My Husband Picked Up a Woman - Chapter 15

“Ah.”

Briseis slightly opened her mouth as Calisten instructed. He was peering inside, but it was unlikely he could see much.

“I can’t see well. Can I feel around a bit?”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

Briseis caught his hand and pulled it down. He stared at her blankly for a moment. Briseis, still in pain from her swollen cheeks, let out an involuntary sigh.

“Check the inside of your cheek with your tongue. Are there teeth marks?”

Briseis considered refusing, but then thought he might never leave if she didn’t comply. She ran her tongue along the inside of her cheek. Her expression crumpled in pain as she felt a strange, uneven texture.

“If there are teeth marks, it won’t feel smooth like usual. It’ll be bumpy and sore.”

“There are marks.”

Everything about this was foreign to her; she had never been struck across the face before.

“Is your hearing okay? You really didn’t hear any ringing?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a relief. If you’re hit wrong, it can damage the eardrum. You’re not dizzy, or feeling pain in your nose? Or your forehead?”

“When did you become so well-versed in medicine?”

“Usually, I keep what I know to myself, but it just keeps pouring out right now.”

He looked at her with a worried gaze again. Briseis did not trust this man who was pretending to be so pitiable. No matter what anyone said, it was a stretch to call him a normal person.

Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

Ella entered carrying a large basin filled with cracked ice.

“I’ll take over,” she said.

“Don’t do that. Instead, go to the Imperial Palace and fetch my seal. My aide knows your face, so it won’t be difficult.”

“Pardon? Why?”

“I’m going to send a letter directly to Jeronis’s law office.”

Usually, it took quite a while just to have a case accepted. Jeronis’s office was the most prestigious in the capital for divorce litigation. Because divorce was no longer an impossible feat, wives living in abusive households or people who had found new love often sought clean breaks to start over.

That was all thanks to the Emperor. To marry the current Empress, he had changed the laws and manipulated public opinion so he wouldn’t be the sole target of criticism. Jeronis, who had served as the Minister of Justice during that time, had founded the office upon his retirement.

A noble marriage was far more complex than a commoner’s, so one could not enter divorce proceedings without a lawyer. Even so, many parts of society’s perception remained unchanged. Divorce was still a blemish and a difficult path. It was a choice that required immense resolve.

“I’ll be right back!”

Ella, however, did not want her precious lady to live this way a moment longer. She hurried out.

Briseis sighed and looked at Calisten. He pretended to be indifferent as he placed ice on a white cloth, wrapped it, and moved closer to her.

“Stay still.”

At his command, Briseis stared at him intently. He pressed the ice pack against her cheek.

“It hurts.”

“Of course it hurts.”

The heat from her cheek slowly began to melt the ice. As the cloth grew damp, it seemed to draw out the heat even faster. Once one cheek was thoroughly chilled, he emptied the melted ice back into the basin, wrung out the cloth, added fresh ice, and applied it to her other cheek.

As Briseis lowered her gaze from him, he grew strangely rigid. His pinky finger brushed against her lips, and she let out a faint moan of pain. Her lips were swollen as well. It felt as though the inside of her front lip had been cut.

“Ugh…!”

Calisten’s body suddenly stiffened, and he let out an involuntary gasp.

“Cal?”

“It hurts so much.”

“Ah.”

Briseis worried for him for a brief second before looking at him with eyes as cold as ice. “Take the key while you’re here.”

She tried to push his hand away, but he gripped her shoulder tightly, his body trembling.

“Let go.”

“Keep it… against… your cheek.”

He spoke while holding his breath. Briseis found the situation truly absurd.

“Is your body reacting just because I was hit and my face is swollen?”

“My body reacts even if you just smile at me. Just… give me a second.”

He raised a hand to cover Briseis’s face. At the same time, he was being careful not to let the hand holding the ice pack touch her skin. With her face completely obscured by his large hand, she couldn’t see his expression.

“Does this help?”

“It almost did, but you talking made it worse.”

“I’ll give you the key, so unlock it.”

“If I unlock it now, I don’t think I’ll be able to control myself.”

“Then go back to the palace and unlock it.”

