Spring in My Grasp - Chapter 9

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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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(9) Just Curious

“I’m exhausted!”
Alexis kicked away the clingy fool and slipped out of the tavern. Grumbling echoed behind him, but he paid it no mind.
The alcohol’s effects didn’t linger long. Drawing in the cool air, I walked through streets painted in deepening twilight. With disheveled clothes and hands thrust into my pockets, I trudged forward feeling utterly abandoned in this world.
‘This is damnable!’
I truly couldn’t bear this feeling. The wretchedness, the solitude—and as always in such moments, Aunt Ureia’s sorrowful face surfaced in my mind.
-Please, get me out of here….
Ureia’s only flaw was a somewhat naive disposition. Yet the family had cruelly confined her to the East Annex. It was perhaps inevitable that Alexis, who had grown up suffering harsh discrimination from Countess Glister, would grow close to his imprisoned aunt.
Returning to the Count’s Residence out of habit, I felt my spirits sink further. Now, stepping inside that manor meant enduring the sight of my family’s unity—from which I alone was excluded.
Unwilling to return for more drinking or idle gossip, I moved with heavy steps, then suddenly turned my head. My gaze fell upon none other than the East Annex.
The East Annex, with trees densely planted like a living fence to partition the space, was so concealed that one couldn’t find it without deliberately seeking it out.
Alexis suddenly recalled the strange atmosphere he’d felt in the East Annex before. It was entirely different from when Aunt Ureia had lived there. There was no trace of the melancholy I could reminisce about her through. And yet, despite all that….
‘Damn it.’
I ground my teeth.
‘What am I doing?’
My feet were already heading toward the East Annex.
‘I’m just curious. Just curious….’
How could anyone live like that in such a gloomy, desolate place? I found it remarkable. The curiosity easily overcame my reluctance to enter the Count’s Residence. I finally reached the East Annex.
“….”
Standing before the Annex, I hesitated for a moment. What was I supposed to say before entering? When it had been empty, I’d come and gone freely, but now it had a proper owner. And of all people, it was the place where my wife—the woman I’d neglected and refused to acknowledge—was confined.
‘Right, I’m just checking on how she’s doing.’
Having barely found justification, Alexis opened the door with uncharacteristic tension. The moment it swung open, warmth and a delicious aroma enveloped him.
***
Rowan craved something spicy. Yet in this land, the options were limited. The best they could manage was a chili sauce so mild it barely registered on the palate.
‘If it doesn’t exist, I’ll make it myself.’
Rowan and Lea ventured to the Market together, purchasing various ingredients. Among them were small peppers that looked positively sinister in their potency.
“Aren’t those poisonous?”
Lea flinched, too frightened even to handle the peppers. Rowan laughed heartily and mixed them into an oil-based sauce.
“Who eats them alone? Dipped in something rich and fatty—it’s incredibly refreshing and delicious.”
Thus, Rowan simmered two cuts of pork neck with various herbs and vegetables into a tender broth. The meat, infused with the umami of the vegetables, released a savory and appetizing aroma.
“I can’t bear it any longer.”
Even Lea, who had been preparing the food, murmured in rapture. They laid out bacon potato soup, herb-braised pork, spicy oil sauce, and a generous salad.
“Do you know what, Lea?”
Rowan spoke as she set the dishes on the Dining Table.
“A person must eat well in the evening.”
She licked her lips and took her seat.
“Eat well, Lea.”
“You as well, Rowan.”
They had just settled into their chairs and were reaching for their utensils.
“Ah….”
It was then that Lea’s eyes, sitting across from Rowan, widened in surprise. Rowan, about to lift her utensil with joy, tilted her head curiously and followed Lea’s gaze.
“Oh!”
There stood Alexis—her own husband—with such breathtaking beauty that her heart seemed to stop, lingering awkwardly in the doorway.
Moreover, Alexis himself was regarding them with an equally flustered and uncomfortable expression.
“…It seems you were in the middle of eating.”
Rowan stared at him for a moment, taken aback.
“I’ve intruded. Please, continue. I’ll… come back another time.”
At Rowan’s expression, Alexis flushed and turned to leave. His awkward demeanor prompted Rowan to rise from her seat.
