Who gets married for that reason? - Chapter 9

‘The agonizing scream echoed, accompanied by pain. It’s at its worst when I’m asleep. I wonder if it’s because my mind is defenseless.’

It was only then that I recalled his words.

He hid his suffering so well that it was hard to realize he was in pain.

Even now, the symptoms caused by the curse seemed severe.

I hadn’t realized it at all, thinking “suffering from pain” meant just that, without understanding what it truly felt like.

I couldn’t help but feel a sense of guilt, thinking about how I had left the person I was responsible for in this condition.

Marquis Esteban, who had only mentioned the pain without elaborating, seemed frustrating to me.

“Seems like it’s much worse than I thought. Is there no way to ease the symptoms in daily life, other than breaking the curse?”

Lydia mumbled to herself.

Since he was lying on his side, it was difficult to hold his left hand, where the curse had spread.

“Can I hold your right hand?”

Approaching the Marquis cautiously, Lydia gently touched his right hand, which wasn’t covered by a glove.

She felt uneasy, unsure whether he would wake up, and kept glancing at his face.

However, his tightly shut eyes showed no signs of opening.

“This might not work…”

Even when she held his right hand, it didn’t feel the same as the left, as if the curse was absent from it.

It was just the sensation of holding someone’s warm hand, nothing more.

“Wait, could this actually be working?”

She was about to wake the Marquis and ask him to turn over when his muttering, which had been unintelligible until then, suddenly ceased.

His face, once contorted in discomfort, relaxed remarkably.

“Am I unknowingly exerting some kind of power?”

Maybe Lydia’s power sensed the curse and instinctively woke up to protect its bearer, the Marquis.

Perhaps, through the contact, the Marquis was also within the realm of that protection.

“Anyway, that’s a relief.”

Esteban let out a long exhale and slowly relaxed his curled-up posture, beginning to turn over.

Lydia, noticing that the blanket was resting on his shoulder, carefully pulled it up to avoid him getting cold from the sweat.

As his body slowly rose and fell, she saw more clearly how vulnerable he looked.

A person who should be comfortably resting in the softest bed of this vast mansion, not curled up on the floor of the study in this state.

He must have been like this because he couldn’t sleep due to nightmares.

The paperwork left on the table seemed to confirm that assumption.

As Lydia leaned against the sofa, her arm draped over the edge, a yawn slipped out as she looked up at him.

“Hmm… maybe I’ll stay like this for a little longer… then wake up the Marquis…”

The exhaustion from the day’s tension in the unfamiliar environment quickly took over, and her head dropped forward.

***

As dawn’s light gradually spread, the world turned a faint blue.

Illian Esteban suddenly opened his eyes. It was unusually quiet in the room.

“What…”

His left arm, which usually felt the pain, was fine, but his right arm was numb.

Before he could finish his thought about the curse potentially affecting a new area, his gaze fell on the thick brown hair in front of him.

Lydia Solem, who had wrapped herself in the blanket he had clearly put over her, was sleeping soundly with her face looking oddly peaceful.

“She’s completely defenseless.”

Illian clicked his tongue but made no effort to pull his hand away from hers.

At first, he had thought he could endure the curse, but as the symptoms worsened, the pain became unbearable.

The constant voices and suffering throughout the day seemed to have a greater effect on him than the curse itself.

No matter how intense the pain was, he didn’t want to let go of her hand.

“Lydia.”

But he couldn’t just leave her there, sleeping in an uncomfortable position.

He called her a few more times, his voice hoarse and dry, but she remained completely unaware.

Finally, he carefully shook her, and her eyelids fluttered open, her face still drowsy.

“Isn’t it uncomfortable?”

“…Marquis.”

Lydia, still half-asleep, looked up at him.

“It looks like you’re having nightmares…”

“You’re uncomfortable… aren’t you?”

Her head drooped as her hair cascaded forward, and Illian instinctively reached up to gently push her bangs aside.

Maybe it was he who was the vulnerable one, not her.

His servants would never dare step into his study, but he had told Lydia she could move freely anywhere in the mansion, which was his mistake.

“Go back to your room.”

The soft blue light of dawn faded, and the moment just before the sun rose was approaching.

Illian, seeing Lydia still in a haze, pulled his hand away and prepared himself for the pain and the voices that would soon return. Yet, strangely, he felt nothing.

It was as though the pain had been suppressed, leaving only a dull ache, as if there was a thick wall separating him from it.

“But you’re still in pain…”

“It’s not as bad as I expected.”

He wasn’t sure how long they had been like this, but the constant contact overnight seemed to have an unexpected effect.

Remembering the days when he struggled with migraines and lack of focus during meetings, he felt thankful.

“Really?”

At last, clarity returned to Lydia’s eyes, and Illian couldn’t help but laugh, surprised by her reaction.

“I didn’t use any power at all. The hand I’ve been holding is fine, after all…”

“Then go back to your room. I don’t think anything will happen to me while you’re taking a nap.”

Interrupting Lydia, who was still half asleep, he smiled at her somewhat annoyed but nodding expression.

She hesitated but quickly fell back into sleep, leaning her head on his arm again, resuming her nap.

“Ha… really, you do everything.”

Illian thought for a moment about whether he should wake her up again, but decided against it this time.

He had just woken up feeling refreshed, after all.

He gently withdrew his arm and stood, bending down to lift her up in his arms.

Despite the movement, Lydia remained undisturbed, resting her head against his chest and falling deeper into sleep.

Though it was still early, the mansion’s servants would soon begin their workday.

As Illian carried Lydia down the stairs, he encountered the busy housekeeper.

“Master, today—”

Illian interrupted her with a gesture, signaling to the sleeping Lydia in his arms.

The housekeeper nodded carefully, her face showing disbelief at what she was seeing.

She couldn’t take her eyes off them as Illian passed by.

Illian quietly entered Lydia’s room, noticing the scattered books as he did.

Looking around, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

“If I gave her gold and jewels, she’d probably spend half of it on books, and the rest on places to store them.”

He carefully placed Lydia on the bed, checking if she was properly covered with the blanket.

“Leon will probably be jealous.”

He thought about his nephew Leon, who would surely puff his cheeks and complain about why he wasn’t allowed to bring Lydia to her room and only received a quick greeting before she went to bed.

‘What a pointless thought…’

Illian had never imagined that he’d have another person to worry about.

Despite her scholarly passion, Lydia’s social skills were surprisingly unrefined, and he’d need to take care of her more than expected.

Even though he had initially thought he’d find her troublesome, her unguarded state as she lay curled up, fast asleep, stayed in his mind.

Any feelings of annoyance or inconvenience seemed to be absent.

She was truly a unique woman.

Lydia Solem.