When she woke up from a brief nap, she found herself not in the imperial palace but in a townhouse, and Kaella rubbed her cheeks in confusion. She had been tired from all the strange events since arriving in Kraine.

But to have fallen asleep so deeply that she didn’t even realize how she got from the palace to the townhouse. Was she that exhausted, or did she lose energy from getting unnecessarily angry? Either way, she felt refreshed.

Instead of the tightly fitting dress, she was in comfortable, flowing attire, and her body, which had been drenched in sweat from dancing, was now cool and clean. Peon must have done something in the meantime.

“Did someone bathe me?”

“Yes. I came and bathed you.”

Peon nodded calmly. To not even remember being bathed. Kaella was surprised once again. Was she that tired?

“I also changed your clothes. Are you not angry?”

“I’m tired.”

She didn’t have the energy to be angry. She had used up all of today’s strength and could barely hang on.

“Just eat this and rest.”

He personally attended to her meal as he always did. There probably isn’t another husband who would literally carry his wife to the dining table, break soft white bread for her, and oversee her meal.

Kaella looked down at her plate. The townhouse cook was truly giving their all for every meal.

Didn’t he say he wanted her to enjoy her meals?

“What’s wrong, don’t you want to eat? Should we have something else?”

He was trying his best not to react sensitively. Even when Kaella paused her fork movements, his gaze naturally went to her, but he didn’t speak right away. After waiting for a while, he carefully asked.

“…How long have you known?”

“Known what?”

Kaella poked at the boiled vegetables and steamed fish.

“That I… have some difficulty with meals.”

That was the only way she could express it, so she quickly put the vegetables and steamed fish in her mouth and chewed thoroughly. If she didn’t make a conscious effort, she still felt like she might zone out while eating.

“After the regression, when we met in the Monster’s Garden. Then at the imperial palace when we dined with your father-in-law.”

So did Peon regress around that time? No, wait, he noticed that early?

Kaella forgot to chew and looked up. Instead of telling her to chew and swallow, Peon just ate some of the steamed fish himself.

Seeing him eat well naturally made her follow the flow of the meal without realizing it. That’s why he always ate with her.

“How? Was it noticeable? Was it strange?”

She had been obsessively holding back from eating more because she didn’t want to zone out while eating, but was it still noticeable?

“It wasn’t strange. You ate very little, like ordinary noble ladies.”

So little that it was worrying, as if she was obsessively trying to lose weight.

“If it wasn’t strange, then why?”

Peon hesitated for a moment before cutting more of the steamed fish.

“Let’s talk about it later. It’s not a good topic to discuss while eating.”

“I have a strong stomach.”

Kaella looked at him clearly as she spoke.

“I melted snow to drink in the tower and lived with rats. And I eat with Your Majesty every day. I have a strong stomach.”

After saying that, she continued eating as if to prove her point. She’s eating well. Meanwhile, the knife fell from Peon’s hand with a clatter.

He had prayed for a day like this to come. Watching Kaella unconscious after drinking poison, he had prayed for her to wake up and hurl curses and insults at him.

He had wished for her to hate him and be angry, rather than sitting like a ghost wishing only for death. He had wanted her to be so vibrantly alive. He thought he could drink any poisoned cup she offered, gladly and with joy.

He was just a cunning and weak being. Now that she was finally showing irritation, anger, and sharp words, he could hardly breathe.

He thought he had discarded most of his human form and become closer to a dragon, abandoning conscience and face, determined not to let go of Kaella. But it seems he was naive.

He needed to pull himself together. This was simply the knife he had once wielded against her coming back to stab him. He should get up and leave immediately.

“…I’m sorry.”

Peon wiped his mouth with a napkin and stood up. He thought he should have the maids thoroughly check her meals from now on.

“Sit down. Where are you going in the middle of a meal?”

Kaella furrowed her brow again in irritation.

“I don’t want to keep making eating difficult for you.”

“I told you my stomach is strong now. It’s better if you stay, so sit down.”

