So to explain.
This was something she had never felt from him even once before.
“Darling…”
As she called him reflexively, the inexplicable sense of intimidation disappeared.
“Oh dear. Madam, please go to the Marquis!”
Selly, unable to hold back any longer, pulled Izuli along.
The force was so strong that Izuli stumbled and tripped over her own feet.
She expected to fall, but unexpectedly, a warm arm wrapped around her waist, supporting her body.
“Madam.”
Before she could collect her thoughts, a low voice whispered in her ear.
It was familiar yet so very strange.
Drip.
A raindrop that had been precariously hanging from the man’s hair fell onto her collarbone, sending chills down her spine.
As she felt a gentle hand rubbing her stiff waist, Izuli suddenly realized.
This man was not her husband.
He was ‘someone’ wearing her husband’s skin.
Izuli snapped back to her senses.
‘No, that can’t be.’
While magic did exist in this world, it was something far removed from Izuli’s reality.
Moreover, she had never even heard of magic that could change a person’s soul.
‘He must have matured a bit after a week of hardship.’
Thinking that, Izuli forced a smile, trying to appear happy.
“Kalyon, you’ve returned…”
Before she could finish her sentence, she was suddenly shoved aside by Melaria.
“Come on! What are you doing standing there like a fool?”
Melaria, who had pushed Izuli aside, reached out to tidy Kalyon’s hair.
“You look like you’ve been through so much; your face has become half its size. I…”
With a sharp motion, Kalyon swatted Melaria’s hand away and stepped back.
Feeling embarrassed, Melaria shot a glare at Izuli, her face flushed with shame.
“Marchioness, why are you still standing there? Can’t you see that the Marquis is in poor condition? Hurry and fetch a doctor! No, I’ll go get one, so you just help him!”
Izuli, who had been standing still, cautiously approached Kalyon despite Melaria’s scolding.
‘How am I supposed to support him?’
Izuli barely reached his chest in height, and the difference in their physiques was almost double.
Fortunately, Kalyon only draped his arm lightly over Izuli’s shoulder without putting any weight on her.
If it had been before, he would have insisted on being carried.
As she awkwardly climbed the stairs, Izuli’s thoughts grew more complicated.
‘Has he really matured? Did he suddenly become so composed?’
Is this… a good thing?
It doesn’t seem like it’s good, does it?
Feeling confused, she brought him into the room and moved him to the bedroom.
Kalyon’s body was still damp, and the bed quickly soaked through.
“I’ll get some clothes to change into.”
As Izuli was about to head to the dressing room, she noticed the glass shards from the cup she had dropped earlier and stopped in her tracks.
With Kalyon’s return, there was no one in the chaotic mansion to clean this up.
Bending down, Izuli picked up a large shard of glass. Fortunately, it had broken cleanly, leaving only big pieces.
Just as she was about to lift the last piece, a strong gaze felt from behind made Izuli’s hand tremble.
“Ah!”
With a sharp pain, blood welled up on her thumb. It must have been a deep cut, as the droplets quickly swelled and began to flow down.
Izuli, who was watching the blood droplets on the floor, hurriedly left the room after cleaning up the remaining glass shards.
‘This is strange. Too strange.’
She placed a hand on her rapidly beating heart and tried to catch her breath, but it did not calm down at all.
The anxiety she felt only grew stronger and refused to dissipate.
When she returned to the room with Kalyon’s clothes, the bedroom was filled with people.
Izuli had intended to wipe away the blood but confirmed that the stains had already been erased.
As she wondered if the marks had been smudged by the people’s feet, she suddenly noticed a trail of water leading from the spot where the blood had been to the bedroom and froze.
“Marchioness, what are you doing over there? Hurry up!”
“Oh, yes!”
Startled, Izuli approached the bed where the doctor was examining Kalyon.
“Hmm.”
“How is he? Is it really true that there’s nothing wrong?”
At Evela’s anxious question, the doctor nodded.
