This was the first time anyone had ever rained blows on my skull like this.
Now is not the time for sentimental daydreams, I told myself as the world tilted.
“Miss Cynthia! Kulgan! Zeno!” I called, careful not to bite my tongue as Bertia continued to rock me.
At the sound of their names, the three of them who’d been staring in stunned silence snapped into motion. They swept in, gathered Bertia’s maids, and guided them out of the room. Zeno scooped up the bristling Kuro despite being swatted and carried her away. If Kuro had been left in that state, the room would have descended into chaos. I made a mental note to thank him later.
With the corridor secured, the only thing left was to calm the woman on top of me.
“Tia, breathe. I can explain. Calm down,” I said, smoothing her back with a gentle hand as she collapsed against my chest, sobbing.
“‘I can explain’ is what men accused of cheating always say!” she cried into my shirt. “So that’s it, isn’t it? I’m being abandoned because I’m the villainess. That’s why, huh?!”
She clung to me as if I were the only anchor left in a spinning world. I stroked her hair, murmuring the same steady assurances I’d used a hundred times before: “It’s fine. I’ll explain. Everything will be clear once I speak.” I meant it, I would explain. Her misunderstanding had to be cleared up.
“No! No, I won’t hear it! I won’t go back to the time when I resigned myself to losing you,” she sobbed. “I know what it’s like to prepare my heart to say goodbye, but after feeling the joy of being your wife, I absolutely refuse! That would be cruel! I hate— Y-You idiot! Bakaaa!”
Bertia clung to my chest, her words tumbling out in sobs, her fingers clutching at my coat as if I might vanish if she let go.
For a moment, when she almost said “I hate you,” my mind went completely blank.
Even in her anger—no, especially in this tempest of emotion—she couldn’t bring herself to say it. Instead, she spat out the far gentler “baka,” the one insult I was least used to hearing from her lips.
Despite the chaos, my chest warmed.
She was furious, crying desperately, and yet all of it stemmed from her refusal to lose me. I couldn’t decide whether to be troubled or quietly grateful.
Truly, I’m a wretched man, I thought, even as the corner of my heart softened.
“Tia,” I murmured, keeping my voice low and coaxing. “Please, listen to me just for a moment?”
“I won’t listen! I won’t! Because I’m not leaving you! I refuse to say goodbye!”
“I know. We’re not parting. We’ll never part, so please, don’t cry anymore.”
Her face was pressed to my chest, her arms locked around me as though nothing else existed. I leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead, hoping to calm her trembling.
“No! No! I want to stay with you forever. I want to remain your wife!”
“You are,” I said gently. “Now and always, you are my one and only wife. You always will be.”
She hiccupped, trembling. “But… Prince Ramtak said— He said—”
The name alone soured the air. My hand, which had been soothing her back, stilled; my brow tightened.
So, it really was him.
I could almost see it now: me leaving his quarters, the door unsealing, and that wretched fool slithering his way to Bertia, spewing whatever poison he thought might wound her.
The thought made my blood simmer.
That he dared to upset her like this—my Bertia, whose only sin was being too kind—was intolerable.
That he was, at this very moment, still breathing, only stoked the rage further.
I was halfway through the dark impulse—perhaps I should go now, end this quietly, personally—when Bertia’s voice broke through my thoughts in a wail.
“H-H-Huuuuh?! That face! That reaction! So it’s true, isn’t it?! What Prince Ramtak said was true! Nooo! Nooo! I don’t want this!”
Her crying reignited, louder than before, and my murderous line of thought shattered like glass.
Damn it.
This wasn’t the time to waste thought on that man. Right now, all that mattered was her, my wife, my crying wife, the one I’d sworn to protect.
“No, Tia. It’s not like that,” I said quickly, voice firm but tender. “I’m not leaving you. Not now, not ever. I only… lost my temper because he made you cry like this. That’s all.”
“I thought I’d escaped the otome game’s curse of fate! I really believed I was free! But no, it’s still controlling everything! If it’s this strong, then Lady Lysonna must be suffering too, even though she looks so happy… It’s too cruel! Too cruel for both of us!”
“…”
It was no good. She wasn’t hearing a thing anymore.
Her eyes were wide and glassy, fixed on some invisible horror only she could see.
I sighed inwardly. Then there’s only one way left.
“Tia, please. Please, just listen to me—”
Her gaze was unfocused, her eyes drowning in despair. I took hold of her shoulders and drew her upright. Before she could recoil, I closed the distance and pressed my lips to hers, silencing her the only way that would reach her now.
“—!”
Her body stiffened, the sobs catching halfway through her throat. Tears still clung to her lashes, but her breath faltered, taken by surprise. At last, her eyes met mine, and the wild confusion there began to ease.
“Was that a farewell kiss?” she whispered, voice trembling.
“No,” I said softly, parting from her just enough to speak. “It was an I love you kiss.”
Her breath hitched. I could feel the faint tremor of it between us. The words felt embarrassingly earnest as they left my mouth, but they were the truth—the only truth she needed to hear.
To be honest, her emotions terrified me. The way she could lose herself so completely to fear and misunderstanding, running headlong toward a conclusion neither of us wanted. That was the part that chilled me most.
“Really?” she asked, eyes wide, searching my face for the smallest hint of deceit.
“Really,” I said. “Now please, just listen for a little while, all right? I’ll explain everything. How that idiot prince twisted things, what actually happened, everything.”
“No breakups?”
“Not a chance. Even if you asked for one, I’d refuse. I’m never letting you go, Tia.”
Her body still trembled, but the panic had finally begun to melt. The sharp edge of despair dulled, replaced by the uncertain calm of someone who wanted to believe.
What a relief!
“All right,” I murmured, easing my hands from her shoulders. “Then, before we start… could you maybe get off of me first?”