Chapter 009
The World Mistakes Me for Someone with a Time Limit
How many days had passed?
For the first time in a while, I was enjoying a moment of leisure.
“I really haven’t had any time to rest lately.”
“But why are you here instead of your own room?”
Bella set down her teacup as she spoke.
I, who had been taking a bite out of a sweet cream puff in front of her, lifted my eyes with a slightly pouty expression.
“My room isn’t really my room.”
“What a strange thing to say.”
“I want separate rooms. There are so many rooms here—it’s practically rude to leave them unused.”
“…You are the first daughter-in-law I’ve ever seen like this.”
“I’m a bit unique.”
By now, Bella had grown somewhat accustomed to me and simply accepted it with a calm expression.
She asked,
“Is Shubel that uncomfortable for you?”
I hesitated for a moment before answering.
“Not particularly.”
As I said, Shubel wasn’t an uncomfortable person to live with.
He was, by nature, clean, upright, and capable of taking care of his own responsibilities…
‘And he’s handsome.’
That was a very important point.
The fact that I could lie in the same bed with him without feeling repulsed made him an extremely rare resource.
Possibly the only one.
“Then you’ll adjust gradually.”
“…”
At Bella’s words, I bit my lip.
I knew.
If there wasn’t a problem with him—
‘Then the problem lies with me.’
I quietly lifted my teacup to hide my darkening expression.
Then—
“Now that you’re married, even if it’s a little uncomfortable, you should endure it. You need to have a child as well.”
“Pff—!”
Bella had just deployed the universally dreaded mother-in-law advice!
Its effect was devastating.
I choked on my tea.
“You should drink more slowly.”
Though she frowned slightly at my clumsiness, she still reached out and wiped my mouth herself.
“I know you’ve lived quite freely until now, but since you now carry the name of Runein, it would be best for you to receive proper etiquette training.”
“Cough, cough—pardon?”
“We must ensure that people do not look down on you. You must not leave your weaknesses unattended. I will quietly find a suitable tutor.”
Though she phrased it that way, it ultimately meant she was worried I might be criticized for my background.
‘I’m glad Bella and I have grown this close already… but…’
Wasn’t this too close?
Normally, wouldn’t a noble mother-in-law be displeased with a commoner daughter-in-law? Telling her to divorce—or at least forbidding her from even dreaming of having children!
“Um… a child… you mean a child?”
“Yes.”
Bella looked at me as if stating the obvious.
Cold sweat ran down my back.
“Mother, you see, these days couples enjoy a long, sweet newlywed period, and only have children once they’re more mature—”
“The North is conservative. We value tradition.”
That didn’t work at all.
“Thanks to your help, the castle’s finances have improved greatly. It’s all thanks to you. I’ll tell the head chef to prepare an extra-large eel—”
“I suddenly have something urgent to attend to, so I’ll be going now!”
In the end, fleeing was my only option.
After escaping from Bella, I couldn’t settle my restless thoughts and worked late into the night on merchant affairs.
By the time I came to my senses, the world outside the window had already turned pitch black.
Rumble—
A faint violet glow flickered in the darkness.
A dull ache spread through my wrist—I could sense rain was coming.
‘I should go to bed.’
Rainy days were among the few times my mood dipped.
I walked down the quiet corridor, empty of any passersby.
Then—
Something that had been waiting for my mind to weaken whispered.
‘It’s because of you.’
A hallucination.
‘It’s all your fault. Even your parents’ deaths…’
Shhh—
The rain began to fall. My reflection in the window remained expressionless.
Droplets traced down that blank face.
In the light, Elysia was someone dazzling—confident, capable of anything.
‘…Then what about me in the darkness?’
I tried to act normal, but I knew—
I wasn’t normal.
Click. The door opened.
‘Come to think of it, this bedroom is no longer mine alone.’
With that belated realization, lightning flashed beyond the wide-open window.
