My Husband Hid His Regression, So I Hid Mine Too Chapter 57

“…….”

The room was quiet.

Ludville was breathing heavily, as if he had been running nonstop, and his entire body was drenched in cold sweat.

Lying in bed, he reached out to feel the space beside him.

There was nothing there. Of course.

He had lived alone his entire life, always slept alone, and had never once let anyone sleep beside him. So why was he doing this?

Naturally, he couldn’t understand it himself.

Then again, had he ever understood anything?

He got out of bed.

His mind still felt hazy, as if caught between a dream and reality, but his body moved just fine.

He walked with unfocused eyes.

He had no idea where his consciousness was leading him, yet his feet moved with certainty, as if they had already chosen a destination.

The moment he left his room, he turned down the hallway……

And arrived at Odelli’s door.

Ludville reached out and opened it.

With silent footsteps, he entered the room like a night breeze.

Then he looked down at Odely, who lay asleep in the center of a spacious canopy bed, her hands neatly folded together.

‘She still sleeps like a corpse.’

The thought suddenly crossed Ludville’s mind.

Whether she was lying in a coffin or sleeping alone in bed, she always lay so still and so peacefully.

There had been times when he had grabbed her and shaken her, trying to wake her from the coffin.

There had also been times when he watched her sleeping in bed and sobbed as if the world were coming to an end.

Without even realizing what he was thinking, Ludville quietly lay down beside Odely.

Then, without asking, he pulled her body into his arms and held her tightly.

“Mmm……”

As she grumbled in her sleep and pushed against him, perhaps because she was having trouble breathing, he gently patted her back with familiar ease.

“It’s all right. It’s me. Your Lu. Your knight. Your slave……”

He didn’t even know what he was whispering.

Ludville closed his eyes.

As her familiar, warm lingering scent seeped deep into his lungs, he could finally breathe again.

Ludville sank into a deep sleep.

For the first time in months.

Without dreams or nightmares, he slept peacefully for quite a long time.

The next morning.

“…….”

Ludville slowly opened his eyes.

The chirping of an unfamiliar bird rang in his ears, announcing the early morning.

‘Morning?’

He had woken up in the morning instead of the middle of the night?

Unlike usual, his head was clear and his mind was sharp.

It was that refreshing feeling he got when waking up after a good night’s sleep.

It had been a very long time since he had felt that way.

Then came the strange feeling.

This wasn’t his bedroom.

The texture of the sheets beneath the blanket, the faint scent of herbs, even the comfortably warm temperature of the room……

Everything was completely different from his own bedroom.

‘……What is this?’

More than anything, he could feel someone’s small, warm body in his arms.

Even for him, waking up in an unfamiliar bedroom with a stranger in his arms was a first.

Ludville had no choice but to lose his usual composure and panic.

He slowly lowered his gaze.

And his eyes met Odely’s , who was staring up at him with wide, bright eyes from where she lay against his chest.

“……!”

Ludville felt as if his heart had dropped.

“……Were you awake?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you wake me……”

“I tried to wake you about twenty times before giving up.”

“…….”

“…….”

Apparently, Ludville had been holding her so tightly that she couldn’t even escape his embrace.

“How on earth did I end up here……”

For a moment, his mind went completely blank.

Did I come here unconsciously? Me?

With his heart pounding like mad, Ludville hurriedly separated Odely from his embrace.

“I…… must have lost my mind.”

“It’s all right.”

“It’s all right?”

Why was it all right?

Ludville found himself questioning her unbelievably calm response.

“What exactly is all right about this?”

“People lose their minds when they can’t sleep. Your Highness was already a little crazy to begin with, so you simply went twice as crazy.”

“…….”

“I understand.”

“Well, aren’t you understanding?”

Ludville replied sarcastically and sat up stiffly.

But despite trying to sound calm, he couldn’t seem to look anywhere in particular.

Silence.

Neither Odely nor Ludville said another word.

Ludville felt as though the warmth of her body still lingered against his chest, so he tugged at his collar for no reason.

The man who had always been confident and cold, who had never let his emotions sway him, was nowhere to be seen.

Ludville sat a step away from her, as if trying to escape.

“……I don’t remember.”

That was the truth.

To be precise, he remembered having a nightmare and getting up after waking from it.

But after that, there was nothing.

Everything had gone dark.

All that remained was a faint memory of walking as if guided by something, almost instinctively.

Perhaps it was because the duchess possessed the power of purification.

His survival instinct must have unconsciously led him to someone who could take away his suffering.

But there was no way an excuse like that would work.

Ludville was still trying to figure out how he could possibly make up for this and apologize when—

“I can tell.”

Odely answered quietly.

She didn’t ask a single question or try to corner him.

It was as if she had no feelings about what had happened at all.

Perhaps she even seemed to understand.

That was what made it so strange.

And……

It made him angry.

Ludville, who had been awkwardly fumbling for words in a way completely unlike himself, suddenly hardened his expression and inexplicably began to press her.

“If another man crawled into your bed in the middle of the night and fell asleep there, would you react the same way?”

Odely blinked.

Ludville’s voice was low and sharp with hostility.

Fragments of emotions he couldn’t even explain to himself were messily spilling out through his words.

“…….”

After remaining silent for a while, Odely tilted her head slightly and spoke calmly.

“Of course not.”

For a moment, Ludville couldn’t understand what her words meant.

He felt his anger slowly settling in response to her composed, even voice.

Ludville stared at her without a word.

Odely was still looking straight at him, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

But Ludville noticed a faint tremble in her eyes behind that calm expression.

He had caught her off guard.

“……I’m sorry.”

In the end, Ludville was the first to speak.

It was an unexpected apology.

“No.”

“…….”

Odelli got up first.

After calmly straightening her dress, she gave him a brief greeting, just as she did on any other morning.

“Then I’ll go out first.”

With that, Odely walked toward the door.

Just before opening it, she added one short remark.

“……If it hadn’t been you, Ludville, I would have kicked you right where it hurts.”

“…….”

“But you were sleeping so peacefully that I couldn’t bring myself to do it……”

Peacefully……

Was it even appropriate to describe him as sleeping peacefully?

But before Ludville could even express his disbelief, Odely left the room without looking back.

Ludville silently watched her retreating figure.

The door closed, and the room fell quiet once more.

“…….”

He slumped down onto the bed.

His heart was still pounding wildly, as if it had a mind of its own.

He slowly spread his fingers and looked at them.

It felt as though her warmth still lingered on his skin.

‘……This is going to be addictive.’