The sun has long risen up the sky, yet I haven't slept a wink.

Having lost track of time, I covered my face with my hands in an effort to rest my eyes. I couldn't remember how many times I have done so over the course of the night.

I was tired and drained but also in no state to rest or even think about resting.

And as for the reason why a man immobilized for months was feeling fatigued? It couldn't be more obvious.

"Chirpy grab my coffee..." A hoarse voice was heard from the side.

Over the past few hours, my heart had constantly oscillated between surprise, anger, amusement, and frustration. An array of different emotions all within a single night because of one absolutely drunk woman, who also happened to be my wife.

Exhausted beyond recognition, Angelica was deep asleep tightly clutching onto my arm, using me as her personal pillow like she always does.

My head was throbbing from replaying the incidents of the night again and again. Whereas the rest of my body was locked within her hold.

Even without confirming the scene with my eyes, I knew that the room was a mess. A mess that Angelica so effortlessly created in an out-of-control intoxicated state.

To summarise the events of the previous night. The vault was raided, the room was ransacked and finally, my own face was vandalized.

Needless to say, we have crossed far beyond the point of return.

After the spectacle last night, Angelica hasn't opened her eyes once. In fact, she was sleeping so peacefully that it made me doubt if everything she had done so far was just a dream.

"Hehehe... Stop being so fluffy..."

In the beginning, Angelica was struggling in her sleep as if she was having a bad dream. She was shivering and crying while continuously apologizing to an unknown figure.

It was the second time she had cried, since entering the Frost estate. Just like the first time, I was powerless and incapacitated, unable to do anything or even comprehend the reason behind her tears.

Hearing how relaxed she is now, it seems like the nightmare has passed.

"Let go of my dress... No... don't pull my shirt"

Her sleep talk, on the other hand, was equal amounts confusing and infuriating. I was neither a fan of the person nor of the context of her descriptions.

While I don't know how exactly this 'Chirpy' person was related to her, I didn't like the way she was calling him.

"Baby..." Angelica called out lovingly.

With that one word, the temperature around me dropped in an instant.

'Baby...' Such an intimate way of calling a man who was not her husband while being in bed with him.

It was then I realized the possibility of 'Chirpy' being 'the love of her life' Angelica mentioned. My muscles tensed from imagining the worse.

While one part of me understood that I was feeling instinctively territorial like any other creature, the other was confused as to why I got unnecessarily agitated when it came to her. For I had never lost focus on the battlefield, to be disoriented by mere sleep talk was a concerning issue.

Looks like I would be making a quick visit to the Ashford county in the near future.

At that moment, Angelica tightened her grip on my arm.

"Why is it cold?" She mumbled, snuggling against my body underneath the quilt. She tangled her legs with mine and cozied up till she was comfortable.

The innocent gesture made my already burning body feel like it was back on the lava pit inside the Serpent god's lair. Only this time, it was worse.

"Baby, you are sooo warm..."

As she spoke, Angelica's lips brushed my arm sending chills throughout my body.

'!"

That minute touch had reminded me of the sensation of her lips the previous night, where we almost kissed for the first time.

'Not again...' My heart started beating like it was about to explode.

Every time I think about the incident, my body exhibited abnormal behavior. Either this was another side effect of the curse or there was something fundamentally wrong with my body.

"Stop biting me... hmmm"

Angelica's nails dug deep into my skin. Although trimmed for convenient usage, they were still as sharp as claws.

"If you bite me. I'll bite you back..." said Angelica, slowly shifting her head to the side.

'What exactly is this dream about?' My eyebrows raised in question.

Angelica's teeth fixed on my arm, ready to bite off a chunk of flesh. This was definitely not how I imagined the morning to be.

However, right as she was about to sink her fangs, we were interrupted by Herbie knocking on the door.

*knock* *knock*

Startled by the sudden sound, Angelica withdrew her fangs and released my arm from her claws.

"Err..."

Angelica winced, trying to bury her face inside the quilt. But the relentless knocking was not allowing her to fall back asleep as she wanted.

"Just five more minutes..." Her whispery pleas went unheard through the thick walls.

Followed by a few seconds of tossing and wriggling, Angelica opened her eyes. The air around her exhibited a much colder version of annoyance than I ever had.

*knock* *knock*

"Wait!" Angelica roared, irritated by the noise interrupting her sweet dreams.

The fake kind and delicate persona she had been maintaining leaked out her original personality in a state of tranquility between dream and reality.

