Chapter 21

It was a day like any other.

Duran hurt his shoulder. Actually, to begin with, it seemed that his shoulders had been in bad shape since the time he was on active duty as a knight. But on that day he taught at the knight school, and he felt severe pain in his right shoulder while instructing. As expected of the head of the Heres family, his pride didn't allow him to show his weakness in front of the greenhorns who were aiming to become knights. He overcame the situation by gritting his teeth while drenched in a cold sweat, but when he arrived back home, it was an immediate fuss about calling a doctor.

Duran looked down while sitting on the sofa in the reception room where the family usually gathered. The doctor's diagnosis was that he pulled one of his muscles, and he had to rest his right arm for the time being.

"Duran, you were too enthusiastic and acted without considering your age."

Frigga said in an exasperated tone while attending to her husband.

"I'm not that old yet."

Though he just said that, Duran looked depressed. It was a pity to see his serious semblance and solid physique in this saddened state, and Corinna naturally felt like soothing him.

"Father, are you okay?"

"Ah, don't worry. This is nothin--ugh."

Duran tried to show off to Corinna by moving his right arm around. But the sharp pain made his whole face scrunch up, and he had to hold his right shoulder with his left hand. "What are you doing?" Frigga reprimanded him with a worried face.

Observing the whole situation, Corinna clutched her hands together. There was a person in pain in front of her. Moreover, it was her important and beloved father-in-law. During all this time she lived together with the Heres family, there were many situations that made these frustrating thoughts emerge. For example, when Frigga had a headache, and when the head butler, Hans, accidentally hit his back, and when Nella complained a little about her stiff neck. She always wondered what she should do since she had the power to relieve that pain.

However, while thinking about revealing her power only after getting Albert's agreement, the days had passed, and Corinna ultimately concealed it. It wasn't like Albert didn't give his consent. She just couldn't ask him directly because Corinna somehow felt like Albert didn't want to share it.

But she couldn't let this be. Corinna could not bear the fact that she did nothing when the people who were important to her suffered. Due to her personality, it was impossible to pretend not to see it anymore.

Corinna firmly decided. Albert might get angry afterwards, but she didn't know what time he would be back home. Last night he only came back near dawn. And she felt bad by taking up his time when he was that tired.

If he got mad, she would sincerely apologize and ask for forgiveness, but for now, she made up her mind and took a step forward.

"Father…I..."

Corinna reached out as she approached Duran, whose face still showed he was in pain. She gently touched his right shoulder. Experiencing a hot numb feeling in the palm of her hand, Corinna exhaled. Duran had an unusual surprised look for a moment and slowly turned to face Corinna, staring at her astonished. He was dumbfounded since his pain suddenly disappeared.

With a small bow, Corinna kept her hand over his shoulder without uttering a word. Duran also observed her silently. Frigga frowned at that strange silence.

"Duran, what just happened?"

"Well..."

Duran seemed confused, but he looked at Frigga and opened his mouth.

"When she touched it, the pain was gone."

"What are you talking about?"

"It's true."

When Frigga frowned deeper, Corinna also looked at her with her hands still on Duran's shoulder and lowered her head slightly.

"I'm sorry… I didn't tell you all, but since a long time ago my hands seem to have the power to take away the pain..."

Frigga reacted to her words with a strange expression.

"Mother...Did you hurt yourself somewhere or felt any pain lately?"

"Me?! Well, I guess my head hurts a little."

"Excuse me, but could you please come closer?"

She couldn't remove her hand from Duran's shoulders, and since Corinna had asked it with such an apologetic face, Frigga approached her willingly. Corinna softly placed her other hand on Frigga's head. After she relaxed her expression, she also almost jaw-dropped in surprise like her husband.

"Corinna..."

"I'm sorry I kept myself silent about such an important thing. It's not magic, but I have this kind of power for some reason... I can't cure anything, but I can relieve pain. I knew I should have talked about this earlier, but I somehow missed the timing for it..."

Frigga silently watched Corinna while she placed her hands on them, but her facial appearance turned sharper and shaper, making Corinna falteringly shrink her body in reaction. Corinna was frightened wondering whether she was angry because she kept it a secret or irritated that a lady with such an insidious power was accepted into the Heres family.

Frigga asked her in a low tone that she had never heard before.

"Corinna. Is Albert perhaps aware that you have this power?"

"Ah...hmm..."

"He knows, right?"

"Yes..."

