A moderate knocking sound penetrated the stillness of dawn.
Odette turned her head in surprise as she was brushing her hair while staring blankly at the mirror.
While she was catching the hairbrush that she almost dropped, another knock followed. It wasn't from the bedroom door, but from the other side, from the passageway connecting the couple's bedroom.
Understanding the meaning, Odette hurriedly stood up, and at the same time a familiar voice was heard.
"Odette."
"Yes! Come on in."
Odette hurriedly tidied up the dressing table and answered. When she put the violet cream back in place, the door, which at first glance looked not too different from the panel decoration on the wall, opened slowly. Appearing from beyond, Bastian was dressed in a blue-gray gown.
"What is it?"
At a loss for what to do, Odette asked cautiously while standing idly by.
They had spent several weekends together, but this was the first time that door had been opened. Unlike Odette, who found it perplexing, Bastian looked extremely indifferent.
Bastian stopped halfway between the dressing table and the bed, staring at Odette without answering. His hair, wet as if he had just taken a shower, had a darker color than usual. There was still moisture on the skin visible through the front of the loose-fitting gown.
Even at the moment of such a defenseless and disheveled appearance, his eyes were still cold.
That silent stare lasted for a long time.
She tried to be confident, but Odette eventually stepped back as if resigned. It was as if she could feel the touch of his gaze. It was a strange sensation, like sand heated by the sun running down her skin.
From the tips of her toes wearing slippers, to the hands gripping each other, and then to her reddened face.
Bastian slowly explored Odette and then turned around. It was after he was seated in front of the tea table by the window that she realized the meaning of his somewhat displeased expression.
Odette finally took a breath and turned around, and suddenly covered her mouth, almost screaming.
The mirror of the dressing table placed there reflected her figure. Everything from the white muslin pajamas to the contours of her body clearly visible under the thin fabric.
Hastily covered her chest, Odette looked around in a half-fazed state. The gown was placed on the bed bench. It wasn't too far away, but she didn't dare to walk in front of Bastian looking like she was naked.
"Look away for a second…" (Odette)
Letting go of her painfully bitten lips, Odette opened her mouth with difficulty. She knew how pathetic it may seem, but otherwise she couldn't think of a way out of this predicament.
Watching Odette with his arms folded loosely, Bastian let out a sigh mixed with laughter. He looked stunned, but fortunately, he showed enough consideration to look out the window.
Only then did Odette approach the bed bench. After she covered my body tightly with a gown, a greater sense of shame came to her. How could she feel this embarrassed while worrying about a messy dressing table? It was utterly ridiculous.
"Thank you. I'm done now."
She only wanted to run away, but Odette tried to pretend to be resolute. Bastian slowly turned his head, and his face showed the same displeasure as before.
"Please sit down."
He brushed the hair covering his forehead and ordered.
"I think we have something to share about today's dinner party, don't we?"
Bastian's tone was heartless as usual.
Odette was sincerely appreciated for that businesslike attitude. At least for this moment, it was definitely so.
❋ ❋ ❋
Even after the trembling of her fingers had stopped, Odette was still gripping the gown tightly. After showing everything, he didn't know what the hell was the use of this extremity, but Bastian didn't bother to point it out. It was already late at night. He didn't want to waste his time waiting for a bewildered woman.
"I didn't put you there to play an elegant princess."
Bastian got to the point without delay.
"Could you please explain so I can understand?"
Blinking in surprise, Odette asked back.
"You married a commoner, Odette. As a commoner's wife, you are now also a commoner."
"I am well aware of that."
"Are you?"
Bastian's red lips curled gently.
"Then act like one. Would it be easy to understand if I said that I didn't want to see the pathetic lady who was trampled on and chewed to pieces to act dignified?"
"If you did not like my response to what happened at the dinner table, I apologize for that. I was prepared, but I was very confused, so I admit that there were some areas where I was lacking. But I find it difficult to agree with the point where I have to abandon my class consciousness."
With a frown, Odette issued a rebuttal. Her cheeks flushed, but her voice was as calm as ever.
"I was just doing it my way. It was a judgment based on the thoughts of a person like me, regardless of my social status."
Thought.
Odette's eyes sparkled as she spoke the word she liked quite a bit.
"Whether I'm a duke's daughter or a soldier's wife, I'm me. And I think I was a decent enough hostess tonight."