“Other than some minor abrasions, there is nothing wrong. He is still healthy.”
Kalyon said nothing, while Evelon and Melaria awkwardly feigned joy.
“Oh dear, where have you been? For now, just focus on resting and recovering. You, Izuli.”
“Yes, Mother.”
Izuli, who had been glancing at Kalyon out of the corner of her eye, obediently lowered her head and replied.
“You’ll take care of Kalyon. Since your husband nearly died and has returned, it’s only right.”
Under normal circumstances, she would have readily agreed.
But…
‘Do I have to stay by his side?’
She felt reluctant.
“Do you not want to?”
“No, Mother.”
Without a moment to organize her thoughts, Izuli instinctively responded first.
After Evelon and Melaria left, Izuli cautiously lifted her head.
Then, suddenly, her gaze fell on Kalyon’s face, or more precisely, on his lips, which seemed slightly redder than before.
His face was still pale, but his lips appeared vibrant.
As if…
‘Like blood…’
At this sudden thought, Izuli’s shoulders flinched.
Once again, their eyes met.
Soon, those red lips formed a smile.
Izuli felt her body stiffen.
“W-Well then, please rest well. If you need anything, just call me anytime.”
Izuli hesitated for a moment before turning and fleeing the room.
—
The man, Ricardo, gazed at the retreating figure of the woman.
As her hair fluttered away, the faint scent that had lingered at the tip of his nose also vanished.
When the door closed, Ricardo looked down at his hands.
Seeing the soft, unfamiliar hands with no calluses, a sigh escaped him.
‘What on earth is happening?’
That day had been completely ordinary, and, as usual, he was attacked by assassins.
And just like always, he easily dealt with them… but suddenly, a faint light began to seep from beneath his feet.
Ricardo belatedly realized he had fallen into a trap.
Instinctively, he tried to summon his aura, but the magic circle had already been activated, and with the last cry of his subordinate, he lost consciousness.
However, Ricardo was not overly worried.
Since aura and mana were opposing forces, magic would have little effect on him unless it was a direct attack.
But when he came to his senses…
— Huh, the Marquis has returned after a week!
He was surrounded by unfamiliar servants in a mansion he had never seen before.
Before he could fully grasp the situation, two women rushed out and began to speak rapidly.
— Kalyon! You really have come back…
— Where on earth have you been?
From the atmosphere, it seemed like someone who had been missing for a long time had returned, but the expressions of the two were oddly contorted.
— Our son. Are you really not hurt anywhere? Huh?
— Marquis, what on earth happened? Why did you disappear without a word? Do you know how worried your aunt and I were?
His mother and an unfamiliar woman.
A family he didn’t even have suddenly appeared out of nowhere. However, Ricardo could easily discern the truth.
The ‘family’ did not welcome him, and he felt the same way. It was as if an instinctive rejection had been engraved in his body.
— Is this kid really okay? Why isn’t he answering…
Just as he was trying to understand what was happening, he felt a gaze and looked up.
A woman was standing in a distant place.
With her hair loosely tied over one shoulder, she stood still.
She had ordinary brown hair and very light aqua-colored eyes.
The woman stared at him with a pretty face, looking blank. For some reason, she felt familiar.
She was definitely closer to him than this ‘family’ that was squeezing out tears.
— My dear…
As soon as he heard that call, all strength drained from his body.
He could only regain his senses after his hand touched the woman’s slender waist.
As he conversed with this woman, Izuli, Ricardo perfectly grasped the situation he was in.
‘Have I been possessed?’
He had possessed someone else.
‘Possession…’
The absurdity of the situation was almost unbelievable.
There was a reason he was initially very confused.
Rubbing his cheek with an awkward hand that had no calluses, Ricardo recalled the window he had seen by chance.
The face reflected in the window was exactly the same as the one hidden beneath his usual mask, a face that no one knew. Aside from the slightly different eye color, it was believable that they were the same person.
‘There must be a secret hidden here.’
Other than that, there was no way to explain this strange situation at all.
