Adelina limped to her residence.
Ethan glared at her as she never looked back once. The onlookers around him held their breaths.
"Why did you all do nothing as you watched the Mistress climb up the wall?"
"The child's eyes were blue, so… everyone was avoiding him."
The fire in Ethan's eyes blazed brighter as the servants made excuses one by one. Whether they were from the Semu caste or from a foreign country, none of it made a difference to Ethan. If it was for the purpose of raising his fallen clan back up, he didn't care.
"So you let your Mistress go get the blue-eyed child herself as you all watched?"
"That's not true. Actually, we all tried to stop her."
"Then who was going to bring the child down? Tell me."
Everyone swallowed their words as if their mouths were stuck shut with honey. They hadn't expected this kind of treatment due to the wife their Master had shunned.
However, Ethan felt uncomfortable as if a rock were stuck in his throat and felt himself boiling with rage.
"Don't think that I don't see what you're doing just because I'm going easy on you."
There were a few who tilted their heads in confusion, but a few of them went pale and looked like they were going to collapse in shock. Ethan was a master who paid them as much as they worked. In return, he never forgave a single mistake.
"If something like this happens to your Mistress again, the first things to go will be your necks."
As they listened to his command, the servants' faces grew pale. However, Ethan didn't even flinch.
"Master, what do you…"
John asked cautiously as he followed Ethan.
No matter how much he scraped and drew out the traces of Consort Min, they continued to appear within his house. He had planned on letting it fester completely before cutting them all out.
However, while he was doing this, he ended up with a marriage he never wanted, and Adelina had interfered with his plans. However, his plans hadn't changed. No, actually, he felt that it wouldn't be such a bad idea to use Adelina, who had gone against the Consort's wishes, to draw everyone out more easily.
So why did he feel so uncomfortable?!
Seeing her limp away felt like a thorn was piercing him from within his throat. Why did it hurt so much?!
If she had just asked for his help because she was in pain, if she had asked him to treat her like a proper wife as she clung to him, he would have cut her off very easily.
"Damn it."
"Master?"
With John's confused voice calling out behind him, Ethan began to walk in the direction Adelina had gone.
As John followed after him, he paused to send the rest of the servants away. By the time he turned back, Ethan had already disappeared.
* * *
Barely managing to walk, MoonWoon came to a halt. Although her wounded knee and sprained foot were fine, her vision continued to blur.
"I want to be alone for a bit. Go back to the inner residence ahead of me."
"Mistress, shouldn't we treat your wound first?"
As Mona approached her, Adelina avoided her and lowered her head. All at once, she was filled with despair and a terrible loneliness.
"Sorry. I think it'll be best for you to go back before me."
Forcing down the cry that threatened to burst through her lips, Adelina kept her mouth shut. Seeing her reaction, Mona lowered her body and began to walk towards the inner residence by herself. Now left alone, Adelina finally lifted her head.
Because she had bitten her lips all this time, they were now swollen. She began to wipe her tears with her sleeves.
She had been the one to say that she would live as if she were dead if he would marry her.
Just by accepting a marriage he didn't want, Ethan had done everything he could for her. Adelina was the one who was being selfish for wanting more in this situation.
However, living as if she were dead was a lot harder than she'd thought.
"Huu."
She felt as if she were one-sidedly denying her emotions. She felt the same sense of despair she had felt when she had been abandoned by the Crown Prince. As these emotions rocked through her, Adelina began to stagger. As she stumbled, a sturdy hand grabbed her arm.
"Ah!"
She wasn't sure when he'd gotten here. She hadn't felt his presence at all. However, his expression wasn't as cold as it usually was. Instead, it looked a bit scattered.
He had denied her existence just a moment ago, so why was he now looking at her with those eyes? He told her to live as if she were dead, so she had been on her way back. So why was he grabbing her like this?
Adelina did her best to hold back the tears that threatened to fall out. She didn't want to show such a weak side to him. He already hated all women and believed they were untrustworthy.
"Is there something else you'd like to say to me?"
Ethan merely glared at her in response. When he didn't say anything, Adelina let out a deep sigh.
"It seems that my emotions have run a bit high as well. If I made you uncomfortable by bringing up Her Highness the Consort, I apologize. I'll be on my way now, so… Aah!"
