TMC 05

CHAPTER :05

4. Does It Really Not Hurt?

Although he had watched Adrian grow since he was a mere infant, Owen had never seen his eyes filled with such madness.

Owen scratched his head and asked back, repeating Adrian’s words.

“And so?”

“It means he doesn’t deserve her.”

Who would dare say the Imperial Prince lacked the right?

Owen, of course, had assumed he was referring to Stella.

“Yes, it is understandable that Lady Bronte’s engagement was broken. Having been born as the star of the Empire yet possessing no abilities, it’s only natural she was abandoned.”

“What nonsense are you talking?”

“The one with the burn scar…”

“Do you not know that scar was earned while saving the first-in-line to the Imperial throne?”

Teo de Bez Ferwaldo—he was Stella’s fiancé.

Yet, despite her saving Teo, the Imperial family had been cold and unyielding, using the mere pretext of the fire that had broken out at the Bronte estate.

“I meant the Prince is the one who doesn’t deserve her. The Imperial family, clinging to archaic excuses to claim she is unfit to be Empress, and the Prince, who cannot even stand up to them—are they not equally incompetent?”

“…….”

“How dare he even look at her.”

Adrian smiled broadly.

“The Master will be furious if he finds out.”

“There is no need to fret over trivial matters when it comes to the noble task of obtaining what even the Prince could not.”

Owen shook his head at his master’s stubborn gaze.

Still, it had been so long since he had seen Adrian look so pleased, he could not bring himself to stop him.

“Should we not inform the Bronte family? They must be searching for her.”

“Not just yet.”

“Are you not going to tell them?”

“I will. But that is a story for later.”

A slow, unreadable smile spread across his lips.

“She is already so confused she can barely meet my gaze. I cannot allow her beautiful eyes to be filled with unnecessary people.”

His crimson eyes gleamed with obsession.

“It won’t be too late to notify the Bronte family after those eyes are made to look only at me.”

Adrian stared quietly at the sharp tip of his fountain pen, then curled one corner of his mouth and pressed it down hard onto the snow-white paper.

“So she can never escape.”

Owen wore a bitter smile.

Though he had served him for a long time, he had never seen Adrian this relentless.

Could a sheltered young lady survive unscathed beside someone as obsessive as Adrian?

Thinking it impossible, a pang of pity for her swelled within him.

‘Please, hang in there…’

Once the Duke, who had gone to Setirus, returned, everything would fall back into place. Until then, Owen only hoped that they would get through this without incident.

* * *

A pleasant early summer breeze drifted through the window, and Stella opened her eyes to the long rays of sunshine.

She noticed that someone had drawn the curtains wide open, but she didn’t particularly mind.

Even without the sunlight, the heavy, suffocating weight in her chest would have kept her from sleeping much longer anyway.

Stella swept her hair to one side and sat up straight.

At that, Jena snapped out of her daze and approached her.

“You’re awake.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Would you not like to rest some more?”

“No, I’ve slept plenty.”

Stella’s voice was remarkably clear.

It was only natural since she had been raised as a noble from birth, but Jena hadn’t expected her to speak with such an ethereally beautiful tone the moment she woke up.

Jena stared at Stella in admiration before clapping her hands together as if remembering something.

“Would you like to go see the Young Master?”

“Won’t he be busy?”

Stella turned her head and looked out the window.

Outside, the sky was flushing red, signaling the approach of dusk.

It felt a bit too early for him to have finished his work.

His morning duties had undoubtedly been delayed because of her, so she couldn’t bring herself to disturb him.

“He is still working.”

Seeing the light on in Adrian’s office through the window, Jena quickly changed the subject.

“He will probably finish up soon. Why don’t we take a walk in the meantime?”

“A walk?”

Stella followed her gaze out the window.

‘Is it alright for me to wander around outside?’

Stella was worried someone might spot her.

Reading her apprehension, Jena quickly added,

“A stroll in the garden will be perfectly fine. The walls of the Castillo residence are very high.”

Having wanted to look around the residence anyway, Stella did not decline Jena’s suggestion.

And so, forgetting that the injury on her leg hadn’t fully healed, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed.

In that instant, a sharp, stinging pain shot through her toes.

“Is something wrong?”

Jena asked, her expression turning anxious.

‘Weak beasts are bound to be eaten. That is why you must hide your pain.’

Meeting her gaze, Stella shook her head as if nothing were wrong.

All she could do was obey the voice echoing in her mind.

Those cruel words telling her never to show her pain.

“No, I’m fine.”

“But…”

“Come, let’s go outside.”

Throwing on a simple outer garment, Stella quickly took a step forward, looking completely unbothered.

Jena followed, guiding her toward the garden.

Ignoring the stinging sensation in her foot, Stella walked on, and they soon arrived at the garden.

Night had fallen before she knew it, and the garden, bathed in starlight, was quiet all around.

Walking through the wide-open space, the heavy knot in her chest seemed to ease slightly.

The events of early dawn felt like nothing but a dream.

Stella looked up at the sky.

“The sky has grown dark.”

“Perhaps we shouldn’t have come out.”

“No, the night sky is beautiful too.”

Soft grey clouds drifted across the dark expanse.

The aimlessly drifting clouds mirrored her own situation, drawing a hollow laugh from her.

At least she was free to fully enjoy this scenery right now.

