IHMEB - Chapter 15 < Pajama's Taste >
Having An Enemy's Baby
“I’ll put it out when I have something nice to say, right?”
Antjone chewed his lips in exasperation.
In the end, she blushed and held out her hand holding the ring to Hannah as if she were humiliated.
Hannah sighed briefly and was about to take the ring from Antjone's hand.
Pop!
Hannah, caught off guard by her outstretched hand with all her strength, fell backward, hitting her buttocks.
“Why am I giving you what’s mine?”
She didn't give up on mocking Hannah until the end, and she ran after her without making a loud mouth.
“That!”
Hannah lost her strength and tried to get up, but sat down and watched Antjone walking away.
“It was something like that. It’s all because that evil thing lied.”
She remembered Claudel being sullen because she didn't receive a gift early in the night. She was even tormented with worry when Kaian asked her if she didn't like something dhe never received.
'Could it be a trap?'
'Trap?'
‘I heard they said it was a meaningful item to the Duke. Couldn't they have been trying to find fault by blaming you for losing something precious?'
Hannah, who had reasonable doubts about that, must have weighed on Claudel's heart even more with what she said.
Antjone, that's because of her!
“How on earth did she receive home education?”
An unmarried woman who lies for a living sneaks into a man's bedroom and even steals.
“I have to see the Duke quickly.”
The place Hannah headed to, cursing Antjone's parents, who did not know her name or face, was Kaian's office.
“He's not the type of person who was cruel to the Young Lady.”
Hannah was confident that if she told Kaian, he would listen.
***
I entered the night very nervous.
Kaian had the right to come into my bedroom at any time.
However, after only two visits, he has never visited at night until now, and I never thought that the third time, I would be greeted with the warning to 'wait at night'.
When Hannah came back covered in dust, I confided that Kaian had suddenly said such a thing and left.
'Ugh. Is it so?'
I believed that Hannah, who always took my side, would jump up and say something like, 'You shouldn't put too much strain on your legs, Young Lady.'
When even Hannah, whom I trusted, showed no problem, I could not say anything more and kept my mouth shut.
'Yes. Because there's nothing wrong with Hannah, no matter what she thinks.'
Of course, Kaian can come.
The reason I felt so overwhelmed and nervous was probably because of my instinct to not want to connect more deeply with him.
As I was living as a terminally ill person with the end of my life in sight, I had the feeling that something would arise when I met Kaian while I was sorting things out.
A sudden marriage.
A husband suddenly appeared.
The first night I suddenly felt like my back was being pushed.
Everything that had to do with Kaian was too much for me, and what I liked most was the fact that ironically, in the basement of this castle, there would be a place for me to lie down when I died.
'Anyway, since there is a grave, it won't be like an enemy like Vermont being thrown away as food after death.'
I didn't have to go far before the Duke of Vermonte said, 'The dark-haired Temnes bastard.' He often said, 'If I catch sight of him, I will tear his limb from limb and throw him to the animals as food," so I had this stereotype stuck in my head.
Without knowing what I was thinking, Hannah seemed to be in a good mood. After washing up, she made me sit in front of the mirror, applied perfume to my hair, combed it, and hummed a song repeatedly.
“The Duke may be a better person than you think.”
You got angry when I told you he wasn't who you thought he was, wasn't you, Hannah?
“The jeweler he brought in today is said to be the most famous and popular store in the South. I heard people had to wait a year before they could order.”
“I guess I looked so unsightly. He probably thought I needed some jewelry.”
Hannah looked at my words with a straight face.
“What are you saying? Since our Young Lady is pretty, he probably wanted to give you something suitable as a gift.”
"Hannah."
"Yes?"
“Did you get money from the Duke by any chance?”
“...”
Hannah frowned at my reflection in the mirror.
“You suddenly do something you don’t normally do.”
“Do you think I’m the kind of person who will take someone’s side for money?”
“No, if something like that happens, get paid a lot of money. Don’t just praise someone for a small amount of money.”
"Haha."
Hannah pursed her lips and played with her hands diligently.
“That way, if something happens to me, you can live well too.”
“Don’t say that. If the Young Lady gives birth to an heir, I will raise you child, and when the heir grows up, finds a good partner, and becomes a great Lord, I will live for a thousand years and ten thousand years, raising the Young Lady’s grandchildren born to the new Lord’s wife.”
Hannah, who had finished combing her hair, looked at Claudel in her mirror and stroked her chin.
“Whew. Everything is perfect.”
I blinked my eyes and looked at Hannah.
“The pajamas don’t look that good.”
"Why?"
"Miss. Let’s change into our pajamas.”
Hannah scurried into the closet and brought out another pair of pajamas.
“With this.”
