MHHC Chapter 57

Just When, Exactly

"The Emperor?"

Valentin nodded, his lips pressed into a line of displeasure.

He reached out and swept her hair aside, and a cool sensation traveled from the crown of her head to the tips of her toes before vanishing.

Adelheid realized that her body, which had been uncomfortably soaked with sweat, had become instantly clean.

Even her hair now carried the fragrant scent of soap, as if freshly washed.

"On the opening and closing days of the hunt festival, he wants us to make an appearance before the nobility. We'll ride in the carriage, show our faces, and rest in Ansgar's tent."

"……."

"If it's too much, tell me. I'll find a way to excuse us."

Adelheid shook her head.

"I'm fine. I'm feeling much better, and I can do it."

The truth was, regardless of everything else, Valentin was the hero of this victory celebration.

Attending major events without a partner was the perfect way to invite ridicule.

And since a man bound by marriage vows couldn't very well attend with another woman, even though she'd been ill, she'd unintentionally caused him considerable trouble.

Though Valentin himself seemed utterly unconcerned. Was it because, even with the memories of the 'Grand Duke of Ansgar,' he was fundamentally not human?

'Now that I think about it, it really is strange.'

It was increasingly remarkable that Valentin remained perfectly fine within the Imperial Palace, where Morig's sanctity hung thick in every corner and high priests walked freely.

Moreover, no one had noticed his true nature.

'Divine power can't be completely ineffective against him.'

The reason casualties remained low during seasonal monster subjugations was precisely because priests accompanied the expeditions.

Monsters that wouldn't flinch at blades or fire would recoil in terror before a priest's divine power.

Yet why did it have no effect whatsoever on Valentin? She wondered if it was because he was the same kind of being—a 'god'?

"More useless thoughts."

He brushed his thumb lightly across her parted lips.

"You'll drool, Adele."

He leaned closer, whispering tenderly near her ear. She flushed and hastily wiped her lips with the back of her hand. He smiled and extended his hand.

"You must be tired of lying down by now. Let me help you try on the new dress."

"Help me?"

"It would be difficult to manage alone, wouldn't it?"

It would be difficult, certainly. The dress had laces that needed to be threaded through eyelets and tied at the back.

But showing Valentin her bare back would be far worse than struggling through it alone.

"I'm fine. I can manage by myself."

"I find that hard to believe."

"If you're really concerned, you could send for Margaret…"

"Adele, from now on, please use me for trivial matters like this."

He smiled smoothly as he spoke. Even dressed impeccably with every button fastened to his collar, even in the morning sunlight, he managed to look dangerously alluring.

Adelheid flushed and murmured.

"You do realize you're acting strangely today, don't you?"

"Am I?"

He smiled, the meaning impossible to decipher. Adelheid looked thoroughly bewildered.

"You're really going to help me dress? You can't possibly mean that seriously."

"Does it really seem that way?"

He tilted his head and approached her slowly.

It truly looked as if he intended to help her dress, so Adelheid hastily grabbed the clothes she'd left on the bed and darted behind the privacy screen.

Behind her, she heard Valentin's low laughter.

'He really is impossible to predict.'

Adelheid wrinkled her nose as she checked repeatedly to make sure the screen was properly positioned and that he couldn't see her from the other side.

Then with quick hands, she removed her nightgown and undergarments.

The cleaning magic Valentin had cast was miraculous—eliminating the need to bathe—but not needing even to wash her face felt somehow awkward.

'I should hurry before he decides to be stubborn again for no reason.'

She rummaged through the clothes she'd brought behind the screen to find clean new undergarments.

But no matter how much she searched, she couldn't find the stays. She looked several times, but they were nowhere to be seen.

"Um, excuse me. Valentin…"

Her face burning with shame, she barely managed to speak.

"Could you call Margaret for me?"

"Why?"

She bit her lip hard. An uncommon rebelliousness grew in her heart.

Did he really have to ask why? He wasn't obtuse, yet he had this talent for putting people in awkward positions.

"Is something wrong?"

His tone suggested he'd come straight into the dressing area if she said yes, so Adelheid hurriedly stated her business honestly.

"N-no, it's just…… I don't seem to have my, my undergarment."

"Undergarment?"

"The one worn beneath the dress. The one that, that supports the upper body……."

"Ah."

His elegant voice remained level and composed. She heard his unhurried footsteps moving beyond the screen.

"I think this is it. You dropped it on the floor."

"Could you…… give it to Margaret…"

"Don't you need it now?"

His measured footsteps drew closer.

Her face went pale as she hastily gathered the discarded clothes to cover herself.

She should have checked for the stays before undressing.

When she could barely manage to put these things on by herself, before she'd taken everything off like this…

"Here."

Finally, a hand appeared over the tall screen, holding out the undergarment.

Adelheid, her entire body flushed crimson, accepted the stays with trembling hands. She felt as if steam might start pouring from her ears at any moment.

"N-now go back over there. I'll be dressed in a moment."

