Spring in My Grasp - Chapter 24

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

(24) Love for Me Alone

‘No, surely not.’
I hastily pushed away the absurd feeling I’d just experienced.
‘That makes no sense. Why would he…’
Perhaps it was simply the rain and my weakened body playing tricks on me. I decided to believe that explanation.
“You should rest as well. I’ve prepared bedding in the adjacent room next to my bedroom. You can sleep in tomorrow if you’d like. Whatever happened outside today, don’t think about it—just get some sleep. And when you wake, we’ll have something delicious to eat.”
At my familiar tone, Alexis nodded. It was his first time sleeping in the adjacent room. If we had been a proper married couple, we could have shared one bedroom.
Alexis suddenly regretted refusing Rowan’s pleas on their wedding night and leaving so coldly. If he had only extended his hand to her then, where would they be now?
A bitter taste filled his mouth. Alexis picked up the lamp and climbed the staircase with Rowan.
“Sleep well, Alexis.”
Rowan offered a gentle goodnight before entering her bedroom and closing the door. He stood before that closed door for a long moment before stepping into the adjacent room. As he lay on the bed, he shifted restlessly for a time. Though a sense of longing lingered, Rowan was near. That was enough.
—You’re my wife right now, after all.
Her words echoed in his mind. That single phrase resonated within him. And now she slept in the adjacent room. With his heart finally at ease, Alexis closed his eyes deeply. He found it remarkable that such a small, fragile woman could bring him such peace.
***
‘This is truly bothersome.’
I thought to myself.
‘Why does he keep following me around?’
Whether I was cleaning the living room or cooking in the kitchen, Alexis hovered constantly at my side. What made it worse was that he pretended not to be doing so.
He’d linger under the guise of helping with the cleaning, only to make things more troublesome—clearly he’d never done such work with his own hands before—or he’d sit behind me claiming he wanted tea while I cooked.
And whenever I felt his gaze and spun around to catch him, he’d swiftly avert his eyes as if he’d never been looking at me. His stare was so blatantly persistent that my heart grew increasingly uneasy.
‘What is this?’
My heart began to race.
‘Did he find out about the money I’ve been secretly saving?’
How could he possibly know about that? Surely he wouldn’t demand I hand it over? Without realizing it, I tensed, my movements becoming stiff.
“Um.”
That was when it happened.
“Oh, you startled me!”
When Alexis spoke to me, my already anxious nerves caused me to cry out sharply.
“Why are you so frightened?”
Alexis’s violet eyes widened in surprise. He’d only spoken to me—not even raised his voice—yet I’d reacted so dramatically. I pressed a hand to my chest and spoke.
“I-I’m sorry. I was just… thinking about something else…”
Something else… Alexis’s eyes narrowed for a moment, but he quickly composed himself and continued.
“I heard somewhere that quite a few… women have been coming to see you.”
Just as I’d been anxiously dreading he’d bring up the money, his unexpected question made my face brighten considerably.
“Oh, that? Yes, it happens fairly often.”
“Why… didn’t you tell me?”
At his words, Rowan tilted her head slightly, a flicker of confusion crossing her features.
‘Weren’t you not here at that time?’
However, having resolved not to openly rebuke Alexis, Rowan simply smiled as though nothing were amiss.
“It’s nothing worth troubling you over. I can handle it myself.”
At that, Alexis’s expression darkened.
“You don’t believe what those women said, do you?”
“….”
Rowan blinked. Growing urgent, Alexis spoke once more.
“It’s all lies.”
“….”
“I’ve never met those women.”
“….”
“I may have shared a table with them at the Party, but I’ve never met any woman separately… truly.”
Listening quietly to Alexis’s words, Rowan remained still for a moment before drawing closer to him, her smile unwavering.
“I understand. I believe you.”
At her words, Alexis felt a wave of relief wash over him and began to speak again.
“And even if you had met them, what would it matter?”
Rowan said.
“You’re a grown man, and you’re so handsome and accomplished.”
This time, it was Alexis who was taken aback. His eyes widened, then narrowed.
“Women won’t leave you alone—that much is obvious. I understand completely.”
