Chapter 94

‘Husband and wife quarrels are like cutting water with a knife.’*

[*T/N: A Korean proverb meaning it has no lasting harm.]

Was the proverb from my past life correct?

After our tearful reconciliation and confirming our love for each other, I brought Nine into the villa. I wanted to talk more, but seeing Nine’s condition, I figured bathing him, feeding him, and putting him to bed should come first.

‘What on earth happened?’

No matter how I thought about it, it wasn’t normal for Nine, a Sword Master, to be this exhausted. He wasn’t this tired even after returning from a monster subjugation. Could it have been an extremely forced march, far beyond what I could imagine?

I was full of worry, but Nine simply followed my directions, perhaps because he liked that I worried, or perhaps because he was so happy to be with me that nothing else mattered.

I pushed Nine into the bathroom and borrowed clothes for him from one of the guard knights. Then, I went to the kitchen and asked for food.

When I brought back warm soup, bread, and thinly sliced smoked meat, Nine was just coming out after his bath.

“Chacha.”

“Hup.”

Nine, with a towel resting on his damp hair, was wearing the guard knight’s clothes I had put out for him. Since Nine’s build was slightly larger than that of an average knight, the clothes seemed a bit tight. His moist skin and collarbone caught my attention through the unbuttoned top buttons. His sturdy thighs were clearly revealed by the snug trousers. The moment a drop of water from his hair moistened his collarbone, I squeezed my eyes shut.

‘It wasn’t this bad even when I saw him wet at the townhouse…’

This time, with him being wet and damp, and the clothes clinging so tightly, the effect was even more devastating.

While I was briefly lost in thought, Nine took the meal I was holding and headed to the table.

‘Ugh. Snap out of it.’

I shook my head and stood behind Nine, holding the towel. I felt like I wouldn’t be able to hide my lustful gaze if I faced him.

‘I should at least dry his hair.’

Nine looked back and forth between the meal he had set down and me, and asked, “Did you eat already?”

“Oh? Yes. I ate.”

When I replied, Nine looked at me with a slightly crestfallen expression, then pulled the hand holding the towel and sat me down next to him. I burst into laughter at his childlike behavior of demanding that we eat together.

“You don’t want to eat alone? Even though I’m right here.”

“Hmm…”

As he didn’t let go of my hand, I smiled and looked at him quizzically. Nine gazed at me and acted even more like a child.

“Ah.”

“Ah?”

Nine opened his mouth like a baby bird, as if asking to be fed. My eyes widened at the unfamiliar display of affection, and after staring at him, I finally chuckled and indulged him.

“Aah~.”

The sight of us, sitting close and feeding each other, made me think we looked like newlyweds.

‘No, we are newlyweds.’

Until recently, I was closer to being just the Duchess rather than Nine’s wife. Even after our hearts connected, the time we spent like newlyweds was very brief. After resolving our first quarrel and clearing up all misunderstandings, our relationship became even more affectionate, with love practically dripping from our gazes.

‘It also feels like we’ve become more uninhibited because the Eclipse Duchy staff isn’t here.’

“Let’s go to sleep now.”

After finishing the meal, I led him to the bedroom. His dark under-eyes suggested he hadn’t slept well for a long time.

Nine then lay down on the bed, holding my waist.

“N-Nine?”

My surprise was short-lived, and I allowed myself to relax into Nine’s embrace. I patted his back as I held him and said, “You’re tired. Go to sleep quickly. We can talk about whatever you want later, after you wake up.”

“…”

Nine quietly accepted my touch, then rubbed his face into my hair and hugged me tighter.

“…Don’t go anywhere.”

“Alright. Sleep well, Nine.”

Nine smiled happily at my greeting. He kissed my forehead and then drifted off to sleep, with his arm wrapped around my shoulder. I lay quietly in his arms, to reassure him that I wouldn’t leave, and eventually, the cozy, warm atmosphere lulled me to sleep.

***

“Mmm…”

How much time had passed? I naturally woke up, and as I stirred, I felt a firm arm embracing me. I blinked my blurry eyes and lifted my head to see Nine looking at me intently.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Mhm. You should’ve w-woken me up…”

I mumbled sulkily, embarrassed that I had fallen asleep while trying to put him to bed, but Nine gently stroked my hair and shook his head.