Crash! A violet bolt tore across the sky.
The translucent white curtains fluttered like fairy wings.
Through them, I could faintly see a man sleeping quietly on the bed.
Shubel Runein.
* * *
Last summer, on a day when torrential rain poured down—
I lost my parents in a carriage accident.
It was the year I had just turned twenty.
Elysia Seton was the only daughter of the Seton family.
A child obtained after great effort.
Naturally, her parents cherished her like a priceless treasure.
Except for being a commoner, she had grown up with everything.
“Status? So what? If I need it, I’ll just buy it later.”
In truth, even being a commoner had never been a problem for her.
That was the kind of world it was.
A world where magical trains connected the entire continent, and immense capitalists rose beyond the boundaries of status.
Most nobles were inferior to the Setons, and Elysia was always the target of envy, jealousy, and admiration.
From birth, she had been someone who held power like gold in her hands.
“Dad, hurry up!”
“You little rascal, my arm’s going to fall off.”
“Our Lisha, are you really that excited to see the snowy mountains? I took extra time picking the place where the aurora is most visible. If I’d known, I would’ve built the villa sooner.”
“The North barely has trains running. There wouldn’t have been a reason to come.”
Elysia replied with a slight pout.
“And Dad, Mom is always busy. It’s been a while since we’ve traveled together.”
She truly had everything.
Loving parents, endless wealth, sweet words from people seeking her favor, and the world’s attention.
Elysia was happy.
Truly happy.
“Is it going to rain? The sky’s getting dark.”
“The North usually has snow instead of rain, right? Maybe it’ll snow?”
“Wow! Snow! I hope it starts soon!”
And that day—
Rumble—!
Elysia lost everything.
A long-awaited family trip she had begged for.
A trip that should have been nothing but joyful.
“D-Dad…?”
But in the pouring rain and the violet flashes tearing across the sky, she couldn’t think straight.
It was a carriage accident.
The North had only one train station, so reaching the villa required a long carriage ride.
If she hadn’t insisted on this trip…
Would they all have been safe?
“Mom… wake up. Please… okay?”
If transportation in the North had been more developed…
Would things have been different?
There was no way to know.
Nothing could be known.
When the rain started, her parents spoke seriously and decided to take shelter at a nearby house until it passed.
Her father’s voice shouting at the coachman echoed vividly.
‘Stop the carriage!’
‘…’
‘Hey! Can’t you hear me?!’
Rumble—the sky cried.
The carriage raced through the rain like a runaway locomotive without control.
And then—
‘Elysia!’
With a deafening crash, a heavy impact struck her body.
Her mother wrapped her arms around her.
When she regained consciousness, her entire body was soaked—
Along with red blood.
“…No.”
She murmured blankly.
The rain poured harder, as if trying to erase the tragedy of a family.
The North’s freezing cold wasn’t something one could endure while drenched.
As her consciousness slowly faded, she made a desperate wish.
Just—
‘I wish I had died too.’
At that moment—
“How curious.”
A low voice sounded.
Someone approached with silent steps.
Along his path, the raindrops falling from the sky froze midair.
Cold energy from his fingertips crystallized the moisture.
The magical domain he created silenced even the relentless roar of the rain.
Before long, white snowflakes drifted gently around the two of them.
“How is it that you have color?”
Elysia lost consciousness.
It was her first meeting with Shubel Runein.
And one month later—
Elysia, who had been missing in the carriage accident that had shaken society, returned.
As the rightful heir.
* * *
‘He sleeps so uncomfortably.’
Shubel sat leaning slightly, his eyes closed.
I watched him, lost in thought.
Sharing a bedroom with someone had never been comfortable for me—but tonight, it was even worse.
I wasn’t confident I could keep up the act of being fine with the sound of rain echoing through the room.
Just as I turned to leave—
“Are you running away?”
A low, husky voice spoke.
Startled, I flinched and turned back toward the bed.