Rowan smiled sweetly.
“So don’t worry about it. I’m not bothered at all.”
Having finished speaking, Rowan turned to face Alexis with a radiant smile, her eyes crinkling at the corners, before turning away. She mentioned she would gather some herbs from the Garden and stepped outside. Through the first-floor window, Alexis watched her move about, and suddenly his chest tightened with a sharp, piercing pain.
How could the words “not bothered at all” cut like a blade?
Alexis collapsed onto the sofa.
Not bothered at all—he couldn’t believe it. Even if their marriage wasn’t born of love, weren’t they still husband and wife? Hadn’t she said as much? And yet, facing women who claimed to have met her husband, she was unbothered. The wound that now pierced his heart was the exact opposite of the gratitude he’d felt when she first said she believed him.
‘Not bothered at all.’
Suddenly, he felt a profound sense of loss. He was drawing ever closer to her, yet she seemed not to take a single step toward him. She was always smiling, always kind, but it felt as though that was all there was.
Now that he thought about it, she had never once been angry with him or shown irritation. It seemed she simply smiled because she had to, because it was her duty to engage with him. Alexis couldn’t articulate it precisely, but he felt as though he had grasped something fundamental.
She did not love him. And with that realization came another, more painful truth: that he was the one harboring that love for her.
Alone.
***
One day, Rowan received a letter from her family—the Hartwood Family Estate. It arrived in an excited, breathless tone, brimming with news.
Her stepsister Layla was getting married. And to none other than the eldest son of a Baron’s Family, a man renowned in high society for his impeccable appearance and refined manners.
Layla had written the letter as if to provoke Rowan, boasting that while the Baron’s Family might not hold an earldom, they possessed considerable commercial interests and were wealthier than many noble houses. More importantly, she gushed, her future husband was exceptionally well-mannered and cultured.
She assured Rowan that this marriage would be blissful and mentioned she was already receiving instruction as a prospective baroness.
At the end, she had added a casual inquiry about how her sister was faring—but the tone was unmistakably mocking, dripping with contempt for Rowan’s circumstances.
“How tiresome.”
After finishing the letter, Rowan’s expression turned indifferent as she carelessly tossed it onto the side table. The Butler’s confidential words came to mind—the truth about how her betrothal had been switched.
Apparently, a wealthy Baron’s Family had originally proposed a match with the eldest daughter of the Hartwood Marquis Family, but the arrangement was swapped, and Rowan was hastily pushed into this Count Glister’s household instead. The Glister Earl Family, eager to dispose of their troublesome second son regardless of their family’s reputation, had agreed to the match, though rumors suggested the original betrothal had been with another house entirely.
‘Go ahead then. Live happily.’
Rowan thought to herself.
‘After going to such lengths to secure this marriage, you might as well be content.’
In truth, the people of the Hartwood Marquis Family were not her real family, so whatever mockery or persecution they directed at her held no sway over Rowan. Having slept in this morning, she stretched lazily and yawned.
‘Wait. Now that I think about it, I’ve run out of pork and pepper.’
Since I needed to move about anyway and had various errands, why not venture into town for once? Rowan quickly changed into her outdoor attire.
‘I need to be back before nightfall.’
Unlike the world she originally came from, this place had no streetlamps to illuminate the darkness. The upper classes like Alexis traveled by carriage without concern, but Rowan economized by returning on a merchant’s cart pulled by a driver. Even that became somewhat eerie once darkness fell. Changed into her outdoor clothes, Rowan descended to the living room with a light, cheerful step.
“Alexis.”
Alexis, who had been reading the newspaper on the living room sofa, looked up. As Rowan approached with a bright smile, he seemed slightly taken aback.
“Are you busy?”

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