Yuan calmly met that gaze.

Butler Gustav, who had been looking at her with surprised eyes, hid a chuckle that escaped unconsciously, then shook his head.

“It’s unlikely to happen, but in principle, that’s correct.”

And with a bow, he disappeared.

Although Gustav’s reaction was quite cold, Yuan felt like she had seen a glimmer of hope.

‘Just enduring while working is not everything.’

She didn’t want to return to Peliesse.

But she also wasn’t confident she could escape empty-handed without getting caught.

Her uncle would never let her go.

If Yuan ran away from the deposed prince, her uncle would not miss the opportunity.

He was the type of person who would somehow find Yuan, deliberately make her a missing person, and then lock her up in a room next to the Peliesse laboratory, with plenty to spare.

It was horrible just thinking about it.

Thinking long-term, her indifferent husband wasn’t all bad.

At least his behavior was far from the rumors of being a ‘womanizer’.

If she could just close her eyes and prove the wedding night, Yuan might be able to live relatively peacefully in a corner room of this mansion where no one would look for her.

And since Yuan was already his wife, it wouldn’t be easy to drive her out even if she discreetly asked about the former wife someday.

“My lady! My lady, let’s prepare for the wedding night!”

Hena, who had been watching from the side, quietly cheered and clasped her hands as if in prayer.

“It’s time we had a mistress of the house. I hope you can prove the wedding night and the master won’t be able to drive you out even if he wants to! Such luck! This is God helping you, my lady. For the imperial family to suddenly issue such an order!”

With a flushed face, Hena immediately sat Yuan down at the dressing table and began to brush her hair in earnest.

After making her look healthy with makeup, she even brought out a slip dress suitable for a new bride from somewhere and helped her dress.

With a dazed expression, Yuan let the maids tend to her, but as she saw the setting sun, she began to feel anxious.

‘Will that man come?’

Still, it was a request from the imperial family. Wouldn’t he at least pretend to comply?

Butler Gustav had become lenient lately due to Yuan’s proactivity, but he was fundamentally a man of principles.

Of course, he would have conveyed the imperial request to prove the wedding night to his master as well.

But contrary to Yuan’s expectations.

Even after the sun had fully set and early evening had passed, the deposed prince Clard Yufris did not show even a single strand of his faded golden hair.

“It’s not the only day, my lady. Don’t worry too much. You’re not fully recovered yet, right? Maybe the master is subtly being considerate of you.”

Hena, who had been eagerly waiting for news of Clard coming this way, spoke brightly as she arranged the bedding.

As Yuan watched those busy hands, she fiddled with her unfamiliar attire.

Perhaps that man had known all along.

The imperial pressure to prove the wedding night.

That she was in the position of waiting for her husband.

His sneering attitude as if no effort would be of use might have been because he could drive her out anytime using the excuse of not proving the wedding night.

Contrary to Yuan’s expectation that he wouldn’t be able to easily drive her out once she had entered and tried to adapt here, he had something to rely on.

Family without a drop of blood relation could be so easily severed.

‘What should I do if I’m driven out like this?’

If she couldn’t live in this mansion, a peaceful life, asking about Louise’s death, and properly holding Louise’s funeral would all be for naught.

Some maids changed the canopy over the bed to gold and even lit scented candles before leaving.

Yuan watched until the maids closed the door as they left, then asked Hena, who had finished arranging the bedding.

It was actually what she had wanted to ask first all along while being here.

“Hena. Can I perhaps see the room of the previous wife… I mean, Louise’s room?”

Hena’s chattering voice cut off abruptly.

A moment of silence swept through the room, and Hena straightened her back and lowered her head.

“I’m sorry.”

Everyone reacted this way whenever Louise was asked about.

Not just Hena, but all the servants in this mansion had the same response.

The reason was that they were absolutely forbidden to speak about the previous wives.

“The bridal chamber is prepared, so I think that’s enough. I’ll be going now, my lady.”

Thinking she might be driven out soon, her mind was urgent. It was a misstep.

Watching Hena trying to hurry away, Yuan answered bitterly.

“…Good night, Hena.”

Hena, who was about to leave with her arms full of odds and ends, saw Yuan’s dejected look.

Yuan forced a slight smile.

The young maid opened the bedroom door, hesitated for a long while, then rolled her large eyes downward.

“The guest rooms in the main building are concentrated on the 2nd and 3rd floors here.”

“!”

“…Just saying.”

Hena quickly closed the door and left without making eye contact.

Yuan stared at the spot where Hena had left for a while, then abruptly stood up.

The 3rd floor corridor was as quiet as death.

Although the mansion was vast, there were too few servants, the guards only protected the outside, and it was the rule for everyone to retire to their quarters at night.

Compared to the Peliesse mansion where maids took turns patrolling, it was unbearably quiet.

It was a good thing for Yuan.

However, the problem was.

“Please…”

No matter how many of these terribly numerous doors she opened and closed, there was not a trace of human presence inside.

Forget traces of people, most places didn’t even have a single piece of furniture properly placed, and the rest were all locked.

“Louise, Louise please…”

Let me find at least a trace of you.

Desperately praying while wandering for hours.

In the end, unable to find any traces on the 3rd floor, Yuan went down to the 2nd floor.

