My Husband Lives Inside a Painting Chapter 30

Camille didn’t press me for an explanation. Perhaps that was his way of being considerate.

“Why? Is there some particular reason?”

But the man before me was acting completely differently.

“…Isn’t that a little too personal? My husband never did that.”

I tried to express indirectly how uncomfortable it was for him to behave that way while wearing Camille’s appearance.

But the answer that slipped from his lips was completely unexpected.

“But if you like someone, isn’t it natural to be curious about them?”

“That…”

Not wanting to think about it any further, my mouth opened on its own.

“…I have a trauma.”

“Trauma?”

“My father used to hit me.”

The story that suddenly began was dark and gloomy, completely at odds with the peaceful scenery around us.

If not for the steaming cup of black tea, the cold air might have made my lips freeze without me realizing it.

“My father was the kind of person who used violence under the pretense of discipline. He was always drunk, and he took out his anger on me. He would throw whatever he could get his hands on, so hardly anything in the house remained intact. Sometimes he even locked me inside a dark closet.”

“……”

“When I got old enough, he started telling me to bring home money. If I failed to bring the amount he demanded, his hands and feet would come flying at me, so I hardly went to school.”

“……”

“So I ran away. To this place.”

Actually, I failed to escape and was reincarnated after dying.

I thought I had forgotten everything after twenty years, but apparently that had been a misconception. If I could still recite it all so vividly, then perhaps the scars left on the soul never disappeared, even after the wounds on the body had faded.

“Still, I’m much better off now.”

To be honest, Omaju Clodel was an angel compared to that man.

At least he fed me and gave me a place to sleep, and he never struck me for no reason.

“I actually had plenty of worse habits. I thought I’d be able to overcome them all by the time I became an adult… but one remains.”

Whenever I was overpowered by overwhelming strength or held so tightly that there was no way to escape, my body would stiffen before I could even think.

It was probably the instinctive fear one felt when confronted with death.

How ridiculous.

I had always thought it wouldn’t matter if I died at any moment, yet when the threat of death actually appeared before my eyes, I became afraid.

“……”

After finishing my story, I examined Camille’s expression as he silently listened to me from across the table.

I had used words that probably made no sense according to the common knowledge of this world, so I assumed he wouldn’t understand.

But the words that came back were unexpected.

“You must have had a really hard time.”

“……”

“And yet, you endured it well.”

His bright blue eyes never left mine. For a moment, I silently stared into those eyes that resembled the sea.

Just as emotion welled up inside me and my eyes began to sting, Camille curled the corners of his eyes playfully and smiled.

“But, Orb. Come to think of it, I think it would be better if we extended the contract.”

“…Pardon?”

“That man. He’d make the perfect target for revenge.”

A cold glint flashed in Camille’s eyes.

“Should I drown him in the depths of the sea, or burn him alive? No, wait. I think it’d be better to try every cruel punishment I know. Yes, I could study them while I’m at it. Which one do you prefer?”

He said it because he didn’t know that the “father” I was talking about wasn’t someone from this world.

Even so, the words he poured out were enough to wash away the wounds that had been pooling inside me.

“Forget it. Do you think I’m some kind of serial killer?”

“I’m the serial killer, not you.”

“When we’re in the same boat, what difference does that make?”

“Is that so?”

Perhaps my words had convinced him, because the sharp glint in Camille’s eyes soon softened.

“Come to think of it, we’re husband and wife.”

“…Husband and wife.”

We exchanged a light laugh as we looked at each other.

“That’s true.”

It was truly ironic to find happiness in oneself while talking about killing people.

A little later, Camille suddenly stood up and spoke to me as though he had made up his mind.

“Anyway, now that I’ve heard the answer to my question, I’m going to help you overcome your trauma from now on. As it happens, I found something perfect today.”

“What is it?”

I silently watched his back as he hummed cheerfully and headed toward the dresser.

Soon, the top drawer opened, and something emerged in his hand.

That’s…

It was none other than a red ribbon.

The very ribbon I had searched so desperately for a few days ago.

“Fear is something you can overcome by repeatedly exposing yourself to small stimuli.”

“……”

“So how about you spend some time with me while keeping an appropriate distance, using this ribbon? It might help you overcome your trauma.”

My heart began pounding wildly.

The red ribbon.

It was a secret shared only by Camille and me. There was no way this man could know about the memories of walking together with it tied around his neck.

…But.

If this man keeps repeating the same actions as my husband, can I really say he’s not the same person?

Just then, Camille’s hand moved past his wrist and touched the back of his snow-white neck.

I swallowed nervously, and then an unexpected statement slipped from his lips.

“Now, I’m going to tie it around my neck, so hold onto this and walk around with me.”

Wait. What did he just say?

“…Not your hand?”

“Hm?”

Silence descended between us for a moment.

Then Camille tilted his head with a bewildered expression.

“Ribbons are supposed to be tied around the neck.”

The heart that had been pounding loudly suddenly sank.

The sensation of my blood running cold made me feel slightly dizzy.

“…Ha. What on earth was I expecting—”

It was just as I touched my temple and shook my head.

“And woof, woof!”

“……!”

I jumped at the sound coming from right in front of me and raised my head.

“This is how you do it.”

“You…!”

Did you just bark like a dog?

I barely swallowed the rest of the question. There was no way I could actually ask him that out loud!

But unlike me, who was utterly shocked, Camille had absolutely no intention of stopping this bizarre behavior.

“A man who acts like a dog. Isn’t that a fantasy every woman dreams of at least once?”

“What kind of dogshit are you talking about?”

“Woof!”

“Camille!”

“Woof.”

I covered his lips with my hand.

Right now, rather than being afraid of touching him, all I could think about was stopping him from making dog noises with that face.

With his mouth covered by my hand, Camille gave me a sly smile with his eyes, as though he had just won a victory.

“Ugh…!”

My face instantly heated up. I pushed him away and quickly turned my back to him.

“Honestly… being around you makes me feel like I’m committing a sin.”

“Does that mean you like it?”

“I mean you’re vulgar!”

Biting my lip, I glared at the demon with the red ribbon tied around his neck.

Camille gave me a smile as beautiful as an angel’s.

“That was definitely a compliment.”