She cleared her mind and quietly watched the starlight twinkling in the night sky.

As she gazed at the sky, a familiar set of footsteps reached her ears.

Stella instinctively tensed and stood up straight.

A long shadow cast over her.

“Are you out for a walk?”

“Ah!”

It was Adrian.

“Yes, I wanted to get some fresh air.”

Adrian’s expression upon facing her was not good.

‘Is he angry that I wandered around without permission? A fugitive like me, going for a stroll…’

His sharp gaze slid down past her chest and fixed on her feet.

Under his gaze, she tensed her feet, which she had barely been standing on.

As a result, a murderous ache shot through her foot.

She clenched her fists tightly to swallow the gasp that threatened to escape.

Stepping closer, he guided Stella to sit on a bench and knelt before her.

And then, he inspected her feet as she sat in flustered silence.

“It’s swollen, isn’t it?”

“…….”

“Why are you foolishly enduring this?”

Adrian raised his head to look at Stella.

Why did he look so breathtakingly beautiful in the moonlight?

The saying that a beautiful man is dangerous no matter what he does was certainly true.

She tried to pull her feet back, wanting to escape from him.

She felt as though the crimson eyes before her would devour her the moment she admitted she was in pain.

“I-I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt.”

“Stay still.”

“…….”

“It would be troublesome if you lost the use of your leg.”

Adrian murmured, “Though that wouldn’t be too bad either,” but his words did not reach Stella’s ears, scattering away in the wind.

He placed her foot in his hand, his gaze turning utterly serious.

Flustered, she tried to pull away, but he spoke firmly.

“We must treat this immediately.”

“H-here?”

“It could get infected if it remains squeezed like this.”

Stella stared at her leg before shifting her gaze to Adrian.

The look in his eyes as he peered up at her was intensely serious.

It seemed her foot was indeed in quite a bad state.

“Alright.”

“Excuse me for a moment.”

First, he slipped off the shoe that was constricting the wound.

The sight of blood welling up on her pale white foot immediately caught his eye.

With a displeased look, Adrian lightly pressed down on the wound.

At this, Stella bit her lower lip, swallowing a groan.

“It’s in worse condition than I thought.”

He pulled out a round medicine vial.

She wondered for a brief second why he had such a thing on him, only to be shocked as he poured the clear liquid into his large palm.

Not only had he poured out the precious medicine without a shred of hesitation, but he also touched her feet without any reservation.

“This might sting a bit.”

“Y-yes.”

“Tell me if it hurts.”

No sooner had he spoken than his fingers touched her foot.

‘Was receiving treatment always this embarrassing?’

Although it was the sole of her foot that was injured, his long, slender fingers slid right between her toes.

Everywhere he touched felt scalding hot, as if she were being burned.

His damp fingers gently stroked her skin.

Tracing up her fair instep, his fingers came to a stop at her slender ankle.

Overwhelmed by the dizzying sensation, she forgot she was being treated and let out a soft moan.

“Mmm…”

“Does it hurt?”

Stella bit down hard on her lip.

He seemed to have taken her moan as a cry of pain.

Flushed with embarrassment, she hung her head low and shook it.

“I-it doesn’t hurt.”

“Is that so?”

“I… I would have told you if it did, like you said.”

Even though it hurt so much that her leg was trembling, Stella refused to admit her pain.

At her lie, his touch grew even more deliberate.

When he pressed firmly against her sole, she felt a shiver run up her spine and a strange flutter in her lower stomach.

Was it because she insisted she was fine despite the pain?

Adrian’s gaze as he caressed her toes grew increasingly teasing.

“Ah!”

She quickly covered her lips.

His touch was too relentless for her to form any words.

Looking up, he asked her once more.

“Does it really not hurt?”

‘Never show your pain.’

Adrian’s voice and the remnants of her past echoed the exact same words.

Her blue eyes wavered.

Whose words was she supposed to follow? If she confessed her pain and he turned away in disappointment, what would she do?

‘I really don’t know.’

Stella looked down at him.

His eyes gazed steadily back up at her.

Was it because of that? She found herself wanting to obey the gaze right in front of her rather than the ghost in her head.

After a moment’s hesitation, Stella gently placed her hand on his forearm.

“It hurts.”

Her small voice rang out.

At those words, uttered after so much agonizing hesitation, a satisfied smile spread across Adrian’s lips.

Though he had pushed her with this exact intention from the start, seeing her speak the truth brought a deep, inexplicable thrill rushing through him.

His hand, which had been sliding up her ankle, brushed against her ankle bone and then pulled away.

“We are all finished.”

“I-is it really over?”

“Yes. Since it will be difficult for you to walk, I shall carry you back myself. That is, if you will permit me.”

Unlike a moment ago, he offered his hand with a polite, gentle smile.

After hesitating briefly, she met his warm smile and took his hand.

Part of it was her reluctance to reject his kindness, but it was also true that walking on a foot drenched in medicine was out of the question.

She hadn’t expected a moonlit stroll to raise her temperature so unexpectedly, though.

Held in Adrian’s arms, Stella tried to calm her wildly beating heart.

To feel like this when they had only met yesterday—it was driving her mad.

In the place they had left behind, only a single shoe stained with blood remained.

Yet the next day, none of the servants at the Castillo residence knew where that shoe had gone.