The place was truly, beautifully quiet.
Perfectly devoid of any disturbance.
There was something deeply satisfying about the process of fixing my face in that stillness. It was therapeutic in every sense of the word.
It was the kind of atmosphere where you just sit by yourself, retreating into your own world, far away from the exhausting noise of people.
It was pure bliss...
But unfortunately, it didn't last long.
While I was busy fixing the mess my tears had made of my face, Theo burst into the bathroom.
I was about to scream at his sheer audacity for cornering me alone in there, but he slammed his hand over my mouth and signalled for silence.
Almost immediately, I heard my mother's furious voice outside, calling for Theodore and promising him a world of pain.
I could barely tolerate the situation, but finally, the sound of her footsteps faded. Only then did he release me.
...
"Phew... I barely escaped my aunt. She's on the warpath today, chasing me all the way here with a dry, heavy stick."
I let out a long sigh of relief and turned to look at Sera. She was preparing to head to my father's house—or rather, our new home.
Despite her ruined makeup, I found my eyes lingering on her. Even with her features a mess, there was a certain allure she couldn't hide.
If it weren't for her mood swings, she'd be more beautiful than any other girl.
She noticed me staring through the mirror and smirked.
"And how exactly did you survive your father?"
I laughed with a shrug of pure indifference.
"My father didn't care. In fact, he agreed with what I did to Gerald. That bastard had the nerve to insult me on my wedding day."
"So I simply taught him the meaning of tact and caution. Even if people don't hit you physically, they can still beat you psychologically."
I leaned against the vanity chair and began tidying my hair.
"Did you notice Elias's eyes? He looked furious. What exactly did you do to earn a grudge like that?"
After a brief hesitation, Sera began to recount the history between her and Elias.
"He was always annoying me, claiming he was in love with me. I avoided him every time, but he was persistent. So I decided to make use of him."
"I tricked him and used him for his money for years. Once I reached the Third Level, I confessed that he had only been a tool to me."
"Naturally, he flew into a hysterical rage and started hurling insults. I got tired of listening to him, so I beat him badly. That was when he swore he'd get his revenge."
"The next day, those symptoms began appearing—the mood swings, the split consciousness..."
...
Listening to her side of the story, I felt a strange sense of relief. At least she wasn't trying to play the victim.
It meant she wasn't lying to me like last time.
But just because she wasn't lying didn't mean she wasn't trying to be clever.
I grabbed her chin and pulled her face closer to mine.
"Do you think I'm an idiot, Sera? With your personality, I know you didn't just 'hint' at rejecting him."
"I'm certain you planned this from the beginning. This was your shortcut to the Third Level, wasn't it?"
Her eyes widened. I could clearly see the flash of insecurity and discomfort on her face.
I released her chin, giving her a moment to collect herself. She silently returned to finishing her makeup.
Minutes later, she turned toward me.
"It seems you find it quite easy to read me, Theo. Yes, I did exactly that."
"But tell me something… why does your personality change so often? Why do you have so many obvious weaknesses, yet somehow still seem perfect at the same time?"
A wave of embarrassment washed over me. I've always been a sucker for praise, especially when it comes from my complicated wife.
"Should I take that as a compliment or a critique?"
Sera rolled her eyes.
"Whatever. Let's just get out of here. I'm done."
As she opened the bathroom door, I noticed the shadow of someone waiting outside.
Despair seized me.
I tried to bolt through the half-open door past her, but a leg suddenly blocked my path.
I tripped and went airborne.
In that split second of flight, a feeling of pure betrayal washed over me as I glanced at Sera.
She had a triumphant smile on her face.
It infuriated me.
I hit the floor and tried to scramble away, but a hand grabbed my collar.
The air was immediately filled with my screams of agony.
...
An hour later, I was sitting in the carriage opposite Sera.
My skin was dotted with light bruises from my aunt's warm "greeting." Despite her anger, she hadn't actually hit me that hard.
But to milk the situation for everything it was worth, I kept howling in pain as if I were dying. It worked perfectly.
My aunt is a very emotional woman, so winning her sympathy is as easy as faking a few screams.
My fall helped too. By rolling around and exaggerating the impact, I made it look like Sera was responsible.
If she hadn't tripped me, my aunt probably wouldn't have shown me any mercy.
So I enjoyed watching her irritated expression.
"Sera, would you let me kiss that beautiful face of yours? I wish you'd keep that expression forever."
She looked like she was about to explode, but I stopped because it wasn't fun anymore.
The carriage reached the manor just as the pitch-black night was beginning to fade.
I hopped down, took her hand to help her out, then hoisted her massive bags.
"Follow me."
Soon we reached my room.
It looked nothing like the room I had woken up in that morning.
The bed was massive, decorated with rose petals. The entire room had been arranged beautifully, filled with a calm, pleasant scent of incense.
I turned toward Sera and saw a rather amusing sight.
Her face was bright red, and she was nervously twisting the hem of her dress.
I tried to ease the tension.
"The shy bride… calm down, sweetheart."
Without even looking at her, I started removing the suffocating formal clothes.
Once I was down to my underwear, I began putting on something more comfortable.
When I finally turned back to her, her face looked even worse than before.
She pointed a trembling finger at me.
"You… have you no shame? Why am I the only one feeling embarrassed here?!"