“No matter how much you hate me, you shouldn’t skip meals. Even the doctor said—”

“I still don’t want to.”

This time, the silence lasted quite a while.

“…If it’s that uncomfortable for you, I’ll leave. So please don’t get angry over this, Roel.”

Seeing Reus trying to persuade me with such a dejected expression, my heart started to waver bit by bit.

But suddenly a thought occurred to me.

Making such a pitiful expression with that handsome face. What if he’s doing it intentionally, knowing it weakens my resolve?

‘Come to think of it… I’ve always given in like this, haven’t I?’

I almost fell for that face again.

“Even if you leave, I still won’t eat.”

“Ro, el…”

Reus tried to grab me, but I quickly pulled my hand away and hurried out of the dining room. I felt a piercing gaze on my back.

If I turned around now, Reus would probably have an incredibly pitiful expression, so I didn’t look back at all, fearing my heart might weaken if I saw it.

‘I can get angry too, you know?’

Besides, my life is at stake here!

With a firm resolve not to give in to Reus this time, I walked forward, deliberately ignoring the gaze I felt on me.

Originally, I had planned to talk to Reus right away, but I changed my mind a little.

‘In my current state, I don’t think I’d be able to escape right away anyway.’

It was already difficult to move around inside the Grand Duke’s mansion, with the servants on high alert watching me, misunderstanding my desire to leave as an escape attempt.

Moreover, if Reus had completely eliminated the route between Rocheter and Beliata, it would be pointless even if I miraculously made it to the port.

So for now, I thought it would be better to keep Reus on his toes, preventing him from saying strange things.

‘If he’s cautious, he probably won’t try to brazenly brush things off.’

I planned to ask for reasons and try to find a compromise when I judged we could have an honest conversation.

There was still some time left before the year was up, so I shouldn’t be too hasty…

“No, this doesn’t seem right.”

Come to think of it, aren’t things getting weirder, just like in the original story?

The direction might be slightly different, but… seeing Reus already starting to act strangely, it was clear that his state after a year of the contract would be beyond imagination.

“For now, let’s just make sure things don’t go wrong. Then I can go to another city with a port when the opportunity arises.”

But does this mean escaping to Beliata is now off the table…?

For now, I couldn’t know the exact reason, but Reus didn’t seem to have any intention of letting me go. So even if I succeeded in escaping, it was clear that Beliata would be off-limits.

‘Right… Finding me on that small island would be no problem for him.’

As I was pondering which country Reus might have trouble finding me in, a good idea suddenly struck me, and I exclaimed loudly.

“Ah! Am I an idiot?”

Theron! I had Theron!

I finally remembered the bracelet Theron gave me on the cruise to use in case of danger. That bracelet had magic that would transport Theron to my location as soon as it was broken.

‘He said to tell him whenever I wanted to leave, so I should be able to call Theron and ask for help.’

But even after finding a potential breakthrough, problems still remained.

‘But Reus needs to be away for me to try anything.’

Using the marital bedroom now was too risky, as Reus could barge in at any time. If I failed once, I probably wouldn’t be able to try the same method again.

‘I see. First, I need to create a perfect time to be alone.’

For that…

Just then, the door opened and Reus entered the bedroom.

It seemed he had tried his best to come in as late as possible. Seeing me still awake, he visibly hesitated for a moment.

But Reus quickly acted as if nothing had happened, behaving as usual.

‘No, not as usual.’

Originally, Reus would come straight to me as soon as he entered the room, ask how I was feeling, and then hold my hand, but now he was desperately trying to avoid eye contact.

He seemed determined not to mention the Beliata trip first, to the point of blatantly avoiding it.

‘So what exactly is the reason…’

Thinking about it again, the current situation still made no sense. But I decided to deal with that reason later and focus on the immediate important matter at hand.

“I have something to tell you.”

“…If it’s about going to Beliata, I’m truly sorry, but—”

“It’s not about that.”

It wasn’t just Reus who could lower someone’s guard. I patted the bed, asking him to sit down for a moment, and smiled slightly.

‘He’s suspicious.’

It was a bit funny how suspicious he was over this. It’s not like I could overpower him physically or escape right in front of him.

“Hurry up. It’s important.”