Is it okay to sit in front of someone who’s struggling to eat while talking about strong stomachs? But as Peon hesitated with many concerns, Kaella put down her fork.

“I won’t eat.”

At this truly noble young lady-like threat, Peon sat back down, holding back a sigh.

“Eat, okay? I’ll eat too. Let’s just have one bite.”

Then she glares at him again, fiercely picks up her fork and stabs the food.

It’s a blessing that the once powerless Kaella can now show such temper. So he needed to pull himself together. Having pushed that small woman, he couldn’t lose his mind over hearing this much.

Peon ate. Hating his ugly self, he swallowed the consequences of his sins with difficulty.

“You’re not going to tell me?”

Even as he swallowed, he felt like laughing at the same time. He was glad that Kaella was showing her temper and nagging him like this.

He was happy that she had regained some strength. He already knew well that he was not in his right mind and had deviated from the normal range.

“…I saw your corpse.”

So he knew how she had died.

“That’s why I observed your eating since we met again. But you weren’t eating as much as I remembered from before.”

“What was my corpse like?”

Kaella asked abruptly. She had clearly noticed the part he had deliberately skipped over in his explanation. If she pinpointed it, he would have no escape.

“…You were so terribly thin that I wanted to hold you and move you, but I was afraid it would hurt you.”

“That’s right. Even just lying down was too painful.”

Kaella swallowed the hot feeling rising inside her and nodded calmly.

“I’m sorry.”

She didn’t answer and just nibbled away at the food. Peon, who had been watching quietly, carefully asked:

“You haven’t been able to eat well all this time because of me, right?”

She was clearly eating much less than normal, and it was a bit strange how Kaella was obsessively not eating. Kaella, who had been staring at him blankly, murmured:

“I want to eat so much.”

Now that she had impulsively spoken first about her past one-sided love, did it not matter what else she said? Kaella found herself strange. No, perhaps it felt trivial now that she had said it out loud.

“I want to eat so much that I’d get sick, so much that I couldn’t digest it all and would throw it all up. When I first regressed, I had intense food cravings, but seeing Your Majesty, Beatrice, or His Imperial Majesty would bring me back to my senses.”

Peon was at a loss for words at being lumped together with her worst enemies in such poor treatment. He knew. To Kaella, he was the same as them. No, he was the worst.

“So, thanks to that, I was able to control myself. I’m a bit better now.”

Is that something to be thanked for? Peon was dumbfounded and speechless.

He had noticed early on and had informed Darinka about Kaella’s eating disorder, always consulting with her and receiving prescriptions, but would that be enough? Who could heal wounds carved into the soul?

“…So that’s why you got so sick last time when dining with Beatrice in Lysenford.”

“I thought I had made a mistake. I was trying to hold back, but I thought I had mindlessly eaten too much without realizing it.”

Kaella mumbled and put down her fork. After she finished half a piece of fish, the butler, who was mysteriously experiencing not hearing any of the masters’ conversation, slowly approached to serve the next dish before retreating.

“Not at all. You eat too little.”

A well-roasted leg of lamb was served. Peon and Darinka had been desperately working with the chef for months to ensure Kaella encountered a variety of dishes, even in small amounts, and maintained regular meals.

“Because you eat too little…”

As he trailed off, unable to finish his sentence, Kaella completed it for him.

“Does it remind you of my corpse?”

Deep wounds remained in those eyes that dared to hold the emperor’s color. His gaze shattered completely, turning into fragments and trembling.

It’s strange that he’s in such pain, unable to even breathe, while the person who actually died is so calm. Kaella, who was looking at him blankly or overly calmly as usual, tilted her head.

“It’s strange. I didn’t think I’d be able to say things like this.”

Though she hadn’t been drinking, her mouth that had been sealed until now opened, and words she had never spoken before flowed out smoothly. It was secretly enjoyable to see Peon in such pain no matter what she said.

So this is why people seek revenge and hurt others with harsh words. Kaella de Chasser is quite a terrible person too. The conversation was more comfortable than expected, but the realization was not so beautiful.

