19. The Night Everyone Knows Was Intense and Fiery

2023.10.19.

It wasn’t the kind of thought he should be having at a time like this, but Clade Euphris was a beautiful man.

Not just beautiful—Yuan was certain he was the most beautiful man she had ever seen in her life.

His beauty struck her even more powerfully than the first time she had laid eyes on Louise.

His face, only half visible, shone thousands of times brighter than those of ordinary, whole people.

“If someone as beautiful as him were to discover my ability, he’d turn into a demon just like my uncle—in an instant.”

But if what he desired from her wasn’t a physical relationship, but merely a brief respite to ease into peaceful sleep, then using her ability for now wouldn’t be such a terrible thing.

At least the pain would be one she chose herself, and one she could control.

“There’s no need to do this every day. If you tormented my sister, then you deserve punishment too.”

Yuan looked at the fingers tapping restlessly on the table.

They were hands sunken deep into dark suffering, yet broad-knuckled and long—hands of a pleasing shape.

“This isn’t for him. It’s so I can at least survive in this household.”

Yuan bit her lip hard, then immediately released it.

She walked over to the large console and picked up the clean teapot.

There was still a faint warmth lingering in the pot.

From her sleeve, she took out the herbs she had gathered from the garden earlier and steeped them.

They weren’t dried or processed in any way, so there was no chance they’d taste good—but right now, this was all she had.

The man, who had been staring down at the floor, had already shifted into a hunched posture, propping his elbows on his knees, and was now glaring at her.

Yuan deliberately waited until the tea was fully steeped, then placed the cup on the table where his fingers had been tapping.

The man looked not at the teacup, but directly at her.

“Please drink.”

“Oh, so you’re the one who gave me something yesterday. I remember that clearly.”

His voice grew slightly sharper, as if that single memory was vivid and certain.

Yuan offered a polite, faint smile in response to his accusatory tone.

Of course she had given him alcohol.

Not to make him drunk, but as a trick to prevent him from sensing her ability.

Just as her uncle would take an ordinary painkiller from his pocket, drop a few drops into a teacup, and claim it was the legendary Pelliese remedy.

Yuan simply wanted to create the illusion that whatever passed through her hands brought comfort.

“Yes, I am a Pelliese. I prescribed something appropriate for your symptoms.”

“Do you even know what this is? You said it would help me remember yesterday? Do you really think my memories will just return if I drink this?”

Yuan sat across from him and silently studied his face.

His distrustful eyes flickered between the steaming cup and her.

It was only natural that Clade still doubted the consummation proof.

In reality, nothing had happened that night—she had simply woken up before him after Clade, exhausted from years of insomnia, finally slept deeply.

And then there was the dagger lying on the floor, and blood that seemed to belong to Clade—the desperate traces of his suffering. Seeing them, Yuan silently soaked a thin blanket with the blood and cautiously handed it to the butler Gustav, who had knocked at the door.

It was an old-fashioned method, rarely used even among noble families, but the imperial household required such proof of consummation.

Usually, the husband would cut a piece of flesh from his own thigh to draw blood as proof.

But there was no need for the butler to know exactly how traditional or unconventional their situation had been.

Gustav, who had seen Yuan’s disheveled clothes from preparing for the consummation and Clade lying unconscious in sleep from a distance, seemed utterly unprepared for this method—his mouth hung open in shock for a moment before he accepted the cloth and immediately bowed his head.

“I heard you suffer every night.”

Yuan pushed the teacup closer to Clade as she spoke.

“But tonight, even as darkness falls, Your Highness appears quite well.”

There was no way to make someone remember a consummation that never happened.

But Yuan understood what such a person longed for—someone whose pain had surpassed its limit, someone who had forgotten what peaceful sleep even felt like.

She understood it too well, which was why she dared do such a thing to a man with whom she had never shared a single moment in her entire life.

The man couldn’t hide the flicker in his eyes.

Of course not.

Those who wander through terrible pain will readily drive a knife into their own hand if it means just a moment without pain, just a brief chance to sleep peacefully.

Clade’s eyebrows began to twist slightly.

Yuan realized it wasn’t because he was displeased with her, but because the pain that always began at night—the same horrifying agony she had experienced last night—was starting again.

“Perhaps the pain has lessened, so the desires you’ve hidden away have surfaced. And by releasing them onto me, you were finally able to sleep well?”

Yuan ignored the pounding of her own heart and carefully chose her words to provoke a response.

Those who have suffered extreme pain crave peace, tranquility, and deep sleep the moment their pain eases, even slightly.

Yuan herself had spent the last ten years dreaming of such nights, and in just a few days at this mansion, she had tasted that calm.

Once tasted, it was hard to give up.

That was exactly why she was doing all this—to remain in this mansion and keep that small peace for herself.