As soon as I saw it, I felt my face harden.
Now I was wearing my usual nightgown, the thin cotton buttoned lengthwise down my neck.
What Hannah brought was something I had worn only once, during the first night, and was much thinner and more transparent, with the front part tied like a ribbon with a string.
“Why am I wearing something like that?”
“Do you know why pajamas like this were created in the world?”
I shook my head.
Unlike me, who had grown up in the back room of the castle of Valmonde without being able to see much of the world because she had been reading books and attending all of Irena's tutor's classes together, Hannah knew a lot of miscellaneous things.
There was a separate reason why those pajamas were made.
“It’s because there are a lot of people who like it.”
“... That."
I stopped speaking.
When I imagined Kaian glaring at those pajamas with a cold, scary face, I felt like I should burn ny pajamas right away.
I, powerless to overcome Hannah, nodded my head meekly.
"Yes."
Later, when Hannah goes back to her room, I can change back into my original pajamas.
However, I was so busy with the jeweler and Kaian coming and going during the day that I couldn't take a nap, so I kept falling asleep even though it was night.
Because of my insomnia, I couldn't sleep at night and during the day I would sleep when Hannah was there.
I was a mess today and I couldn't sleep during the day.
'He said don't sleep and wait.'
I fell asleep.
I fell asleep.
Creak.
My eyes opened again when I heard the door to the room close.
“...You came.”
“Were you sleeping?”
Kaian had been somewhere in the afternoon, so even though it was late at night, he wasn't dressed comfortably yet.
He was wearing a vest and white shirt over a black dress with many gold buttons and a fancy pattern embroidered on it.
'Ah. Pajamas.'
I was going to change when Hannah went. I was embarrassed because he was so dressed up.
But he didn't seem to care about my pajamas, so he wrapped me in the blanket that was on my bed and picked me up.
"Let's go."
“Where are you going at this hour?”
Where am I going in these pajamas?
“Look at the stars.”
I wanted to say something more, but when Kaian shifted on his feet, I became anxious and clenched the blanket around me.
Although I didn't think he would drop me, I was uneasy about me being carried around like a piece of luggage.
After walking through the dark and quiet corridors of the castle for a while, he stopped.
It was a place with a large and heavily carved door.
He opened the door familiarly and entered.
The room was quite spacious and had an old-fashioned atmosphere.
However, there wasn't much furniture to be seen, and there was only one huge bed lying around, which was strange.
He carefully laid me down on the bed and examined my leg to make sure my bandages were okay.
“Where am I?”
When I asked in confusion, Kaian answered casually.
“My bedroom.”
I widened my eyes in surprise.
The place I ended up in was his bedroom.
'Where are you going at this time?'
'Look at the stars.'
Is that what you meant?
I think there was also a slang term for the relationship between a man and a woman, like picking a star or something like that.
However, welcoming him in my bedroom and Kaian's bedroom had a different meaning and feeling.
It was possible for Kaian to visit me, but it was considered impossible for me to go into his bedroom.
It was okay to do what I could in an area that was familiar to me and considered 'my room', but when I felt the rough quilt cover embroidered with gold thread under my hand in an unfamiliar place, I felt afraid and wanted to run away.
“Well, can’t I just go to my room?”
"Why?"
“This place is a bit....”
“You can’t see stars in that room.”
Kaian moved around well even in a dark room.
As he busily moved around the room and touched something for a while, a rattling sound was heard.
Then he began to turn a disc with a handle attached to the wall next to the bed in one direction.
It's good to have fun.
It was then. A strange ear-scratching sound was heard from the ceiling, and the round, high ceiling began to move.
"Wow."
The ceiling began to move as the paintings that had been decorated under the dome by dividing them into triangles moved and overlapped one another.
Through the gap, the stars densely packed in the black sky began to appear.
When the ceiling opened two-thirds, Kaian came and sat down next to me.
"How is it?"
I was speechless at the overwhelming sight.
“This is my first time seeing a night sky like this.”
The life of a castle girl was to go to bed at eight o'clock at night and turn off the lights. Walking around late at night was not allowed.
I loved looking at the night sky, but seeing the stars through a glass window was a completely different experience than seeing them with the naked eye.
“It’s worth it.”
I felt like I was about to cry and wiped my eyes with the back of my hand.
“Are you crying?”
"No. Because it’s so cool.”
Even though it was the middle of summer, I could feel the cool night air on my skin, and I could hear the sound of the night wind blowing through the forest through the moonlight from afar.
And many stars.
“When someone dies. They say the soul goes up to the sky and becomes a star.”
When I was young, I kept looking at the stars, wondering if my mom and dad were there too.
Now, I wonder if there is at least one star of my own among them.
