“It seems he only likes my body.”

“What? What are you saying?”

Hannah burst out laughing as if it was ridiculous.

“Don’t laugh. I’m serious.”

Claudel puffed out her cheeks petulantly, but Hannah kept smiling.

“That doesn’t make sense. The lord truly cherishes you, my lady.”

“No. That’s not true.”

“Why do you think that? You’ve seemed a bit down lately, I was wondering if I should call a doctor.”

“I’m not sick anywhere.”

If anything, the pain was in her heart.

Lately, Claudel often felt an aching sensation in the middle of her chest.

“My lady. You trust me, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Then why are you saying such things?”

“Just…”

There were things she couldn’t tell even Hannah.

Even if she knew, she would just take her side unconditionally and try to cheer her up, rather than giving practical advice.

Claudel got up from her seat.

“This won’t do. I’m going to the garden for a bit.”

“Now?”

“Yes. I’ll be back soon. I think a walk might make me feel better.”

“I wish I could accompany you, my lady. The lord is really too much.”

The lakeside in the garden where she had collapsed coughing blood became Claudel’s favorite place.

When Kaian learned that she liked it there and visited often, he issued a strict order that no one was to enter the garden all day except the gardener who went in early morning for maintenance.

The reason was so he could occasionally catch her on her walks and share passionate kisses.

Knowing that Claudel hated the idea of being seen, he issued the entry ban and then argued that now that no one was coming, they could kiss as much as they wanted.

‘Do we really need to kiss that much?’

She couldn’t just praise him for being so forceful, but it wasn’t bad for her either.

Inside the castle, she didn’t feel like she had her own space even in her room.

She liked being able to be alone in the garden.

“Oh my. A flower I’ve never seen before has bloomed.”

In the land of Rowen where flowers were abundant year-round, new flowers of various colors sprouted up every time she visited the tranquil lakeside, making her feel good.

Claudel carefully took off the dress she was wearing, folded it neatly, and dipped her feet in the lake before slowly entering the water.

She went to the middle of the lake, treading water with her toes pointed, then relaxed her body and lay back on the surface of the water.

Splash.

Her body was submerged up to her head for a moment, then naturally floated up as she relaxed her entire body.

“Phew.”

Claudel wiped the water from her face with both hands, then spread her arms and lay back, looking at the sky before closing her eyes.

After Kaian completely blocked people’s access to the garden.

She often secretly practiced swimming here.

That day, she had said she would learn from Kaian, but it ended up resulting in their first kiss.

The words he had given her while teaching her to swim were focused on theory and basics, so as she mulled them over and practiced on her own, she really became able to swim in the water.

‘You’re a Temnes, not a Vermonte. You can’t call yourself a Temnes if you can’t even do this much.’

At first, she wanted to show the man who had said that that she could do this much too.

She wanted to surprise him by showing that she could swim now too.

“Sigh.”

These days, this place itself had become her refuge, and she spent time floating in the water almost every day because it made her feel at ease.

At this place where she first came with Kaian, with only that man missing, her longing for the one she had shared warmth with even last night grew stronger when she came here.

“I thought one-sided love was okay.”

Claudel was struggling because of her uncontrollable emotions.

Though his attitude was a bit cold, Kaian was her husband.

She thought it would be fine if she developed some feelings for her husband since they were already married, but that was a misjudgment by Claudel, who was inexperienced in romantic emotions.

“I wish he would like me. Is that too much to ask?”

Objectively, Claudel’s current situation was quite good.

She was well aware of that.

She had come to Rowen Castle with her days numbered due to Herzol, but before that, Claudel knew she could have met a worse fate at the hands of the people of Temnes.

The lord was an absolute ruler in his own domain, like a king.

Even if wives died one after another due to his eccentric and terrible nature, it was easy to bring in a virgin to take their place.

On her first night at the castle, which she entered feeling like she was walking into a quagmire.

Kaian was careful when he grasped her wrist, which seemed like it would break if he squeezed it with one hand, as she had grown so thin.

When he held her arms or other parts, he seemed to be considerate, as if worried she might get hurt if pressed against his strong body.

Though she had resigned herself to enduring the nights forcibly if necessary, she was able to slowly relax and entrust her body to the man who, unlike his undisguised contempt for the Vermontes, handled her carefully.

In fact, even before he brought her the medicine for Herzol.

Perhaps she had liked him from that day?

She even thought that might be why she saved him when the crocodile was about to attack.

“Sigh. How sad.”

Kaian was her husband.

They were in a relationship where they shared meals at least once a day and explored intimacy at night.

But unlike her body that had suddenly gotten married, her tender maiden’s heart yearned for a piece of Kaian’s affection and fluttered around him.

“How foolish to think it was fine to like him since he’s my husband anyway.”

Once she admitted that to herself, it was only natural that she would end up longing for his heart like this.

She wanted to know more about Kaian.

What he liked and was interested in.