*

Strangely, she didn’t feel sick. Before going to sleep, Kaella, sitting on the bed, rubbed her stomach for no reason.

As she rubbed, she cradled her lower abdomen once, like an old habit. She had lived clutching her belly for days until she died. Though she had long forgotten that habit, traces still remained.

“Kaella.”

She took her hand off her lower abdomen and turned around. Peon, who had walked into the bedroom, checked the most important thing first.

“Show me your legs.”

Fresh from bathing, he smelled of a cool yet heavy fragrance. The scent of deep forest trees, cold winter, and well-aged luxurious brandy mixed together.

Since her husband had been carrying her around since they left the imperial palace, she lifted her nightgown hem without complaint. He sighed at her swollen legs and feet that were still red, though the pain had subsided.

“They’re as swollen as on our wedding day.”

“I don’t think it’s that bad…”

Instead of arguing, Peon pressed his thumb firmly on a part of her calf.

“Ah, it hurts!”

He stared at her as she immediately hunched her shoulders. Not as bad as then? Kaella quickly averted her gaze.

“How many times did the Crown Prince step on you?”

“What do you mean, stepped on?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. I’m talking about your feet.”

At least Peon hadn’t stepped on Kaella’s feet. The Crown Prince must attend more parties than Peon, so how could he step on a lady’s foot with his heavy feet?

“His Highness was just nervous.”

“Ah, are you taking another man’s side in front of your husband?”

Kaella looked at Peon with round eyes, unable to understand what he was saying, but when he started rubbing her feet, she began to groan. The painfully refreshing sensation she had experienced a few months ago enveloped her feet again, making them tingle.

“Are you, are you angry?”

It hurts so much! Kaella asked cautiously as she pulled her feet back.

“No.”

Peon calmly replied as he pulled her retreating feet back. He seems angry though!

“I’m not angry. It’s just that he danced with you more than I did. There’s no reason to be angry.”

“How many times did we dance?”

“We had two weddings, so twice.”

“We only danced once at the first wedding, but we danced a lot at this wedding. Three times, wasn’t it?”

That’s right. Traditionally, the bride dances with the groom, the bride’s father, and the groom’s father, but since the emperor acted as his father and Peon didn’t want to see him holding Kaella’s hand, Peon danced quite a bit with Kaella at this wedding.

But that’s Kaella’s way of counting.

“For me, one day counts as once.”

“Then I only danced once with the Crown Prince too.”

“I’m your husband and he’s another man. The relationship is different, so the standard is different.”

“Ah, there’s no such thing…!”

Kaella, who had been arguing back, covered her face and groaned like on their wedding night.

“Come here.”

Peon silently pulled her into his arms and gently massaged her legs.

“Ugh… it really hurts.”

“Does it hurt a lot? I’ll go slowly. I’m being gentle.”

Kaella, who had somehow ended up leaning against him, rested her head on his shoulder. The solid Peon supported her without wavering at all, and Kaella just buried her face in his shoulder and surrendered her tingling legs to him.

Groaning and moaning, the wife left her legs to her husband, who diligently massaged them well, fulfilling his role as a husband. He put her down a bit faster than on their wedding night.

“There. Now sleep.”

“Where are you going?”

The man who always clung to her and slept beside her no matter how much she tried to peel him off, strangely tucked her into bed today.

“I have some work left. Go to sleep first. You must be tired.”

Kaella, who had lain down as he put her to bed, blinked her eyes and watched Peon’s back as he walked out, putting on his robe.

“This is just like our wedding night.”

His steps stopped right there.

“Back then, you put me to bed first too. What did you do alone?”

His handsome face could be faintly seen turning towards her in the darkness. She asked calmly, even though she knew.

Was it a joke? Was she teasing him? He couldn’t tell, but Peon dared not avoid answering her question. No, he had no intention of avoiding it.

“I held back my desire for you.”

He sighed.

“I’m holding back now too.”