My Husband Picked Up a Woman - Chapter 10

“Pardon? Whose anniversary?”

For a split second, Damian tried to recall the date of Gael’s death. July 7th. This time last year, it was just after he had been deployed. He remembered how bitterly Briseis had wept when she heard the news of Gael’s passing.

“It is my fault. I am such a poor excuse for an older sister.”

“It is not your fault, Brie.”

At that time, he had briefly returned from the front lines specifically for her. He remembered it vividly because she had collapsed into his arms, sobbing as if her world were ending.

“Let go of her hand.”

At Calisten’s commanding voice, Damian instinctively obeyed. The Crown Prince’s eyes, as deep and dark as droplets of fresh blood, were inexplicably menacing. Perhaps because of his memories of encountering Calisten on the battlefield, Damian’s body shrank back involuntarily whenever those eyes were fixed upon him.

“I wondered where you went after the victory parade. Did you go to the cemetery?”

“I did.”

Damian felt a small wave of relief at Calisten’s confirmation. He now understood exactly whom his wife had gone to meet. Given it was the anniversary of Gael’s death, there was no way the group that had been close since childhood would skip it. Even if the House of Philia treated the fallen Gael as a family disgrace, he was no such thing to them.

Having been rejected by Briseis repeatedly since childhood, Damian knew all too well how close Calisten, Gael, and Briseis were. He had watched them closely for years while trying to win her heart. Realizing the man she had met was Calisten made Damian feel truly secure.

If there were any man in the world who would remain as unmoved as a stone statue even if Briseis undressed to seduce him, it was Calisten. The Crown Prince was notorious for snapping the necks of women who dared to crawl into his bedchamber to tempt him. Furthermore, there were other, even darker rumors surrounding him.

In reality, Damian had no inkling of how Calisten actually looked at Briseis.

“Did you hit Brie?”

“I have never done such a thing.”

“Then why are there so many bruises on her arm?”

Damian wondered how Calisten knew about the bruises. He felt a surge of irritation, wondering if Briseis had rolled up her sleeves to show him, though he quickly tried to dismiss the importance of a sleeve.

“She fell down the stairs.”

“Does falling down the stairs cause that many bruises?”

Calisten continued to stare at Damian with suspicious eyes.

“Does Your Highness take me for the kind of unscrupulous man who would beat his own wife?”

“I do not know you well. All I know is that Briseis is the type of person who wouldn’t say a word even if she were suffering such treatment.”

Calisten spoke in a low voice, casting a glance at Briseis as if urging her to speak the truth right now.

“It, it is the truth, Your Highness!”

Ella suddenly appeared and spoke up. As her maid, Ella had served Briseis faithfully since her days at the House of Philia. She had been Briseis’s playmate as a child and had always been respectful toward Calisten.

“Right. I see.”

Hearing the maid’s confirmation, he finally accepted that the injuries were indeed from a fall. If Damian had truly hit her, Briseis could have ended it all by confessing everything to him now. Besides, Ella was not the type of maid to remain silent if Briseis were being abused.

“You should apologize, Your Imperial Highness. You have cast doubt upon my character.”

Damian spoke while still being unable to meet Calisten’s eyes properly. Calisten looked down at him with a bored expression.

“I am not the one who should apologize. You are. Brie is like family to me. How can you treat her so recklessly?”

Calisten let out a sigh as he watched Briseis clutching her own arm.

“Please do not interfere in the affairs of a married couple. Brie simply committed a mistake and is being disciplined by her husband.”

“Discipline is something administered by someone of higher standing. Brie is your wife. Do you truly think it makes sense to speak of ‘disciplining’ her?”

“Your Highness.”

“Ah, this is starting to turn my stomach.”

The more Damian spoke with Calisten, the worse he felt. Moreover, since Calisten was the hero of the war, Damian did not want to make an enemy of him.

“I apologize, Your Highness.”

“Apologize to Brie, not me.”

“I shall do so when we are alone.”

“Fine. I shall trust that you won’t act like a petty coward who claims he will apologize but never does,” Calisten said with a mocking sigh.

“By the way, what brings you here?”

