Although it wasn’t an appropriate thought at such a time, Clard Yufris was a beautiful man.

In fact, he was the most beautiful person Yuan had ever seen in her life.

It was a beauty that etched itself into her eyes more intensely than when she first saw Louise.

His half-visible face shone thousands of times brighter than those of ordinary people.

‘If such a beautiful man learns of my ability, he would turn into a demon like my uncle in an instant.’

However, if what he desired was not a physical relationship but a bit of respite for peaceful sleep, there was no need to use her ability for the time being.

At least it would be a pain of her own choosing, and she could control it.

‘I don’t need to do it every day. If you tormented my elder sister, you should be punished too.’

Yuan looked at the fingers nervously tapping on the table.

Although the hand was immersed in dark pain, it was a pleasing shape with thick and long knuckles.

‘It’s not for that man. It’s for me to survive even in this house.’

Yuan bit her lip firmly, then immediately released it.

She went to the large console and picked up the cleanly wiped teapot.

The pot still retained a faint warmth.

She took out the herbs she had collected earlier in the garden and steeped them.

Since they weren’t dried or processed, they were unlikely to taste good, but this was all she had at the moment.

The man who had been hanging his head low was now hunched over, his elbows resting on his knees, staring at her as if glaring.

Yuan finished steeping the tea conspicuously, then placed the teacup on the table where he had been tapping.

The man looked at her instead of the teacup.

“Drink it.”

“Right, you fed me something yesterday too. I remember that clearly.”

His voice became a bit clearer, as if that memory alone was certain.

Yuan smiled faintly out of courtesy at his interrogative tone.

Of course, she had given him alcohol.

Not to get him drunk, but as a trick to prevent him from noticing her ability.

Just like how her uncle would drop a few drops of ordinary painkillers from his pocket into a teacup, claiming it was Peliesse’s secret medicine.

Yuan, too, wanted to create the illusion that something passing through her hands brought peace, just to avoid revealing her ability.

“Yes, because I’m a Peliesse. I gave you a treatment suitable for your symptoms.”

“Do you know what this is and expect me to drink it? Are you saying it will make me remember yesterday? Will drinking this nonsense magically bring back my memories?”

Yuan sat across from him and silently gazed at him.

His eyes, full of distrust, alternated between the steaming tea and her.

It was natural for Clard to doubt the proof of consummation until the end.

In reality, nothing had happened that night, and Clard, who had slept deeply after long insomnia, had simply woken up after she had risen first.

And seeing the scattered dagger on the floor and what appeared to be Clard’s blood, those desperate traces of resistance to pain, Yuan had silently soaked a thin blanket with that blood and carefully handed it to the knocking butler, Gustav.

It was a very old-fashioned method, rarely used even in ordinary noble houses, but the imperial family demanded such proof of consummation.

In most cases, the husband would cut his own thigh to draw blood and provide proof.

But whether their situation that night was old-fashioned or modern, the butler didn’t need to know the details.

Gustav, who had been observing Yuan’s disheveled appearance after preparing for the wedding night and Clard who was sleeping like the dead from afar, clearly hadn’t expected such a way of consummation, as he just gaped before receiving it and immediately bowing his head.

“I heard you’re always immersed in pain at night.”

Yuan said, pushing the teacup closer to Clard.

“But even though it’s getting dark, Your Highness seems quite fine today.”

There’s no way to make him remember a consummation that never happened.

However, Yuan knew what someone who had forgotten what peaceful sleep was like due to unbearable pain would wish for.

She knew it too well, which is why she had acted so boldly, seeing herself in this man with whom she had never had any connection before.

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

Of course.

A person in terrible pain would unhesitatingly stab the back of their hand if it meant they could be free from pain for a moment, if they could sleep comfortably even for a little while…

Clard’s eyebrows began to contort slightly.

Yuan noticed that it wasn’t because he was displeased with her, but rather a sign of the pain that was said to start at night. That terrible pain she had tasted herself the night before.

“As the pain subsided, your hidden desires emerged, and as you released what had been pent up on me, perhaps you were able to sleep well?”

Yuan ignored the sound of her rapidly beating heart and chose words to elicit a response from him.

Someone who has been in extreme pain desires rest, peace, and deep sleep even if the pain lessens just a little.

Yuan herself had dreamed of such nights for the past 10 years, and had tasted such peaceful nights in just a few days in this mansion.

Once tasted, it was hard to give up.

She too was doing this to stay in this mansion and have that small piece of peace.

“It’s not poison or any strange drug. It’s a Peliesse prescription. That’s the usefulness I possess.”

