May Every Wound Be Fatal - Chapter 63.1
Once their sudden midnight outing was decided, Elizer became busy.
He wrapped a blanket around Reyna’s shoulders, bundling her up tightly. Even then, as if something was still lacking, he looked around for more things to cover her with. Reyna found his behavior amusing.
“Is it really that cold outside?”
“Yes.”
Elizer answered firmly.
He was always serious. For some reason, that made Reyna want to laugh. That was why she kept smiling.
“But this should be enough.”
At her calming tone, Elizer finally bent down toward her.
Reyna waited quietly. His hesitant hands slipped beneath her knees. Excited like a child at the thought of going outside, Reyna wrapped her arms around his shoulders as if she had been waiting for it.
She could feel his body stiffen at their contact. She tried not to laugh in case he changed his mind, but she couldn’t stop the corners of her lips from twitching.
“……”
Elizer looked slightly embarrassed. Suddenly, Reyna found herself wondering how this man had even spent his wedding night.
Surely, he hadn’t gone without one. A marriage couldn’t be considered complete without it, after all. So he must have gone through with it…
“…If it hurts even a little, you must tell me.”
Reyna was truly curious about how he had spent that night with her, but for now, she simply nodded obediently. She had a feeling she might get the chance to ask someday—perhaps soon.
In the meantime, Elizer slowly lifted her up. Instinctively, Reyna pressed herself close against his firm chest, resting her forehead between his neck and shoulder. When her body tensed for a moment, he stopped moving and asked,
“Does it hurt?”
Strangely enough, it didn’t.
Smiling faintly in surprise, she shook her head. His throat bobbed noticeably, as if time itself had paused before suddenly resuming. Watching his reactions was always entertaining.
But this time, for some reason, Reyna couldn’t laugh.
Perhaps it was the heat of his body against hers, or the soft scent of musk mixed into his natural fragrance, or maybe the way she could feel his broad chest rising and falling so clearly. An unfamiliar tension crept over her, and she quickly grew quiet.
“……”
After hesitating for a moment, Elizer began to move again. Each step he took was careful, making sure her body wouldn’t sway.
And so, for the first time in over three months, Reyna left the room she had been confined in.
The moment they passed through the door and over the threshold, the warmth of the fire-heated chamber vanished, and cool air rushed in. The chill surprised Reyna. It made her realize just how much time had passed.
A short but deep corridor stretched ahead. Though only about three steps wide, the ceiling was low and elegantly arched. Along the left wall were three windows. Instead of glass, they had narrow bars and inner shutters, through which the cool night breeze seeped in.
Moonlight cast long rectangular shadows across the stone floor. Elizer walked slowly across them.
Reyna, who had been stiff with an unexplainable tension, began to look around at the unfamiliar scenery.
The wall to the right was built of old limestone, and the tapestries hanging upon it swayed faintly in the wind.
Between them, small candle holders were set at regular intervals. Most were unlit, with only a single candle burning at the far end of the corridor, right beside the door leading to the garden.
The door, made of black oak, was low. Elizer had to bow his head slightly to pass through.
Holding her more securely, he lowered his head and pushed the door open with his shoulder. The old hinges groaned softly, and at last, the world outside unfolded before them.
“Ah…”
Reyna’s lips parted as a quiet exclamation escaped her, her green eyes—filled with starlight—slowly moving.
The night sky, which she hadn’t seen in so long, stretched above them, the Milky Way flowing across it like pale light.
At the western edge, a golden constellation sparkled. It looked like a spear—the constellation said to mark the beginning of autumn.
When the tip of that spear shone brightly, it meant summer had ended and the cold season had arrived.
As Reyna lost herself in that thought, Elizer did not stop walking, and her gaze gradually followed the stars downward.
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