As Adelina moved to the side to evade him, Ethan wrapped his arms under her knees and around her shoulders. Lifted into his embrace, Adelina's face flushed red. With her in his arms, Ethan began to walk towards the inner residence.
Adelina's blush grew brighter as she looked down.
"I can go on my own! I can walk with my own two legs, so please let me go!"
"You sent away the only servant who was helping you back, so are you going to continue to dig your heels in like this?"
"I can get back on my own, so I sent her away! This isn't it, so please let me down!"
Even though she was married, she had never been embraced by a man like this before. The closest thing she could remember was being piggybacked by Scarr when she was young.
She felt all the blood rush to her head. Although she tried to ignore it, she could feel Ethan's heat and touch so clearly.
Ultimately, before Ethan could take five steps, Adelina pushed him away.
"I can go back on my own! What if someone sees… Please let me down!"
As Adelina squirmed to be let down, Ethan frowned. After irritating him by limping away, now that he had come to help her, she was throwing a fit?
"How can you walk with those legs? I'll let you down once we arrive at the inner residence, so stay still."
"But this is still a bit too much. No matter what your reason is, this isn't proper in the daytime. Please let me down. I can go on my own."
Adelina looked so bewildered that it seemed like she'd burst into tears at any moment. Seeing this, Ethan suddenly burst into uncontrollable laughter in disbelief.
Just a moment ago, she had caused his veins to throb with her defiance. But now her face was red with embarrassment just because she was in his arms. He thought this side of her was very cute.
'Hm?'
Ethan frowned at the thought that drifted through his head. He hated all women, including Adelina. So how could these feelings arise towards her when he was the one who had warned her away?
Ethan kept his mouth shut as he processed these confusing emotions for the very first time.
They cannot and must not exist. Bewildered by the sudden turn of events, Ethan pushed Adelina away. At that moment, he saw her blood-drenched skirt. No matter how much he hated her, he couldn't treat an injured person like this.
He forced these shocking thoughts away as he asked Adelina a question.
"Then what should I do? If you accidentally take a bad step, you may end up being unable to walk and won't be able to leave your room for a month."
At Ethan's words, Adelina stopped protesting, and her eyes widened. She wouldn't be able to leave her room for a month? She didn't want that. However, she still didn't want to be held by Ethan like this either. Her head felt dizzy and her heart raced inside her chest.
"...Then can you carry me on your back instead?"
She felt that being piggybacked like she had with Scarr would be better than being carried like this. At least Ethan wouldn't be able to see her face that way.
Ethan let Adelina down. A few moments later, Adelina cautiously grabbed Ethan's shoulders as she was perched onto his back.
The sadness that threatened to overwhelm her a few moments ago disappeared as if it had never existed. Although she had met many people and gone through many things, this was the first time she was experiencing something like this.
Adelina felt as if her heart was going to burst through her chest. She held her breath so that he wouldn't feel her raging heartbeat on his back.
The inner residence never felt this far away before. Why did it feel so far away today? Unlike his cold speech, Adelina didn't find his touch cold or rough at all.
"Mistress, ah!"
Mona rushed out when she saw that Adelina had returned. However, when she saw Ethan, she quickly lowered herself into a bow. Having arrived at the inner residence, Ethan crouched down. Adelina quickly got off his back. As she began to limp, Mona quickly took a step towards her.
"I'll send a doctor, so make sure he takes a look at the Mistress's wounds."
"Yes, Master."
"If the Mistress acts recklessly before her wounds have completely healed, she will have to deal with the consequences accordingly."
When Adelina opened her mouth to protest, his sharp eyes turned to her.
"I haven't changed my mind. You are to obediently stay in the inner residence."
At Ethan's words, her fluttering heart settled down as it sank. His cold eyes held no mercy as he looked at her. She couldn't get herself to say that she didn't want to live that way any longer.
When their eyes met, Ethan turned around and walked out the gate.
Once he had disappeared, Mona quickly rushed to Adelina's side.
"Mistress, let's go inside."
"That man is very difficult."
Just as Ethan had treated her like she was invisible, Adelina also did not take any interest in him. She had never said such trifling things about him before. So when Mona heard this, she was surprised.