Negotiation (1)
“Why on earth would he say such a thing…”
Lying alone in bed, Vera replayed the words Edward had uttered earlier. “Is there no way to cancel the marriage with Monica?”
It was such a sudden, bizarre request to call a “wish” that Vera had been too stunned to even refuse. Before she could find her voice, he had quickly backpedaled. “No, I’m joking. Why are you so surprised?” Then, claiming he had a headache, he had ushered her out of the room.
“Did something happen with Monica?”
On the day she’d ordered him to propose, he had returned with a handprint on his face from where Monica had slapped him. Back then, Vera had managed to soothe the situation, and it seemed to have blown over. Could something have happened while he was away on the expedition? That was the only time frame where a conflict between Edward and Monica could have occurred.
‘The engagement absolutely cannot be broken…’
Edward was a perfectly decent son-in-law. His appearance was tall and handsome, and he had proven his capability through the tournament and the expedition to the Enixon Barony. Everything else about him was above average, with no jagged edges. The rumors regarding his mother’s background were hardly a flaw compared to the other suitors they had considered. Though, he did occasionally make strange demands of Vera herself.
‘He did say he was treated with such contempt within his own family…’
Born and immediately losing his mother, he had been branded a child who “ate his mother.” Having never received affection nor had anyone to give it to within his own house, it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible that he was starved for it. It seemed as though his craving for affection had merged with his sexual desires. As long as she indulged those minor whims, he didn’t treat Monica poorly or look down on the servants, so Vera felt it wasn’t a problem.
Aside from the vague rumors about his birth, he was a flawless son-in-law. If she lost Edward, the status of the Count’s family would plummet, and the succession issue would become a nightmare… ‘No, there’s something even more important than such complex reasons.’
She simply wanted Monica to have a normal married life. Unlike herself, she wanted her daughter to meet a kind husband, build a happy home, and have many children. And if she were to ascend to the position of Countess, she should be able to do whatever she pleased. Since a kind husband-to-be like Edward was already prepared, Vera’s role was to ensure he didn’t run away. By any means necessary.
Knock, knock.
There was a sound at the door. She hadn’t called for anyone. The only person who would knock on her door without being summoned was…
“Ed, it’s me.”
It could only be Vera.
“…What is it?”
She had clearly said she had a headache. Did she come because of what he’d said earlier?
“I, um, remembered that your left arm was bandaged. I came to check on your wound.”
Ah, that. He had originally intended to see a doctor the moment he returned to the territory, but the pain wasn’t as severe as he’d expected, so he had been enduring it. He didn’t want to go see some quack only to be told he needed his arm amputated. Ugh, those hacks. A bit of spit would heal a wound like this.
“As a knight, I cannot simply have an arm cut off.”
“I’m not going to cut your arm off! I just came to apply some medicine and re-bandage it.”
If that was all, it was fine.
When he opened the door, he saw Vera in comfortable attire, as if she were just about to go to bed. And “comfortable attire” was just another way of saying “subtly arousing.” It was the kind of casual dress one only saw in someone they were truly close to—a fiancé or family. To think that Vera, who always prioritized maintaining her dignity, would walk around in such clothes.
Having been idle for over a week, his body was overflowing with energy, and he could feel himself becoming aroused by the visual stimulation.
“Please, come in.”
Vera quickly stepped into his room. Instead of the table where they had been sitting for hours, she sat on the edge of the bed.
“Ed, come here and sit.”
“…Yes.”
She patted the spot next to her with her right hand, making a sharp sound. She felt slightly more assertive than usual. Vera enjoyed taking care of others. While she usually followed the opinions of others, she was firm and strict when it came to things like this. She seemed excited at the prospect of applying medicine to his arm.
He sat down obediently and held out his left arm, and she firmly held the affected area in place so it wouldn’t move. It was truly a pity that the thing holding it in place was the cleavage of Vera’s breasts. If it weren’t for the damn bandage! He could have felt Vera’s breasts, which he had never touched openly before!