“This isn’t poison or some strange medicine. It’s a Pelliese prescription. That’s the only value I have.”

Not cleaning. Not preparing meals. Not any other menial task. And if even the duties of a lady of the house weren’t needed by him, then there was only one thing left for Yuan.

Clade Euphris, the fierce and pitiful exiled prince, could no longer hide his inner turmoil.

The sharp ends of his brows and the distrust in his eyes couldn’t be helped, but the occasional flicker in his gaze clearly showed he both wanted to believe her and couldn’t bring himself to.

“Please drink.”

His wavering gaze shifted toward the teacup.

Just watching that slow, persistent stare made Yuan feel as though she were tasting the layers of his accumulated pain.

An ordinary person would have scoffed at such a fraud, such a quack’s words. But…

“It’s not because I believe you. I’m doing this to confirm.”

For someone who wanted to confirm it this way, the situation was different.

With a face suppressing some indescribable emotion, the man drained the cup in one gulp.

“There. I drank it. Now what…?”

And just as she had done last night, Yuan gently wiped the moisture from the man’s lips with the tip of her finger.

Not stopping there, she stood and leaned very close to him, cupping his cheek with her hand.

Without hesitation, she pressed her lips to his cheek—not the clean, unblemished side, but the one darkened and consumed by suffering.

The man froze, as if he’d been slapped instead of kissed.

For a brief moment, his dazed face transformed into the pristine, perfect visage he had before.

That was because, once again, she had absorbed his pain in that short instant.

At first, he must have felt bewilderment and anger. Then, shock at how suddenly clear his mind had become.

Yuan tightly locked the surging pain inside her heart and forced a smile.

“Do you remember? My prescription.”

“What is this…?”

“This tea, and the intimate warmth of another person. That was my prescription. And you’ve already felt its effect, haven’t you?”

So this time, remember clearly.

Remember my prescription. Remember this clarity of mind, and the pain that has vanished.

Yuan whispered quietly.

Now the man looked as if he’d been struck hard on the back of the head, staggering and collapsing.

Just as she had done last night, Yuan carried him to the bed and immediately let out a groan.

Biting down hard on the blanket, she poured out onto the bed the agony she had absorbed—more than last night. Then, gazing at the man’s angelic sleeping face, she bit her lower lip until it nearly broke.

***

The atmosphere of the mansion had completely changed compared to just a few days ago.

Especially the maids who had worked in this black mansion for a long time—they all kept sneaking glances at the second floor, the master’s bedroom, whispering among themselves.

When the pale and fragile ninth lady of the house appeared, their eyes lit up, eager to talk to her.

“You know, we heard sounds again last night.”

“Our room is near the stairs, so when we stepped out briefly, we could hear it. Sounds like someone desperately trying to suppress something…”

“Shh! We’re supposed to pretend we didn’t hear anything!”

“But the fact that those sounds kept coming from the second floor…”

“Shh! No need to make a fuss! His Highness has finally found his true partner, so of course this would happen. If you gossip about this every day, what will happen later?”

The younger maids stared openly at Yuan, who walked around recovered and composed, their faces flushed red. The older maids couldn’t hide their approving glances.

“Madam, is there anything uncomfortable?”

“Hmm.”

“I was truly shocked. Yesterday, and again today…”

Hena, too, couldn’t hide her flushed face and clearly wanted to ask Yuan many things. But each time, Yuan only offered a faint smile.

Even lying casually to Clade had made her heart race so violently she thought she might die. Now, keeping secrets from Hena, who practically took care of her exclusively in this mansion, left her feeling uneasy.

“Today, the master hasn’t even called for the butler. He’s just been quietly staying in his room. Just that alone shocked me. Usually, he’d scream at the top of his lungs to make sure no strangers wandered around outside the window…”

Hena stopped mid-sentence, realizing her mistake.

Yuan guessed the strangers Clade hated were the previous wives.

“He’s accepted you. Unlike before, this mansion finally has a true lady of the house.”

Hena chirped excitedly once more.

‘Has he really accepted me?’

Last night, Yuan had watched Clade’s sculpted face for a long time as he slept peacefully after she poured out his pain—until it finally stopped.

And at dawn, when his face began to distort once more, half-crushed as before, she returned to her own room.

Even if her side of the bed was empty, Clade would have noticed that Yuan had stayed beside him.

The teacup he had drunk from remained on the table, and traces of her black hair, twisted by his grip as he endured pain, and the cold sweat she had shed would still remain near him.

Yuan picked a few more herbs she had gathered yesterday, rolled them tightly in a handkerchief, and tucked them into her sleeve. Then, suddenly, she looked up at the second floor where Clade’s bedroom was.

Inside the window, previously silent and still, the dark-colored curtain snapped shut.

Yuan’s drooping eyes widened slightly.