Spring in My Grasp - Chapter 16

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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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(16) The Madman and the Weary Woman

Alexis watched with his usual indifferent gaze as the Attendants worked to perfect his appearance in the mirror. Once they finished dressing him, another quick Attendant summoned two Maids. The Maids, having received word from the Attendants, carefully arranged his tousled hair.
They sprayed him with cologne to ensure he carried a pleasant fragrance. Though Alexis typically despised the artificial scent of perfume, this time he said nothing. When all the preparations were complete, the man reflected in the mirror was no longer a reckless scoundrel with a striking appearance—he stood there elegant and beautiful. The Attendants and Maids watching him found themselves entranced, their eyes glazing over as they stared at him in a daze.
“You may go.”
At Alexis’s words, the Attendants and Maids snapped back to attention and quickly withdrew.
“Hmm.”
Alexis gave a soft cough of approval as he regarded his reflection, as though to say it wasn’t entirely displeasing.
‘This will suffice as proper etiquette.’
With that, he left the Mansion in a peculiar mood—somehow lighter than usual. His steps carried him toward none other than the East Annex.
At that very moment, Rowan was sweeping the ground in front of the Annex with a broom. Since Lea had managed things alone for several days, Rowan had hastily finished the cleaning and intended for them both to retire to their respective rooms and sleep the entire day away. Just as she was about to sweep the last of the dust from the doorway and hurry inside, she caught sight of a distant figure approaching. Her eyes widened in surprise.
The figure approaching the Annex was not the half-delirious Alexis who, mere days ago, had been consumed by sweat and fever.
“…What on earth is that appearance?”
Rowan muttered flatly—a measure of just how startled she was.
‘Still beautiful, certainly, but what is this…?’
His black suit was immaculate, without a single wrinkle, and his transparent silver hair had been carefully combed back. A delicate fragrance enveloped the space around him. His characteristic haughty expression remained, yet his violet eyes held an unmistakable gleam of excitement.
“Why… what brings you all the way here…?”
Rowan stammered, regarding him with bewildered eyes. Seeing her flustered expression, Alexis offered a subtly composed smile.
“I find myself indebted to you through no intention of my own.”
“Well… there’s no need to speak of debts.”
Is this really the same man who was bedridden with illness last night?
Rowan couldn’t help but marvel inwardly. Yet the man before her stood as though nothing had happened, his bearing still imperious and commanding, save for a newfound gauntness about him. Like an elegant beast. Or rather, like a beast that had suddenly become elegant.
“I, too, understand propriety.”
Alexis spoke with deliberate gravity.
“I owe you my thanks. You nursed me for several days, after all.”
“Well…”
Your Sister-in-law dragged me along as though threatening me.
Rowan swallowed the words she dared not speak aloud. Without her intervention, she would have been cast out!
‘Setting that aside…’
Rowan thought to herself.
‘Couldn’t he have sent an Attendant to do this?’
Along with that thought came another, unbidden.
‘He could have simply rewarded me with money.’
But wisely, she kept such thoughts hidden. Though her bewilderment hadn’t faded, she couldn’t turn away someone who had come to express gratitude in this manner.
Deciding she ought to offer proper hospitality, Rowan composed herself and invited him inside the Annex.
“Please… come in.”
As she reheated the teapot left over from her earlier time with Lea, her mind continued to turn.
‘Why on earth did you come in person? Were you bored?’
Even as I watched Alexis accept the teacup I offered with that haughty demeanor of his, I couldn’t help but let my disappointment show.
‘You could have at least brought something.’
That was what disgruntled Rowan thought.
‘Tch.’
I couldn’t suppress the way my lips twisted.
‘He literally brought nothing but his face.’
I wanted to teach him what true courtesy actually meant, but I exercised restraint and held my tongue. Even as I continued to bite back my words, Alexis savored my reaction with a subtle smile, recalling that moment when she’d first laid eyes on him—her eyes widening in surprise, her words faltering.
