Rewriting the Trash Ending - Chapter 26

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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26.

***

The journey back to the Fortress took only a few days.
The cold night wind scraped across his cheek as it passed, but the fever that had been clouding his mind for days showed no sign of breaking.
Unlike Lumiere, who had fallen asleep as though she’d been waiting for it, he’d tossed through the entire night—and now he couldn’t stop thinking about it.

“There will be no Marital Duties between us.”

He’d said it as though he couldn’t care less, and yet he’d thrashed about all night long. If Lumiere ever found out, what would she think?
The mere thought of it was horrifying.
“Welcome back, Your Highness.”
It was late in the evening.
Tera stepped forward to greet him at the entrance to the Main Hall, bowing with proper ceremony.
“Has anything happened?”
“This morning, Countess Mobeir cancelled her audience with the Grand Duchess. The other ladies likewise declined to attend.”
Axid’s eyes sharpened to a blade’s edge in an instant.
“Is Lumiere all right?”
“Yes, sir. Lady Oswald collapsed in the Greenhouse, and Her Highness handled the matter personally.”
At the thought that such an incident had occurred during his absence, his eyes narrowed again.
He was well aware that the Finance Minister’s daughter had a chronic condition.
That aside, for Countess Mobeir to cancel an audience…
He recalled their last meeting.

“Is it true that you’ve accepted the Imperial House’s Marriage Proposal, Your Highness?”

Before he’d departed for the Empire to receive his bride.
The Countess had burst into his Study without warning.

“Do you know what rumors are spreading outside? That the Empire means to humiliate the Grand Ducal House by using an Imperial Princess.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“For the sake of the Grand Ducal House’s honor, you ought to choose carefully from the daughters of the Northern Region.”
“That’s not your concern, Aunt.”
“Your Highness, I am your sole blood relation. I speak only out of concern for my nephew—how could you—!”
“And was it concern that brought you coming and going from a Fortress without a mistress?”
“Your Highness, I merely—!”
“Leave.”
“Your Highness, are you truly casting me out like this?”

That day, instead of answering, he’d opened the door himself.
Her talk of concern was nothing but a pretty wrapper.
He knew full well she’d come to overturn the marriage agreement, mindful of the nobility’s opinion.
She was the type who couldn’t resist showing off her influence to others.
He’d thought that by showing he knew her petty scheming, she would keep her distance.
But had she ceased visiting the Grand Ducal Fortress not because she’d understood her place, but as a show of defiance against him?
‘I cannot let this slide.’
Until now, he’d turned a blind eye solely because she was his mother’s blood relative—but she was someone he could expel whenever he wished.
If she’d forgotten her station and bared her claws at Lumiere, there was no reason to spare her further.
“Those who refused to attend the audience are not to be admitted to the Fortress henceforth.”
“Does that include Countess Mobeir, sir?”
He gave a curt nod.
To be denied entry to the Grand Ducal Fortress meant to be marked as having fallen from his favor.
There was no need to explain what fate awaited a house that had lost standing with him in the Northern Region.
Blood relation or not, there could be no exception.
“If I may be so bold, Your Highness—might it not be wise to observe the situation a while longer?”
“What do you mean?”
“The truth is, Her Highness the Grand Duchess asked me not to inform you of this matter. It seems there must be something she is considering separately, does there not?”
Don’t tell me that.
Surely you’re not thinking of giving them a chance.
For those who’ve insulted the Imperial House—ones who deserve death itself—perhaps mercy like hers is possible.
But the fact that her kindness wasn’t meant for him alone irritated him in a way he couldn’t quite name.
“Very well.”
Whether her mercy was truly worth extending to them remained a question, but for Lumiere’s sake, he decided to turn a blind eye for now.
“However, if they forget themselves again and insult her, I will handle it my way.”
And when that time comes, their fall from society will be the least of their concerns.
The chill in his anger was so acute that Tera held his breath and bowed his head low.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
He turned away from Tera and made for the Bathhouse.
The moment his body sank into the tub, hot water spilled over the edge and cascaded to the floor below.
He tilted his head back and closed his eyes.
After days at the Fortress, the thick scent of dust clung to his skin.
He’d never minded it before, but now, imagining meeting Lumiere like this, it suddenly bothered him.
He frowned, then found his gaze drifting to a small vial resting on the edge of the tub.
Bath Essence—an attendant had left it there some time ago.
…….
Without thinking, he reached for the bottle and uncapped it.
The moment the stopper came free, a subtle fragrance brushed his senses.
‘What in the world am I doing?’
He let out a hollow laugh and set the bottle down again.
He found himself ridiculous—taking interest in something he’d never cared about before.
If he wanted to show consideration to Lumiere, simply washing thoroughly would be enough.
‘I’ll wait until she falls asleep.’
With a sigh, he sank deeper into the tub and closed his eyes.
As the hot water rippled, the memory of her suddenly came to him—the way she’d nestled against his chest.
Her skin had been so soft and warm, and her scent had seemed somehow sweet.
His neck began to burn, and something deep within his body began to harden.
…….
He pressed his palms against his eyes, jaw clenched tight.
It hadn’t even been a deep contact.
They’d merely shared their body heat, yet his body was responding like this.
A surge of self-loathing rose within him.

