CH 40

“Elysia.”

“Yes, yes…?”

“You are putting too much power on your fingertips.”

The hand that gently touched her finger gave her goosebumps. Even though it was clearly a soft touch, cold sweat was seeping out from her forehead and back.

“If you do this, you will bleed again.”

“Bleed…?”

The word bleed seemed to make her panic. What did he mean by bleeding? Thinking that, Elysia’s pupils shook violently in fear.

“If you apply force like this, it’s easy to get stabbed by a needle.”

“Ah… needle.”

She sighed in relief and relaxed her body. It seemed that she hadn’t been with Damon for less than an hour, and she was already filled with exhaustion. Being in one room with the worst killer in history was very difficult.

And, even more so if she didn’t know where this was going.

“If I hadn’t caught you just now, you would have bled.”

If it weren’t for Damon’s hands, her flesh would have been pierced by the needle. The ignorant big needle had a history of messing up her fingers. If he hadn’t treated it, it would still be full of mottled wounds.

She was grateful for him in many ways. However, it was just that. After all, wasn’t it because she met him she had to make the veil…?

“And…”

Elysia lifted her head as she felt her chin turn. He grabbed her head and pulled her closer.

“Even if you think of something else.”

* * *

In Damon’s embroidery class, which was scarier than any other teacher, Elysia’s embroidery skills increased rapidly. He did what Estelle hadn’t been able to do in weeks. Fear was the biggest motivator for humans.

She was desperate in the suffocating embroidery practice every day and inevitably completed it. Elysia wanted to get away from him.

“It’s done!”

“It is.”

She thought it would be finished in a day or two if it was Damon’s skill, though the veil was completed in a full week.

The moment she saw the barely finished veil the day before the wedding, Elysia almost burst into tears. How hard did she work to complete this…? Every evening she remembered the pain she had suffered, and her tears fell.

“As expected, I finished it early after cutting the veil in half.”

“I know. I guess you shouldn’t have cut it.”

“What? Didn’t you allow me to cut it?”

She was taken aback by his remarks that she should not have cut it in half by now when he had allowed the veil to be cut in half. At least, she cut it in half and got it done in time. If it had been the original size, it would have been impossible.

“It’s finally tomorrow.”

Also, her lips pouted at Damon’s action, which naturally turned her words away.

“Today… Sleep well.”

“You don’t have to help, but thank you for your help.”

Even after finishing the veil, he didn’t leave and mumbled. Unlike other days, it seemed that she could get a good night’s sleep if she slept now. If only he could disappear in front of her eyes.

“Your Grace, do you have anything more to say…?”

Feeling uneasy at Damon’s repeated opening and closing of his fists, it was even more terrifying to see a man clenching his fists, just as scary as his breathing.

“No, nothing.”

“Then, I’ll see you at the wedding tomorrow.”

It wasn’t something the bride would say to her groom on the eve of her wedding day. She says, ‘I’ll see you tomorrow,’ dryly like talking to a superior.

Even though it was a bit rude even when she thought about it, there was no affection between Elysia and Damon that could be said. Perhaps, between a superior and subordinates would be a closer relationship.

Rather than a relationship, something else seemed more similar because Elysia was just a staunch underdog to Damon. She was frightened at her superior, but with him, she was more frightened, not less.

“Wife…”

“Yes?”

“From tomorrow onwards, we will finally be able to meet in another place, not in this room.”

Elysia’s brow furrowed slightly at Damon’s act of closing her mouth again while he was about to say something. Although she wondered what he was going to say, she didn’t have the courage to ask.

“It’s our last night in this room, so I’ll let it slide.”

“What…!”

Damon disappeared as soon as she was about to ask what he meant by letting it slide. He went back the same way he appeared silently.

* * *

“Your Grace, you must wake up.”

“Ummm…”

Damon left after saying unknown words, so she tossed and turned and barely fell asleep. It didn’t look like she had slept for hours, although her face was wrinkled as the hands shook her body.

“No…”

“Your Grace…!”

She couldn’t help but get up at the desperate cry. Elysia didn’t like this touch because the maid wasn’t like this when trying to wake her up these days.

“Estelle…? How are you…”

“Did you forget that today is your wedding day?”

“Ah…!”

She fell asleep and completely forgot that today was the wedding day. It was also because she did not have a separate maid to take care of her.