“…”

“If you won’t listen, forget it. If you don’t hear it now, I won’t—”

As I was about to turn away, Reus hurriedly grabbed me. Why be so stubborn when he was going to give in like this anyway?

“What do you want to say?”

“Well…”

But how should I say this?

I succeeded in getting him to sit next to me, but now that I was about to speak, I wasn’t sure how to start.

As my hesitation lingered, I could feel Reus growing anxious beside me. Thinking that mulling it over wouldn’t lead anywhere, I just blurted out whatever came to mind.

“Let’s… use separate rooms from now on.”

“…”

“No, I mean, I’m going to use a separate room from Reus from now on.”

Come to think of it, I didn’t need to hear Reus’s opinion on this, did I?

He was the one who broke the contract in the first place, so I had no reason to be considerate. Besides, we never explicitly stated or verbally agreed that we absolutely had to share the same bedroom when we made the contract.

Knowing which room had a bed, I had no reason to hesitate further and stood up. But Reus made me sit down again faster than ever before.

“Separate rooms? What are you talking about?”

“Exactly what I said.”

“We’re still husband and wife…”

“—But we fought. Everyone knows that, so I don’t think anyone will be surprised if we use separate rooms. Right?”

As I shifted slightly to stand up from the bed again, Reus’s expression somehow turned a bit resentful.

‘Who has the right to look resentful right now!’

Anyway, it seems I’ve safely overcome one hurdle… or so I thought, but now Reus won’t let go of my hand.

“Reus. I’m tired now and want to sleep. So—”

“…No.”

For a moment, Reus’s voice sounded like he was whining. It wasn’t entirely my imagination; I could see a hint of dejection in his still resentful face.

“Roel, I really don’t want that…”

But what surprised me most was that Reus said he didn’t want it.

Someone who used to say ‘no’ so easily that it was almost awkward had been beating around the bush for a while now, just showing slight signs of dislike. He hadn’t directly said ‘no’ like this in quite some time, usually expressing negation indirectly with wordplay.

“Can’t you reconsider using separate rooms just once more?”

Reus fidgeted with our intertwined hands subtly. It felt more like an anxious gesture than a brazen one.

Seeing him unable to meet my eyes properly and wearing such a forlorn expression, my heart…

‘Again. I almost fell for it again.’

The thought that I might never get another chance to be alone if I gave in here snapped me back to my senses.

“Then I, I don’t want to either!”

“…”

Reus’s face, unable to continue speaking, soon filled with hurt. I didn’t quite understand why he reacted so strongly to my refusal when we had both equally said we didn’t want something.

But that was that, and this was this. I needed to meet Theron without Reus knowing.

“I told you clearly…”

I carefully tried to move my hand. Reus seemed quite shocked, as my trapped hand came free more easily than expected. Fearing he might grab me again, I quickly headed for the door.

Reus, who had been sitting dazed on the bed, followed me a beat late.

“Roel, just one more—”

“Don’t follow me.”

“…Don’t go. I was wrong about everything—”

I stepped back two paces, avoiding Reus who was trying to come closer.

“If you come any closer, I’ll run away right now.”

Even though I’d probably be caught right away…

Actually, I was the one who lacked confidence in sleeping outside in the increasingly chilly weather. So this was really just an empty threat.

But strangely, this absurd threat worked incredibly well on this man. Reus stood still as if under a spell, not even thinking of moving.

I felt a bit bad about using my health as a hostage, but then I thought, it’s my body anyway, so what’s the problem?

“You absolutely must not follow me.”

With that, I successfully left the room, leaving Reus behind, his mouth moving uselessly. The doorknob rattled slightly a moment later, but the door never opened.

But as I said, I had only overcome one big hurdle. As soon as morning came, Reus knocked on the door a bit early, as if he had been waiting for this moment.

‘I succeeded in using separate bedrooms, but…’

What should I do about meals from now on? I imagined Reus’s reaction if I suggested eating separately for a while.

Various scenes flashed through my mind, and the conclusion I came to was…

‘…I think we’ll have to eat together.’

There probably won’t be any benefit from eating together. But there were so many unpredictable risks we might face if we didn’t eat together, so it was an unavoidable choice.

I carefully opened the door, and Reus, who had already noticed me approaching, immediately raised his arm to escort me.

I hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to place my hand on that arm or not.