“Even if I show you something good, it’s still a good thing.”
I smiled slightly as I listened to his cold, harsh words.
It occurred to me that if he had tried to comfort me in an inappropriate way, I might have really cried.
“Cough. Cough.”
As I coughed softly, Kaian lifted the blanket from his bed and tried to cover me.
“Is it cold?”
“It’s not cold....”
Tuk.
The strap of my nightgown came undone, caught in the button of Kaian's clothes as he bent down, and the thin fabric slipped down, exposing my shoulders.
I was embarrassed and tried to fix it, but Kaian grabbed my hand.
A low voice rang out as if something was being suppressed.
“...Can I?”
My eyes opened again when I heard the door to the room close.
“...You came.”
“Were you sleeping?”
Kaian had been somewhere in the afternoon, so even though it was late at night, he wasn't dressed comfortably yet.
He was wearing a vest and white shirt over a black dress with many gold buttons and a fancy pattern embroidered on it.
'Ah. Pajamas.'
I was going to change when Hannah went. I was embarrassed because he was so dressed up.
But he didn't seem to care about my pajamas, so he wrapped me in the blanket that was on my bed and picked me up.
"Let's go."
“Where are you going at this hour?”
Where am I going in these pajamas?
“Look at the stars.”
I wanted to say something more, but when Kaian shifted on his feet, I became anxious and clenched the blanket around me.
Although I didn't think he would drop me, I was uneasy about me being carried around like a piece of luggage.
After walking through the dark and quiet corridors of the castle for a while, he stopped.
It was a place with a large and heavily carved door.
He opened the door familiarly and entered.
The room was quite spacious and had an old-fashioned atmosphere.
However, there wasn't much furniture to be seen, and there was only one huge bed lying around, which was strange.
He carefully laid me down on the bed and examined my leg to make sure my bandages were okay.
“Where am I?”
When I asked in confusion, Kaian answered casually.
“My bedroom.”
I widened my eyes in surprise.
The place I ended up in was his bedroom.
'Where are you going at this time?'
'Look at the stars.'
Is that what you meant?
I think there was also a slang term for the relationship between a man and a woman, like picking a star or something like that.
However, welcoming him in my bedroom and Kaian's bedroom had a different meaning and feeling.
It was possible for Kaian to visit me, but it was considered impossible for me to go into his bedroom.
It was okay to do what I could in an area that was familiar to me and considered 'my room', but when I felt the rough quilt cover embroidered with gold thread under my hand in an unfamiliar place, I felt afraid and wanted to run away.
“Well, can’t I just go to my room?”
"Why?"
“This place is a bit....”
“You can’t see stars in that room.”
Kaian moved around well even in a dark room.
As he busily moved around the room and touched something for a while, a rattling sound was heard.
Then he began to turn a disc with a handle attached to the wall next to the bed in one direction.
It's good to have fun.
It was then. A strange ear-scratching sound was heard from the ceiling, and the round, high ceiling began to move.
"Wow."
The ceiling began to move as the paintings that had been decorated under the dome by dividing them into triangles moved and overlapped one another.
Through the gap, the stars densely packed in the black sky began to appear.
When the ceiling opened two-thirds, Kaian came and sat down next to me.
"How is it?"
I was speechless at the overwhelming sight.
“This is my first time seeing a night sky like this.”
The life of a castle girl was to go to bed at eight o'clock at night and turn off the lights. Walking around late at night was not allowed.
I loved looking at the night sky, but seeing the stars through a glass window was a completely different experience than seeing them with the naked eye.
“It’s worth it.”
I felt like I was about to cry and wiped my eyes with the back of my hand.
“Are you crying?”
"No. Because it’s so cool.”
Even though it was the middle of summer, I could feel the cool night air on my skin, and I could hear the sound of the night wind blowing through the forest through the moonlight from afar.
And many stars.
“When someone dies. They say the soul goes up to the sky and becomes a star.”
When I was young, I kept looking at the stars, wondering if my mom and dad were there too.
Now, I wonder if there is at least one star of my own among them.
“Even if I show you something good, it’s still a good thing.”
I smiled slightly as I listened to his cold, harsh words.
It occurred to me that if he had tried to comfort me in an inappropriate way, I might have really cried.
“Cough. Cough.”
As I coughed softly, Kaian lifted the blanket from his bed and tried to cover me.
“Is it cold?”
“It’s not cold....”
Tuk.
The strap of my nightgown came undone, caught in the button of Kaian's clothes as he bent down, and the thin fabric slipped down, exposing my shoulders.
I was embarrassed and tried to fix it, but Kaian grabbed my hand.
A low voice rang out as if something was being suppressed.
“...Can I?”
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