After she threw Daisy away, the countess never put a watchdog on her again. She didn’t even care if she didn’t have a maid because she was the one who did everything for her by herself all this time, she just moved on.

“I’m glad I came early, just in case you didn’t know.”

“I’m sorry, Estelle.”

“It’s okay. It’s still early, so we’ll be able to finish the preparations.”

“Am I very late?”

It was early in the morning when the sun had not yet risen, though Estelle’s expression seemed to show it was very late. In fact, she had never experienced noble weddings, so she didn’t know how long it would take to dress up.

“If it’s very late, it may be late, and if it’s enough, it’s enough time.”

So, was she running out of time?

“Once I’ve brought the maids in, I’ll do some basic makeup and put on the dress for the wedding.”

“Yes, yes.”

Following Estelle’s gesture, the maids entered the room in a row. Their hands were full of makeup tools.

“Do we have to prepare this quickly?”

“Let her take a bath first. Don’t forget to put perfume on her skin to make it shiny.”

“Yes, Madam.”

Estella must have been so busy that she didn’t even listen to her. She seemed distracted by ordering the maids to do this and that.

“Your Grace, how is the temperature?”

“It’s, it’s okay.”

“Shall I sprinkle more petals?”

Elysia was taken aback by the maid’s actions who sprinkled rose petals all over the bath because the perfume oil was not enough. It was the first time she had had such a luxurious and splendid bath.

“I’m glad you took good care of your skin.”

Skincare was what Estelle was most concerned about. She couldn’t eat and did a lot of hard work, so she didn’t have a good skin tone or complexion. For a month, she ate all the good things nonstop, so of course, the result was good.

“The dress is said to be constantly being fixed by Madame. We also decided to bring all five of the wedding dresses to the ceremony.”

“Is that so?”

After she had bathed and before her hair had dried, she sat down at the dressing table. The busy maids were in perfect harmony. They seemed very accustomed to this. It seemed to consist only of professionals in this field.

“I should have seen you in the wedding dress…”

“It’s okay.”

“I plan to do makeup based on the dress I checked in the middle.”

Elysia was tongue-tied out when Estella said she regrets not being able to see the dress for a more perfect decoration. She seemed to know why Estelle was chosen as the right person for this.

“Madam, how should I raise the hair?”

“I like to braid the hair up. And, the makeup should be elegant but remarkably flashy.”

She did not understand that she had to be elegant yet flashy—like a hot iced Americano, wasn’t that too much of a request? Only the party was too casual, Estelle and the maids were busy all over the place.

She had already felt exhausted from the cosmetics and brushes applied to her body and face.

“Could you close your eyes for a moment?”

“Could you open your eyes for a moment?”

Close her eyes, open her eyes… She followed like a doll. She didn’t move her body directly, and she couldn’t figure out why she was so tired. In the name of massage, the maids rubbed her entire body. Also, they applied something.

“Have you decided on the wedding dress?”

“Well, not yet. I’m thinking about it until the very end.”

Catherine had told her that she didn’t have to choose dresses only in the colors of the family. She was going to wear about two dresses at the reception, so if she chose both of them in the color of the family, it might get boring.

“Estelle, do I have to choose a blue and black dress?”

“Ah! Your Grace was thinking about it.”

“Not necessarily.”

“Of course, you can choose whatever you want, Your Grace.”

Estelle was giving instructions directly to the maids, perhaps because she was frustrated. The moment Estelle touched her, magically, her appearance changed even more elaborately.

“What kind of jewelry are you going to use?”

Elysia seemed to be blinded by the splendid jewels being pushed in front of her. She was in trouble after trying to empty the budget and she swept up the jewelry.

“Well…”

“If you can’t choose, can I recommend one that suits you?”

“That’s a good idea.”

In her view, it was all good. They were all shiny things, and it was hard to find one that matched the dress.

“I looked at wedding dresses halfway through, so I’ll choose the one that suits them.”

“Yes, that’s good.”

Regardless, en if she had chosen it herself, it would have been a mismatch. In the end, she nodded her head quietly, and she left everything to Estelle.

“After preparing as much as possible here, we will go to the ceremony hall and do the rest.”

Elysia was surprised to hear that she had to dress up more there. It seemed like she was enough now, although perhaps it wasn’t for Estelle.