Chapter 276
“Let me see. How many did you get? What did the doctor say? Did you get treatment?”
“I think you should kiss my eye better and it’ll heal.”
“Huh?”
Startled, Macy’s lips parted as Eren lowered his head and she kissed his eye. His sly, curved eyes looked mischievous.
“Doctor’s orders. Now my vision’s clear.”
“…”
She seemed to have figured out something odd. Macy knew she softened whenever Eren looked pitiful.
When he said he was hurt, she’d come back and be happy even after telling him to live like anyone else.
She found it annoying that he used her pity for his own advantage.
“Even without that, I’d kiss you—so don’t scare me like that!”
“I like it when you worry about me. Makes me feel loved.”
Thinking of Eren, who’d been lonely without true love his whole life, this was nothing.
“You really are something…”
Macy hugged him silently. Eren’s face was the most peaceful it had been.
Macy herself had undergone a huge change. Her newfound fame had opened many doors, but blending with her new family required much effort.
* * *
“Elder Madam Krygen, you’re here.”
“Yes.”
Ottilie Krygen refused to grant Macy the title of ‘grandmother.’
She insisted on teaching Macy etiquette but subtly looked down on and mistreated her.
Eren almost banished Ottilie to the outskirts, but Macy barely stopped him.
‘If that happened, Eren’s rumors might get worse.’
With suspicions swirling that Eren might not be truly of ducal blood, news of tension between Ottilie and Eren would only harm him. That was Macy’s reasoning.
“Why is it so noisy here? This isn’t a marketplace, tsk.”
Ottilie clearly looked displeased visiting Macy’s exhibition in Laden.
Since the Royal Academy of Art sponsored the exhibition, Ottilie, as chairwoman, had to attend.
“Didn’t I tell you to straighten your back and lift your chin? A graceful posture is the basis of etiquette.”
“Yes, thank you for reminding me.”
“You’re impossible, from head to toe.”
Despite her complaints, Ottilie stayed a long while at the exhibition.
Later, through Dia, Macy learned one of the anonymously purchased paintings hung on Ottilie’s bedroom wall, in a place she looked at most often.
‘So it’s true that grandmother actually likes my paintings!’
Macy was quietly pleased. Though Ottilie hated her, she didn’t hate her art. That meant Ottilie truly loved painting.
For that alone, Macy found herself not disliking Ottilie so much.
* * *
“Macy, we’ve arrived.”
Macy had dozed off in the carriage, but Eren’s low voice gently woke her.
His large hand wrapped around her waist, softly stroking her.
His embrace was warm; she struggled to open her eyes.
“Mm…”
“You said you wanted to see the sunset.”
Her eyelids slowly lifted. Outside the carriage window was the cabin she had only seen in dreams for a long time.
Bathed in warm twilight, the cabin evoked deep nostalgia.
Those times weren’t always beautiful, but Macy had worried about the ruined cabin for a long time.
So Eren built a new cabin as a gift for her first exhibition—exactly reproducing the one that had been consumed by fierce flames.
Leaning on Eren’s chest, Macy murmured, somewhat dazedly.
“Something feels different…”
The height of the apple tree beside the cabin, the surrounding forest scenery, the patchy grass, and the silent woods that seemed devoid of wildlife—all felt changed.
“It can’t be the same as before.”
Like fresh sprouts growing on burned ground, they restored their relationship and returned—but could never completely erase the past.
“That’s okay. I’ll take care of the burnt trees and your scars from now on.”
Eren gently stroked Macy’s cheek and kissed her forehead long and tenderly.
He was right—they just had to do better going forward. Now they had the faith and love to overcome such hardships.
A man who had learned trust and love would stand firmly by Macy’s side for life.
“So, shall we enjoy being newlyweds for a while?”
“Wait, hold on…!”
Though his love still felt overwhelming, Macy never wanted to lose the love she had chosen again.
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