Min-jae blinked, momentarily thrown off by the genuine curiosity in Meical's tone.
"You're serious?" he asked flatly. He guessed he was still using modern slangs here.
Meical tilted his head slightly, arms crossed. "Yes. What is it?"
"It's…" Min-jae's lips twitched, fighting a smirk. "A female dog. And also what I call women like her." He jabbed a thumb toward the door as though Seraphine herself might burst in at any moment.
Meical's frown deepened. "You just called her an… animal?"
"Not just any animal.." Min-jae said sweetly, stepping past him to snatch up a pair of ridiculous satin gloves from the dresser. "A bitch. The kind that bites and spreads fleas."
Meical's eyes narrowed, but not in disapproval, more like he was trying to hide the fact he found this amusing. "Hn."
"Hn?" Min-jae echoed mockingly, slipping the gloves on. "What, did I break your mighty composure, Your Grace? Are you secretly entertained?"
Meical didn't say anything and just left the room.
The click of Min-jae's heels echoed through the grand staircase as they descended, his skirts swishing with every unsteady step.
He tripped once, caught himself. Tripped again,nearly fell face-first onto the marble.
"Bloody hell.." he muttered under his breath, teeth gritted as he adjusted his balance. "Who invented these torture devices and why are women not rioting in the streets about them?"
Meical walked a few paces ahead, perfectly composed as though he hadn't just married chaos incarnate.
"Meical.." Min-jae called sweetly, batting his lashes at his back, "be a darling and hold my hand before I break my neck?"
No response.
He tried again, louder this time. "My dear husband, surely you wouldn't let your new bride die tragically on the stairs? What a scandal that would be."
Meical didn't even glance back.
Min-jae's eye twitched. "Fine.." he hissed, low and sharp. "Walk away, you heartless bastard. May you stub your toe on every piece of furniture in this house."
Two more wobbly steps later, Meical stopped. His shoulders rose and fell with a deep sigh before he turned, descending a few steps to stand before Min-jae. Without a word, he held out his hand.
Min-jae blinked at it, then smirked and took it. "Knew you'd cave. Works every time."
"You're acting like a child.." Meical muttered as they resumed walking, this time with Min-jae's small hand tucked firmly in his. "How old are you, anyway?"
Min-jae faltered for the briefest moment. He remembered Kaizar had just turned 22, they were the same age.
"Twenty-two," he said finally.
Meical gave a low hum. "That's young."
A bitter laugh escaped Min-jae before he could stop it. Kaizar's sister was also young when Seraphine took her life.
She was just eighteen, just like his sister Mingwa, he knew very well he didn't have half the courage Kaizar did. He'd have been all depressed but Kaizar was here taking charge.
Meical glanced at him, puzzled. "She?"
"My beloved sister.." Min-jae whispered, voice suddenly raw.
"She's gone because I—I couldn't protect her properly."
The words hung heavy in the air between them. For once, Min-jae's grin was gone, replaced by something sharp and aching beneath the surface.
Meical didn't reply immediately. His grip on Min-jae's hand, however, tightened almost imperceptibly.
When they entered the grand dining hall, Meical's jaw tightened the moment he saw her.
Seraphine sat at the far end of the long table, poised like a painting, golden hair immaculate, gown pristine, a fragile smile painted on her lips as though she were the one wronged.
Min-jae, on the other hand, looked at her once, then promptly ignored her existence.
His eyes locked on the lavish spread before him, silver platters of roasted pheasant, fruits glistening with honey, and delicate pastries stacked like towers.
He reached for a fork, cut into a small piece of meat, and popped it into his mouth. Or tried to. Two chews in, he grimaced, dropped the fork, and slumped back in his chair, arms crossed.
Meical noticed. "Why aren't you eating?"
Min-jae huffed. "Because I can't. This bloody thing.." he gestured at the bodice strangling his ribs, "is so tight I feel like I'll die if I breathe too deeply, let alone swallow anything."
For a moment, silence blanketed the room. Seraphine's perfect smile faltered.
Meical stood abruptly. "Stand up."
Min-jae blinked. "What?"
"Stand. Up."
Rolling his eyes but secretly relieved, Min-jae obeyed.
Meical moved behind him, fingers deftly finding the laces of the corset. He loosened them with practiced ease, each tug of the knots allowing Min-jae to suck in a little more air.
"Better?" Meical asked simply.
Min-jae exhaled deeply, shoulders dropping. "Immeasurably. I might actually survive breakfast now, thank you."
What made the moment electric wasn't what Meical did, it was who was watching.
Seraphine's hands, delicate and gloved, clenched around her napkin so tightly the seams threatened to tear. In all their time together, Meical had never done such a thing for her, had never knelt behind her chair, fingers brushing the curve of her back in a gesture far too intimate for a marriage of convenience.
And now he was doing it for this man.
Min-jae caught her expression and smiled like a serpent. "Ah… perfect.." he said sweetly, settling back into his chair. "How thoughtful of you, husband."
Meical simply returned to his seat, unfazed, but the tension in the room was thick enough to cut.
Min-jae smirked as he picked up his fork again, now comfortably leaning back in his chair.
He sliced into a piece of fruit with deliberate calmness, popped it into his mouth, and chewed slowly—very slowly—before letting his gaze drift lazily to Seraphine.
"So.." he said, voice smooth as silk "when are you leaving my home? Because, frankly, I don't like seeing you here. You ruin my mood."
Seraphine stiffened. "Your home? This is...."
Min-jae raised a hand, cutting her off with a flick of his wrist. "Ah, ah. Don't embarrass yourself. We both know what happened yesterday, and as of this morning, everything here is mine."
Her face flushed scarlet. She turned to Meical, desperation cracking her perfect composure. "Meical! Are you going to let him speak to me like this? You can't possibly—"
"You talk to me, not Meical.." Min-jae interrupted, voice dropping low, dangerous. He set his fork down with a soft clink and leaned forward, his eyes locking onto hers like a predator to prey. "He can't let you stay, even if he wanted to. So…"
He smiled sweetly, but his tone cut like glass.
"Be a good little girl and move before I get angry. You need to protect your assets while you still can, darling. Because if you don't…" He reached for another grape, popped it in his mouth, and smirked. "They'll be gone the moment you blink your eyes."
The room went dead silent.
Seraphine's breath caught in her throat. For the first time since they'd entered, she looked… afraid. Truly afraid.
Meical watched the exchange quietly, expression unreadable, but something in his eyes shifted, a flicker of respect, or perhaps curiosity.
Min-jae leaned back again, humming softly as if nothing had happened. "Now, can someone pass the honey? All this tension is making me crave something sweet."