Removing the bandage was quite painful. He had changed it a few times, but the discharge had dried and stuck to the skin, so peeling it off felt like tearing away his own flesh. Because Vera was watching, he didn’t show it, but his arm was shaking so much that he was sure she must have known.
“Oh dear, that must have hurt.”
“This much is nothing, Mother-in-law.”
“You can call me ‘Noona’ like you usually do, Ed. I brought some medicine that works wonders on wounds like this, so you’ll be all better once I apply it.”
Saying that, she pulled out a container he had never seen before.
“Viscountess Melbourne brought it, saying it should be used for knights like Sir Edward. She said it’s especially effective for external wounds, so it should be perfect.”
When Vera opened the lid, a sharp, incredibly potent herbal scent pierced his nose. It literally felt like the smell was stabbing him.
“Isn’t it spoiled?”
“It hasn’t even been a week since it was made, so how could it have gone bad already? It smelled like this when I opened it the day I received it, so it’s fine.”
She scooped up a generous amount with a flat spatula and brought it close to his arm.
“Have you ever used this on anyone else?”
“No? But the Viscountess is a reliable expert, so the effect should be good.”
Something ominous—
“AAARGH!”
An intense pain cut through his thoughts. It felt as if his arm were being seared by fire. The pain spread around the hole left by the arrow, and his arm felt like it was screaming. How could applying medicine be more painful than getting hit by an arrow?
He had intended to act stoic and not make a sound in front of Vera, but the unimaginable pain caused his body to reflexively scream.
“Does it hurt that much?”
“Kuh, yes…”
“But we still have to apply a bit more. We can’t let you have a scar on your body, Ed. A manly man like you can endure a little more, right?”
He wanted to shout that a scar was a medal of honor for a knight! But looking at Vera’s face, he couldn’t say it. Not only did she dislike it when he didn’t take care of his body, but that phrase, “manly man,” strangely pricked at his pride.
He thought about how ridiculous it was to be bothered by such a thing, but perhaps because his body had become younger, his mind had regressed as well; he felt a strange sense of stubbornness at being called “manly” by the woman he liked. Or perhaps his mental age hadn’t changed at all.
“Of course.”
Fortunately, perhaps because the medicine had already been applied, the second application was less painful. It still hurt, but now that he was mentally prepared, he could suppress his screams. Vera’s words, praising him for being brave as she re-bandaged his arm, made him feel like a child, yet strangely, it felt good.
‘It stings like crazy.’
Perhaps because it was being compressed by the bandage again, the affected area on his left arm was incredibly bothersome. With that pain and the pungent smell combined, all other thoughts vanished, leaving him with only the desire to be healed quickly.
Just then, Vera suddenly pulled his left arm into an embrace. A soft, yielding sensation enveloped his left arm. It was the exact same sensation he had felt when she had brushed against him earlier.
Thinking, ‘What a stroke of luck,’ he looked up at Vera’s face.
“Ed, are you having trouble because your sexual desires are building up?”
Vera was approaching him like this first? She clearly felt her own heightened desires, as she was looking at him with a slightly flushed face. But seeing the look on her face, a mixture of hesitation and lust, he realized it wasn’t such a simple matter.
Was she really blushing just because of her sexual desires? Her eyes were wavering, as if she were hesitant. She could have been blushing from hesitation and shame. Why was she hesitating? And why, despite that hesitation, was she suppressing her shame and aggressively coming on to him? Was it really true that her sexual desires were flared up?
Under normal circumstances, he would have nodded without a second thought at the sensation of her breasts. But the pain in his left arm and the smell in his nose were keeping him cool-headed. In the face of such intense pain, mere sexual desire couldn’t stand its ground.
His thoughts reached back to the words he had let slip earlier. “Is there no way to cancel the marriage with Monica?”
Vera now knew that he was unhappy with the marriage to Monica. As someone who wanted to see the marriage successfully completed at all costs, she must have wanted to root out his hidden, trap-like intentions. She was already in a position where she knew exactly what he wanted most.
In the end, she had placed her own body on the negotiation table as the reward she would promise him. No one had said it out loud, but the negotiation had already begun.
A negotiation that he, for one, had absolutely no reason to accept.