There was no way Corinna could lie to Frigga. When she nodded feebly to confirm it, Frigga's expression became even more aggravated.

"It was due to this power that Albert became closer to you. Right?"

"...Yes, it was like that."

Being confronted in such an assertive manner, Corinna nodded again frightened. She wondered how did Frigga figure it out.

"That boy, did he really...did he dare to!?"

Frigga grasped the fan in her hands with force, almost like she could instantly snap it in half. Then she turned to Corinna and smiled. However, that smile looked terribly scary after she saw her lashing out her anger, and Corinna drew back a bit.

"Dear Corinna, I hope you won't mind. Thank you for telling us your secret. You only revealed to us because you were worried about Duran, right? I'm sorry, but I'll have to ask you to take care of Duran's shoulder until he feels better. Could you please lend us the power of your hands?"

"B-but of course, I'll help out as much as I can."

Hearing her answer, Frigga smiled sweetly. Then, with a sharp resounding tone, she exclaimed, "Hans!". The butler, Hans, who was waiting aside, replied immediately, while she asked "I wonder if you can deliver a message to the royal palace. Please inform Albert to come back home as soon as possible." "Understood, milady." Hans bowed and went out of the room.

Corinna felt weird shivers going down her spine. Although she regretted talking about her power in such an inconsequential manner, when she felt the numbness through the palm that touched Duran, her concerns diminished. She closed her eyes while thinking she really just couldn't avoid helping him.

Duran and Frigga were already her parents. If they were suffering, it was normal for her to worry about it.

Frigga had a gentle attitude towards Corinna at that moment, but she wondered what would happen when Albert came back. Corinna felt it was the scariest moment of her life, awaiting and wondering how would her anger explode.

The possibility of being chased out of the Heres residence almost made her tear up.

This house had already become her home. She loved her in-laws, and also liked all the servants. Of course, she loved Albert above anyone else.

The moment Corinna started to imagine what would she do if they decided to separate them, she felt a gentle pat on her head. When she looked up, she saw Duran patting her head several times with his left hand as if comforting her.

"Don't worry about it."

Duran murmured with a lower voice in order not to be heard by Frigga.

"It's nothing you should be worried about. It's just the usual parent-child quarrel."

When Corinna leaned over because she didn't understand what he meant, Duran said another thing in a laid back tone, this time in a normal volume.

"But it's really amazing. The pain is really gone. You have good power. I wish I could have met you when I was a knight."

"Wait a minute, Duran. What did you mean with that?"

As an irritated Frigga, who was continuously roaming around the room, turned around to face him with a grin, Duran's usual impassive appearance broke down a little.

In the end, Albert only came back at night after dinnertime. It was certainly faster than usual, but it didn't mean it was early, considering the fact that Hans delivered Frigga's message directly to the castle.

In the reception room, Corinna continued to place her hand on Duran's shoulder, who was sitting on the sofa. Frigga was sitting in another chair, striking the armrest at a constant speed with her fan.

"I'm home."

Albert, who entered the reception room, looked over the current situation. He saw Duran and Corinna, moved his eyes at the place her hand was placed and raised his eyebrows. At that time, he probably understood that her power was revealed to his parents. When Corinna regretfully lowered her gaze, Albert loosened his lips into a slight smile. He didn't appear to be angry that Corinna arbitrarily said something about her hands, so she felt relieved for the time being. It would be unbearable for her if Albert ended up angry or hated her for it.

A little reassured, Corinna became worried about his tiredness. He looked more tired than usual tonight. That was when she remembered that he was only back at dawn yesterday. He took a short nap embraced in her arms, but he must be feeling exhausted. And today, Frigga suddenly called him back. He probably did all his work in a hurry to return quickly.

She didn't know what was going to happen now, but the thing she was most concerned about was finding a way to let him rest as soon as possible.

"Albert, you're late."

"I'm sorry. There was work that I had to finish today, no matter what. Then, what is this about?"

When Albert replied, Frigga sighed deeply and stood up.

"You already know, right. it's about Corinna's hands."

"I'm sorry I didn't say anything."

When Albert answered with a relaxed expression, Frigga's beautiful face scowled.

"Mother, the one who told Corinna to keep it a secret was me. She didn't do anything wrong, so could you please not be upset with her?"

"--But if course I am not mad at Corinna!!!"

At that moment, Frigga's voice struck the room like a clap of thunder. Corinna's body instantly flinched

"The only one I'm mad at is you, Albert!"

