Living a Scheming Marriage with a Mad Villain - Chapter 31

That must be someone else’s blood, right?’

 

Even after lying on the bed, I just couldn’t fall asleep.

 

I tossed and turned for a while until Reus, who had finished changing, came into the room. He passed the bed and headed straight to the bathroom—not in his usual robe, but wearing long pants and a long-sleeved shirt.

 

As if he had something he desperately wanted to hide…

 

That made me feel even more uneasy, and I couldn’t bring myself to sleep.

 

Then, I heard the water stop and the sound of the bathroom door opening. I lifted myself a little at the sound of footsteps coming closer to the bed. Reus met my eyes and paused briefly but soon sat on the bed as if nothing was wrong.

 

“Reus…”

 

“I’ll listen to whatever you want to say tomorrow.”

 

Even small movements were soaked with exhaustion. So, just for today, it felt right to leave him alone. But I couldn’t stop myself from asking what I was curious about.

 

“Why aren’t you wearing a robe today…?”

 

Reus leaned back against the bed’s headboard without turning his head. Then he replied in a slow voice, slightly metallic in tone.

 

“Do you really want an explanation for even that?”

 

I could feel his mood getting worse and worse…

 

I keep smelling blood…’

 

After hesitating for a moment, I made up my mind and suddenly lifted Reus’s shirt. Right away, he slapped my hand away—hard—with a sharp movement.

 

“I don’t know what you’re trying to do since earlier.”

 

He seemed to hold back his anger for a second, but there was a pause in his words. However, I had already seen the condition of his body under the clothes.

 

The injuries are that bad…’

 

It was just a glance, but Reus’s body was a complete mess. Not much different from when he was badly injured in the Forest of Silence… maybe even worse. And over those wounds, there was only a poor attempt at treatment.

 

I couldn’t speak for a while, then got up from the bed.

 

“I’ll call a doctor… I’ll get Loteo to call one…”

 

But Reus pulled me back and made me sit on the bed again. His cold, low voice pierced into my ears.

 

“Didn’t I tell you last time? Worrying isn’t your job.”

 

Even in the silence after his annoyed words, I could feel that he was clearly bothered.

 

His eyes had turned so cold that I was scared, but I still held back my fear and said what I needed to.

 

“I know you don’t like it when I care… but a doctor…”

 

“I said… I don’t need one. I really wish you wouldn’t bother me anymore.”

 

Even that small movement seemed to hurt him—Reus grimaced mid-sentence. He tried to cover it with a sigh, but the pain from the wounds couldn’t be hidden.

 

Still, there was nothing I could do. Was this the price of messing with the world’s order?

 

It felt like my throat was stuffed with cotton, and I could hardly breathe. He had reached the limit of his patience.

 

Why did the usually quiet woman have to interfere at times like this? Even in the Forest of Silence, she had forced her way into his life, and ever since then, she constantly pushed his buttons.

 

Reus thought that if she said one more thing, he would embarrass her properly—whether she got scared or not.

 

But the woman didn’t say anything more. She didn’t even move. Was she hurt by something like that?

 

That, too, was irritating.

 

Then, as Reus tried to lie down, Loelle suddenly grabbed the hem of his clothes.

 

“If you don’t want others to see your wounds… then… I can treat them…”

 

He meant to push her away without hesitation this time. But when he turned to look, Loelle’s face was pale—so pale it looked dangerous.

 

In the end, Reus didn’t do what he intended. He swallowed his anger once more.

 

“I already said… I don’t need it.”

 

Just sitting up was already a miracle for him.

 

The cuts and injuries all over his body were far too serious for a normal person to handle while staying conscious.

 

Even a breeze brushing past would make someone collapse. Even now, the sharp, icy pain coming from the open wounds was boiling inside him, testing his patience.

 

But the woman still didn’t let go of his clothes. As if pouring oil on a fire, Reus finally lost his patience and roughly shook off her hand with a loud smack.

 

Surely that would be enough to make her stop.

 

It always worked before, so he thought it would this time, too. But Loelle didn’t react the way he expected.

 

Even after being harshly rejected, she didn’t seem embarrassed. She just grabbed his clothes again, this time even more firmly.

