* * *
I feel like I heard somewhere that wearing a bright primary-colored dress to a ball was considered bad manners.
Would a deep red be acceptable, then, rather than a vivid one?
‘No, wait. Hold on.’
My train of thought, which had been flowing along with his response, suddenly snapped back to the starting point—and I realized something serious.
“No! I wasn’t talking about a dress for me! I’m having a dress made for the healer!”
The fact that he assumed I was ordering a dress for myself was honestly a little terrifying.
Was he always this free of prejudice?
He really wouldn’t mind if I showed up to the ballroom in a flashy gown?
But I couldn’t bring myself to voice that question.
As I shook my head and looked up to refute his misunderstanding, the temperature in the room seemed to plunge.
Across from me, the knife slicing into the meat let out a harsh, grating noise—and chills raced up my arms.
The sensation spread all the way to the crown of my head, making the hairs on my scalp stand on end.
Why is it so cold? Has this room always been like this?
“Why… are you sending a dress to the healer?”
A voice followed—cold enough to freeze the very air it touched.
There was no way his breath had reached my skin, and yet it felt as though frost had settled in my ear.
“She helped me when I collapsed, made medicine for me, even gave me a precious pouch. It was thanks to the yarn she gave me that I escaped the forest. And today, she agreed to check on the forest again at my request. I just… wanted to show my gratitude.”
Sensing danger, my mind kicked into overdrive and sent out emergency signals.
In response, my mouth began spilling out excuses of its own accord.
No—these weren’t excuses.
They were all true.
Not a single ulterior motive was mixed in.
“Have you forgotten who you’re married to?”
To my shock, Klen echoed the same words the healer once said.
His amber eyes stared straight into mine—sharp and cold, as if he might challenge someone to a duel at any moment.
If it were a sparring match instead, I might have welcomed it—at least in a different setting.
“N-no, that’s not it. I truly just wanted to thank her. In Caldrich, this kind of thing isn’t uncommon. I thought… if she was planning to attend the ball, maybe I could send her a dress—”
“You already brought it up with her?”
“Ah… yes.”
“…”
“…”
A heavy, frigid silence followed.
His reaction was worse than I had anticipated. It’s not like she’s just anyone—she’s the healer.
I thought he might feel a bit uncomfortable, sure, but I expected him to say it was fine in the end.
Unlike his usual quiet demeanor at meals, his plate today was screaming for mercy.
I was half-worried it might shatter.
My eyes darted back and forth across the table.
But I couldn’t back down here.
This wasn’t just about keeping a promise—I had a deeper reason, didn’t I?
Steeling myself, I met his gaze.
“Klen. Please listen.”
“No. No matter the reason, that’s not something you should do.”
He rejected it coldly, as though refusing to hear another word on the matter.
“The healer has lost her sense of taste.”
“…What?”
But something about that caught his interest.
He didn’t reply right away, but I could tell he was listening.
This was my chance—I continued quickly.
“That healer… she’s been working way too hard making medicine. And I heard she drinks most of it herself to test it. I even saw her drinking it earlier today—without so much as a flinch.”
I made my voice heavier, more serious on purpose.
Klen listened with a hardened expression, but his gaze had changed slightly.
It clearly said: ‘And what does that have to do with the dress?’
“She’s definitely lost her sense of taste. In cases like this, attending a party, eating delicious food, and relieving stress is the best remedy, don’t you think? She’s an important talent—a treasure of the domain. If something’s wrong with her health, we should act immediately.”
“…”
“Or are you just going to let her keep drinking that stuff?!”
Klen’s expression didn’t change in the slightest.
But I saw it—his hand flinched for a split second and then froze.
That was proof I was getting through to him.
And since I’d come this far, I decided to push all the way.
“If I send her the dress, I’m sure she’ll attend.”
“…”
He still didn’t respond.
I searched my mind for anything more convincing, anything to land the final blow—but nothing came.
I shut my mouth, realizing I’d said everything I could.
Klen probably needed time to process it all.
“…”
“…”
How long did we sit like that?
“…Haa.”
He finally let out a long sigh—so heavy and cold it seemed to sink all the way to the floor.
And yet, strangely, it felt hopeful.
As if confirming my hunch, the icy atmosphere in the room began to thaw ever so slightly.
“Who said attending a ball would relieve stress?”
“Huh? Isn’t it?”
“I can see now that you’ve hardly ever attended them.”
It was true that balls weren’t a frequent occurrence in Caldrich’s territory.
Still, he didn’t have bad memories of them.
There was always an array of foods he rarely had the chance to taste, and the flowing music and the overall atmosphere were different enough from daily life to feel refreshing.
Wasn’t it actually a decent way to change things up a bit?
I harbored some doubts, but strangely, a faint smile crept onto Klen’s face.
He handed me a neatly cut piece of meat and then pushed another dish in front of me.
“I understand what you’re thinking. Go ahead and do it.”
“Really?!”
His words weren’t vague or evasive—they were a clear approval.
And when our eyes met again shortly after, the small smile that had surfaced was gone, replaced with a serious expression.
“However, nothing in beige tones. No gold thread either. Avoid purples and amethyst embellishments. No overly revealing designs, and choose something reasonably trendy.”
“……”
And then came a whole list of restrictions.
Could a decent dress even come out of all that?
Surely, he wouldn’t be checking in at every step of the process…
Maybe it would’ve been better if he’d just told me to choose from pre-made ones.
‘You’d think he was the healer’s parent or something.’
It honestly felt like the worries of a parent watching their child step into high society for the first time.
Maybe Klen was concerned about her after all.
“Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Ah, yes.”
I gave an exaggerated nod at the tone that sounded like he was scolding me for zoning out.
But his face immediately wrinkled in displeasure.
He probably doubted I truly understood.
And if he asked me to repeat it back in my own words… I wasn’t confident I’d get it right.
“What I mean is, make sure there’s absolutely nothing in the dress that reminds anyone of you. It shouldn’t convey affection or any kind of sentiment.”
Klen kindly clarified for me.
Even if I didn’t have romantic feelings for the healer, he didn’t want anything that might lead others to misunderstand.
I gave a light nod.
High society was a breeding ground for rumors, so being cautious wouldn’t hurt.
“And finish all of that.”
“You want me to eat all this by myself?”
In front of me, the meat he’d handed over had piled into a small mountain, and the plate he’d pushed was overflowing as well.
Each portion was quite large.
For one person, this was too much—especially compared to his own plate, which looked more like a light snack.
“Eating well is essential for staying healthy, don’t you think?”
“You need proper meals to recover from fatigue.”
I pushed one of the plates back toward him.
* * *
