The Sand Bride - Chapter 72

Then, finally, everything ended, and everything began. The dam broke, and the migratory birds departed. Karzhen slowly lowered his head like a fool to look down at Esther. Seeing her sick face, something hot surged within his chest.

“This…….”

Karzhen habitually cursed and tried to unleash his anger, but then,

“Damn it.”

It scattered, lost and futile, with nowhere to go.

* * *

Like copper undergoing quenching, fully immersed in heat, Esther finally awoke from her sleep. Before opening her eyes, she wished, even just once, to wake up in her familiar bed.

It wasn’t a bed made of smooth silk and soft fur. It was a bed with a pillowcase that felt scratchy if rubbed too hard, a slightly thin cotton blanket, a slight creaking sound when she moved, but one that smelled strongly of sunlight.

Even knowing it wouldn’t happen, Esther often tried to trick herself into believing she was on that bed. She desperately wished that, just once, like a dream within a dream, when she woke from sleep, another dream would continue. But when she opened her eyes, that wish was always shattered.

When she struggled to open her eyes with such futile thoughts, the eyes looking down at her, sick as she was, were not her mother’s turquoise eyes, but deep amber eyes that couldn’t be mistaken even in the darkness. Even his hair was pitch black, devoid of any light.

Esther sometimes resented that obvious fact. She wished that the man who had taken everything from her had at least one part, just one small part, that resembled her family, so she could indulge in that fleeting illusion.

But unless she became blind—no, even if she became blind, she couldn’t find even a speck of resemblance to her family in Karzhen. So Esther soon let go of that wish.

“If you’re awake, you should eat porridge and medicine.”

Esther opened her eyes at the hand shaking her. Golden eyes stared intently down at her.

In one of Karzhen’s hands was porridge. It was warm food, still steaming. As soon as Esther opened her eyes, he raised her upper body and brought a spoon to her mouth.

“Want to eat? Ah…… is it too hot?”

Before she could even answer, Karzhen blew on the spoon to cool it and pushed it forward again. The spoon, hovering before her lips, tilted slightly.

“…….”

Even though he was already pushing it towards her mouth as if to force-feed her, Karzhen had, at some point, started saying that diligently. Esther found his words, awkwardly mimicking a request for permission, amusing even in this situation, and also somewhat sickening.

As soon as she silently opened her mouth, the spoon thrust in. The savory and properly seasoned porridge warmly filled her mouth before going down her throat. Even though her throat was swollen and she probably had no appetite, the porridge was so delicious that it went down without difficulty.

In fact, her throat was so swollen that she couldn’t eat anything but porridge and soup.

The spoon with porridge appeared before her eyes again. Want to eat? Karzhen asked again. Esther opened her mouth instead of answering. She believed that even if she resisted eating, she would be forced to.

After making her finish the porridge, Karzhen fed her the medicine in the same manner. If he had made her drink the entire bowl of medicine at once, Esther would have vomited, so she had to take it one spoonful at a time, like the porridge. It was a tedious and time-consuming task, but Karzhen did it silently, without any sign of annoyance.

Esther found him very strange, and she also felt disgusted by his tenderness, but the nightmare she had seen in the West Tower was still vividly ingrained in her mind, refusing to leave, preventing her from grasping those emotions. So she chose to simply keep her mouth and ears shut.

She felt that if she allowed even a little room for emotion to escape, she would fall for this kind of pretense and reveal her hatred. She had already learned all too well what kind of state she would be in if that happened.

“Should I call that woman for you?”

However, at those words, Esther slowly looked up at him. Her blinking eyes briefly held a question as she looked at him, but then dropped back to the floor. It was a listless attitude, but Karzhen continued speaking.

“The woman named Bianca. You like meeting her, don’t you?”

“…….”

Even with the renewed silence, Karzhen did not give up and spoke, coaxing and soothing her. It was a gentle tone that would surprise anyone who knew him.

“I’ll call that woman for you. How about it?”

“…….”

Esther remained silent, but Karzhen remembered how happy Esther had been when he let her meet Bianca in the past. At that time, Esther had been happier than when he gave her jewels.

After seeing Esther take her medicine, Karzhen left the inner palace and ordered for the woman named Bianca, who would be working under Greta, to be summoned. The servant politely asked,

“Shall I escort her to the garden?”