She thought she shouldn't fight like this, but Odette couldn't bear the resentment that filled her throat.
She had struggled to endure the friends and the lover of the man in front of her. She had smiled in the face of contempt and ridicule. She had tolerated their insults, treating her like a prostitute.
Because she made a promise. She wanted to fulfill that responsibility.
If she had not truly abandoned the manners of the daughter of the Dissen family, she would not be able to keep her position until the end.
The only reason she risked it all was to fulfill her duties as Mrs. Klauswitz. Odette watched the night sea through the window and held back her tears.
She didn't want Bastian to know. This was just the fulfillment of the contract. Odette never forgot that fact. Still, she felt that the reason her heart hurt like this was because she was not yet accustomed to the weight of things that were not hers.
"Is your evaluation of yourself usually that generous?" (Bastian)
Looking at her gently, Bastian asked her a question with an obvious sneer.
"As for the things that deserve it." (Odette)
Odette turned to face him despite her anger. Her heart started beating anxiously again, but he didn't want to back down.
Eventually she would get used to it.
It was the only gift the flowing time gave. Odette was well aware of that fact and she was fine with it.
"I'm afraid this is not coming from a lady who has already forgotten the advice you gave tonight." (Odette)
Bastian leaned back deep into the chair and tilted his head.
"Don't worry about that. If you say that your thoughts are yours, I will definitely remember them."
"Are you going to break it even though you know it?" (Odette)
"That advice was for Mrs. Klauswitz's business. When you have to play my wife, I will try to follow your thoughts."
"And now?"
"This... May I call it Odette's business?"
Odette, who was struggling, asked a strange question. Seeing her sincere expression without any hint of playfulness, it didn't seem like she was trying to make a joke out of it.
Odette, nothing else. Just Odette.
Realizing the meaning of the compromise the woman had found, Bastian burst into laughter. Confused, Odette held her breath as nervously as the first time. She looked quite different from the time when she didn't lose a word and just talked back.
With a slow sigh, Bastian's laughter died away as he stared blankly at his unstoppable wife.
As for the dinner he was offended by, he didn't want to think any more. So was the presence of a disapproving wife who got on his nerves. The woman who remained in her place after removing all pretenses was just beautiful, and that fact left Bastian deflated.
"When are you going to start working as my wife again?"
Bastian looked at Odette's hand holding the gown with narrowed eyes. To be precise, the wedding ring on that hand.
"I will be Mrs. Klauswitz in front of those who believe I am your wife."
"So, not now?"
"Yes. But if you give me advice, I'm all ears. Please speak."
"I thought you were screaming your thoughts to be heard."
"I didn't mean that."
Odette shook her head slightly. Her hair that resembled the color of the deep night rippled along with her gesture.
"Please tell me if my best wishes are not the same as yours. I won't be able to become a completely different person overnight, but I will try to narrow the gap as much as possible." (Odette)
Odette's gaze at him softened.
"I'd rather have a heartless winner than an honorable loser." (Bastian)
Bastian's gaze that followed along her hair, now landed on the back of her white hand gripping the front of her gown.
"Even if it's without dignity?"
Deepened in thought, Odette asked carefully.
"Win by all means, Odette. That is the dignity of Klauswitz."
"But that shouldn't be the case with Countess Lenart (Sandrine)."
"Why?"
"Because Countess Lenart is much more important to you, that day you …"
"I think I clearly said that I would prioritize the wife's rights when we played the role of husband and wife. Is it possible that you have only half memory?"
Bastian, who had been peering at the body Odette was desperately covering, slowly raised his gaze.
"Of course I know, but Countess Lenart knows our contract. It's hard to pretend to be your wife in front of someone like that."
"At that time, you can do whatever you like. Just think of the amount of money you get in return for doing this."
Bastian stood up from his seat at the end of his cynical advice. The heat that started from the stiff bottom was getting clearer. The more time passed, the more ridiculous it became.
Of course, he could do whatever he wanted.
Bastian had never attached much importance to the fulfillment of instinctive desires, and he still did. He was also well aware that he had the power to defy the contract. But was it worth the aftermath that a moment's impulse may bring? It was an obvious loss.
Fake wife of 2 years.
The meaning of Odette defined by Bastian ended there.
"Then rest, Odette."
Bastian gave a short greeting, looking at her dazed blue-green eyes.
No answer came from Odette until he crossed the bedroom, opened the passage door, and closed it again.