Damian asked, trying to change the subject. Calisten adopted a relaxed expression and forced a polite smile.

“I’m attending the Academy starting tomorrow. I came to ask if I could see her notes.”

Briseis remembered that whenever Calisten lied, he had a habit of pressing his thumb and index finger together. Just as he was doing now.

“Ah, I see. Today might be difficult…”

“I can lend you mine!”

Delilah spoke up with a bright smile, clutching the ring on her necklace as she looked at Calisten.

“If you come to my room, I have the notes I took today! I’ll lend them to you.”

“On second thought, it seems a bit late for pre-studying.”

Calisten spoke and glanced once more at Briseis.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“Safe travels, Your Highness.”

With that, Calisten departed. Damian, seemingly drained of his previous momentum, turned to Briseis.

“You seem to have grown quite arrogant now that the Crown Prince is back, Wife.”

Briseis found Calisten’s intensity overwhelming, but she decided that Damian was currently the far worse of the two.

“Just apologize, Damian.”

“Do you really think I would?”

Damian looked at her with a sneer.

“Demi, can we just go to our room now?”

Delilah looked at Damian with a worried expression. Ella instinctively stiffened upon seeing Delilah. Thinking that her lady was suffering all these trials because of this woman made it impossible to look at her kindly.

“Deli, you always have such lovely things to say.”

Briseis did not want to hear any more of their conversation and moved to withdraw.

“If you continue to be such an eyesore, Brie, I won’t be able to hold back either.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Now that we are married, you are obligated to bear my children. A Grand Duchess who cannot even produce an heir is nothing more than someone waiting to be discarded.”

“…”

“So, when I offer to give you my seed, take it quietly. Stop playing hard to get.”

Damian spoke and then moved away from Briseis with a more relaxed expression than before. He glanced toward the door as if to confirm the mad Crown Prince had truly left. Once satisfied he was alone, he took Delilah’s hand with an air of relief.

“Then, enjoy your solitude in your room, Wife.”

Damian passed by Briseis with a mocking remark. Delilah looked back at them with a lingering, feigned sadness, but then smirked at Ella.

“Haa…”

“Milady!”

The moment everyone was gone, Briseis’s legs gave out, and she nearly collapsed to the floor.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Help me up, Ella.”

“Yes, Milady.”

Ella quickly supported her and firmly led Briseis to her room.

❖ ❖ ❖

“You are not going to the Academy today.”

Damian had woken up early to block Briseis from leaving her room.

“Move out of my way.”

“I said you are not going.”

“Ugh.”

He grabbed Briseis’s wrist firmly as she tried to brush past him, spinning her around to face him.

“How dare you try to walk away while your husband is speaking?”

“Have you forgotten that I said I want a divorce?”

At her words, Damian gripped her arm even tighter. Briseis instinctively winced in pain.

“Let go!”

He released her hand roughly, causing Briseis to stumble.

“I am your husband. Therefore, you cannot go to the Academy without my permission.”

Briseis realized that provoking him further would only bring her harm, so she simply glared at him.

“Hand over the records of the dowry you brought and the business guild. Everything you managed while I was away.”

“That is my property, brought with me when I married.”

“You are my wife; everything you own belongs to me. Even you are mine.”

Her eyes burned with unshed tears, perhaps because the wrist he had just gripped was still throbbing.

“If you agree to hand those over, I will let you go to the Academy.”

“…”

“What is the point of a woman getting an education anyway? Once married, all you need to do is help manage the estate.”

“I loved you most when you were studying.”

Recalling the words Damian had said before their marriage made her feel even more wretched.

“Just stay quietly in the mansion and bear many children like other women. When I grow tired of Deli, I will return to you.”

Hearing his words, Briseis finally realized the truth. The man she had loved never really existed. If she continued to let herself be treated like a fool, she would lose everything. She did not want to lose even her own self to him. She decided it was truly time to cut her ties.

“If I do not show up at the Academy today, the Crown Prince will surely come looking for me.”

She didn’t want to use this method, but since Calisten was the only person Damian found uncomfortable, she felt she had no choice.