Chapter 20

Izek, who stood with a look quite similar to his fellow paladins, slowly hardened his face.

It was not enough for me to leave on my own, since he seemed to think I held on to anyone without shame. What a consistently cold-hearted fellow.

Nevertheless, for some reason, I didn’t want to be scolded in front of Freya’s brother. Wasn’t that just too miserable?

So, I bit back the words threatening to pour out of my mouth, and turned away.

Let’s go back to my bedroom for now. Even if he’s angry, he’ll have to come to talk. And then...

“My Lady?”

I didn’t know if it was because my back hurt like hell that I just tripped over something and fell down. My new dress was splattered with mud now. What a waste. I was trying to stand up right away, but my body suddenly went up in the air.

No! Not again!

“You...”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”

“What?”

“I just wanted to give you a birthday present, so I was just going to deliver it and come back right away. I’m sorry it didn’t turn out like I wanted it to. I didn’t mean to show you this.”

I felt extremely humiliated, having to hold back my tears. But I got hiccups instead.

Goddamn it.

Shame on me. Shame on me more than when I had a nosebleed the other day.

The embarrassment was so much that my cries kept leaking out. I tried to hold it back, thrusting my fingers into my mouth, but he grabbed my hand.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Ah?

I tilted my head up. His huge red jade-like eyes stood out against his skin.

“I heard you didn’t want me to attend the banquet, but I still wanted to give you a present...”

“What are you talking about? Huh? Who said that?”

Eh? That wasn’t the case? As expected, the maid tricked me! That wicked woman! Along with anger, relief poured out of my body in waves of emotions.

What a relief. So, I’m not stuck that bad. Ah, I’ll stay alive. My last straw is back. This was worth the trouble!

I quickly rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand and smiled broadly, “So you didn’t hate seeing me here, did you? Can I give you your present?”

My cold-hearted husband held me and stared silently for a moment. If I hadn’t known better, his eyes had a broken look – one that could be associated with the feeling of helplessness I had experienced when I was young. It wouldn’t be appropriate for a devil like him to look vulnerable, but...

The expression on his face was really strange. A total mess– anger, relief, pain, and helplessness altogether.

“What are you...”

He was about to say something, but he soon clenched his teeth.

Somehow, he came off as tired.

I was the one who was sick, so why was he having a hard time? It was then that an untimely commotion broke out over his magnificent broad shoulders.

“You, you, you...! Did you just run your mouth off without me knowing?”

“Oh, no! I would not have done it one more time... Aaaaah!”

“What did I say I’d do if you were to sing a song like that one more time? Huh?!”

“That’s not what I meant... Aah! Wait a minute, please!”

This was it. I’d unintentionally fed Lorenzo a big piece of sh*t. But, I didn’t feel very sorry.

As I smirked softly watching Sir Ivan pull Lorenzo’s ear, Izek, who had been gazing at me, slowly turned around.

“What song?”

All the sounds stopped. Not just the Paladins, who were watching the scene, but also Lorenzo, who was screaming and denying, closed his mouth as if they were in shock.

Izek opened his mouth again.

Unlike usual, his tone was very gentle, “What song?”

Ah, right. He was an extraordinary paladin because he didn’t tolerate any kind of nonsense. It was understandable that everyone was speechless. After all, the trainee before Andymion was kicked out for singing obscene songs.

Apart from wanting to give Lorenzo more sh*t, I didn’t want to hear the song again.

I didn’t want my cold-blooded husband to hear such a disgusting song.

I’d already been humiliated enough today.

Do something, you proud b*stards.

Why were these paladins, who said they could even beat invisible dragons, suddenly acting like shy teens?

“Achoo!”

Eventually, I sneezed as he was about to speak. I’d just covered my mouth with my hands when he pulled his arms around me.

“Are you alright?”

I didn’t expect to hear all this, at all. He was unexpectedly generous because it was his birthday. My eyes sparkled, now that my husband was in a tolerant mood.

“You’re so sweet.”

“.......”

“Are you not angry anymore? You don’t hate me?

Izek had noticed that I was talking without a zip on my lips. The arm wrapped around my body was warm and tight, but the next moment, he stepped back.

