Just enough to let him sleep comfortably for one night.

And just enough for Yuan to bear the transferred pain.

If Clad had tormented Louise, or worse, killed her, he deserved to suffer.

Clad, who had fiercely scrutinized her, suspecting what she might do to his unblemished body, started to blink slowly.

His purple eyes, once desolate beads under long lashes, gradually vanished beneath his eyelids.

He couldn’t resist her.

If Yuan decided to take away the pain, the other party would inevitably fall asleep.

Yuan watched Clad’s face for a long while.

His jewel-like face, unaware of Yuan’s pain, shone brightly.

‘If only you kept your mouth shut, you’d be quite beautiful.’

The admiration was fleeting.

Yuan bit the inside of her mouth, swallowing the bitter taste of blood.

Suppressing a scream with her hand, her teeth chattered.

As usual, she recited her mantra.

‘It’s nothing. It’s all nothing.’

The morning Yuan woke up tired.

In her new, grand ‘mistress’s bedroom’, all the items she had ordered the day before had arrived.

Latest medical texts and academy papers, which her uncle would never show unless needed, filled an entire bookshelf.

Butler Gustaf raised his eyebrows seeing the books and papers being brought in.

“Did you order all these?”

“Yes.”

Yuan, sensing Gustaf’s startled look, wondered if she had overdone it with her personal touches. But the butler simply shook his head briefly.

“Are the curtains, canopy decorations, carpets, and beddings alright?”

“Everything here is more than enough!”

Her response seemed to reassure him.
In fact, by the standards of ordinary royals or nobles, the items in Yuan’s room were not top-notch. This was due to the budget, which for over a decade had been strictly allocated for just one master, causing the rest to tighten their belts considerably. However, for Yuan, who for over ten years had either shared what the maids used or lacked even that, these were already more than generous.

“Regardless of other things, you really should have enough clothes tailored. You brought so few with you…”

“Did His Highness say so?”

Yuan asked a bit shyly.

She understood if Clad, who had just barely accepted her presence in the mansion, found everything about her displeasing.

In Yuan’s memory, Clad mostly looked at her with eyes full of contempt, hostility, and rejection.

“Yes.”

The butler recalled how Clad frowned upon seeing her wandering the bitterly cold garden in just a thin woolen cloak and earmuffs, grumbling, ‘Get her some decent clothes. Do I have to worry about this too?’ Deciding not to relay that directly, he answered succinctly.

“His Highness mentioned it’s especially colder here in winter, so I should pay attention to that.”

Seeing her dejected look, he softened his explanation a bit.

Even though he wondered if he had overstepped, seeing her face visibly brighten at his brief additional explanation, the butler smiled faintly.

“Isn’t this too extravagant?”

“Extravagant? It’s just a ribbon decoration.”

“That’s right. We’d like to see some bright clothes too.”

“Please choose this color, will you?”

The afternoon became lively thanks to the tailor summoned on short notice. The young maids, starting with Hena, Monica, and Canaria, exclaimed in delight every time the tailor presented a new fabric or lace.