Cleaning. Meal preparation. Other chores. Even the duties of the lady of the house. If he didn’t need any of those, Yuan had only one thing left.

Clard Yufris, the fierce and pitiful former crown prince, finally couldn’t hide his wavering.

The sharply raised eyebrows and distrust in his eyes were unavoidable, but the occasional flickering in his eyes clearly showed the conflict between wanting to believe her words and being unable to.

“Try drinking it.”

The man’s wavering gaze turned to the teacup.

Yuan felt as if she could taste his layers of pain just by watching that slow and persistent gaze.

An ordinary person would have scoffed at such charlatan-like words. But…

“It’s not because I trust you, but to verify.”

For someone who wants to confirm even through such means, it’s a different story.

The man drained the teacup in one gulp, his face suppressing some unidentifiable emotion.

“There, I drank it. What now…”

And Yuan, just as she had done the night before, wiped his moist lips with her fingertips.

Not only that, she rose and moved very close to him, cupping his cheek with her hand.

She deliberately kissed not his clean cheek, but the one blackened with pain, without hesitation.

The man froze, his face looking as if he had been slapped rather than kissed.

His dumbfounded face was the complete opposite of before the kiss, now clean and perfect.

It was because she had absorbed his pain again in that brief moment.

At first, he must have been bewildered and angry, then surprised by his unexpectedly clear mind.

Yuan, confining the pain that threatened to burst out in her heart, forced a smile.

“Do you remember? My prescription.”

“What is this…”

“This medicine and the intimate warmth of a person. This was my prescription, and you’ve just felt its effects.”

So remember it this time.

My prescription, and this clear mind and vanished pain you’re experiencing now.

Yuan whispered quietly.

The man collapsed, his face now looking as if he had been hit hard on the back of the head rather than the cheek.

Yuan laid him on the bed just as she had the night before, and immediately let out a groan.

Biting the blanket, she poured out onto the bed the pain she had absorbed, more than the night before, while biting her lower lip hard enough to crush it as she looked at the angelically sleeping face of the man.

The atmosphere in the mansion had completely changed from just a few days ago.

Especially the maids who had worked in this black mansion for a long time were all whispering among themselves while glancing at the second floor, which was the master’s bedroom.

When the pale and fragile-looking ninth mistress appeared, their eyes were desperate to talk to her more than usual.

“You know, we heard sounds yesterday too.”

“Our room is near the stairs, so if we go out for a moment, we can hear echoes. It sounded like something being suppressed…”

“Shh−! Pretend you didn’t hear such things!”

“But for such sounds to come from the second floor repeatedly…”

“Shh! There’s no need for commotion! It’s natural now that His Highness has found a true companion, isn’t it? If you keep giggling about this every day, what will you do in the future?”

The young maids stared intently at Yuan, who was walking around having recovered, with flushed faces, while the older maids couldn’t hide their favorable gazes.

“My lady. Is there anything you’re uncomfortable with?”

“No.”

“I was really surprised, you know? Yesterday and today too…”

Hena also couldn’t hide her flushed face, revealing her desire to ask many questions. Yuan just smiled faintly at such times.

Her heart had nearly stopped from pounding when she lied so casually to Clard, but it wasn’t entirely comfortable to keep secrets from Hena, who was almost exclusively in charge of her in this mansion.

“Today, the master didn’t even call for the butler and remained quiet. I was really surprised just by this. Usually, he would raise his voice, telling us not to let strangers wander outside the window…”

Hena was about to continue excitedly but suddenly closed her mouth, realizing her mistake.

Yuan guessed that the strangers Clard disliked were probably the previous wives.

“He has accepted you, my lady. Unlike before, this mansion now has a mistress.”

Hena chattered excitedly again.

‘Did he really accept me?’

Yuan had stared for a long time at Clard’s sculpture-like face, peacefully sleeping after she had finished pouring out her pain the night before.

And when his face started to crumple again at dawn, she returned to her own room.

Even if his side was empty, Clard would have noticed that Yuan had stayed by his side.

The teacup he had drunk from was left on the table, and traces of Yuan’s black hair that she had pulled out while enduring the pain and the cold sweat she had shed would still be by his side.

Yuan picked some of the herbs she had collected yesterday, rolled them up in a handkerchief, and tucked them into her bosom, then suddenly looked up at the second floor where Clard’s bedroom was.

She saw the dark curtains being abruptly drawn in the window where there had been no sign of movement.

Yuan’s lifeless eyes opened a little wider.