Chapter 88: A Crimson Pastry

Chapter 88: Chapter 88: A Crimson Pastry

Elysia watched the maid’s retreating figure for a moment.

Then she yawned.

The day’s exhaustion finally caught up with her.

She rose, washed, and retired for the night.

She had barely laid her head upon the pillow...

Before sleep claimed her completely.

---

In her dream...

Someone was pinching her cheek.

Not gently, either.

Rough fingertips repeatedly brushed across her lips.

The strange tingling sensation was both irritating and impossible to ignore.

Eventually...

Elysia slowly opened her eyes.

Everything before her was still blurred with sleep.

A remarkably handsome face hovered above her.

Still half-asleep, she failed to recognise him.

"I... I’m already married..."

She mumbled drowsily.

"You... should keep your distance."

The handsome man gave a short, amused laugh.

Then pinched her nose slightly harder.

"Then tell me... Who did you marry?"

Elysia blinked slowly.

Recognition gradually returned.

A sleepy smile spread across her face.

"Oh... My lord... So it’s you."

Her voice became unexpectedly obedient.

"I married you."

"I married you."

Cassiel raised an eyebrow.

"Do you remember what you promised me?"

Elysia nodded vaguely.

"Mmm... You said we’d gradually grow accustomed to one another."

"And yet you went to sleep without waiting for me again."

Elysia blinked lazily.

"But... Weren’t you staying at Miss Rennor’s residence tonight?"

Cassiel frowned.

"You’re my Duchess. Why would I spend the night at her residence?"

Still half asleep, Elysia murmured,

"Because... She’s your true love..."

Her voice became softer and softer until the final words were almost inaudible.

Cassiel leaned closer.

"What did you say?"

But Elysia had already drifted back towards sleep.

Her eyelids slowly closed once more.

Cassiel stared at her in silence.

A trace of irritation surfaced in his eyes.

I spend time with another woman...

Yet she doesn’t react at all.

She didn’t even send anyone to check where I was.

She simply went to bed.

And now...

Even after I’ve returned...

All she wants to do is sleep.

He narrowed his eyes.

Have I been too indulgent with her?

A mischievous thought suddenly crossed his mind.

His gaze slowly settled upon her lips.

They had always been soft and full.

After all his teasing earlier...

They had become even rosier.

His eyes gradually darkened.

---

Meanwhile...

Elysia had slipped back into another dream.

This time...

Her eldest brother, Asher, was taking her riding.

They galloped freely across the endless grasslands.

The wind rushed past her ears.

Her laughter echoed without restraint.

"Faster, Brother! Faster!"

Suddenly...

Her aunt appeared from nowhere and stuffed something into her mouth.

Again...

That rough, irritating sensation brushed repeatedly against her lips.

She frowned.

Trying to avoid it.

Yet the feeling refused to disappear.

It reminded her of the pastries her aunt used to make.

Perhaps...

After a lifetime of yielding to others...

She subconsciously chose not to resist.

Instead...

She obediently accepted the "pastry."

After what felt like a long while...

The strange sensation finally disappeared.

Relieved, she immediately jumped to her feet.

"Brother! My horse! Let’s go riding!"

Asher merely smiled without speaking.

Since he wasn’t moving...

She decided to fetch her beloved horse herself.

When she turned seven, her grandfather had gifted her a spirited little mare from the western grasslands.

Whenever it galloped, its sweat resembled drops of blood.

She had adored that horse.

She had even wanted to sleep beside it every night.

Later, while saving Vaelen, she had severely injured her knee.

Although the wound eventually healed, every ride afterwards left her leg aching for days.

She forced herself to ride several more times.

Each attempt ended with her barely able to walk afterwards.

Eventually...

Deborah had gently persuaded her.

"If you can’t bear to ride it anymore... Wouldn’t it hurt less if you simply stopped seeing it?"

Out of sight.

Out of mind.

Even now...

She still remembered grieving over that horse for a very long time.

---

Suddenly...

Her breathing became difficult.

It felt as though someone had pinched her nose shut.

Unable to breathe, she abruptly woke.

The first thing she saw...

Was Cassiel’s deep, unreadable gaze.

And...

His fingers were indeed pinching her nose.

Seeing that she was fully awake, Cassiel finally released her.

"Awake?"

Elysia gave a muffled hum.

Outside the bed curtains, daybreak had already arrived.

Soft morning light filtered into the room.

Cassiel looked down at her.

His expression remained deliberately indifferent.

"Explain yourself."

Elysia looked thoroughly confused.

"Explain... what?"

Cassiel reminded her calmly,

"You went to sleep without waiting for me."

"I waited."

Elysia immediately protested.

"I really did."

Cassiel simply looked at her.

Waiting.

Elysia honestly explained,

"Miss Rennor’s maid came to tell me you would be escorting them home and staying there for the night. I even asked someone to check afterwards. They said your carriage had indeed left the manor. So..."

"I thought you wouldn’t be coming back. That’s why I went to sleep."

Cassiel let out a quiet laugh.

It sounded more exasperated than amused.

"So..."

"You simply believed whatever a maid told you?"

Elysia looked at him innocently.

"Why wouldn’t I? What reason would she possibly have to lie to me?"