Chapter 130
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
Emilia returned to her room, recalling the name she had overheard on the stairs.
“Boestin… so that’s the woman’s name.”
The image of her smiling and chatting with Mikhail was still vivid in her mind.
‘Stop thinking about it.’
Who he spoke with was none of her business, whether he had a mistress or spent a night with someone else. There were no obligations or expectations left between them.
Shaking her head, she tried to dispel the gloom that kept growing the more she thought about it.
Emilia undressed and slipped into the warm water Dell had prepared for her. As the wound touched the water, a soft groan escaped through her clenched teeth.
“Ha…”
The wound, hidden beneath her dress sleeve, was deeper than she had thought.
Still, she couldn’t get proper treatment, so she endured the pain while cleaning herself thoroughly.
“She really wanted to kill me.”
How could she ever forget the killing intent she had felt? Adrian’s question earlier had been deliberate. He had implied that the one who slashed her door wasn’t a maid but Dahlia.
‘Is that why Dahlia stays on the third floor?’
Perhaps it was a preventive measure, to avoid another incident. After all, there were many guards stationed on the third floor, and tension had been in the air ever since Dahlia arrived at the main house.
“What does it matter?”
Maybe Dahlia would kill her quickly if given the chance. But Emilia no longer wished to die alone. She was done sacrificing herself for her family.
Her father, in particular, was a repugnant figure she would rather erase from her life. He had disappeared from the banquet without even caring for her safety.
There was truly no one left for her now.
She thought she would feel sorrow, but instead, there was a sense of relief.
After cleansing her wound, Emilia stepped out of the bath and put on the light clothing Dell had prepared. The thin nightgown seemed almost translucent.
‘I can’t be treated like this.’
Before calling the doctor, she would need Dell’s help to dress appropriately. Letting the doctor in while wearing a nightgown would be too awkward.
She pulled the bell cord to summon Dell, but the person who entered wasn’t who she had called for.
“You look like you’ve seen something you weren’t supposed to.”
“Why Your Grace…? Aren’t you busy with your guest?”
“Guest?”
Mikhail raised an eyebrow at her question.
“She came to repay a debt, not exactly a guest.”
“…I see.”
Suddenly, his expression shifted, and the corner of his lips curled slightly as he asked her.
“Why? Does it bother you?”
“Not really.”
“I didn’t think you’d show interest in others.”
Mikhail casually pulled out some antiseptic but then, noticing her attire, furrowed his brow.
“If you want proper treatment, take it off.”
“…Why do I have to take off my clothes?”
“I can’t treat your arm properly otherwise.”
“I can do it myself.”
Emilia was flustered. Why did everything feel so natural to him?
She held her robe more tightly around herself. Mikhail looked at her with a faint smirk, causing her to narrow her eyes in response.
“Do you even know how to bandage it?”
“If it’s hard, I’ll ask Dell to help.”
“Del probably doesn’t know how to bandage it properly either.”
“That’s why I was planning to get treatment from a doctor.”
“You’re going to get treated like this?”
His gaze traveled over her body, making Emilia shake her head at his question.
“I think I know what you’re implying, but you’re wrong. I was going to call Del to help me change and then have the doctor treat me.”
“And I’m saying, what’s the point?”
“…What?”
“You’ll end up taking your clothes off anyway, so why go through the trouble of changing twice?”
Emilia didn’t even feel angry. His sheer brazenness was just absurd.
“Unless… you want me to undress you?”
What kind of person says something like that?
She glared at him. She had thought he was acting strangely ever since the wedding, and his behavior only seemed to get more bizarre.
“I don’t see why I have to undress just for treatment.”
Emilia pulled down one side of her gown, exposing the cut on her arm.
Since it didn’t seem like he was really planning to treat her properly, she reached for the first-aid kit herself.
“Fine. I won’t tell you to undress, so just sit still.”
“Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”
She pushed his hand away as he reached for her arm.
His touch unsettled her, not just physically but mentally, too. Her mind felt clouded, and she found it hard to focus. Even sitting across from him now felt surreal, as if reality was slipping away, and all she wanted was to escape.
She wasn’t used to this kind of affection. The way he looked at her, as if something in him had softened, left her feeling strange.
“Is it really that strange to treat someone who’s injured?”
“It is strange, especially when Your Grace is doing it.”
Anyone who knew Mikhail would think the same. Even the servants in the mansion might start whispering that he was acting oddly.
“You looked at me with that strange expression when I returned, too. Seems like everything I do is suspicious now.”
“Well, you’re acting out of character.”
“I hear that a lot. Even I admit I can be unpredictable at times.”
“Self-awareness seems to be one of your strengths.”
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