#155. Wind (5)
The unease Pavel felt was due to something small.
No matter how he spoke to his wife, she didn’t answer. She didn’t even open her eyes to meet his gaze.
She only moved closer to him, as if trying to press her face against his.
From the wife who came so close, a scent of jasmine wafted.
It was Sasha’s favorite fragrance, but one that Pavel had reacted strongly to as a teenager, avoiding it entirely. She hadn’t used it again… until now.
However, he had recently smelled the same scent from someone other than Sasha.
The joy that had briefly lit up Pavel’s face froze instantly.
As his eyes cleared, the dimness of the courtyard revealed one by one the details that proved the woman before him was not Sasha.
“You.”
Pavel’s expression hardened instantly, and he shoved the woman away coldly.
“Kyah!”
Caught off guard, the woman collapsed onto the floor.
She reached out for help, but Pavel forcefully pushed her hand away.
“Why… why are you doing this…?”
The voice sounded like Sasha’s, but it wasn’t. Pavel felt the subtle difference clearly.
“Hah.”
He let out a bitter laugh. Even with all the alcohol, he could not have failed to notice this. Roughly, he brushed his hair back.
The cold wind swept across his heated forehead, but it wasn’t enough to cool his rising anger.
Pavel glared at the woman—Naina—with eyes full of disdain.
“I told you, if you behaved suspiciously, I’d kill you.”
“…”
Naina, her face twisted from pain, shame, and frustration at her failure, froze under Pavel’s threatening stare.
His gaze slowly swept downward.
It stopped on the coat she was wearing—the fur coat belonging to Sasha, the source of his momentary confusion.
Pavel wanted nothing more than to strip that coat off Naina immediately.
How could she even be wearing it? Could Sasha have given it to her? The thought of it made his anger flare even more.
Even though he hated touching Naina, the thought of tearing Sasha’s coat from her hands drove him to act.
He grabbed Naina by the collar with a grip strong enough to make the veins stand out on his hand.
“Hgh!”
Gasping as her neck constricted, Naina swallowed hard. Pavel leaned in, whispering threateningly:
“How dare you wear my wife’s clothes and behave so vulgar?”
At that moment, a small, fur-lined foot appeared on the stairs, casting a long shadow over the scene.
Hearing the soft footstep, Pavel turned his head, ready to glare. This time, it was truly Sasha.
“…Hm.”
Sasha had paused on the stairs, scanning between Pavel and Naina.
She had come rushing as soon as her spirit alerted her that Naina had approached Pavel. Seeing them this close, she noticed something felt off.
From a distance, it almost looked like a kiss might happen. Though she knew it wouldn’t, the closeness made her feel strangely unsettled.
Pavel, keenly aware, shoved Naina away even more urgently than before.
“Ah!”
Naina collapsed weakly again, but Pavel didn’t pay attention. His gaze remained fixed anxiously on Sasha.
Seeing Sasha alternate her gaze between him and Naina brought a flashback to Pavel’s mind.
Once, he had inadvertently caught Princess Irina as she was about to fall, and Sasha had witnessed it by chance.
At the time, she had misunderstood their relationship and teasingly remarked that they seemed close, turning Pavel’s insides upside down.
“Were you trying to get serious with Princess Irina?”
He never wanted that kind of misunderstanding again.
The thought that Sasha might think he had feelings for another woman—enough for her to consider divorce—was unbearable. The mere imagination of it twisted Pavel’s face into a grimace, his body tense, radiating an almost dangerous energy.
“Pavel, calm down.”
Sasha, who had quietly approached, grasped his arm.
‘Is she worried I might lash out if I can’t control my anger? Or…’
Pavel’s mind was in chaos. Unable to restrain the emotions boiling inside him, he finally spoke.
“Sasha. Whatever you’re thinking right now, it’s a misunderstanding.”
Damn it. Calling it a misunderstanding made it sound like an excuse—but it was all true!
