Spring in My Grasp - Chapter 39

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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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(39) I Need My Umbrella

The castle eventually returned to its normal rhythm, devoted entirely to the newlyweds’ intimate life. When the bell chimed, the Maids would prepare meals and place the trolley outside the door. By afternoon, the Butler would briefly meet with Alexis outside the room to deliver his daily report.
In the evenings, the servants would dine together and whisper, “When do you think they’ll finally come out?”
***
After that dreamlike honeymoon week had passed in a haze, Rowan helped Alexis prepare for work for the first time.
“Once I’m gone, make sure you eat a proper breakfast and regain your strength.”
Alexis, dressed in his Holy Knight uniform, gleamed brilliantly. Yet Rowan, barely draped in a thin muslin dress, could only sway weakly before him.
“You can’t go on like this, with so little energy.”
At Alexis’s reproachful remark, I ground my teeth. Who exactly was draining all my vitality in an instant—I who had tended the Vegetable Garden and managed the Annex household?
“Once you leave, I should tour the castle myself.”
I said.
“Otherwise, I won’t have the face to meet anyone.”
And truly, upon arriving, I had done nothing but shut myself away in the bedroom with Alexis, indulging in our newlywed bliss. I was already dreading how I would face the servants once he departed.
“Don’t overexert yourself. That’s what the Butler and Head Maid are for.”
Alexis, about to step outside, paused. Then he turned back to look at me. When his glittering violet eyes suddenly fixed upon me, I tilted my head in confusion.
“What is it?”
Alexis gazed at me intently as I asked. Then he reached out and drew me into his embrace. Suddenly held against him, I took a moment to steady my breath. After spending so much time pressed against him lately, I had grown quite accustomed to such sudden affection.
“Don’t strain yourself coming all the way to the Castle Gate. Rest in the room.”
Having spent our honeymoon together, I discovered that Alexis was far more tender than I had imagined. I could never have pictured him like this—my eyes narrowed as I lay in his arms. How long had it been since I was held like this? After spending weeks together in the bedroom, his embrace felt profoundly comforting.
“I’ll be back soon.”
Alexis reluctantly pulled me away from him and spoke.
“We’ll dine together this evening, so if there’s anything you’d like, tell the Butler. I’ll return quickly.”
“All right.”
I waved my hand.
“Have a safe journey.”
At my farewell, Alexis’s face filled with an inexplicable contentment. He bit his lip and gazed at me, then abruptly turned and left. As the door closed, I crawled into bed and stretched out my limbs.
“Oh my….”
It was the first time in a while I had been alone. My body ached everywhere from the rigorous nights—last night and early this morning. Yet….
‘I must be mad too.’
Recalling the events of the previous night, my eyes grew drowsy. As I lay there in that twilight state between sleep and wakefulness, I heard a careful knock.
“It’s me, Rowan.”
It was none other than Lea.
“Oh, come in quickly.”
As I opened the door to welcome Lea, my face flushed instantly. It felt as though I had revealed something unseemly to someone I had grown so close to.
“I brought something to drink. It’s a medicinal tea—apparently it’s good for restoring energy.”
Lea set down the tray and poured tea for me. I pressed my lips together and sat before the table.
“While I was away….”
Rowan barely managed to open her mouth.
“Have you adjusted well to the Castle?”
At those words, Lea smiled brightly.
“Of course.”
She added to her response.
“I’ve had more than enough time to adjust.”
At that mischievous remark, Rowan lowered her eyes.
‘Alexis, you damned fool!’
But strictly speaking, it wasn’t entirely his fault. So Rowan simply sat there, silently tearing at her hair.
“By the way, Lady Rowan, do you know what’s been happening outside?”
Lea spoke. Rowan lifted her eyes to look at her.
“What do you mean?”
What could possibly be happening? Rowan blinked.
“The letters arriving for you alone have piled up like mountains.”
Lea shrugged her shoulders.
“After all, you’re the daughter-in-law of the Glister Earl Family, yet you’ve never received a single invitation until now.”
Had another noblewoman heard this, it would have been enough to wound her deeply, but it struck no chord of pain in Rowan. Lea chattered away excitedly.
