Spring in My Grasp - Chapter 22

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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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(22) Words Become Seeds

—It seems you’re quite fond of her. When you get the chance, you should visit and catch up.
That’s what he said. Alexis’s jaw clenched with a sharp click.
“What brings you here, Alexis!”
“Oh, it’s been ages since we’ve seen your face!”
He returned to the Hideout where his old crowd still lingered. The place was in complete disarray, as though a tempestuous party had swept through not long ago. Yet Alexis paid no mind, collapsing into a nearby seat and gesturing to an Attendant passing by.
“Bring me any liquor. The strongest you have.”
As the Attendant withdrew, those gathered turned their curious gazes upon him.
“We haven’t seen you in quite some time.”
“There’s been a strange rumor going around lately, Alexis!”
At those words, one of Alexis’s eyebrows arched upward.
“They say you and your wife have been getting along well these days!”
As someone shouted this, everyone in the room erupted into laughter. Absurd! one of them cried out.
“Since you haven’t shown your face at parties lately, all sorts of ridiculous rumors have been spreading.”
“We know you, so we don’t believe such nonsense. Hehehehe.”
Alexis, who had been listening quietly, wore a cold smirk upon his face. Then another person in the gathering added their own words.
“But how could that be? Your wife seems to know her place well enough.”
In that moment, Alexis’s grip tightened around the glass he held. Another person asked the one who had spoken.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Whenever women who harbored unrequited feelings for Alexis would approach her with threats, she’d simply bow and tell them to do as they pleased, saying she had nothing to do with him.”
“Really? That woman’s got some nerve.”
Seeing Alexis appear after so long, everyone gathered grew animated and began chattering away. Alexis took the whiskey and crystal glass from the silver tray the Attendant offered. He poured the liquor generously into the glass and drained it in one breath, his eyes gleaming with a chilling light.
‘So that’s it.’
A faint sneer escaped his lips.
‘That’s what happened.’
***
Alexis’s dissolute lifestyle had resumed after a period of quiet, though with one notable difference—at least he no longer dallied with women. Whenever a woman approached him, no matter how drunk he was, he would recoil as if burned by something.
In the meantime, Rowan had been steadily accumulating money. While the sum wasn’t enormous, it was enough to prove invaluable should she find herself cast onto the streets.
“The young master seems to be troubling you.”
Once Alexis had been absent for some time, the Butler’s visits became frequent again. Yet unlike before, his face now bore the weight of worry, and he sighed often.
Why was he sighing in front of someone in a good mood? He should take his troubles to his own quarters. Rowan’s brow furrowed.
“If you’re going to worry, do it in your own room. Why come here to do it?”
“It’s simply that this place feels most comfortable to me…”
His quarters were in the Main Residence, yet he found the East Annex—which was little better than the Cold Palace—more comforting. Did he think this was some sanctuary where anyone could wander in to heal? While Rowan often contemplated the possibility of being cast out, for now, during her stay, she considered this place her own.
‘These peddlers visit far too often.’
People kept appearing at this place notorious as the Cold Palace. Rowan found herself reflecting anew on her own nature. This is all because I’m too fond of people.
“I thought perhaps the young master had finally ceased his wandering.”
The Butler spoke.
“Unfortunately, there is no one in the Main Residence to restrain him.”
And with that, he fixed his gaze directly upon Rowan. Her lips twisted sharply.
“Why are you saying that while looking at me?”
“Ah, no… well… it’s just that…”
The Butler’s words grew muddled as he averted his eyes.
“You are the lady of the house, after all…”
A hollow laugh escaped Rowan’s lips despite herself.
“I don’t even receive the treatment of a lady, so what lady are you talking about?”
“Ah, why must you speak so sorrowfully? I serve you with genuine devotion.”
At the Butler’s flattery, Rowan let out a soft laugh.
“Why worry so much? You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, after all.”
“My lady!”