'So this is what it is like to really wake her up'

It was a side of Angelica I was yet to see since was always up and ready by the time Herbie arrived at the door. I guess with the alcohol in her system, she must be feeling twice as much the normal wrath from the disturbance.

Normally Herbie would arrive at the door a little after the sunrise to prep for the day before the priests entered the estate. Considering what happened, I don't think the priests would be allowed today.

As per protocol, until the intruder was caught the gates to the estate would be closed to the outside world.

Knowing Angelica, she must have feigned being terrified of the assassination attempt that nearly took her life or put up a scared act that convinced the Knights to send her away without questioning.

Undoubtedly, she was angrier about not being able to catch the assassin rather than the assassination attempt itself.

So the assassin must have escaped from the scene and evaded capture, at least until Angelica returned to the bedroom.

Out of consideration for her safety, Nathaniel must have waited till he eventually decided to send Herbie to wake up Angelica and check on her condition.

Meanwhile, the sight of the disastrous chamber had snapped Angelica out of her drowsy state.

"Oh no" Angelica's gasp reverberated across the wrecked room.

After taking a brief moment to register the altitude of trouble she had brought upon herself, Angelica screamed into a pillow to let out her frustration.

"HRRRR"

'Where's the vigor she showed a few hours ago?' The sides of my lips curved inadvertently.

With the knocking temporarily suspended, Angelica was left to clean up after her mess before being found.

No matter what kind of excuse she brewed, it would be tough not to raise any suspicions considering the amount of damage she had caused. In the least, she would be questioned about the stains on my clothes and the ripped-up dress.

The presence of alcohol in itself was a siren that cannot be ignored especially since the Church of Theodore considers the act of consuming alcohol in a sacred place a punishable sin.

Though my chamber cannot be considered sacred, the place where the blessing ceremony was conducted needs to fulfill certain conditions implemented by the church. Among those, the primary condition was abstinence from any form of alcohol.

Now, let's see how Angelica handles this challenge.

'Ah... I can't see' I shook my head realizing the unconscious mistake I made.

"OK. First the safe and furniture, then the clothes and lastly the bottles"

Angelica hastily ran across the room fixing as much as she could. She moved the furniture back to its original position and fast picked the papers scattered on the floor before stuffing them as an indistinguishable ball inside the safe.

"Chop chop, Angelica. You don't have all day" Angelica motivated herself, trying to untie the knot on her hand.

When that failed, she used her sharp teeth to loosen the knot, scrapping me a few times in the process.

"Come on... come on..."

Beads of sweat rolled down her head onto my wrists as she desperately chewed off the tight knot.

"Got it!"

After she managed to remove the bounds, she stuffed the clothes in the nearby cabinet and scrambled to collect the empty wine bottles rolling on the bed.

One beside my pillow, one in the sheets and the other on the foot of the bed. Things seemed to go smoothly for Angelica until she hit a block. One of the bottle corks had gone missing.

"One two three bottles. One two... where is the third cork?"

The panic was clear than ever in Angelica's voice when there was another knock on the door.

"WAIT A MINUTE!"

'The last roar really brought out the charm' I smirked amused by her desperate actions.

Is it mean of me to find this situation entertaining...? After all, I did endure the entire night, I could use something to relax my mind. Seems like Angelica's personality has made an influence on me.

"Here it is" Angelica exclaimed, having found the object of her search.

Oh... You found it. I guess it is about time to wrap things up.

Angelica threw the bottles along with the rest of her stuff, concealed the safe, and corrected her throat before calling in Herbie.

"Come in"

That was fine and all for a temporary fix, but...

'Aren't you forgetting something?' I said reminded of the creative expressions drawn on my face.

"Pardon my intrusion madam"

Right as the door to the room opened, Angelica jumped on top of the bed having remembered the same at the last minute. She had used the quilt to cover my entire body, hiding the remaining evidence, and narrowly escaped being caught.

"Good morning madam" Herbie greeted Angelica, who casually laid by my side pretending to be calm.

"Goood morning Herbie. Aren't you a little early today?"

"Madam....it's half past noon" Herbie hesitantly answered and swiftly changed the conversations towards his strangely positioned master.

"His grace..."

I see, it is past noon. As I expected the priests won't be coming today. It doesn't matter since the blessing wasn't doing much of a help anyway.

But what about the assassin? Given the time Herbie came, he must have been apprehended by the Dark Wolfs.

While I pondered on the matter, Angelica shamelessly lied through her teeth,

"He was feeling cold. So I covered him up"

Cold? If anything I was feeling everything other than cold because of you.

When questioned about the glass of milk, another smooth lie spilled through her mouth.