"Well, I also think it was wrong for me not to say anything but--"

"You're smart enough so you must be aware I am not angry about that! You, you only decided to get married after you discovered Corinna's power… Am I wrong?"

After Frigga's sharp reprimand, Albert dropped his shoulders, made a thoughtful face, and nodded.

"Well, I won't deny it."

"I thought it was somewhat weird! You were totally uninterested in marriage, but suddenly you brought Corinna over and declared you would get married! And as if it wasn't odd enough, you even brought her to live at home as soon as possible."

"I really wanted to marry her right away."

"The reason why you wanted to marry Corinna was the power of her hands! Are you trying to make a fool out of a woman's feelings?"

"I don't mean to do that."

"As expected, you have been in a good mood since you married Corinna!! I thought it was because you were able to marry a woman you loved, but it was all thanks to Corinna's hands that you got rid of your accumulated tiredness. After all, your appearance before that was all frazzled and fatigued!"

"As expected from his mother", Corinna thought while impressed by Frigga's perceptive remarks.

"--Well, yes, but mother..."

"I don't want to hear any excuses! Haven't you thought how rude you have been acting towards Corinna! You're always on the job! It's like you only married her because of your work!"

While Frigga's words continued to rain down on him, wrinkles formed between Albert's eyebrows. He felt like arguing back, but his mother's statements were on par with his original intentions, so he was having a hard time figuring out how to fight back.

"I didn't want to say this, but I also heard about your marital affairs! But I still kept myself from intruding on anything. Even if you wished for the healing power of her hands… Albert, you should have taken the proper steps before you got married! I feel heartbroken for Corinna!"

It seems Frigga knew the lack of intimate relations between the two before, and it made Corinna felt like dying of shame at the moment. Nella probably told her. Corinna's eyes started to dart all over the place, but Frigga's anger didn't show any signs of subsiding.

"Because Corinna is so kind, you overindulged! Every. Single. Night. You have been returning home late! And it's probably only because your intention was to make use of her hands! Is this what you think a wife is for?!"

"Mother, you're right. At first, I did get married to her because of that reason. I admit it. But now, it's different. Even without her power, I would still come back for Corinna every day."

When Albert said everything clearly in a matter-of-fact tone, Frigga scowled again.

Corinna lowered her gaze. She wondered what she could say. Albert's words have made her very happy. And she was also guilty. She had accepted to marry him while fully aware of his circumstances.

And above anything else.

She really wanted to finish this early and let him have a proper rest.

"Excuse me!"

Corinna stood up with determination and interrupted the discussion between them. They both immediately turned towards her. Frigga's infuriated eyes and Albert's calm gaze both pierced Corinna just like that, and for a moment she seemed to stumble, but she recovered herself right away.

Corinna was already a member of the Heres family. As Albert's wife and Frigga's daughter-in-law, she had every right to interrupt this conversation.

"Mother, if you're angry on my behalf, I would like to ask you to stop. I knew of Albert's feelings before we got married and I had fully accepted them. I have absolutely no complaints in regards to Albert's behaviour."

"Corinna...but!"

"I was really glad to be useful to him. I was happy even if he needed my hands alone. And he's so kind to me. I was extremely fortunate and happy for marrying into this household, and I even thought it was unworthy of me to be here. Mother, father and everyone else in the mansion treated me so well."

Corinna lowered her line of sight to the floor and then, lifted her face to match her eyes with Frigga.

"I really love Albert. So could we possibly finish this now? I want to let him rest as soon as possible. That's my only wish."

Corinna approached Albert and put her arm around his, then looked at Frigga once more. Still clearly irritated, Frigga exhaled a big sigh. Then she held up her fan pressing her forehead. And sighed again.

"I understand. It's certainly very late already. Let's talk about this when we have more time. Albert, Corinna, good night."

"Thank you very much. Father, I'm sorry about your shoulder. Please let me use my hands again tomorrow."

When Corinna bowed towards Duran, he laughed lightly and said, "Good night."

"Father, mother, please excuse us."

Albert said that and urged Corinna by softly placing a hand on her back, so she decided to return to their room with Albert right away.

As they walked down the hallway, Corinna apologized to Albert.

"...I'm sorry...I decided to just reveal it on my own."

"No, I knew I should have said something earlier. Instead, I've made you worry about it and it ended up badly. I knew my mother was going to get angry over it, so I kept procrastinating."