“Since you’re here, at least join us for the meal.”
Alexis, who had been opening the door to leave, stopped abruptly. As Rowan watched his back, she continued speaking.
“We’ve prepared far more than the two of us can eat, so come and join us. Though I’m not certain it will suit your taste.”
“….”
Alexis remained silent for a moment. For several seconds, it was palpable that he was wrestling with conflicting thoughts. Rowan inwardly clicked her tongue and examined his appearance.
‘Here’s a nobleman’s son, yet his clothes are all disheveled and wrinkled… still, he carries them well. With such exceptional features, even rags would shine on him. What on earth am I thinking?’
Rowan mentally slapped her own cheek and hastily stopped her thoughts.
“If you’d rather not—”
Rowan was opening her mouth, embarrassed by Alexis’s continued silence and lack of response.
As he slowly turned his face toward her, her breath caught. His expression was sorrowful and contemplative. When those mysterious violet-blue eyes, framed by luminous silver hair, turned toward her, Rowan felt her body tremble.
‘This is merely the instinctive awe one feels when confronted with an extraordinary work of art.’
She barely managed to organize her thoughts this way.
“…If it wouldn’t be an imposition.”
The sharp, caustic demeanor from their first meeting had vanished entirely. In its place was a boyish face still uncertain and unguarded. Rowan felt her cheeks flush and bit her lip.
‘Ah, I’m weak to this sort of thing.’
This is quite the situation, Rowan muttered under her breath, tugging at his arm with a wry smile.
“What trouble are you talking about? We’re just sharing leftover food together. Don’t say such awkward things—come sit down quickly. I’m starving.”
For some reason, Alexis allowed himself to be pulled along helplessly by Rowan. It was at that moment that Lea, who had been holding her breath while watching, began to rise with her bowl in hand.
“Just sit and eat, Lea.”
Rowan said this, then turned her head toward Alexis.
“We always eat together here anyway. It’s fine for the three of us to share a meal comfortably, isn’t it? There’s nothing inconvenient about it, right?”
What could Alexis possibly say, having invaded without warning or invitation? He simply nodded silently. Rowan smiled brightly and gave Lea a knowing look. Lea, quick to understand, promptly prepared a place setting for Alexis.
“Enjoy your meal, Alexis.”
At the sudden sound of his name, Alexis looked up and turned toward Rowan. But she was already moving her fork with such urgency that she clearly couldn’t wait any longer.
‘She really does eat well.’
Alexis had never in his life seen a woman—let alone a noblewoman—eat with such ravenous abandon.
“Ah, I was really starving today.”
Speaking to no one in particular, Rowan murmured to herself, dipping the boiled meat into sauce with genuine relish, her face beaming with joy.
The way she stuffed her cheeks full of meat resembled a squirrel. Her ceaseless eating was far less unpleasant to watch than he would have expected. It wasn’t graceful or aristocratic, but the more he watched, the more…
‘Now I’m getting hungry too.’
Alexis hesitantly picked up his utensils. He wasn’t typically a man with a large appetite, but watching Rowan eat had suddenly awakened his hunger.
“How is it?”
Rowan asked, observing as Alexis carefully ate the boiled meat.
“Is it delicious?”
She kindly placed a bowl of bacon potato soup in front of him.
“If the sauce is too spicy, just eat a spoonful of this soup at a time, and it helps. You eat something spicy, then something sweet, then something salty, and before you know it, you just keep eating endlessly.”
Is that why I’m getting fat? Hahaha— As Rowan burst into laughter, Lea, who had been quietly observing Alexis’s reaction, carefully opened her mouth.
“You don’t gain weight relative to how much you eat, Lady Rowan.”
“That’s because I work just as hard as I eat.”
“If you didn’t work so much, by now—”
“I’d have to alter all my clothes to wear them.”
Rowan said.
“I eat and move around to save on clothing costs. Do you understand the extent of my efforts, Lea?”
Alexis’s hand, which had been slowly bringing food to his mouth, froze midway. His eyes, clouded with disbelief, turned toward Rowan.
“Save on clothing costs? What kind of nonsense is that?”
His voice rang out coldly.

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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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