Living a Scheming Marriage with a Mad Villain - Chapter 64

Reus suddenly raised his voice and strode right up to me. Then he cupped my cheeks with both hands and lifted my face quickly.

“Uh?”

His touch was hasty and a bit rough unlike the Reus I knew. Because of that, my cheeks were squished and my words came out a bit slurred.

“Who did this to you?”

“Huuh?”

Why is he so angry?

Reus’s eyes were icy cold, almost chilling. I finally realized why he reacted like this when I saw where he was looking.

‘Oh, right. I got hurt.’

I had completely forgotten after rushing from the attic to the bedroom like I was running away.

I guess fear had beaten out the pain.

Now that I think about it, I don’t even remember if I passed by any servants on the way. Maybe a servant saw my condition and told Reus, which is why he came to the bedroom?

I didn’t know exactly what was going on, but it looked like this man needed a proper explanation.

So first, I gently held the big hands that were still holding my cheeks.

‘Let go of my face, please…’

I didn’t want to speak weirdly again, so I just stared at him instead. Then Reus seemed to suddenly realize he was squishing my face and pulled his hands away in a hurry.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay.”

“More importantly, Loelle. Who gave you that injury?”

But even though his voice was low, it was still filled with anger.

Why does he think someone else did it?

‘I hurt myself…’

We’re inside the Grand Duke’s estate, and I’m the Grand Duchess. Isn’t it common sense that no one would dare hurt me?

It would’ve been nicer if he had just asked casually what happened.

I answered in a small voice.

“It was… me…”

At my answer, Reus froze for a moment, then furrowed his brows like I’d just said something absurd.

No, it’s not like that. I’m not the type of person who walks around smashing into things.

But it already seemed like Reus had branded me as a clumsy, careless woman. His eyes filled with even more disbelief.

His reaction was so different from when he first came in that I started feeling a bit embarrassed.

“I bumped into a picture frame…”

“A… picture frame…?”

I guess it sounded even more ridiculous now that he knew what I hit. Reus let out a short, bitter laugh, then sighed deeply from his chest.

Isn’t it kind of rude to sigh like that right in front of someone’s face?

“I didn’t run into it on purpose though…”

I wanted to explain everything from beginning to end out of frustration, but I still wasn’t sure how to talk about that space.

I really only meant well. But Reus, not knowing any of that, sighed again and took my hand, leading me to the bed.

Even though his back looked very clearly annoyed, his touch as he sat me on the bed was much more gentle than before.

“I’ve just now learned that it’s even possible to hit your head on a picture frame.”

He seemed to be trying hard to stay calm and not get angry. But as soon as he saw my injury clearly, his tone turned sharp.

“You hit it really good, huh.”

I said I didn’t hit it on purpose, though…

Still, I knew Reus wasn’t the type to mock someone for getting hurt, so I didn’t feel hurt by his tone.

Soon, the hand that had been holding mine moved closer to the side of my injured head. And the moment his palm lightly touched it

Gasp—an intense pain made me suck in my breath.

“Mmgh…”

Reus, who had been about to apply a little pressure as usual, quickly pulled his hand back.

“Does it hurt a lot?”

“Just a little… really, just a little.”

I couldn’t lie and say it didn’t hurt.

But I only held back for a second, and as soon as I opened my mouth, a long groan escaped me.

Reus couldn’t bring himself to touch my forehead again. With a frown, he just kept stroking my chin and some stray strands of hair instead.

Like he was more upset than the one who got hurt.

But that was just my assumption, so I couldn’t be sure. And even if it was true, it was probably just genuine concern.

Still… I didn’t understand why my heart suddenly started racing for no reason. My chest pounded so loud it was distracting, and I couldn’t keep my eyes still.

But Reus seemed to misunderstand that and let out another deep sigh.

“It really doesn’t hurt that much…”

“Tch. Your forehead’s turning blue. Don’t tell me it doesn’t hurt.”

He glared at me sharply, as if telling me to shut up if I was going to say something ridiculous. Then, he carefully placed his hand on my forehead again.