Albert dropped his shoulders and had a distressed smile. She felt relieved that Albert wasn't angry.

"I'm really sorry and also--hmm I'm sorry I made you stand between me and my mother."

When Corinna murmured, "Hmm?" Albert tilted his head and then laughed.

"Well, you really saved me there. If you didn't interrupt it, my mother would still be lashing out at me. When she gets in that stage, she doesn't hear anything I say at all. She only stopped because of you."

"...If it's like that, then I'm glad I helped."

Somehow Corinna felt embarrassed. At that time, she just desperately tried to finish it off as fast as she could, but she ended up saying some rather embarrassing stuff. But because everything was true, it was all right.

"For now, let's retire to bed, Albert. It was very late when you came back yesterday too and I'm sure you must be really tired."

When they entered the bedroom, Albert squinted while looking at her and murmured, "Thank you," and patted he head.

They changed into their pyjamas and climbed the bed.

"It's just like mom said, I'm really being pampered by you. Even though I'm older..."

Albert had a troubled smile while they hugged each other softly on top of the bed as usual. Of course, Corinna also thought sometimes about how much she was spoiling him. But she felt it was great. She was sure there was nobody else in the world who could take care of him like her. With that in mind, being the only choice was her utmost privilege. "What's wrong with a wife spoiling her husband? Isn't it good to at least have one person to pamper him while he does such important and strenuous work that wears him down every day?" Those were her sincere thoughts.

Even though he was tired, Albert didn't want to sleep yet and spoke to Corinna in a more relaxed tone than usual.

"Don't you also have something you want from me? Anything is okay. Is there something you fancy? I have enough money... you can ask for clothes or maybe jewelry..."

Albert, who went out of his way trying to propose a fair trade-off, looked at his wife and laughed at her oblivious expression.

"You don't seem to be interested in that at all."

"It's not that I don't wish for anything, but I'm already so blessed with many things, so anything more than that is--"

The Heres family prepared various things for the "ordinary" Corinna. And since she was now the wife of a famous aristocrat, she also believed it would be better to be dressed accordingly to her new status, so she always wore everything that was handed to her obediently. She wasn't particular about it either.

Still, among the upper nobility, the Heres household was one of the most outstanding families. But the family lineage originated from military officers, so there was an impression that they were an austere household that didn't overtly pay attention to appearances as it looked frivolous. That was great for Corinna. She could relax a bit without caring so much for her external countenance.

"Your family, the Ballelihold, is also very stable."

"Yes, no help is necessary."

The Land family is a noble household that has thrived steadily from the past while still being deemed as a lower aristocratic family that could collapse at any time. Corinna thought that this tendency would probably continue if one analyzed Nikolaos's personality, her younger brother who was supposed to succeed in the title. Actually, their parents seemed to like several aspects of this low-key life so they would surely refuse any help offered.

"I wish I could spoil you too."

Albert scooped a strand of Corinna's hair with his hands and kissed it in a flirty way. Corinna felt spoiled enough. She felt ticklish and her shoulders trembled. Although Albert sometimes looked emotionless and lacking a romantic streak, for her he was an ideal husband. Above all, he was very kind towards her. Frigga might have gotten angry, but Corinna was never upset by Albert's actions.

"Can I fully indulge you today?"

Corinna widened her eyes at his sudden change of mood and sweet voice. His eyes have a man's lust mixed in their glint. Corinna smiled as she anticipated the atmosphere of the couple's activities onset.

"Aren't you tired?"

"Pampering you is a higher priority for me at the moment than feeling tired.''

Albert turned to look at her, fully accepting that smile. When Corinna closed her eyes, she felt a soft touch on her lips. His kiss was always gentle. It kindly and slowly melted her, gradually becoming deeper. It was a kiss that took care of her every step of the way and it always filled her heart with warmth.

Albert also gently covered her lips tonight. His hand ran through her hair and slipped along her cheeks, and he pampered just as he promised before. He caressed her earlobes and rubbed and tickled her chin as if playing with a kitten. Meanwhile, he continued to kiss her. Corinna entrusted her body to his soft caress.

After being embraced many times by her husband, Corinna's body had completely adjusted to accept the pleasure given by him. She had never been afraid to do it, as her husband always held her very gently. However, the pleasure only increased with each repetition, and there were times when she worried that she would be too passionately involved in it and showed an unsightly face. At those times, an amused Albert just liked to watch her.