The Extra's Regressor Wives

Just then, two knocks sounded at the door and cut off his conversation with Pandora. The door opened immediately after. Catrina stepped in with a tray of food in her hands.

She still wore the familiar silver mask, but last night’s sleeping gown had been replaced by neat black attire, and her hair had been carefully brushed. If Lathel had not seen with his own eyes the blanket spread out in the corridor last night, he would have found it hard to believe that the Duchess standing before him had once lain on the stone floor just to stay close to his room.

"Good morning."

Pandora immediately whispered, "The one who almost ate you is here."

Lathel deliberately kept his expression unchanged.

Catrina set the tray on the small table and sat beside the bed. She did not rush to pick up the food. She looked at Lathel’s face first, and only when she confirmed that his eyes were no longer as red as they had been last night did she quietly exhale.

"Still feeling unwell?"

Lathel shook his head.

The gaze behind the mask softened at once.

Catrina picked up the bowl of porridge, scooped a spoonful, and held it out in front of him—then her hand stopped in midair, as if waiting for a reaction. Yesterday, the mere question of who was allowed to hold the spoon had kept the two of them locked in a long tug-of-war, so she had clearly prepared herself for Lathel to refuse.

But a few seconds later, he only leaned forward slightly and opened his mouth.

Catrina froze.

Lathel swallowed the porridge, then looked in confusion at the spoon still hanging motionless in front of him.

Only then did she come back to herself.

"You..."

Lathel tilted his head.

Catrina did not finish the sentence. She only scooped a second spoonful, and this time her movements were clearly more careful than before. Almost at the same moment, the cold that had clung to her body since yesterday lightened in a way that was impossible to miss.

The Dark Curse was weakening.

Catrina realized it at once, but she did not look down at her body or try to examine it further. What made the fingertips holding the spoon tremble slightly was not the confirmation of her guess about the curse. It was that Lathel had just willingly accepted her care.

He was no longer avoiding her the way he had yesterday.

A change that small made the joy in Catrina’s chest far greater than anything she wanted to admit.

After eating nearly half the bowl, Lathel raised a hand to stop her, then began to sign.

I want to go outside.

Catrina immediately halted.

Just for a walk. I don’t want to stay in this room forever.

The eyes behind the mask watched him for a long time.

Lathel exhaled inwardly. He had almost already guessed the answer. Yesterday, Catrina had even been willing to bear misfortune just to keep him in the room. With that kind of obstinacy, he did not think that today she would—

"All right."

Lathel froze.

Even Pandora went quiet for a beat.

He looked at Catrina as if to confirm he had heard correctly. She repeated it very calmly: "You may go outside."

Lathel immediately pointed to his wrist.

"I’ll take that off as well."

This time he truly did not understand.

Seeing his expression, Catrina asked softly, "What is it? Do you want me to change my mind?"

Lathel shook his head at once.

"But I have a condition." She set the bowl down and spoke plainly. "Black Rose will protect you."

Lathel frowned immediately.

Catrina seemed to have anticipated the reaction and explained at once. "They will wear ordinary clothes and keep a distance far enough away. You may go anywhere nearby. Whether you want to enter a shop or simply walk around is up to you. As long as no danger appears, no one will step out in front of you."

Lathel studied her for a moment, then signed:

Why did you change?

This time Catrina did not pretend not to understand. She set the bowl on the table and said evenly, "I’ve thought about it."

Lathel waited.

"I still don’t want you to go to the Academy. That hasn’t changed." She touched the silver chain with a fingertip. "I still want to keep you somewhere no one can hurt you. But after yesterday, I realized that locking you in this room does not make you any safer."

She paused, then looked straight at him.

"It only makes you hate me."

Lathel froze.

"I don’t like that."

The answer was so direct that for a moment he did not know how to react.

Catrina continued, "If you don’t like this room, you can go outside. If you don’t like the chain, I’ll take it off. I can still protect you in other ways."

Pandora immediately said inside Lathel’s head, "I don’t know why, but that last sentence sounds even more frightening."

Lathel felt the same.