Pavel tried to say more, but Sasha was quicker.
“You think you know what I’m thinking?”
He opened his lips, but no words came. He didn’t want to speak.
Sasha watched him quietly and smiled softly.
‘Why is she smiling now?’
Even in such a trivial moment, Pavel was anxious, reacting to her every subtle move. Sasha’s gentle voice then spoke:
“It was late, and I went to the banquet hall because you hadn’t returned. They said you had already left. I was worried since we hadn’t met yet.”
“I just went for a walk. I was alone. But that woman showed up…”
“Oh, it seems nothing serious happened. That’s a relief.”
Sasha smiled, and Pavel watched her silently.
“Ah…”
Naina, unable to bear seeing them in their private world, let out a pained whimper.
“Ah, Naina.”
Sasha blinked, noticing her presence belatedly.
“What are you doing there? The floor is cold.”
“…”
Seeing Naina dazed, Sasha asked kindly:
“Are your legs hurt? Can’t you get up alone?”
“Yes… so help me—”
She glanced at Pavel, but Sasha gently cut her off.
“Olga. You heard her?”
“Yes, milady.”
Olga, stationed below the stairs, quickly approached.
“I’ll escort you inside.”
Without waiting for further instruction, Olga grabbed Naina, draped her over her shoulder, and carried her swiftly to the courtyard, giving Sasha a cheeky wink as she passed. Sasha smiled lightly, watching them go.
“Sasha… aren’t you upset?”
Pavel’s sudden question made Sasha turn her head.
“You were alone with another woman… and you’re not angry?”
Pavel’s face was troubled, tinged with subtle hurt.
“I told you, it’s a misunderstanding,” Sasha replied.
The very person in question had said it.
Hearing her, Pavel felt his chest tighten.
“…But still.”
He hesitated, unsure how to express the words trapped inside.
‘Anyone would suspect, seeing how tense I was earlier. Honestly, it could have ended badly.’
Yet Pavel, worried that Sasha might think he had been unfaithful, didn’t consider it that way. His suspicions melted completely.
Sasha looked at him calmly, her voice steady and confident:
“I trust you, Pavel.”
“….”
“So I’m not angry.”
Yet Pavel’s grim expression did not soften.
Sasha gently removed his glove. She didn’t need to—he had rushed out, barely putting on his coat—but she held his bare hand.
Pavel stared at her hand in his, eyes reflecting complex emotions.
Seeing Sasha’s hands chilled by the cold air stirred an impulse in him to warm them.
“And even if it wasn’t a misunderstanding, nothing would change much.”
Pavel froze at her words, forgetting to squeeze her hand.
“What?”
Stunned, he asked, panting slightly.
“You mean… even if it weren’t a misunderstanding… if I really were with another woman… you’d still be okay?”
“Hmm… not exactly okay…”
Sasha tilted her head, her expression briefly shadowed. Then, looking up at Pavel, she smiled.
“My heart would hurt, but still… I think you’d react the same way as now.”
“What…?”
“Because I no longer intend to let you go so easily.”
Pavel stared, unable to immediately grasp her meaning.
If not for Sasha’s next words, his stomach would have churned in despair.
“So even if I were truly angry, nothing would change much. I’d stick right by your side, as I am now, and make it as if nothing happened.”
“…!”
Pavel’s trembling eyes steadied. Drawing in a deep breath, he spoke, holding his emotions tightly:
“…That won’t happen. I won’t give you even a reason to misunderstand from now on.”
“Good. I trust you, Pavel.”
“But…”
Pavel held Sasha’s hand tightly, as if clutching a lifeline.
“But if I ever make a mistake and hurt you, you must get angry. I don’t want you to bottle things up and hide them from me. Scold me, resent me if you must. It’s better for me to take it. Please. Okay?”
Seeing Pavel speak so earnestly, Sasha was momentarily lost for words.