 

“I’ll treat you… Please… let me treat you…”

 

Her small hands clung desperately to his clothes, and that final thread of Reus’s patience snapped.

 

“This is getting out of hand…!”

 

But just as he tried to get up, his body stopped unnaturally mid-motion.

 

Loelle’s face—fine just a second ago—was now soaked in tears. Big teardrops kept falling from her red eyes.

 

It was a strange emotion, but Reus truly didn’t know what to do. Ever since meeting this woman, he’d had more and more moments like this. He hated that fact—but oddly, he couldn’t bring himself to scold her this time.

 

Even now, Loelle was holding onto his clothes with hands too gentle to scare even a small animal. Her thin hand had turned pale from gripping too hard. Her body trembled from crying.

 

But she didn’t back down.

 

“Please… let me treat you…”

 

Why was she so worked up over someone else’s wounds? He didn’t understand a single part of it.

 

“Why are you crying?”

 

His tone wasn’t sharp, but Loelle, already frightened, bit her trembling lower lip and looked at him with determined eyes.

 

“Until you say I can treat you… I’m going to keep doing this.”

 

Now Reus was genuinely curious. Just what kind of person was he in Loelle Ivelle eyes?

 

Some foolish crush? No, he knew for sure it wasn’t that.

 

Even back at the palace, part of why that annoying Loelle Ivelle always stood out was because of her eyes. They were different from everyone else’s. Sometimes they showed quiet resentment… or even unspoken anger.

 

That was also why, after much thought, he had decided to use her.

 

She didn’t seem like someone who would get emotionally attached. They could keep their distance and both get what they wanted.

 

Her endless tears now didn’t seem like feelings of affection, either. That belief hadn’t changed.

 

Reus stared at Loelle.

 

‘Guilt.’

 

That was what he felt from her tears—guilt. But why would she feel guilty toward him?

 

Before he could figure it out, Loelle, lips still shaking, began to speak.

 

“Last time… when I was hurt in the hallway, you treated me… So I thought… maybe this could be my way of repaying you… Just stopping the bleeding… and wrapping it… wrapping it in bandages… Just that, nothing more…”

 

Overcome with emotion, she kept gasping for breath. Reus had already forgotten his irritation by now, and it seemed like she didn’t even realize she’d been staring at him so intensely.

 

“I really mean it… I won’t bother you beyond that…”

 

She looked like she might pass out from crying.

 

Seeing Loelle’s pale face, Reus clicked his tongue softly.

 

“Fine, so stop crying.”

 

The moment those words came out, Loelle quickly lifted her head. It wasn’t like he had promised something valuable, but she reacted instantly. The funny thing was, she now looked like she was double-checking if she had heard him right.

 

Reus almost laughed but managed to hold it in and relaxed his body a bit.

 

Loelle stood up in a fluster and quickly moved around the room. Somehow, she found the medical kit and came back to the bed.

 

But unlike before, when she had moved like a quick squirrel, now she hesitated noticeably.

 

Her soft touch brushed against him, and he could tell exactly why she was holding back.

 

‘When did she get so shy—after already pulling my clothes up?’

 

Still, Reus didn’t say anything and just took off his shirt. He could clearly feel Loelle’s body stiffen the moment she saw his wounds.

 

She stood still for a moment before beginning the treatment.

 

Her touch was so careful… After spending the whole day in pain, it now even felt a little ticklish. Was she planning to just apply ointment until morning?

 

“Isn’t this enough?”

 

Loelle flinched at those words, then quickly grabbed the bandages. Her hands landed on his shoulders as she began to wrap them up—as if asking, Can I at least finish this?

 

How could someone’s feelings show so clearly in their every move?

 

As Reus sat silently, Loelle focused all her energy on wrapping the bandages properly. She struggled alone for a long time, but Reus didn’t get annoyed and just waited.

 

For someone who fumbled so much, the result wasn’t bad. Besides, he healed faster than most people anyway—even if it was annoying…

 

Strangely, he swallowed his complaints again this time.

 

“Are you done?”

 

“Yes! Yes… I’m done.”

 

Loelle even stepped back a little, as if wanting to make that absolutely clear. She really was a strange woman.