Chapter 20

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: The Re-carved Name
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The Croire Alloje from the original novel must have felt this same pain.

The name ‘Diello Argenta’ was forcibly carved onto my back once more.

Even as I writhed from a pain so foreign I’d never felt it before, my captors bound me with brute force.

‘Ah…!’

‘Don’t struggle. You wouldn’t want them to find out it’s a fake, would you?’

They clearly thought it would be a disaster if my movements caused the letters to become misaligned.

‘Stay still!’

Perhaps thinking even my breathing was too much movement, Duke Alloje completely covered my nose and mouth with water.

‘…!’

I think my breath was cut off for too long.

I writhed in agony, and just as my mind grew hazy from the lack of oxygen, I was released.

In a way, that was a relief.

It meant I didn't have to endure that horrific pain for long.

“Ugh,”

But there was no way the wound wouldn’t hurt.

Beneath the red lines of the name ‘Diello Argenta’, blood pooled at the Duke’s gesture before a healing salve was poured over the wound.

My skin would likely heal, leaving his name to surface vividly as a dark bruise.

But beneath the surface, the trapped blood still sent sharp jolts of pain through me.

“Are you all right, my lady?”

At Duke Alloje’s estate, Pielle had faced the duke and his servants with a placid expression.

But the moment she boarded the Argenta carriage, her face hardened.

“It’ll be okay after a while.”

I frowned.

Even the slightest movement sent a stinging, throbbing pain striking my nerves.

“May I… take a look?”

“Yes.”

I wouldn’t be returning to the Alloje estate for a month anyway, so it wouldn’t matter if she applied medicine.

“Pardon me for a moment.”

Pielle gave a small bow and undid a couple of buttons on my dress, loosening the fabric to reveal my back.

“…!”

Pielle’s complexion changed upon seeing the meticulously re-carved name.

“Did you… come back like this last time as well?”

Unlike her usual self, she couldn’t finish her sentence.

It must have looked gruesome, even to a maid from the Argenta estate.

“Yes.”

Although the first time the name was carved, it wasn’t me but the original Croire Alloje.

Of course, I swallowed the rest of that thought.

“You knew it was a fake carving.”

I looked up at Pielle.

I knew that on the day she’d attended to my first bath at the Argenta estate, she had applied a healing salve to my back, pretending it was scented oil.

The magical healing salves of this world react even to bruises, glowing white as they are quickly absorbed, so she must have been certain then that the name on my back was a fake.

Although the blood forming Diello’s name on my back was held in place by Duke Alloje’s magic and wouldn’t have dispersed.

“…I knew, but.”

But Pielle’s expression was grim.

After readjusting my dress, she lowered her head.

“I will instruct the staff to serve you more carefully so that you are not uncomfortable.”

Her cold, hardened expression didn’t soften for the entire ride back to the estate.

* * *

Diello Argenta did not like variables in his plans.

At the very least, if a variable were to arise, it had to be something that happened under his watch.

In short, he did not appreciate sudden news.

Especially since such news was usually bad.

“Her ladyship is about to arrive.”

“…She’s late.”

This news was no different.

Unless there was a problem with the carriage wheel, there was no reason for her to arrive at this hour.

For some reason, Diello couldn’t sleep, so he pushed aside the work he’d been attending to.

Not that he was getting any work done anyway.

“…”

Croire had departed from here around dusk, so if her journey had gone as planned, she would have arrived at the Alloje estate in the morning.

And the Allojes would have sent her back to the Argenta estate before it got too dark.

Whatever the truth, on the surface, she was ‘Duke Alloje’s beloved daughter.’

Even considering the distance between the Alloje and Argenta estates and other variables, there was no reason for her to arrive at three in the morning.

—No, he had thought there wasn’t.

“Croire?”

Diello’s expression changed at the sight of her walking into the mansion more cautiously than usual.

Having spent a long time on the battlefield, he immediately identified the location of her injury from her movements.

Between the shoulder blades.

And that was where his name had been carved.

He instinctively realized what had happened to her.

“Diello, you waited up for me?”

His bride seemed surprised.

Judging by the way she looked at him with wide eyes despite her discomfort.

A face that said nothing was wrong.

But Diello, accustomed to death and injury, clearly detected the faint scent of blood on her.

“…You had the name re-carved.”

He whispered, so only she could hear.

He had thought Duke Alloje's desire to see her every month was simply for a report.

But Duke Alloje was far more thorough and cruel than he had imagined.

“You knew?”

“…I just found out.”

And just a moment ago, a strange churning had begun in his gut.

People often say the smell of blood makes them sick, but as someone who frequented the battlefield, he had long grown numb to it.

But this scent felt strangely potent.

“It would be best to treat it properly, Croire.”

He opened his mouth without realizing it. His voice was low.

Croire’s eyes widened.

“The surface is already treated. The blood pooled underneath will anyway—”

Her light tone grated on him, and he cut her off without thinking.

A murky voice, as if boiling up from his twisted gut, escaped him.

“—That’s why,”

For a moment, the thin mask that always covered his face nearly shattered.

He let out a short breath before he could cool his head.

“Once more, properly.”

A faint smile barely managed to surface.

After blinking a few times, Croire finally nodded.

“Alright. I’d be grateful if you did.”

That face, smiling so well even in a situation like this, was truly… exasperating, Diello thought.

* * *

Diello Argenta.

Diello had never seen his own name in such detail.

Not on paper, nor on any other object, but on another person’s body.

“Ah…!”

Perhaps from the pain, Croire tensed.

The tips of Diello’s fingers, which had been applying the medicine, paused.

“Tell me if it hurts too much.”

At his words, Croire let out a laugh.

“If I tell you, will you make it stop hurting?”

Ha.

A short breath escaped him.

Right. Just as she said, there was no way to lessen the pain of a wound already inflicted.

“No, I’ll do it faster.”

Diello finally whispered.

In that case, it was better to end the pain quickly.

At his words, Croire willingly straightened her shoulders.

“Ouch.”

The sting that made her flinch was only for a moment.

As if ready, she took a deep breath.

And the moment she held her breath.

“…?”

Diello noticed the blue bruises on her shoulder.

*Rustle.*

Without thinking, he pushed aside the cloth covering it.

“…!”

And for a brief moment, he was speechless.

The mottled marks covering the area above her shoulder blades and nearly her entire shoulder were clearly the traces of being brutally restrained by someone.

The marks extended from her shoulder blades to her shoulders and even down her arms.

It meant she had struggled that much against the pain.

His mind went hot, then cold.

“?”

Just then, Croire glanced back at him.

It was a questioning gaze, as if asking why he wasn't finishing up.

Diello’s cold expression vanished in an instant.

Because in front of her, at least, he had to be the gentle, innocent Diello Argenta.

“Hoo—”

As Diello applied the medicine, he blew gently on the area.

The cool sensation would help her forget the pain, if only for a little.

He finished applying the medicine along the lines of his name and then, with a click, closed the lid.

“It’s done.”

“Thank you.”

Croire let out a short sigh.

She then started to fasten her clothes again.

*Tap.*

Just then, Diello grabbed her hand without thinking.

“There’s no need for that.”

“?”

Their eyes met.

The dress, hanging precariously on her shoulders, seemed like it would only chafe against the bruises and sting more.

Diello said.

“Take it off. Rest comfortably.”