord.”
Her face was aglow with joy.
Anshi quickly turned and climbed into the carriage.
As it began to move and the two were finally alone, her body stiffened once more.
Interesting. Does it have to do with the ability?