Chapter 13

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 13

Chapter Title: My Hands Aren't Hurt

-----------------------------------------------------------------

"I heard your legs got all messed up?"

Clodel's eyes widened slightly as she watched Antyone act so brazenly rude right in front of her.

But that was it.

Antyone fell silent when Clodel showed no sign of getting angry or yelling, as one might expect.

Clodel's lack of reaction was enough to shut the mouth of Antyone, who was like a deranged filly.

Clodel turned to her.

"Who are you?"

Antyone looked flustered at the innocent question devoid of malice and glanced at Hanna.

What? She didn't tell her about me?

The day she had run into Hanna while leaving Kaiyan's bedroom.

She had spewed such venomous insults, and she figured the Vermonte girl must have exploded inside upon hearing them, probably relishing the gossip on her way back.

Yet here was Clodel, sitting so impeccably pristine, blinking her eyes like a flawless jade bead freshly polished. A surge of irritation boiled up inside Antyone.

"You don't know who I am?"

Antyone smugly extended her hand adorned with a blue diamond ring.

"You still don't recognize me even with this?"

Only then did a faint crack appear on Clodel's impassive face.

"Ask your maid. She saw me coming out of Lord Kaiyan's bedroom."

As Clodel's eyes turned to Hanna, the maid looked troubled, her golden eyes flickering before she glared furiously and stepped toward Antyone.

"Why are you here? Get out! Now!"

A fierce confrontation erupted between the two women.

Kaiyan was closely examining the items presented by the jeweler brought in by the butler.

"These are the most popular styles these days."

The jeweler was putting his all into this rare business opportunity.

"You may have seen them before, my lord. They're a reinterpretation of the style favored by the late Queen Sylvia. They're ornate yet small and lightweight, perfect for everyday wear."

Kaiyan's gaze lingered on a ring and bracelet shaped like flowering vines, studded with tiny diamonds and rubies.

As the jeweler said, the gemstone ring crafted like a coronet wasn't overly thick but had a vibrant elegance.

He had always thought men who picked such things to win a woman's favor were pathetic.

But Kaiyan wasn't doing anything pathetic to curry Clodel's favor. He framed it in his mind as a dignified gesture of repayment to the benefactor of House Temneth.

"We'll go with this. Prepare a matching necklace and hair ornament as well."

"Yes, my lord."

The jeweler practically jumped for joy when Kaiyan added generous, substantial pieces.

"Then, when might I have the honor of seeing Lady Clodel?"

"Clodel?"

"Yes. We'll need to measure her finger and wrist circumferences for the custom work."

"I see."

It suddenly occurred to him that Clodel had never once worn the ring from the wedding gift he had given her.

"Can you resize an existing ring?"

"Of course, my lord. Precious heirloom gems are often resized to fit each generation. It's no trouble at all."

"I see. I hadn't realized. Does the measuring take long?"

"Not at all. We use a soft cord to take the measurements comfortably and take it with us."

Kaiyan rose from his seat.

"It's just about time for lunch. Let's go ask the lady's permission. Butler."

He called for the butler.

"Have my meal brought to Clodel's room as well."

"Yes, my lord."

The butler, who had been about to leave the study first, turned back.

"My lord, if I may ask one presumptuous question."

"Speak."

"Since you've called the jeweler, why not have the blue diamond ring resized as well?"

"Ah."

He had only asked about resizing and hadn't thought of that.

Kaiyan nodded.

"Good thinking. I'll keep that in mind."

With that, the butler went to summon a servant, and Kaiyan headed to Clodel's room with the jeweler.

Not much of a surprise gift after all.

Unlike other assets, jewels for wives were considered personal property.

That's why he had heard in the kingdom's lively capital salons that wives fawned over their husbands endlessly to receive such expensive gems.

Madame Cronac of the salon would often say of those noble ladies, "If I had a husband who gave when asked, I'd ask too."

Kaiyan briefly imagined Clodel, who reacted so minimally to everything, coquettishly begging him for jewels or acting cute.

He couldn't picture it.

It was too far removed from the Clodel he knew.

I thought showing her the finished piece might make her happy, at least a little.

But since she hadn't even tried on the ill-fitting gift once, it was regrettable but right to measure properly this time.

Anyway, after taking measurements now, he could just have the jeweler craft something to her taste next time.

The next ones, and the ones after, could be true surprise gifts.

Yet Clodel's bedroom, quiet for so long, was now in an uproar.

Through the open door, he spotted a familiar woman.

"Why are you here? Get out! Now!"

Hanna was snarling at the woman with the abundant black hair.

"You're being rude to a guest visiting the sick."

His eyes drifted to the woman's ankle, exposed and neatly tied with a silk ribbon.

Antyone turned at the sound of footsteps, met Kaiyan's gaze, and instantly changed her demeanor.

As Kaiyan's brow furrowed, Antyone startled like a frightened deer, thrust the bouquet she held into Hanna's arms, and scurried backward.

"Antyone? Don't ever show your face in front of me again..."

