Chapter 175

“Well, what you meant was that this scar would become invaluable evidence at the end of the day. Who told you to make it scar like this on purpose and take it as evidence? Oh my god…how could you deliberately hurt your body to make a scar just because you heard about it first?” Marianne asked, while grumbling and picking up a bandage from the table.

Eckart shut up, avoiding her eyes. He couldn’t have the nerve to say he really wanted evidence even if it was the scar on his back. Instead, his nape turned red while he was putting up with his frustration. Soon she began to cover his wounds with a bandage carefully. The long and soft cloth was wrapped around his body several times.

When she was almost done wrapping it, Marianne leaned forward to meet his eyes, “Will you do that again?”

“Marianne, you may think it is my excuse, but it was definitely the best option in that situation…”

“It’s not that situation, but you have to make the best decision right now.”

She gave him a terrifying smile and tightened the bandage with her fingertips. Her tightening wasn’t strong enough to cause pain to him.

Nevertheless, he immediately reversed what he said.

“No. It is my mistake. I won’t do it again. ”

“Great. That’s a good decision.”

Only then did she loosen the bandage a bit. Her fingertips had turned white before she loosened her grip.

She knotted the strings randomly and picked up the shirt he had taken off for treatment.

Eckart tried to take the shirt out of her hands, but gave up after she rebuked him with her eyes.

Just like he at Roshan, he knew that he couldn’t win her as long as she decided to treat him as a patient. It was the best policy for him to accept whatever she wanted him to do, so he put his arm through sleeves one by one, leaned toward her and resented having so many buttons on his damned shirt.

“But I think I’ve become too cunning.”

“Really? Do you think so? Why?”

“I’m a little glad that it was me who made you do such stupid things without any hesitation.”

She laughed lightly. It was a shy and lovely smile.

“So, don’t do it for others.”

Eckart silently looked down at her sparkling eyes under his chin. The moment she pulled back her arm, who was just done adjusting his collar, he gently wrapped her slender wrist with his strong hand.

For a moment, silence fell on them. It was still raining hard outside. Heavy raindrops made them feel the air inside the room was completely separate from the outside.

Even the warm glow of the candles hovered around the room and formed a mysterious boundary.

Eckart clearly remembered a time that was separated from the world. Anthea’s night, when he sat up all night, in the sanctuary of Serafina and the holy water of Ran in front of him. The darkness in which he felt he could be forgiven for doing what he wanted to.

Marianne fell asleep deeply that night, but she strangely fell into the atmosphere similar to that of the night he recalled. The blue eyes she loved came nearer to her very slowly, little by little. In no time, her heart was pounding. Although they didn’t say anything, she knew instinctively. If he got any closer, she would probably…

Thinking like that, she was about to close her eyes.

“Your Majesty, it is Kloud!”

Kloud’s cheerful voice was followed by a cheerful knock.

Marianne stepped back, opening her half-closed eyes. With a deep sigh, Eckart released her wrist. The time that had stopped at that moment began to return to its original speed on the occasion of Kloud’s sudden visit.

Kloud soon got permission to enter and showed due manners.

“What’s up?”

There was a faint irritation in his voice when Eckart asked him.

With many years of serving the emperor, Kloud opened his mouth unconsciously, “As Lady Marianne has to go back to the mansion soon, I was preparing for it, but the rain has been getting heavier. I think the storm will start soon. As there are still dark clouds and it’s very windy, it looks like she has to give up going back in a couple of hours.”

At that point, the two looked out the window at the same time. They couldn’t see anything in the dark garden. Like he said, even the window sill shook faintly in the strong wind.

“So, if I may suggest, Lady Marianne said the last thing on her schedule today was her visit to the palace.”

Having said that, he was looking for the right chance to bring up the main topic.

“Lady Marianne, why don’t you stay overnight at the Imperial Palace, if you don’t mind?”

“At the palace?”

“Yes. If you don’t have anything else on your schedule, you won’t have to hurry home. If you insist on going back in this bad weather, the emperor will worry about you a lot. If both of you give me permission, I will contact the palace department to prepare for your bedding. The rooms in the palace are always tidy and clean, so you won’t feel uncomfortable if you stay overnight. Fortunately, Lady Marianne’s maid is staying in the palace, so it’s not that hard for her to serve you. ”

Marianne lowered her head, agonizing over it. Her green eyes looked out the window again. The tightly closed window shook loudly as if to press her reply. Obviously it was more windy than when she entered the palace.

“It’s a sudden schedule change. Is it okay?”

“Of course. The palace department exists to handle such matters.”

“I see, but…”

“It’s up to you, Marianne. Decide whatever you feel comfortable about. If you decide to stay here, the deputy chamberlain will render the best possible assistance. ”

“Hummm…” She concluded shortly after some angst. She turned to Kloud again and said, “Then please allow me be beholden to you. Let me stay overnight here.”

“You’re not beholden to me, Lady Marianne! Actually, I have to be grateful to you for your considerate decision. As the weather is getting worse, let me go out and notify the people at the Elior Mansion that you’re staying at the palace tonight.”

Somehow excited, Kloud quickly left the parlor. After he closed the door, Kloud called a servant nearby and gave him detailed instructions.

Marianne glanced back into the tranquil room and met Eckart’s eyes. There was a moment of awkward silence. She suddenly closed her eyes before turning her body. She grabbed his right arm. Contrary to the cloudy weather, her mischievous face looked bright.

“Well, since you are here with me like this, do some rehab exercises here with me. Should we start playing with numbers?”

The lightning struck, and the sky roared fiercely like a raging bull.

Marianne flinched and pulled the blanket over her head. The fluffy blanket was crumpled and squirmed like a caterpillar as she moved. She grasped the pillowcase with her nervous fingers.

She was in her best mood until she enjoyed taking a dig at him on the pretext of doing rehab and had dinner with him in the parlor.

After she took a bath with the petals floating in the water and lay on a soft bed, she felt like she was in heaven. Her bedroom, next to the emperor’s bedroom, was more luxurious than her bedroom at the mansion, and the pajamas they prepared fit her perfectly. The tea she had before going to bed was sweet and the scent of petal oil in the incense burner was also fragrant.

‘But nobody told me it would rain so heavily like this!’

The problem was the weather became more and more worse as time went by.

Lennox, where she was born and raised, had a much milder climate than Milan. The rain, which was cold enough to cool the heat for a short time, often came down in Lennox, but it never became such a violent storm. As she was accustomed to the warm sun and gentle wind, this heavy rain was almost a natural disaster to her.

While she thought about that briefly, the sky was roaring again.

Marianne curled up and shrugged before sticking her hand out of the blanket. The moment she pulled the rope on the bed, lightning struck fiercely outside. She put her hands back into the blanket as if she touched a frog. As if the bell was buried by the thunder, there was no sign of Cordelli’s movement in the other room, where she might be sleeping now.

After some hesitation, she pulled the line once again. At the same time, the thunder struck again.

After a while, she pulled one more time, and this time the rainstorm and thunder played ensemble.

‘What the heck? Why is there thunder when I shake the bell? ‘

She jumped up with a fit of anger and kicked the blanket. Her irritation now overcoming her fear.

‘Okay, let me see who can win.’

She was naturally very determined to win. By now, she would just go to sleep or call Cordelli vocally, but she felt bad because she felt she would lose to the thunder if she did so.