She thought about brushing his hand away but waited instead, wondering when he would finally calm down. However, the hand he held over her eyes didn’t move for a long time. Between the creaking of the bed and the strange, metallic grinding sound—as if a spring were being squeezed—Briseis began to feel uneasy.

“Brie, say something that will make me turn cold.”

“My ideal type is Cas.”

“What?”

He immediately lowered his hand and stared at her.

“I mean, just his appearance.”

He was smiling again, though he finally seemed to be out of physical distress.

“What do you like about such a bland face? Even the Duke of Mayze looks better than him.”

“Isn’t someone like Cas quite handsome? And I like light hair colors. Plus, Cas has a nice voice.”

“My voice is better. I’m taller. My face is more handsome.”

“You’re overconfident.”

It wasn’t a lie, but Briseis intentionally refused to agree. Objectively, Calisten was more striking than Cassius.

“And Cas is easy to talk to. He’s kind.”

“I can be kind too.”

“Would you like to try being kind before you say that?” Briseis replied, as she had never seen a kind side to him.

“Cassius is useless. If I say I want you, he is a man who can never be yours.”

“Who said anything about that? I only said Cassius is handsome.”

“It’s the same thing.”

Calisten’s eyes flickered with that mad glint again, making Briseis sigh.

“Are you calm now?”

“No, I’m completely worked up. Because I’m angry.”

“I was joking. Cassius isn’t my type.”

“Really?”

“Yes. But he is still handsome.”

He started smiling again. Knowing he wore that expression whenever he was actually angry, Briseis decided she should stop teasing him.

“Thank you for coming today, Cal.”

She spoke with her eyes downcast, unable to look him in the face. He lowered the hand that had held the ice.

“If you’re going to divorce him, come live in the Imperial Palace. There are plenty of empty spaces in my palace. Too many, in fact.”

“I can’t demand a divorce if I’m the one at fault. To do that, I have to prove that Damian is the responsible party.”

“What’s the problem with living apart?”

“I told you, to demand a divorce, I have to prove the marriage is being dissolved because of Damian.”

“There’s already plenty of proof. He even brought a mistress home.”

Calisten was a warrior. Although Academy lessons were easy for him, he was not a legal expert; his knowledge of the law was purely theoretical.

“But there isn’t enough evidence to prove Delilah is a mistress.”

“What does that…”

“What if a trial were held today? Do you think Damian would just admit it? Wouldn’t he rather claim Delilah is a precious subordinate and make me out to be a delusional woman?”

Briseis didn’t realize it would feel this strange to voice the reasons why she couldn’t simply leave this mansion.

“Then I’ll just kill him.”

“There you go again. This isn’t a battlefield, Cal.”

“Battlefields are much easier. You just kill them and mark it as ‘disobedience of orders’.”

Briseis looked at him to see if he was serious. He avoided her gaze, pretending he wasn’t. That was when she realized he meant every word.

He would likely keep acting out the role of the person she wanted most until the moment he finally possessed her. But she knew this monster would discard her in the most miserable way the second she was his. At that point, she might even think Damian was the better option.

Every time she saw Calisten being kind, her heart grew colder. He was not a person capable of feeling love like normal people. He wasn’t the type to love that way at all. The original story and the countless incidents she had experienced since childhood were proof of that.

“Let me help with your divorce. At least permit me that much.”

Briseis nodded.

“But wouldn’t it be better if the Duke didn’t know you’re gathering evidence?”

“He needs to know. The fact that he didn’t listen even after I warned him will work more in my favor in court.”

Calisten suddenly noticed that the corner of Briseis’s lip was split. A small amount of blood had pooled there; it must have happened when she was hit.

“Brie, we need to put medicine on your lip.”

She nodded as he suddenly focused intently on her mouth. He squeezed some ointment onto his finger and applied it to her lip. Even though the bed didn’t move, that sound of metal friction echoed again. A strange sound, like a spring being wrung tight.

“Ugh…”

His face and ears were bright red. Feeling awkward watching him, Briseis closed her eyes.

When she did, the ticklish sensation of his touch against her lips felt even more vivid.