“I’m not fine with that. You refused Marital Duties, so surely you won’t object to sharing a bed?”

Lumiere seemed unwilling to compromise on sleeping in the same bed with him.
Knowing that she’d always longed for human warmth, he couldn’t simply refuse to share her bed—yet in his current state, he had no business lying beside her at all.
His only recourse was to wait until she fell asleep.
How long had it been?
By the time the once-hot water had turned cold, he rose from the tub.
Hoping desperately that she was deeply asleep, he dried himself off.

***

Lumiere was applying hair oil at her vanity.
She’d just received word that the Grand Duke had returned.
It was time for him to finish his bath and return to the Bedchamber.
‘They say traveling wears you down…….’
However familiar the Fortress was to him, it couldn’t be as comfortable as the castle.
She was wondering what she might do for him when she heard the door open.
Axid entered in light clothing and paused briefly.
“You’re awake?”
“I thought you were asleep.”
He looked at her for a moment, then went directly to the sofa.
‘What’s this?’
He poured himself a drink from the table and slowly raised the glass to his lips.
It seemed he was planning to wait there until he fell asleep.
‘That’s not like the man who left without saying goodbye…….’
No ill intent, perhaps—but it felt like he was drawing a line, warning her not to expect anything resembling genuine intimacy.
He’d been distant enough on their Wedding Night, but now, after all this time apart, he didn’t even offer a proper greeting before reaching for drink.
How delightful. Her frustrating husband deserved a bit of mischief in return.
Lumiere watched him raise the cup to his lips as he always did, then parted her own.
“…How could I possibly have slept peacefully?”
He stilled.
Axid’s hand froze halfway to his mouth.
“…You didn’t sleep?”
Lumiere let her gaze drift downward, soft as a sigh.
“Of course not. My husband vanished without a word on our Wedding Night—how could my heart have been at ease?”
“That was… unavoidable.”
“And yet the moment you return, you reach for wine. I suppose a mere wife’s feelings—hollow thing that I am—mean nothing to you.”
“That’s not—”
She turned onto her back with a bitter smile, and behind her came the unmistakable rustle of agitation.
‘Oh, how adorable he is.’
It was obvious she was teasing, yet he didn’t know what to do with himself.
Lumiere bit back the laugh threatening to escape and pulled the blanket over her face.
“Will you show me your face?”
As he settled onto the edge of the bed, she peeked out from beneath the quilt, just barely.
“No.”
Only then did he seem to grasp that this was a jest—contradicted as it was by her actions.
The tension drained from his eyes, and a faint smile curved his mouth.
She had never, in either her past life or this one, seen him smile so freely.
Lost in the rarity of the sight, she didn’t notice his voice descending from above until it was already there.
“…I never meant to wound you.”
“No…?”
“I simply didn’t wish to disturb your sleep.”
Well, of course that was true.
The quilt piled thick across her body said everything—his quiet departure had been an act of care.
“It’s all right. I believe you.”
She drew the blanket down to her chin and turned her gaze toward the sofa.
His cup sat half-full on the table, forgotten.
“But stop drinking. Lie beside me instead.”
She understood that the nightcap was his only solace, the sole comfort in his difficult life—but as his wife, she couldn’t help but worry.
She’d rather see him catch a few more hours of sleep than chase oblivion in a glass.
Gently.
She tugged his sleeve, and he had no choice but to carefully lift the quilt and settle beside her.
……
“Like this, we’re almost like a real married couple.”
She rested her head in the crook of his arm, her hand settling on his firm chest.
His body was warm and unyielding, like a furnace built of iron.
A chest packed solid with strength, abdominal muscles carved with precision.
Across it all lay countless small scars, each one distinct beneath her palm.
As she traced the marks left by years of walking the knife’s edge, her mood grew heavy.
…How much fear, how much pain had he endured?
If he was human—and he was—then surely none of these wounds came easily. Each must have cost him something.
She was still counting his scars one by one, her fingers trailing downward, when it happened.
The moment her palm crossed the carved landscape of his abdomen.
His lower belly went rigid beneath her touch.
Tight. Sudden. Unmistakable.
At the same instant, his hand clamped firmly around her wrist—already low, now held near the plane of his hip.
“…How far were you planning to go?”
His voice had dropped to a low murmur. She lifted her head to meet his gaze.
“I…”
His eyes were so close their noses nearly brushed, his attention wholly focused on her.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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