The moment she entered the 2nd floor corridor to search carefully from the inside.

Yuan froze at the sudden sound of a pain-filled groan.

Thud! Thud thud! The strange noise continued for a while.

Yuan, with hunched shoulders, took one step at a time towards where the unidentified noise was coming from.

A huge room in the middle of the 2nd floor corridor.

Every time the sound from inside the room cut through the air, the flame of the candle she was holding flickered sharply.

After hesitating, Yuan slowly passed by, leaving behind the sound penetrating through the thick door.

She couldn’t distinguish whether the thumping sound was noise traveling through the wall or the sound of her own heart beating.

Quickly wiping away the cold sweat that was dampening her palms, she hurried her steps.

But the steps that were trying to pass by while only looking at the ground didn’t go far.

Even though she knew it was dangerous. Even though she knew she should quickly pass by.

Yuan turned her body slightly and stared, as if glaring, at that huge door from which the strange cry was leaking out.

“Haa-.”

The footsteps that were about to pass by turned back and finally stood in front of that door.

Yuan knew all too well when such groans were made.

The day when her uncle had brought in as many as six elderly couples suffering from long-term illnesses, claiming to treat them, and thrust them at Yuan.

When she burst out the pain of twelve people she had stored up inside herself.

She remembered that moment when everything went white before her eyes and she could only let out pain-filled screams.

In fact, there was no need to specifically remember those six elderly couples.

After all, she had endured such an enormous amount of pain in quite various ways each time.

That’s the sound made when the weight of pain is beyond what one person can bear.

Yuan reached out and carefully twisted the doorknob.

The door was locked.

For a moment, the thoughts of whether to ignore this pain or not to ignore it fought fiercely. But in the end, Yuan couldn’t ignore it.

It was as if the satisfying feeling she had felt for the first time while taking away the pain of the people in this mansion bit by bit was holding her back.

Yuan thought of the kind and warm people of the black mansion. Her body moved before her thoughts.

Thanks to Frederick who locked Yuan’s door at every opportunity, she was accustomed to picking locks.

Yuan took out a pin from her hair that Hena had styled and inserted it into the doorknob.

Click-.

With the sound of the door unlocking, the noise stopped as if it were a lie.

At the same time, the door opened with disappointing ease.

The inside of the room was miserable.

The few pieces of furniture in the large room were all strewn about on the floor.

Yuan extended the candlestick forward to adjust her eyes to the dark room without a single point of moonlight.

And her eyes met with those of the deposed prince standing awkwardly in front of the opposite window.

She had hoped it wasn’t, but it really was his room.

It was a much more shocking appearance than the face she had seen from outside last time, but Yuan had no doubt that he was the deposed prince.

Eyes that had turned red with all the blood vessels burst were glaring at her.

There was no time to mind the intense stench emanating from the room.

Yuan barely met the eyes of the man overflowing with killing intent, with a pale face.

‘I might really be driven out.’

His appearance, seemingly half out of his mind, was sufficiently frightening, but Yuan was overwhelmed more by the fear of possibly being told to leave the mansion like this, rather than fear of Clard himself.

A sense of unease arose, as if she had crossed a river of no return due to a moment of empathy and sympathy.

At that moment.

Clard, who had been standing with his back to the window, strode towards her.

For some reason, his hands and body were covered in bloodstains.

She could also hear him muttering low curses as he moved the short distance.

No. No, I can’t be driven out like this.

Yuan didn’t leave, but rather took one more step into the room. And immediately closed and locked the door.

Finally, as Clard stood before her, Yuan opened her trembling lips.

“The proof of consummation.”

She didn’t have the courage to meet the eyes that seemed about to crush her.

But she couldn’t stop her mouth either.

“I, I waited for a long time during the consummation proof period, but you didn’t come.”

To think that this was the best excuse she could come up with.

But she could never say that she had been looking for Louise’s room before being driven out by him, even if she died.

Yuan clutched her loose collar tightly and gathered her courage once more.

“I didn’t wander around at will, I came looking for Your Highness’s room.”

A distant silence.

Yuan licked her rapidly drying mouth and glanced up at the unresponsive Clard.

“…Huh.”

His eyebrows twitched as if in pain somewhere, and Clard, frowning, made a sound of empty laughter.

She had thought he might push her away or strike her with his hand that was dripping blood right away.

Compared to such fantasies, it was an infinitely mild response.

Yuan gathered a bit more courage.

“I don’t want to leave this mansion. If you’re thinking of sending me away using the excuse of not consummating the marriage, d-don’t even dream of it! I, I’ve even entered Your Highness’s room like this!”

It was a pathetic bluff with a terribly shaking voice. Yuan knew it all too well herself and felt like she would die of embarrassment.

It’s just as well.

This man had no intention of coming anyway.

It was something that needed to be said.

Even trying to comfort herself, it was still shameful. Yuan clasped her trembling hands together and hoped Clard would say something.

The sound of Clard grinding his teeth could be heard. His breathing was rough, and his glaring eyes were full of annoyance.

‘Ah, right. This man was in a lot of pain somewhere just now…’

“If you want to stay in this house so badly, then prove it.”

His suddenly spat out voice was very low and ominous.

“Prove your usefulness, I’m saying. Cleaning. Laundry. Meal preparation… Not those things anyone can do.”