Catrina had no idea what the two of them were thinking. She only bent down and set a fingertip on the magical pattern of the lock ring.

Click.

The light on the chain vanished at once. Then the silver ring slowly opened and slipped from Lathel’s wrist.

He looked at the slightly reddened skin where it had been locked for days, unconsciously turning his wrist a few times to check. It was only a very ordinary motion, but the relief on his face was so clear that Catrina could not miss it—and the invisible cold around her body faded another layer at the same time.

As I thought.

Her guess had been correct.

Lathel’s attitude could truly affect the Fortunate Star Halo and the Dark Curse directly.

At this moment, however, Catrina was not thinking about how much more of his goodwill she would need to trade for luck. She only looked at the red mark around Lathel’s wrist and felt that she should have taken the chain off sooner.

She unconsciously reached out, intending to touch the mark, then stopped halfway and drew her hand back.

"If you want to go out, you need to bathe first."

Lathel looked at her.

"You’ve been lying in bed for days."

He unconsciously lowered his head and sniffed his own clothes.

Pandora burst out laughing at once. Even Catrina could not hold it in; the eyes behind the mask curved unmistakably.

"I’ve prepared hot water and medicinal herbs. After you bathe and change, if you still want to take a walk, I’ll have someone get things ready."

Lathel nodded.

"I’ll take you there."

The bathing room was at the end of the corridor. Inside, a large stone tub had already been filled with hot water. Several kinds of herbs meant to ease pain and restore muscle floated on the surface. Steam wrapped the whole room in a thin white mist, and on the rack against the wall lay clean towels and a fresh set of clothes.

Lathel looked around once, confirmed that everything had been prepared, then turned and nodded to Catrina.

She nodded as well.

Then, quite naturally, she stepped in after him.

Lathel stopped at once.

He turned, raised a hand to block her, and pointed outside.

She looked at his finger, then back at Lathel, as if she did not understand why she was being stopped.

"I can help."

Lathel shook his head.

"There are still a few wounds on your back. Some of them are hard to reach by yourself—"

He kept shaking his head, this time much faster.

Catrina pressed her lips together.

At last Lathel placed both hands on her shoulders and pushed her out the door with just enough force. Catrina did not resist. She let him push her into the corridor, but the expression behind the mask was clearly not pleased.

"If something happens, call me."

Both of them fell silent.

Lathel could not call.

Catrina realized the problem at almost the same moment.

She was quiet for a beat, then corrected herself: "...Knock on the door."

Lathel nodded.

The door finally closed in front of Catrina.

She stood still in the corridor for a few seconds and very quickly heard the sound of water from inside. For some reason, Catrina’s breathing involuntarily slowed, then quickened a little. Her gaze also drifted, unbidden, to the clothes Lathel had just taken off, left on the chair near the door.

Catrina looked at them for a long time.

Then she stepped forward.

She picked up the shirt.

It was only a very ordinary set of clothes. The fabric was even a little worn. But a faint scent that belonged to Lathel still lingered on it.

Catrina brought the shirt closer.

I’m only taking it to be washed.

That was what she told herself.

But instead of calling a maid to collect it, Catrina slowly closed her eyes and drew in a breath. The scent on the clothes was very faint—perhaps someone else would not even have noticed it—but that was exactly why she unconsciously brought it closer and breathed in once more.

By the time she realized what she was doing, Catrina was already holding the clothes against her chest.

The image of Lathel sleeping last night appeared in her mind at once.

She had truly leaned down.

The distance between them then had been so close that just a little more, and her lips would have touched him.

Catrina had wanted to do it very much.

But in the end she had still drawn back.

She had been afraid that when Lathel woke, the distance she had only just managed to close a little would snap back to what it had been—or become even farther than before.

Catrina slowly opened her eyes. Her gaze fell once more on the clothes in her hands.

"You won’t hate me."

She murmured it very softly.

After she said it, even Catrina herself realized the act was a little strange. But in the end she still did not put the clothes back. She only placed the new set where they had been, then gathered the clothes Lathel had just taken off and left the corridor.

She did not call a maid.

And she did not let anyone else touch them.