“You were sleeping so sweetly.”

I wiggled and buried myself in Nine’s arms to hide my embarrassed face. I liked the small chuckle that reverberated through his chest. I subtly glanced out the window, and the sky was stained with a red sunset. It was a little before noon when we lay down, so it seemed we had slept for quite a long time.

I lifted my head slightly from his chest and looked up at Nine. “Should we eat dinner first? Let’s talk while we eat.”

“…Shall we?”

Although he agreed, Nine remained lying down, avoiding my gaze with a troubled expression. I tilted my head and asked, “Do you want to rest a bit longer? I’ll call you when dinner is ready.”

“…Yes. Alright.”

It seemed his fatigue hadn’t completely subsided. I stroked Nine’s hair once or twice as he lay down and then left the bedroom. He hadn’t slept for a long time, so it was only natural that he was still tired.

As I prepared for dinner, I carefully organized the things I wanted to talk to Nine about in my mind.

‘I want to make sure there are no more misunderstandings now.’

I didn’t want to hide anything from Nine anymore—not even the truth that I wasn’t originally Chacha. I was confident that Nine would believe whatever I said now.

When I first made the decision, I wondered if it would be better not to mention the transmigration. I could sufficiently explain why I got involved in the aphrodisiac incident and saved him without revealing that fact. All the misunderstandings had already been cleared up enough.

However, as long as a slight anxiety lingered within me, stemming from the ‘fate’ of the original story, I felt that misunderstandings could arise again someday.

‘Since I trust Nine, and Nine trusts me, I won’t keep it a secret any longer.’

After having a peaceful dinner with Nine, we sat side-by-side on a swing hanging from a large tree in the garden. With our hands clasped and leaning on each other, we didn’t feel the coolness of the night air.

Looking up at the stars in the sky, I asked, “Nine, how did you find me, by the way? What happened during that time?”

Helena wouldn’t have hidden me carelessly, so I figured a lot must have happened during his search.

Nine made an awkward expression at my question.

“…I rushed out as soon as I read the letter you left. There was a huge commotion in the Duchy too.”

I was surprised that Nine, who had a strong sense of responsibility toward his family, had rushed out, leaving even that behind. When I looked at him with wide eyes, Nine avoided my gaze and said,

“Then the Duchy affairs…”

“Thankfully, my family is taking care of it.”

“Oh?”

“Mother even came out of her room, and my sister and Adel encouraged me to go after you.”

I looked at him with even wider eyes.

But Nine, who wasn’t looking at my surprised face, continued to speak. “After leaving the Ducal castle, I couldn’t find your whereabouts no matter how much I inquired. So I figured the conventional methods wouldn’t work…”

“Wouldn’t work?”

I urged him on when he hesitated to speak immediately. Nine gave in and opened his mouth, as if he couldn’t help it.

“I commissioned the Information Guild. There was a lot of incorrect information, but I wasted a lot of time going to check everything, just in case.”

“…”

“Part of it was due to the poor quality of information because I didn’t disclose my identity, but it turned out someone had paid to silence their mouths beforehand, so they couldn’t reveal the latest information about you.”

“…Helena, I see.”

The way he nervously fiddled with our clasped hands suggested he was agitated remembering that time, so I brought my other hand over to cover the back of his hand.

“I went straight to Duchess Oswald, but I was only told to go back. It was only after repeatedly going back and asking that she finally told me where you were.”

“…”

“Saying, ‘All decisions are Chacha’s to make.’”

The reason Nine had arrived in such a disastrous state was that he had run non-stop from the Oswald Duchy’s main estate to this place.

“The Duchess was right. Just as it is natural for me to beg for your forgiveness for my wrongdoings, how you accept me is also your choice. Even knowing that, I wondered if it was possible to give up on you, all the way as I ran here.”

The lingering regret was evident in his gaze.

I could only hold our clasped hands even tighter.

The wind blew, gently rocking the swing. Nine reached out and adjusted the blanket draped over my shoulders. His touch and his gaze contained his heart and sincerity.

Now was the time to convey my truth.

“Nine, I have something to tell you too.”

“Yes, Chacha.”

Telling a story that no one would believe was harder than I imagined. But looking into his eyes, the words came out easier than I thought.

“Actually, I’m not Chacha.”