“Let’s go in.”

Excuse me? This isn’t it. Hey, hubby, are we going in like this? I know I’m a total disgrace, but... Surely, I have a knack for spoiling a good atmosphere.

“Ruby?”

As soon as I entered the noisy banquet hall, Ellenia immediately approached me.

She was quite stunned.

“How did this... how did this happen? What happened, brother?”

“Let’s talk about the details later. First, go deal with her clothes. Go with her, get her changed, and bring her back.”

Ah, I’m so out of my mind. I wish I had a day to get to know his twisted mind.

I was so led into a room upstairs by Ellenia.

The maids moved busily. Fortunately, the handkerchief and letter in my sleeve were not wet because they were wrapped tightly. These were packed separately in silk pockets.

Ellenia touched my forehead once and gave a strange sigh. “Ruby, the maid said you were too ill to attend. I thought you were really sick when I went to check earlier. You were in deep sleep. What happened then?”

I’m curious about that, too. Why don’t you ask the maid?

“I had some menstrual pain, but I’m fine now. I heard that I didn’t have to attend the banquet today.”

“What? Who said that?”

I bowed my head instead of answering.

As the maid was also Ellenia’s nanny, I did not want to appear to be framing her. Besides, even if I didn’t have to answer, Ellenia guessed the answer.

“Huuu......”

As I lifted my head back, there was a complex look on her ice-cold face. What was she thinking?

“First of all... have you taken medication? Does it still hurt?”

“I took a painkiller earlier, but I don’t think it’s working very well.”

“Hey, you, go get some painkillers. Not regular painkillers, but the one my brother has.”

The ones that Izek used? When I turned my head and looked at her, Ellenia patted my shoulder in comfort, “He’s not hurt. It’s just for work.”

Oh, she meant the painkillers for Paladins. Would that work for me?

The blue painkillers, which looked like candy, had a great effect.

I was wondering why it hurt so much before.

The pain that had been destroying my waist and stomach was gone, and after changing into a fluffy new dress, I felt much more alive. Was I getting my luck back? It would be nice if that was so.

After putting on some make-up and calmly brushing my hair, I went back to the banquet hall with Ellenia. There was a lot of attention, but there were no sudden questions.

“Ruby, first of all, sit here and have some food. I don’t think you’ve eaten all day.”

I’d sensed this since last time, but Ellenia kept trying to feed me something or the other. I appreciated her caring, but I couldn’t do it that easily.

“Ellen, what’s going on here? What’s wrong with Iz all of a sudden?”

“I’m not sure yet. I’ll go first, so keep a watch on her.”

Was I a kid?

I was the same age as them, even though I was a little short. Why do I feel sad now?

I pretended to nibble on the lemon cake and glanced at Ellenia’s direction. The hallway behind the pillar felt quite noisy. The atmosphere was somehow extraordinary.

What else did my husband do?

He told her to bring me back, and then he left me alone, as expected from my cold-hearted husband.

“My Lady, are you alright? I heard you were sick, but... ”

Why did you show up here?

“Well, things are a little complicated, but I’m okay now. Thank you for asking.”

“That’s a relief. I was really surprised earlier. What happened with Iz?”

I didn’t know. I shook my head hard to say I didn’t know the situation. Freya was reluctant to be by my side. Her eyes constantly glanced over there, eager to check the situation.

“I’m really fine, so you can go. I’m sure there’s a lot of people left for you to greet.”

“Oh... if you’re feeling any pain, tell someone right away. Okay?”

How am I going to complain to anyone that my husband was bad? Anyway, why did he ask me to come back? Don’t tell me he was going to break up with me here... no, no! Let’s not have negative delusions.

“My Lady.”

After Freya disappeared, I tried to blow off my negative thoughts by myself and played around with fruit cocktails. I turned my attention to the small voice I could hear from below.

“Princess Ari?”

Only

“I thought you weren’t coming out today.”

A cute girl with reddish-brown hair tied in pigtails was peering at me. She was none other than Princess Ari.

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T/N: AAAAH finallllyyyyyy!!!!!! HE’S BEING A BIT SWEET TO HER- I just love it when Izek’s true nature comes out >///