Obsession Beyond the Wall of Courtesy - Chapter 104

I felt embarrassed for no reason and just kept poking at the potato soufflé without looking up. After a while, I noticed Cedric was silent, so I glanced at him. He was still reading the letter—completely focused. His serious expression made me feel awkward.

‘Maybe I should have given it to him at the palace.’

I didn’t expect this reaction. I thought he’d just skim it and say thank you. I never imagined he’d sit here and read the whole thing. Feeling nervous, I finally spoke up.

“Cedric.”

Cedric looked up from the letter and met my eyes. As soon as our eyes met, I quickly spoke.

“You don’t have to read it so seriously. It’s really long anyway…”

“How could I not read all of it when you wrote it? Just having it is already precious.”

“But still, it’s long. You can finish it later…”

Cedric smiled and put the letter down for a moment, looking at me.

“Then will you read it to me?”

“No! I gave it to you. It’s your letter to read.”

I said it firmly, especially when he said “read the letter.” Cedric chuckled and looked at me. He seemed very relaxed. That made me feel relieved, but then I noticed he hadn’t eaten much of the food in front of him.

‘There’s only about half left in my bowl, but his looks almost untouched.’

Actually, Cedric hadn’t eaten much this morning either. He was never someone who ate a lot. He only ate just enough to stop feeling hungry.

Even though I knew his usual eating habits, I started to worry since he wasn’t eating again. Maybe I had prepared food that didn’t suit his taste…

There was even a meat pie among the dishes I made. It was something I had made for Cedric’s birthday once, but I messed it up so badly that I didn’t eat it and Cedric ended up eating most of it. I started to worry that maybe, like back then, he was forcing himself to match my feelings again.

In the past, I would’ve just kept those worries in my head. But now, I asked him right away.

“Is the food not to your taste? I thought you liked the meat pie I made for your birthday, so I included it.”

Cedric immediately picked up his fork.

“It’s only because of the letter you gave me. That’s why I haven’t eaten.”

His fork went straight to the meat pie. With a calm motion, he took a bite. Then his stiff expression softened into a pleased smile.

“It’s good. Not as good as the one you made, though.”

Not as good as mine? That made my heart flutter strangely. Honestly, this meat pie was much better than the one I had made—it was made by a top-class chef. I couldn’t understand what he meant, so I asked curiously:

“Was the one I made for your birthday really that good?”

Honestly, I had burnt it and it didn’t taste right when I tried it myself. But Cedric looked at me with serious eyes.

“It was. Better than anything I’ve ever eaten.”

He kept eating the meat pie as he spoke. I watched him for a moment. He was cutting and eating it at a steady pace. Occasionally, he met my eyes and smiled. His smile was so bright, like light shining through.

Maybe… maybe Cedric really did think the food I made was good. His feelings were so clearly shining in his eyes.

Anyway, I was grateful he was eating well now. I made up my mind—one day, I would make something truly delicious just for Cedric. And this time, it would really taste good.

Feeling more at ease, I continued eating.

After we finished eating, Cedric gave a signal to the servant. Soon, the servant brought me a strawberry cake topped with whipped cream.

It was a dessert I didn’t expect. But it was one of my favorites. I hadn’t prepared it myself. I had already shown him everything I had made.

I looked at Cedric in surprise, and he gave me a soft smile.

“I heard this is your favorite dessert lately.”

“I didn’t expect this at all…”

Especially since it was hard to get strawberries this season. Because of the lack of rain, the strawberry harvest had been poor.

“These are strawberries from another kingdom. They should taste even better.”

Hearing that made me feel guilty. All I gave Cedric was a long letter.

“I only gave you a letter…”

“Do you know that your letter is the greatest gift I could get?”

His words instantly moved my heart. Cedric looked straight at me. His gaze pierced through me like a light cutting through the dark.

“This is the first time I’ve received such a long letter. And from the person I love, too.”

I felt sorry that I hadn’t written him a long letter before. If I had known he liked them so much, I would’ve stayed up all night to write an even longer one.

Just as I was starting to regret that, he said,

“Thank you for marrying me.”

His words echoed deeply in my ears. Cedric was thankful that I married him. I spoke, feeling that deep emotion too.

“No, I should be the one thanking you for marrying me. If it hadn’t been for you, I might have spent my life just listening to my father’s nagging.”

Just thinking about it made me cringe. My father treated me like I was flawed because I didn’t marry on time or get proper proposals. And my younger brother… he didn’t even treat me like a person.

But they were gone now. Because of that, my life became much freer. It was Cedric who helped me get out of that suffocating life.

He had paid off most of my father’s and brother’s debts, and handled the mess my brother left behind. I had written it in the letter, but I wanted to say it out loud too.

“I’m even more thankful. Without you, I might have ended up living on the streets, worse than a rat. I couldn’t even eat meat properly back then.”

Back then, Cedric helped pay off the debts—even though I only found out later.

There was a time when I didn’t understand why Cedric helped me so much and was so obsessed with me. But thinking about it now, he must have felt the same way I did. I never wanted to forget this feeling, so I said it clearly.

“I love you, Cedric.”

Cedric looked at me like he had frozen for a moment, then stood up from his seat. He came over to me and sat down, looking into my eyes.

“Can you say that again?”

His voice was almost pleading, full of desperation. His deep blue eyes stared straight at me, filled with the emotions I had always loved about him. I didn’t hesitate anymore.

“I love you.”

As soon as I said it, Cedric kissed me. His hurried breath escaped between the deep kiss. He pulled the back of my head closer as our breaths tangled roughly. I started to lose my breath, and before I could even touch his shoulder, he pulled away first.

For a moment, only heavy breathing filled the air. He looked at me with intense eyes.

“My feelings for you have always been the same since we got married. I just didn’t show them well.”

His low voice was calm but full of unwavering love. I felt my emotions rise.

I almost cried, but held it in. Thinking about it, I hadn’t shown him my heart well either. I only misunderstood him and kept everything inside.

Still looking into my eyes, Cedric said softly,

“If it weren’t for you, I would still be living in deep darkness. You saved me. Since marrying you, I’ve been able to live like a real person.”

He gently cupped my cheek in his hand. It was warm—the same warmth I always felt from him. Cedric looked at me with eyes burning with emotion.

“You are my only love. The only one in my life, forever.”

I loved the word love when Cedric said it. It was just a word, but to me, it was something that would stay in my heart forever. I smiled as I looked at him.

It finally felt like my marriage with Cedric had become truly perfect.

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