How to Tame My Beastly Husband — Chapter 27. Fractured

This chapter has been re-worked by Regan, we have picked up the novel from chapter 64

Most of Annette’s hobbies and pastimes required her hands. She would be in trouble if she had really broken it. It had only been bumped a bit…

Looking down at her swollen fingers, Annette felt deeply wronged. Suddenly, she remembered the words of one of her practitioners in her previous life, saying that Annette was a born pygostyle, with bird-like bones that were easily damaged.

Apparently, they had been right.

She wouldn’t be able to call a practitioner until morning. Annette looked away from her swelling hand to Raphael. He was hunched on her bed, his eyes squeezed shut, sweat streaming down his body. Looking at his agonized expression, she felt a swell of pity that the wars he had fought still tormented him so.

“It’s all right, Raphael,” she said. “You’re not bad. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Reaching out her other hand, she stroked his black hair gently. Her small, warm hand stroked his face, sweeping his disheveled hair back behind his ears. Gently, she touched his forehead, smoothing away the wrinkles, and his ragged breathing began to slow.

With his sharp features, he was a very handsome, masculine man. That face would look amazing if ever smiled, but Raphael only ever frowned when he saw Annette.

“Deltium is safe because you fought so bravely,” she whispered sweetly, her eyes sad. “Nothing can hurt you now. I’ll watch over you. Don’t worry, you can sleep well now.”

The gentle whispers were nearly a song by themselves. Raphael’s jaw had been clenched tight with the nightmare, but now it relaxed, his lips parted. Annette reached to caress his cold bare shoulders, and then began to softly sing a lullaby.

Good night, lovely girl
When the dewy evening primroses are in full bloom
When the silver ring in the window shines warm in the sun
You will sleep deeply…

It looked as if she was getting good at using her ability. Raphael fell asleep, his face relaxed. Annette tugged a blanket over his muscular torso. He was a demon when he was awake, speaking only hateful words, but he looked like an angel when he was asleep. Looking at the smudges of his long lashes on his face, she almost sighed.

Would the day come when that face faded in her memory, so she couldn’t even recall it?

Annette shook her head. No. There was no way she could ever forget this face. With a sour smile, she reached to touch his nose. He was so deeply asleep, he never flinched as she touched him, defenseless. So different from the usually watchful Raphael.

Her ability seemed to work better on tired people. It lasted less than five minutes on someone who wasn’t sleepy, or who was in good spirits, like Gerard had been.

“Good night, Raphael.”

Annette stretched out quietly beside him and closed her eyes. She could hear his calm breathing as he slept. In her last life, she had never slept beside him, but it didn’t seem that bad. It was another memory to take with her, when she left Deltium.

Her injured hand throbbed. She thought she could bear it until she called the practitioner as soon as she woke in the morning. For the first time in her life, she didn’t feel alone.

The next morning, Raphael languidly opened his eyes.

Before he even got out of bed, he could feel that he was in excellent condition. He must have gotten a good sleep. This was the best day to practice, when he could focus on strengthening his skills. Maybe today he could finally break through and become a Sword Master.

Opening his eyes, Raphael froze with surprise.

Annette?

She was asleep facing him, the delicate features in her palm-sized white face like those of a doll. Only the radiant blush on her eyelids and cheeks proved that she was alive.

Slowly, his eyes slid over her sleeping face. Her long blonde hair and the pale shoulders exposed by her loose chemise shone in the sunlight. The sight made him feel uncomfortable, and he looked away. Every time he saw Annette these days, he felt an unpleasant tightening in his chest.

Sitting up, he looked around the room, rubbing his inexplicably aching forehead. The room smelled of fragrant herbs and was decorated with white furniture. Looking at the cozy carpets on the floor and the cherry blossom-colored curtains fluttering by the windows, it was obvious he was in Annette’s bedroom.

Why had he slept here?

Raphael’s eyebrows lowered darkly. He must have been walking in his f_cking sleep again, and come all the way to her bedroom. Until now, he had never left his bedroom, no matter how bad it got, and he was completely caught off guard.

You didn’t see it, did you?

He had no idea what he did when he was sleepwalking. He could only guess. Sometimes he woke up with his eyes aching, his hands hurting, his throat hoarse and sore. Whatever he did, it must be ugly. The thought of dragging himself around outside his room like that, begging, was horrifying. If Annette ever saw that…!

He clenched his teeth.

“Wake up, Annette,” he said fiercely, reaching to shake her. He intended to ask whether she had seen his mortifying behavior last night. But she was so deeply asleep, she didn’t rouse even when he shook her.

“Mmm…Raphael?” She mumbled, but her long, curling eyelashes didn’t open. Raphael growled, his short temper flaring as he caught her small face in his hand and shook her again.

“Annette, wake up right now!”

Her slender body was boneless in his hands. Something was wrong. Surprised, he stopped shaking her.

“What is this? Come on!”

Her eyes didn’t open. She looked fragile and helpless, the slender stem of her neck drooping at a strangle angle. His heart sank. It was only then that he realized she was not well.

“Why are you doing this now?” His anger instantly turned to embarrassment. Flustered, he rapidly examined her. He had thought she was warm because she was asleep, but now he realized she was unusually hot, and her cheeks were flushed red with fever.

He didn’t know what to do. Again, he tried to wake her, more carefully. Once she woke up, he could ask her what was wrong. But the moment his hand touched her arm, she yanked it back with a yelp.

“Ah!”

Reflexively, she covered the injury with her other hand, sniffling. His eyes went to her hand, so swollen that he wondered that he hadn’t noticed it sooner. Experienced with injuries, he knew what was wrong.

“It’s broken.”

Fever could be a side effect of a fracture. Frowning, he took her hand carefully to examine it. The small hand was so delicate, it would take only a little force to break it. It was warm, and it didn’t look like a severe break, but her body was so delicate that even this injury was enough to make her suffer painfully.

“Open your eyes, Annette. Are you very sick?” Catching her cheek, he shook her anxiously. Annette’s lashes lifted, and tears fell from her pink eyes. The pain in her face made his heart feel strangely hot.

“Raphael…” She whispered. “I don’t…feel well…”

His teeth clenched. The tears streaking down her cheeks onto his hand felt as hot and painful as if they had burned him. It was ridiculous, that someone else’s tears could hurt. Raphael rose at once, with no idea what he was doing.

“Wait here for a minute, Annette.”

Hurrying out of the bedroom, he leaped down the stairs and grabbed the nearest servant, roaring.

“Practitioner, call a practitioner now!”

. . .

Editor’s note: The author said “pygostyle,” which is a condition that fuses bones in birds, allowing flight. I’m guessing they were trying to say Annette has fragile, bird-like bones. Annette is fragile. In case you missed that.