At Rowan’s blunt words, the Butler cried out in alarm. He glanced nervously around, as if fearful that someone might overhear their conversation. Rowan sat with her arms crossed, observing his flustered state. Besides the regular visitor, not a soul ventured near this place—what was all this theatricality about?
“You may not realize this, my lady…”
The Butler continued.
“But the young master is not inherently a bad person, despite his wandering ways.”
Well, when you really think about it, where in this world would you find a truly bad person? Everyone is good when you look closely enough. Even serial murderers treat their acquaintances well.
Rowan nodded without conviction.
“It’s true. Though he wanders and indulges outside, he is not the sort to harm or wound others.”
Yet to Rowan, who had witnessed him brawling bloodily with the Idinga Brothers and heard the screams of countless women, his words fell on deaf ears.
‘It seems like he does both of those things.’
Seeing that his words were having no effect, the Butler sighed.
“I’m only now explaining this, but—”
He continued.
“His appearance in such a battered state at your first meeting was not without reason.”
The first meeting—he must be referring to when Alexis had met the original Rowan. At this, Rowan’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. The original Rowan had apparently fainted on the spot upon seeing Alexis covered in blood.
“The young master may drink and wander the streets, but he is not the sort to meet women carelessly. Strangely enough, he seemed to have little interest in such matters.”
Then what about all those women who came to me complaining? Rowan’s eyes narrowed in question.
“I’m telling the truth.”
The Butler waved his hands frantically as he watched Rowan regard him with skeptical eyes.
“It’s simply that he possesses such striking features… and wanders the streets so freely, that women naturally gravitate toward him. But I can assure you, he has never taken women lightly himself. I can vouch for this—I have served him faithfully for many long years.”
Rowan tilted her head with a thoughtful hum.
“The truth is, one of the women who attached herself to him apparently had a prior lover—and not just any lover, but Street Thugs notorious for their brutality. It seems they attacked him without knowing his identity, driven by resentment. When the mistress saw him battered from a sudden assault by multiple assailants, she was shocked. But I assure you, he did not initiate the violence himself. Of course…”
The Butler paused here, clearing his throat somewhat awkwardly.
“When faced with such circumstances, he does… stand his ground.”
‘Standing his ground is putting it mildly—it sounds more like he thoroughly thrashed them.’
Rowan nodded in understanding.
“I see. I understand the situation well enough.”
The Butler gazed at Rowan with earnest eyes—a pitiful expression that Rowan found rather burdensome.
“So please, mistress, do not distance yourself from him… If you could treat him kindly…”
“What does my treating him well have to do with his wandering about?”
This was a genuine question from Rowan herself. At this, the Butler’s eyes grew even brighter.
“It’s just that when he is with you, mistress… he seems somehow different.”
“Different? In what way?”
Had his tastes changed? Rowan blinked. Now that she thought about it, he certainly ate well here without leaving anything behind.
“Well, it’s just a feeling I get from such things. So please…”
The Butler continued.
“If you could treat him kindly… I believe he would improve considerably.”
It was truly incomprehensible. Yet aside from his recent infrequent visits, Rowan had certainly noticed that he came to this Annex far more often than was typical of him—more often than he visited the cold, indifferent people of the Main Residence. Perhaps this place felt more comfortable to him. Besides, it was also where her beloved Aunt had once lived.
In the end, Rowan nodded.
“Very well. Though he hasn’t visited lately. If he comes again, I’ll make more of an effort to treat him well.”
“Truly, mistress?”
The Butler exclaimed with delight.
“Thank you! I’m so grateful you’ve agreed to my request so readily.”
“You’re quite a devoted Butler.”
Rowan chuckled softly.
“There’s no reason to treat a visiting guest coldly. He may not visit again, but in any case, if he does come here again as you say, I’ll make sure to treat him especially well. Does that satisfy you?”
But Rowan did not know then that mere days would pass before Alexis would return to darken her doorstep once more.

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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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