How he grew up as a child.

His hobbies and what he did to relax, and so on.

All Claudel knew about him was a few of his favorite foods, his sleeping habits, and the fact that he was obsessed with her body.

He desired her every day and Claudel readily complied with his demands.

Claudel was not the biological daughter of Duke Vermonte, so she had no strong family or backing.

She should be grateful just for being treated as a duchess, since she was able to live like this because of that man’s kindness in obtaining the medicine.

Their relationship was an extremely shallow one, and the more Claudel grew to like him, the more insecure she felt about it.

When he held her and tried to sleep at night, she would be filled with hope that maybe this person liked her too.

When the morning sun rose and Kaian slipped out of the bedroom, she would come to her senses and think that couldn’t be the case.

Then at lunch, when he fed her favorite foods or carefully cut up meat for her, she would feel something knotting up in the middle of her chest and wonder why he didn’t realize that she liked him.

After that, when he went to his office, until night fell and he came to the bedroom, thoughts of Kaian would float around in her head, and she would feel distressed thinking that he must be too busy with work to think of her while she alone suffered like this.

If only the nights were longer.

The time she felt momentary happiness and warmth in his arms would be longer.

She regretted that the nights in the land of Rowen, which was temperate and had long days year-round, were not as long as in Valmont.

If this were Valmont, Kaian would have stayed in her bedroom for two or three hours longer.

“Why did we meet under these circumstances?”

The fact that Claudel was a Vermonte was like starting with negative points before even beginning, in terms of a normal relationship between a man and woman.

Usually, you need to build up goodwill, but she was starting from a position of strong dislike.

With a gloomy heart, she came out of the water, dried her hair with the towel she had brought, and wiped her body.

The thin undergarments quickly dried when wiped with the towel.

Claudel’s face as she carefully put her dress back on and headed towards the castle was the same as when she had come to the garden earlier.

It had been a long time since such small things could comfort her.

Several servants carrying boxes as big as a person’s body lined up in front of the lord’s office.

Kaian, seated in a chair, looked at the young woman before him with a sharp gaze.

The woman with dark brown hair, wearing a hat with feather decorations on her tightly curled hair, with white taut skin and carefully applied makeup around her eyes and cheeks, was perfectly dressed in the latest capital fashion.

Madame Marsel, whom he was interviewing, was a new candidate for the position of seamstress at Rowen Castle.

“You seem younger than I expected.”

“Thank you for the compliment, Your Grace.”

The pretty woman with a friendly expression sparkled her green eyes.

“I’m not young, just youthful-looking. Women have many ways to deceive age.”

“Certainly a capital style. Can you make Rowen-style dresses just as elegantly?”

“I’ve completed the order you requested, so please take a look yourself.”

Kaian was carefully considering the new seamstress.

Several seamstresses had come for interviews with dresses made to Claudel’s measurements that were provided in advance, but he wasn’t satisfied and sent them back after paying for the clothes.

When Madame Marsel called the servants outside, they quickly took out a torso to hang the dress on, and a flowing southern-style dress made of chiffon lace was hung on it.

“How is it?”

The dress she had made was delicately crafted. Instead of using multiple layers of lace, she had dyed a single layer of white chiffon to gradually deepen to a dark red towards the hem, which would look very pretty on Claudel.

“Quite good. The best I’ve seen so far.”

For Kaian, who was stingy with praise, this was a very good evaluation.

“Are you married?”

“I’m divorced.”

“Children?”

“Unfortunately, none.”

“Then you can reside in the castle.”

“I would be grateful for that.”

Kaian stroked his chin as he sat down.

“From now on, you’re the new seamstress of Rowen Castle.”

“It’s an honor, my lord.”

Madame Marsel didn’t hide her joy.

“My wife doesn’t know anyone in the south. She only spends time with the maid who came with her from Valmont. From now on, work hard for the duchess’s enjoyment.”

“Of course, I will.”

Kaian liked the amiable woman.

He had rejected all the previous interviewees because they were young men with handsome faces.

He couldn’t bear to hire them, feeling his blood boil at the thought of some guy he employed gleefully measuring thin silk or lace against Claudel’s body, which was too precious even for him to look at alone, during the time he should be working hard.

Coming with a recommendation from Madame Cronac in the capital salon, her skills were sure to be excellent.

Looking at the dress standing in the office after Madame Marsel left, he was itching to quickly see Claudel wearing it.

“Carry this and follow me.”

After ordering the servant standing in the office corridor, he headed towards Claudel’s room with hurried steps.

These days, he always walked quickly when going to her.

“Claudel.”

He was in such a hurry that he opened the door without knocking.

“Kaian. What brings you here?”

“A gift.”

As he commanded, the torso with the dress was placed in the room and the servant quickly left, closing the door.

“How is it? Do you like it?”

However, contrary to his expectations, Claudel’s shoulders drooped as she became gloomy.

“Another gift?”