She hurriedly put on the undergarment and tightened the laces.

For a while, only the soft rustling of fabric against fabric filled the silence. Then, breaking the quiet, Valentin asked.

"Isn't it uncomfortable?"

"Pardon?"

"Your health is already delicate, and tightening yourself with something so small."

By 'something so small,' he meant the stays. Adelheid's eyes darted in confusion before she finally answered.

"……Well, it is uncomfortable, but it's bearable."

She hadn't had much choice anyway. Perhaps a hundred years ago it would have been different, but now wearing such undergarments had become expected.

The dresses currently in fashion throughout Bayern—sweeping the region like wildfire—all exposed the collarbones and upper chest.

Therefore, these tightly laced stays were essential.

"You can barely breathe in it."

"Even so. It's better than being criticized as immodest and having my reputation damaged. It's not just about me—it would harm Ansgar's reputation as well."

Adelheid examined the dress from all angles before carefully pulling it over her head.

Then, remembering how the maids used to do it, she carefully smoothed out the skirt to prevent wrinkles.

'If I just get the basics right, the maids will straighten everything else.'

She peered at her back in the mirror from various angles, straining to tie the remaining laces that hung down.

It would have been much easier with Margaret's help, but on her own, she could only manage to tie them loosely and haphazardly.

Moreover, she'd never worn anything this complicated and intricate before.

The moment she made a strained sound, Valentin's voice came from beyond the screen.

"If reputation must be preserved by such clothing, it would be better to have no reputation at all."

"……You shouldn't say such things."

"Well, to my eyes, it all looks the same however you dress."

"……."

"I don't care how you dress. The notion that wearing more clothes earns respect while showing skin invites ridicule is rather absurd. Human concepts are sometimes confusing…"

"……."

"Let me help you."

The screen was pulled aside almost simultaneously with those words.

"Eep."

Adelheid gasped, making a strange sound as she drew in her breath. She hunched her shoulders and looked up sharply.

Valentin was reflected in the full-length mirror before her.

His arrogant, elegant eyes slowly surveyed her reflection in the mirror.

"It suits you well."

"……Sh-shameless behavior, really…"

"You're only realizing that now?"

Despite Adelheid's accusation, he approached behind her as if it meant nothing. Her breath caught, heated with tension.

Yet Valentin showed no particular reaction even seeing Adelheid's bare back. He seemed utterly without ulterior motive.

"Hold up your hair."

At Valentin's words, Adelheid hesitated but gathered her hair in both hands and swept it to one side.

His large hands grasped the hanging laces of the dress. Unlike Adelheid, who didn't know what to do with herself, his reflection in the mirror showed an impassive expression.

He didn't offer his usual smile, didn't look at her with eyes that called her lovely.

As if he'd completely forgotten that his face was visible in the mirror, that Adelheid was observing him through that reflection.

The face of a complete stranger.

"……."

Adelheid suddenly thought he looked desperately anxious. Strange—why would she think that?

The unease that never showed when he smiled now felt tangible, almost visible to the touch.

She could feel something rooted deep within Valentin's heart, darkly embedded there. She spoke carefully.

"Is something wrong?"

"Mm?"

"Your expression—it's the worst I've seen recently."

"Mm."

He smiled, his eyes crinkled as if the answer made him uncomfortable.

"Why? Will you comfort me?"

"……If you say I'd be helpful."

Their eyes met briefly through the mirror. Golden eyes that shone transparently in the sunlight looked straight at her.

Finally, his lips parted slowly.

"There's never been a time I didn't want you."

"……."

"I want you now, too."

However naive she might be, she could read between the lines. At the blatant implication, Adelheid bit the soft flesh inside her mouth.

"Then why…"

Why don't you demand more than this? Adelheid barely swallowed the question that had nearly escaped her lips.

After all, Valentin was her contracted partner, and publicly, her husband. In these times, if a husband wanted his wife, she wasn't supposed to refuse. Yet, why.

"Because you're human, and I'm clumsy with human conventions."

Valentin spoke as he leisurely tightened the laces at her back.

"Don't cross that line because you were pushed into it by circumstance, don't cross it because you were beguiled—wait until you can properly say you want to have me."

"……."

"I'll wait until you're ready like that."

She raised confused eyes. Valentin's form, viewed through the mirror, seemed suddenly unfamiliar.

His elegant forehead and straight nose, his perfect jawline. A man with not a single feature that wasn't beautiful, a monster who could claim the entire world if he wished…

Whichever way she thought of it, it all felt like a dream. Most of all, that someone would respect her choices this much.

"All done."

Finally he withdrew his hands and stepped back. Adelheid glanced behind her through the mirror and let out a hollow laugh.

Done? Hardly. It wasn't done at all. Completely messy, loosely tied in any which way.

"……."

Adelheid looked at her back reflected in the mirror and exhaled a deep sigh.

It was disastrous, but perhaps when Margaret arrived in a bit, there would be some way to salvage it.

"So, when do you think you'll love me?"