"D-Duke!"

Interrupting him, the flustered Antyone blurted an excuse.

"I-I came to visit the sick. I'll be going now, then."

Before Kaiyan could respond, she fled like the wind.

His gaze lingered on the flowers Antyone had brought.

"Throw that away."

"P-Pardon...? Yes."

Hanna stood there looking utterly bewildered before hugging the bouquet and hurrying out. She dumped it in the spot where the cleaning maids collected trash in the corridor, then rushed back to the room.

"What brings you here so suddenly, my lord?"

"The jeweler needs to see you for a moment."

"My lady, allow me to introduce myself."

Amid the chaos, the jeweler politely bowed to Clodel.

In noble circles, the money spent commissioning jewels for one's wife was a measure of affection—and today, Kaiyan's spending made him king of kings.

Hoping for more future visits with Lady Clodel, he kindly set the measuring tools on the table.

"Please have a seat here comfortably."

Clodel hesitated. She wasn't in nightclothes, but walking from bed to table was still beyond her.

"I'll carry you. Come here."

As she looked unsure, Kaiyan swept aside the blanket covering her legs, lifted her slender body effortlessly, and settled her into the chair.

The jeweler handed over thin white silk gloves.

"Please wear these."

Clodel slowly slipped them on. Her fingers were so slender and delicate that even the stretchy silk hung loosely, and the jeweler looked puzzled.

"Ah, this is a first. I've never seen fingers as fine as yours, my lady."

The jeweler glanced at Kaiyan.

"I beg your pardon, but we'll need to measure bare skin to craft properly. Do I have permission to touch the lady's hand..."

"No."

Kaiyan's expression hardened.

"Tell me how, and I'll do it. With cord, right?"

"Y-Yes, exactly."

He lifted a pre-cut cord from the case and wrapped it around Clodel's finger, tying it.

The jeweler quickly handed over small scissors.

"Cut it a bit away from the knot."

The finger and wrist measurements were done in a flash.

"I'll do my absolute best, my lord."

As he moved to leave,

"Wait. Take this to resize as well."

Kaiyan said to Clodel.

"I didn't think of it. Gave you an ill-fitting gift."

"Pardon?"

"The wedding gift."

At the mention of the wedding gift, Clodel's eyes widened. Kaiyan keenly noticed the troubled glint in them.

"The jeweler says he can resize it. Your mother was quite tall, so I should have realized it wouldn't fit."

"...The ring."

Clodel murmured softly, showing no intention of handing it over, which frustrated Kaiyan.

He needed to send the jeweler and everyone else away quickly to spend some intimate time with her.

With work piling up in the afternoon, every minute counted.

"Come on."

"I-It's fine. No need to fix it."

"What?"

Clodel looked at him.

"I'm hungry. And a bit tired."

"Ah... All right. We'll end here for today."

The bewildered jeweler hastily gathered his things and vanished.

Moments later, the butler appeared, directing servants with trays of food for Clodel and Kaiyan.

"I hear you're eating better than before, my lady?"

The butler neatly arranged the tableware before Clodel.

"I've instructed the kitchen thoroughly. Anything you wish to eat, just say the word."

"Thank you."

Kaiyan's eyes searched for Hanna.

That maid was utterly devoted to Clodel.

It was a problem how she refused to leave her side even during meals, citing attendance duties, when he wanted time alone.

Where's she off to today?

She had been near the door just earlier.

The thought that he wouldn't have to awkwardly shoo her away lightened his mood a bit.

"Eat up. Here."

Kaiyan scooped soup at a perfect temperature and brought it to Clodel's lips.

"Um. You know."

"Yes."

"Not sure if I should say this."

"Go ahead."

Clodel hesitated.

"My hands aren't hurt."

"I know. That much."

Her injury was her legs. Who didn't know?

Clodel's eyes grew more confused at his curt, firm reply.

"Then why do you keep trying to feed me?"

"Well."

Kaiyan himself didn't know the reason.

For the first few days, she had been bedridden and barely able to eat.

Her body's too frail. She could take a turn for the worse even when she should be recovering.

The doctor had been panicking, as if her condition worsening would bring him hell.

Left alone, she wouldn't eat properly.

Eat.

When Kaiyan force-fed her coercively, she barely swallowed.

"Why won't you eat properly? If you ate well without me feeding you, I wouldn't have to bother."

On the other hand, Clodel's reactions whenever she spoke were always different from what he expected, making her hard to deal with. But when she meekly accepted his feeding, it oddly relieved his stress.

How nice it would be if she obeyed like this in other matters too.

Not just during meals.

"I'll eat properly. No need for you to come all this way when you're busy."

"You're still far from recovered."

"I'm not hurting anymore. I bathed yesterday. Did walking practice this morning too."

Perhaps thanks to his diligent feeding these past days, Clodel looked fair and lovely today.

"Really okay? No pain?"

"Yes."

She even clenched her fists and nodded vigorously.

"Then tonight. Don't sleep. Wait for me."