“Even if it hurts, try to bear with it.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t just say okay… Can’t you try to be more careful from now on?”

“That too… okay. I’ll try harder next time.”

What followed was a calm, steady stream of nagging.

I wanted to argue with every sentence, saying, “Technically, it’s not like I threw myself into it.” But his tone and touch were filled with so much concern that I just quietly listened.

Yesterday, Reus seemed to be in a worse mood than usual, so I didn’t get to bring up the library at all.

Not that it really matters, but…

‘I mean, people bump their heads on frames sometimes. Why does he have to nag so much?’

I didn’t know Reus could talk that much. With that blunt tone, he just went on and on…

If he had only nagged about the head injury, I could have understood. But that wasn’t the case.

Reus sounded like someone reading from a prepared script, and most of what he said had nothing to do with my head.

He told me to wear a coat in the evening, even in early summer, to be more careful on the stairs, and not to stand too close to railings when talking to people because I might slip.

Of course, he didn’t forget to mention food either.

If his voice had even a hint of irritation, I might’ve snapped back. But the calm, reasonable tone just left me speechless. I couldn’t argue at all.

‘Anyway… how am I supposed to bring it up?’

I fiddled with the ring I found in the attic earlier.

I thought about checking behind the picture frame again while I was up there, but just imagining that dark space made me too scared. So I quickly came back down.

Thinking about it now, I still don’t know how I managed to go through that silent, dark forest alone, especially in the middle of the night.

Anyway, I was now sitting on a single-person sofa tucked away on the third floor, staring at the attic entrance.

‘I can’t just drag Reus into the library… What should I do?’

If we had more time together like before, I could’ve brought it up during a walk.

But lately, Reus seemed busier again, barely even having time to eat.

I thought about personally bringing dinner to his office as an excuse…

‘But it wouldn’t be right to add more to his plate when he’s already so busy.’

Frustrated, I slumped onto the windowsill where a cool breeze was blowing in. After thinking about it for a long time, I ended up falling asleep.

“Your Highness! Your Highness, are you there?”

“Mmm…”

“Your Highness!”

A voice kept calling out from somewhere, slowly waking me up.

“What…?”

I blinked hard, trying to shake off the sleep. Just then, another loud shout rang out.

“Your Highness, if you’re here, please say something anything!”

The moment I realized it was Derwin’s voice, I snapped awake. I turned my head toward the window.

The dark sky told me it was well past evening deep into the night. That fact alone made me jump to my feet.

Soon, I heard Derwin’s voice again, a little closer now.

“Your Highness, are you really not here?”

His voice sounded overly anxious, so I hurried toward the center of the third floor. There I saw Derwin pacing nervously near the stairs that led to the attic.

“Derwin.”

“Wah! Y-Your Highness…! I-I was… surprised.”

“Sorry, Derwin. Did I scare you?”

“N-No, I’m just glad you were here. If you weren’t, His Highness would’ve really…”

The rest of his sentence was too quiet to hear, so I asked what he meant. But Derwin just waved it off, saying it wasn’t something I needed to worry about.

“Have you been looking for me long? I must’ve fallen into a deep sleep… I’m sorry, Derwin.”

“No, there’s no need to apologize, Your Highness…!”

“Thank you for saying that. But I should still be more careful next time.”

Only a few servants were allowed in the library, and even fewer had access beyond the first floor.

So it made sense that no one had found me, since I’d fallen asleep in the most hidden corner on the third floor.

‘I should’ve stayed on the first floor to read.’

Just then, Derwin spoke a bit urgently.

“More importantly, His Highness is waiting for you at the entrance.”

“Reus is?”

Soon, I arrived at the library entrance with Derwin. Reus was standing at the bottom of the stairs. He looked uneasy like his mind was a mess.

“Reus.”

Did he not know I was here? At my voice, he snapped his head toward me. His reaction was so sharp it made me nervous.

‘Please tell me I’m not walking back into another nagging session…’

With that worry, I carefully stepped down the stairs.

“Reus, I’m sorry. I must’ve fallen asleep too deeply… Cough”

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