‘I’m glad I dressed well today.’
No matter how infamous his reputation, the reaction was no different from what he saw whenever he appeared at the Party Venue—the bewildered gazes of countless noble ladies, their flustered expressions.
‘Her reaction today is different from usual.’
Emboldened, Alexis brought the teacup to his lips with deliberate nonchalance, stealing glances at her. I noticed her biting her lip, lost in thought. The more I observed this, the more his smile widened.
‘She’s quite naive, after all.’
He sipped his tea slowly, lost in his own delusions. As the fragrant aroma rose, I watched his mysteriously silent expression from across the table and sighed inwardly.
‘Ugh, I’m dying of boredom.’
Still, I couldn’t show such a thing in front of someone who would leave soon. I understood propriety too. He’d stay for at most an hour or two. I eventually smiled brightly and sat across from Alexis.
“How are you feeling?”
At my question, Alexis set down his teacup. Then he fixed me with an unreadable gaze. I tilted my head and blinked innocently, as if I knew nothing.
‘How cute.’
The thought came unbidden, and Alexis abruptly turned his head away. But my mind was elsewhere entirely.
‘That man.’
I swallowed hard.
‘Surely he hasn’t noticed that I disposed of a few vases and dishes?’
My heart began to race.
‘They were so old anyway, I just converted them to money.’
I forced a smile and spoke to Alexis.
“Would you like more tea?”
My lips trembled slightly without my realizing it.
‘What if they’re actually family heirlooms or something?’
Unaware of my anxious thoughts, Alexis arrogantly leaned back in his chair and nodded.
“It tastes decent.”
“Yes! Let me pour you another cup!”
Like a junior employee addressing her superior, I sprang to my feet. Then I quickly retrieved the teapot and poured fresh tea into Alexis’s empty cup. He watched silently.
Proper etiquette dictated that a teacup touched by a noble should be removed entirely. Yet I was pouring fresh tea directly into the same empty cup I’d just used.
This was not the behavior of a noble lady. The way I bustled about with the teapot, moving with the efficiency of a Maid, was equally telling. Of course, Alexis could never have guessed the truth—that all of this was simply to minimize the dishes.
‘Sometimes she seems rather strange.’
But perhaps it was because she’d nursed me back to health. Or perhaps because she was an intriguing sort. Either way, I didn’t dislike her. In fact, quite the opposite.
‘How should I put it.’
That same thought from moments ago kept creeping back unbidden. As Rowan set the teapot back in its place and turned to look at me, she flashed a smile so obsequious it was almost pitiful.
In that instant, Alexis’s expression froze completely.
‘She’s cute, I’ll admit.’
His lips pressed into a thin line.
‘There it is.’
The moment the thought that Rowan was adorable crystallized in his mind. Yet he still didn’t truly know her. There was meaning woven into Rowan’s smile.
‘Even if you’ve figured it out, just turn a blind eye this once, please.’
And so she faced Alexis across the table again. It was only an hour or two, after all. That’s what she told herself.
***
‘I’d rather you kill me.’
But her miscalculation was nothing but arrogance. Alexis didn’t leave. Not for a long while. No—he stayed the entire day!
“Rowan, you still haven’t slept?”
Lea stumbled out of her room, stretching languidly with a yawn, only to freeze in her tracks the moment she entered the kitchen.
Alexis sat at the dining table in an impeccably composed posture, not a hair out of place. And remarkably, before him sat not a wine glass, but a teacup.
Lea’s shocked gaze shifted. Rowan sat across from Alexis. Her eyes had grown hollow with exhaustion, and she turned to look at Lea.
“Lea….”
No other words were necessary. Rowan’s eyes spoke volumes to Lea.
‘Save me.’
The worst torture inflicted upon humanity is not the lash. It is sleep deprivation. I had stayed awake for days nursing him, yet he showed no inclination to let me rest in peace.
‘This ungrateful wretch.’
I shot glares at Alexis from time to time, but he seemed oblivious.
‘Madman.’
I eventually gave up and let my eyes flutter closed. Then, with tears glistening in my eyes, I gazed at Alexis. Yet when he sensed my glistening gaze fixed upon him, he felt a peculiar warmth bloom in his chest.
‘She’s staring at me so intensely.’

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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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