Spring in My Grasp - Chapter 14

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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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(14) A Wife’s Duty

It was during those days when I had been methodically gathering accounts of Alexis’s notorious reputation, piece by piece. Then, quite unexpectedly, an uninvited guest appeared at the East Annex. Even for someone as brazenly shameless as myself, it was enough to leave my mouth agape.
“I… well, that is….”
I stammered.
“How did you come to be here….”
It was none other than Audrey, Francis’s Wife.
Though we were sisters-in-law, save for that first meal at Count’s Main Mansion, we had scarcely crossed paths two or three times. That she should appear at the East Annex now left me utterly bewildered.
“I see you’re managing well enough here on your own. At least you’re keeping to your station—I suppose that’s something to be grateful for.”
“….”
Audrey stood at the threshold of the East Annex, clearly reluctant to step inside, her Maid at her side as she faced me.
The contempt that poured forth the moment our eyes met left my mouth hanging open. Was it truly permissible to deliver such blatantly villainous remarks? How impressive.
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
“Is there some business that brings you here….”
Standing with arms crossed, her expression making it abundantly clear she wished nothing to do with someone like me, Audrey seemed genuinely reluctant to speak. Yet finding it even more unbearable to continue facing me in silence, she pressed her lips together.
“Young Master Alexis was gravely injured last night.”
My eyes widened at those words. Audrey’s face bore an expression of genuine exasperation.
“How did such a thing… come to pass?”
Though I was not particularly curious, he was nonetheless my official husband. When I asked out of courtesy, Audrey clicked her tongue.
“He must have gotten into another quarrel with ruffians somewhere.”
“….”
“Heavens, I wonder who he takes after.”
Her voice carried unmistakable contempt. In that moment, I suddenly felt pity for Alexis. Here was someone gravely injured, yet this was the response he received.
“Please convey my wishes for his swift recovery.”
Yet there was little I could do about it, was there? But at my words, Audrey let out a sharp cry.
“What are you saying?! You are the Young Master’s Wife!”
“I… am?”
I had never spent a single day with him, and even now I dwelt separately in the East Annex. Suddenly being called his wife? When I tilted my head in confusion, Audrey’s expression grew even more irate.
“Are you asking me to nurse him? Why should I? You’re his Wife!”
“Ah….”
“The Physician administered emergency treatment. But he said his condition must be monitored continuously. Mother says I may leave it to her, but why should I?! You are the Young Master’s Wife.”
Audrey’s tone was not merely dismissive—it was as though she addressed a sworn enemy. Her words sent a chill through my entire body. Here was a family member gravely injured, yet neither his Mother nor his Sister-in-law wished to tend to him. Now, to be treated as his Wife seemed almost absurd, yet I offered no protest.
“I understand.”
I nodded calmly. Audrey lifted her chin as though she had expected nothing less. Of course—what choice could someone like me, cast out as worthless by my own family and left with nowhere else to go but this East Annex, possibly make? It was the inevitable outcome.
“Then prepare yourself and come along.”
With that, she turned away sharply, making clear she had no intention of accompanying me further. At her callous demeanor, I clicked my tongue once more. She seemed quite attentive to her own husband, yet her feelings toward the Young Master appeared to be tinged with considerable disdain.
‘Or perhaps she simply despises me.’
Either way, it mattered little to Rowan. She had decided to visit the Main Residence not at Audrey’s behest, but simply to check on Alexis’s condition. After all, regardless of what anyone said, he remained her husband.
***
The moment Rowan arrived at Count Glister’s Main Residence, the Butler greeted her with a bewildered expression. Audrey had already vanished without a trace.
“Just how severe is his condition?”
Rowan whispered as she walked toward Alexis’s Room under the Butler’s guidance. Since no one was around, she felt comfortable speaking with such familiarity. The Butler then leaned in and murmured to her.
“It appears he quarreled with the Eldest Son of Duke Iden.”
At the mention of a duke, Rowan’s brow furrowed.
“Wait, isn’t the Eldest Son of Duke Iden someone you shouldn’t provoke carelessly?”
“Master Alexis is hardly the type to concern himself with such matters.”
The Butler hastened to redirect the conversation.
“Both of Eden Duke’s Two Sons are notorious troublemakers—Master Alexis is incomparable to them. Master Alexis may live dissolutely, but those two… they’ve relied on their family’s power to torment countless people. Relations with Master Alexis were already strained, but when this quarrel erupted, both sons attacked him simultaneously, and then they brought in prepared household members to deliver a coordinated beating…”
The Butler trailed off, unable to continue. Rowan nodded knowingly. From her experience working part-time at the Dining Room before her possession, she had concluded that Eden Duke’s Two Sons were despicable and violent individuals.
‘It seems they couldn’t win through legitimate means.’
This world was no different. People were the same everywhere. With such thoughts, Rowan entered Alexis’s Room.
A lavishly appointed chamber, yet the air felt desolate. The master had been absent so long that human warmth could not linger within these walls.
Rowan approached the Bed slowly, where the unconscious Alexis lay with his eyes tightly shut.
“….”
Seeing him lying there with bruises darkening his skin and blood beading on his lips, even Rowan’s callous heart could not remain unmoved. He lay there with no family member coming to check on him, and she found herself pitying him.
“Please bring clean bandages, water, and towels. Ah, warm water, if you would.”
Rowan spoke to the Butler.
“I’ll tend to him myself, so please have the Maids bring warm water regularly and leave it here.”
“Truly… you can manage this?”
The Butler asked carefully, aware of the distance between them. They had scarcely any connection beyond a few encounters. They were a couple worse than strangers. Rowan exhaled softly and nodded.
“Whether I’m in the East Annex or anywhere else, my status now is that of this man’s wife. I have no choice. If I don’t even fulfill this basic duty, who knows what accusations will follow.”
The Butler nodded at her words. She was right. Ever since Alexis had caused that upheaval, the Countess and Audrey had grown to despise Rowan even more.
There was no benefit in defying them now. Rowan still lacked sufficient funds to leave this household and establish independence. Until that time came, she would have to appease them to some degree. And for Rowan, who had endured countless difficult customers through numerous part-time jobs in her previous life, this was child’s play.
Soon the Maids arrived with clean towels, water, medicine, and bandages. They continued to move in and out of the Room, attending to their needs. Rowan kept vigil beside Alexis through the night, nursing him.
Alexis lay on the Bed, drenched in cold sweat, breathing in shallow, labored gasps. His forehead burned like a coal, and his lips were parched and withered.
Rowan quietly dampened a clean cloth and carefully placed it upon his forehead. The moment her hand touched it, the searing heat made her pause briefly, but she wrung out the cloth again and reapplied it.
“So… there truly was no one to care for him properly.”
Rowan murmured to herself. My life was lonely too, but his is no different. And yet…
She felt a melancholy settle over her. She was an orphan, but this man had a proper family. Yet none of them bothered to care for him.
Rowan gently cleaned the tips of Alexis’s fingers. She carefully wiped away the dried blood and grime clinging to them. Though she had wrapped the bandages multiple times, blood continued to bead around the wounds.
“How did you come to be injured this severely?”
She pressed her hand to his forehead once more, then quietly adjusted the blankets. His shoulders continued to heave with labored breathing, and it weighed on her mind.
This man who had seemed so arrogantly self-assured, so cold and desolate—seeing him now lying there so helplessly… it made her realize anew that humans, no matter how strong they pretend to be, are ultimately all equally fragile and lonely beings.
‘Yes, I can manage this much. Even if only in name, I am still his wife.’

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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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