"Yeah about that....... my hand slipped. Could you please clear it up before the priests arrive?"

"Madam....."

Although he sounded doubtful, Herbie accepted Angelica's words and withdrew from the room to fetch cleaning supplies.

"Phew.....that was close" Angelica deeply sighed, pulling down the quilt.

She picked up a piece of cloth and took her time wiping the stains on my face. Now that she had dodged an arrow, she was comparatively relaxed than before.

"This is not what a 39-year-old woman should be doing.........sigh"

Thirty-nine? Did she just say she was thirty-nine years old? I'm quite confident that it has only been a few months since she came of age.

Perhaps the alcohol hasn't completely worn off yet?

A few minutes later, Herbie returned to the room and cleaned the glass shards near the door. He presented Angelica with her breakfast which included a collection of drinks.

"The butler asked me to bring these to you madam"

Almost immediately, I could hear the gears turn inside Angelica's head.

"*cough* Could you hand over that berry juice? The dark one. I'm feeling a bit thirsty...haha"

For her, who had become paranoid of poisoning ever since the second assassination attempt to voluntarily request a drink, it was suspicious.

*splash*

"Oops"

'!'

For a second I was stunned.

As the cold drink soaked through the quilt, it covered the traces of the of the wine on my shirt.

"I'm terribly sorry. I.....I'll help clean it up. My hand's a bit slippery"

'Well played' I genuinely applauded.

As a whole, I was impressed by her resourcefulness and quick thinking, not to mention the ability to lie within micro-seconds with a straight face.

Even if the odds were against her, Angelica had managed to flip the coin in her favorability.

"I'm terribly sorry. I.....I'll help clean it up. My hand's a bit slippery" Angelica contained with her flawless performance.

"It is my duty madam. I will clean up"

"Oh I insist. It's the least thing I can do for my husband"

In my line of work, I have seen countless criminals engage with the investigations so as to give the benefit of the doubt. But never in my years of experience have I seen someone do so seamlessly.

However, that wasn't the end of it, as mere moments later Angelica accidentally spilled out one of her thirst comments in the presence of Herbie.

"That's........madam was saying something about being holy..."

"Ahh...that. Yes" Angelica awkwardly laughter, to give herself time to think.

The gears had chimed yet again.

"Do you remember High priest Thesser?" Angelica paused to check on Herbie's reaction and added,

"He...he said that if you were to say 'holy' while tending to a cursed person. It will help in revitalizing their blessing. Kind of like keeping the bad juju out"

That was the most outlandish nonsense I have ever heard, even for Angelica's standards. To think Herbie was blindly believing her words, explained the amount of allegiance she had gained over the days of her stay.

Not only had Herbie believed her earnestly, he was convinced to the point of joining in on the chanting.

"Holy.... holy"

After successfully chasing a clueless Herbie out of the bedroom, Angelica let out another well-deserved sigh.

"You really need to put a lock on this door dear husband"

'I agree on that too' I nodded, agreeing to her suggestion.

A newly married couple like us, needed the privacy.

Suddenly, Angelica stormed towards me and unloaded her fury in the form of a pillow fight.

"It's all because of you.....you stupid, useless, arrogant male lead. You're all talk but can't even handle a little snake....Ughhh"

"Huff....huff" She panted, taking a break to restore her energy.

Satified?

"I can't believe I'm hurting a sick man"

So you do have a conscience. But you're just ignoring it.

"For all the things I've been through because of you, you could at least be a punching bag for relieving my pent-up rage. You idiotic handsome piece of human existence"

'Hah!' I stifled a laugh.

"Gaahh... I can't even curse you properly by looking at your face!"

Dropping the pillow in her hands, Angelica kneeled down beside the bed and slid her hands inside my freshly changed shirt.

*badump* *badump*

Whose heartbeat was that? Hers or Mine? I couldn't tell the difference.

It was times like these that confused her view of me as a man. It was either too high or dead bottom. But when things tend to get real, she switched sides like a record changer, leaving little to no space to understand her true feelings.

But I won't let it stay that way. Because I intend to fully uncover the 'real' truth about the mysteries surrounding her.

"Thank god Herbie bought that... the only other excuse I could think of was to keep away the poltergeist" Angelica chuckled, before leaving to clear the remnants of the previous night.

Be it loyalty, fame or trust. All her lies had yielded her fortune in one form or another.

But Angelica...

Every lie comes to the light one day. And when that happens, I much prefer you being caught by me rather than someone else.







That evening, Angelica returned to the room with a strangely calm sense of mind.

"I guess it's time my dear husband"