“They treated you like you didn’t exist, and now look at them scrambling to send invitations and letters your way. It’s absolutely infuriating—and yet so satisfying.”
“Why the sudden change?”
When Rowan asked, Lea’s mouth split into a grin.
“Do you know how much High Society is in an uproar? Everyone’s talking about nothing but you and Alexis.”
“What?”
Rowan’s hand trembled as she held her teacup. Her face paled in an instant.
“Why would they?”
I hate being the center of attention! It’s exhausting! Rowan screamed silently within herself.
Even though she had begun a proper marriage with Alexis, Rowan’s heart still harbored a longing for peace and safety.
And if she ever found it difficult to adapt to this world or was cast out from the Castle, she still held onto her plan to flee with the funds she’d secured and seek stability. So how devastating must Lea’s words have been to her now.
“Really, Lady Rowan.”
Lea spoke as if exasperated.
“It’s so satisfying. Just look at the faces of all those people who used to ignore you. And your own family has been continuously requesting meetings, but the Butler has turned them all away. He says you’re too busy managing the Castle. Though of course, you were busy for different reasons. Hehe.” Lea added with a knowing smile, and Rowan’s expression grew stern.
“Don’t say such unnecessary things.”
“I understand, I understand.”
Watching Rowan’s face flush crimson, Lea continued to giggle.
“Still, how fortunate it all is. Not long ago, we were only thinking about how to make our way in the East Annex. But now, with the Young Master—no, the Master—becoming such a great Holy Knight and entering this magnificent Castle like a Royal Palace… it feels like a dream to me.”
“….”
A dream, Rowan thought.
‘It does feel like a dream.’
Coming to this other world in the first place was proof enough of that.
The fact that I came to this world in the first place doesn’t make sense.
‘It was a dreamlike time of peace.’
Compared to those days in the Basement Single Room with poor heating and cooling, constantly starving and taking whatever part-time jobs came my way, this world was heaven. Because of that, spending this sweet honeymoon time with him and becoming the mistress of this grand Castle felt terribly unreal to me.
‘Actually, I feel more at ease in the East Annex.’
Even that place had been such a paradise for me. The Garden I could use freely and the spacious Annex were also an incredible luxury for Rowan. Without worrying about anyone’s gaze—or rather, having been abandoned—I had arranged my life as I pleased and eaten delicious food to my heart’s content.
But here in this Castle, there would be more than one or two eyes watching her. Rowan’s shoulders, already accustomed to living under others’ scrutiny, drooped further.
“Ugh, I hate being the center of attention.”
“Why not, Lady Rowan? Enjoy it.”
Lea said.
“Show all those people who used to ignore you. My husband is a great Holy Knight of the Kingdom, and I am deeply loved by that Holy Knight—”
“Ah, stop it already!”
Unable to bear the embarrassment any longer, Rowan let out a sharp cry.
“My goodness. You’re the daughter of a Marquis household, Lady Rowan, so why are you so timid?”
At Lea’s words, Rowan squeezed her eyes shut.
‘Because that’s not what I am.’
Lea, unaware of her true feelings, simply grinned.
“Besides, the Butler still has connections to the Glister Earl Family. That’s how I heard the news—that place is like a tomb now. They’ve rejected all those tea parties, rejected visitors. Since the Countess Glister and Lady Audrey don’t attend social events, rumors are spreading behind their backs. Something about how the Glister Earl Family is bitter that the good-for-nothing they despised became a Holy Knight, you know?”
She burst into delighted laughter.
“And I’m receiving so many letters now. Letters from colleagues at the Glister Earl Family who want to come work here. Those same people who treated me like I was invisible when I went to the East Annex with you, Lady Rowan. It’s really quite satisfying.”
“Don’t enjoy it too much, Lea.”
Rowan spoke in a melancholy voice.
“If that man casts me aside, it’s all just a dream anyway.”
Having experienced poverty so severe it felt like being torn apart in my previous life, I had witnessed the capriciousness of kind-faced adults many times. And I had come to believe that the only person I could truly rely on was myself.
Yes. An umbrella given by someone else is merely discarded when they withdraw it. When the rain pours down then, I need my own umbrella to escape with.

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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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