Spring in My Grasp - Chapter 23

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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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(23) Were You Worried About Me?

It was dawn. The rain fell in fierce torrents, making sleep elusive on this particularly restless night. After drifting in and out of consciousness, I heard a sound from the first floor and rubbed my eyes awake. Peering through the window, I could see the wind and rain battering against the panes with relentless force.
‘Could something outside have broken…?’
Concerned about the modest Vegetable Garden and trees beside the Annex, I decided to check on them.
‘Or perhaps Lea couldn’t sleep either and got up?’
I carefully felt my way through the darkness, gripped the railing, and descended to the first floor. Looking out through the first-floor window, the darkness was too thick to see anything clearly.
‘If I go out now to check, I’ll be soaked through…’
I had no choice but to check tomorrow. Just as I turned to return to bed—
“Ah!”
I nearly stumbled backward.
“What, what is it!”
In the dimly lit Living Room, a large shadow loomed on the sofa.
“…It’s me.”
My breath caught in my throat from the fright, when suddenly a familiar voice reached my ears. My eyes widened.
“Alexis?”
“…”
No further words came. Still trembling from the shock, I staggered toward the shadow, my strength nearly gone.
“Is that you?”
As my hand touched the dark silhouette, I felt something damp and wet. Alexis sat motionless on the sofa.
“Just a moment.”
Flustered, I fumbled for the lamp and lit it. Between the flickering light, I could make out Alexis’s faint features—he was drenched, water dripping from every part of him.
“What is all this?”
I said.
“You’re soaked through from the rain… you should have said something when you arrived.”
“…”
Alexis remained silent. In the dim lamplight, his appearance seemed almost pitiful and dejected.
‘It looks like he just walked here through that storm…’
No wonder he was exhausted. I hurriedly removed his outer coat.
“Take off these wet clothes at once. You’ll catch your death of cold.”
Surprisingly, Alexis complied without resistance, remaining still as I worked.
‘How unusual that he’s being so obedient.’
It was unexpected, but seeing how long he’d been sitting there soaked, my heart ached for him. After shaking out his coat and tossing it into the laundry basket, I approached Alexis and gently placed my hand on his shoulder.
“I’ll prepare a robe for you. Go wash up and change into dry clothes. In the meantime, I’ll make you some warm soup.”
Then Alexis gazed at me intently. His wet silver hair gleamed like jewels in the lamplight. As his sorrowful violet-blue eyes looked upon me, my heart began to race without my knowing it.
“If you’re not too tired, change your clothes and have some soup before bed. Look, your body has gone completely cold.”
As I spoke, tracing the back of his hand, his lips trembled slightly before he gave a faint nod. Seeing him so obedient and fragile, I felt a part of my own heart crumble.
After quickly sending Alexis to the Bathroom, I prepared towels and a robe on the Bed in the Room where he would stay. Then I hurried downstairs to the First Floor and prepared soup. Worried he might feel faint, I generously buttered soft white bread and lightly toasted it. Soon, Alexis descended to the First Floor in his robe. I smiled gently at him and guided him to the Dining Table.
“Your hair needs a bit more drying.”
Water still dripped from his silver hair, which was soaked through. I seated him at the Dining Table and stood behind him, quickly drying his hair with a dry towel. Alexis’s hand, which had been reaching for a spoon to eat the soup, suddenly froze.
“You need to dry your hair properly, or you’ll catch a cold. Just sit still. I’m almost done.”
The silver strands felt remarkably soft beneath my fingers. As I dried his gleaming silver hair, it felt almost like touching silverware. Alexis’s hand, which had hesitated for a moment, resumed moving. He began eating his soup slowly.
“How does it taste?”
After drying Alexis’s hair, I sat across from him and asked. Alexis quietly lifted his eyes to look at me, hesitating for a moment.
“…It’s delicious.”
“I’m glad.”
I smiled.
“I was worried since I made it in such a hurry.”
“Anything you do…”
Alexis’s voice trailed off.
“…tastes good.”
My eyes blinked briefly at those words, but I soon curved my lips upward again.
“What an honor.”
Alexis gazed at me as I responded playfully, as if dazzled. Then he quickly looked away. There was something dejected about his expression. Unfamiliar with this side of him, I remained quietly for a moment.
“Is something wrong?”
Unable to bear the prolonged silence any longer, I spoke again. Alexis sat with an expressionless face.
“Has something happened while we haven’t seen each other?”
I was about to ask why he seemed so listless, but his next words made me close my mouth.
“You worried about me.”
Alexis said.
“…Did I?”
Startled by his unexpected words, my eyes blinked rapidly for a moment. Then I quickly composed myself and smiled sheepishly.
“Of course.”
“….”
“Whether you were eating properly somewhere, or if you’d gotten sick from drinking only alcohol.”
“….”
“I worried about you. It’s obvious, so why ask?”
Yet as I said those words, I felt a pang of guilt. Worry? The truth was, I’d simply felt light-hearted while saving money and experiencing peaceful days. Nothing more.
After all, Alexis was a man, and moreover, one with a strikingly handsome face. He was even the second son of a great noble house. There was no reason for me to worry about him. With my own uncertain future, why would I worry?
But the Butler had asked me to, and today’s Alexis seemed somehow broken, so I shamelessly claimed I had worried about him.
Then Alexis’s face transformed in an instant. It became radiant, as if he’d discovered a single ray of light from far within a dark cave.
“Really?”
As if suppressing an intensely surging emotion, Alexis bit his lip. If anything, I was the one taken aback. Was this something to be so pleased about? In that moment, my head suddenly spun with the strange energy I’d felt when we first married.
‘What on earth is this feeling…?’
Barely suppressing the dizziness, I let out an awkward laugh and nodded.
“I really did. You used to visit often, but then you stopped coming by… I wondered if something unfortunate had happened to you outside…”
“….”
“Regardless, I’m your wife now.”
Ha ha—I laughed, affecting an air of casual indifference. At my words, Alexis remained silent for a moment before nodding faintly.
“That’s true.”
It truly was. No matter what anyone said, we were husband and wife. Even though I now resided in the Eastern Pavilion, we had nonetheless exchanged vows before the Priest in God’s name—we were a legitimate married couple.
Though the phrase “now” in my words did give him pause, it was a matter he couldn’t very well contest, given that he himself had abandoned me in the early days of our marriage and driven me to the East Annex. Yet the unchanging truth remained: we were currently bound in matrimony.
With his mind somewhat eased, Alexis took a moment to collect his thoughts. Why had he come here? It was a question even he couldn’t answer. He had tried to distance himself from me, wandering the streets with his companions, drinking and drifting aimlessly—but the problem was that none of it worked anymore.
When alcohol dulled his senses, the longing to return to the Annex only grew more desperate. No matter how he tried to resist—making wagers with his companions, drinking, indulging in every distraction—as time passed, an unbearable emptiness hollowed him from within.
Now, with his patience finally exhausted, he had returned to this place despite the harsh storm raging outside.
Yet the hour was far too late, and lacking the courage to wake me, Alexis had sat quietly in the darkness, consumed by countless thoughts. Why am I like this? Why do I act this way? And then, at some moment, he understood: he could no longer keep his distance from me.
“I’ve kept you from proper sleep. I’m sorry. Go back inside and rest.”
I too found my mind clouded by the strange atmosphere he emanated. This man could speak so tenderly, so considerately? Moreover, unlike before, his manner toward me had shifted somehow. Opposite to his former coldness, he now seemed almost vulnerable in my presence, even watching for my reactions.

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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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