Holy Night: My Husband is Definitely a Paladin - Chapter 226
He placed the items he had brought on the table and immediately approached Irene to check on her.
āYouāre awake. Are you feeling any discomfort or pain anywhere?ā
Hearing his voice full of concern, Irene recalled how she had treated him before falling asleep.
In the middle of summer, she had suddenly started trembling, crying that she was cold and scared.
And when he had tried to reassure her, she had pushed him away, telling him she hated him and to stay away.
āUm, you were really startled because of me yesterday, werenāt you? Iā¦ wellā¦ sometimes I get like that.ā
At her response, Michael gave a bitter smile and sat down beside her.
Then, in a serious voice, he asked,
āDo you often feel cold and scared?ā
āAh, wellā¦ yes.ā
āStill? Frequently?ā
āItās not that oftenā¦ and Iām fine now.ā
Since it wasnāt exactly an illness, she didnāt know how to explain it.
Mumbling vaguely, Irene got up and headed toward the bathroom.
āThanks for wiping me down last night. But I think I need a proper wash, so Iāll be using the bathroom now!ā
With that, Irene quickly slipped inside as if she were escaping.
A moment later, she peeked her head out and added,
āThe breakfast was delicious!ā
āIrene, if youāre still feeling unwell, I can helpāā
āIām fine!ā
She cut him off hastily and shut the door before he could finish.
Then came the unmistakable sound of the lock clicking into place.
At the noise, Michael couldnāt help but laugh.
Soon after, the sound of water running reached his ears.
Michael ran a hand over his face, his previous smile already completely gone.
āShe said she sometimes gets like that.ā
In this life, he had tried to stay as close to her as possible.
Even so, there were times when he inevitably had to be away.
Had those been the times she had suffered?
Had she endured it alone, without anyone knowing?
Michael recalled Ireneās face from the night beforeā
She had sobbed uncontrollably, shaking so violently that she couldnāt even keep her balance.
She probably hadnāt noticed it herself, but her hands had kept pressing against her abdomen.
A place that now bore no scarsā
But in the past, it had been deeply wounded by a monster.
That alone had filled Michael with a terrible sense of despair.
And then, her words had cut even deeper.
āItās coldā¦ā
Even though it was the height of summer, she had curled up, crying like a child abandoned in a snowfield.
A thin summer blanket wouldnāt be enough to stop her shivering, so he had tried to cover her with a thicker oneā
But she had shaken her head desperately, tears streaming down her face.
āNoā¦ not that oneā¦ I wonāt use itā¦ You looked at me like thatā¦ā
Even as she trembled from the cold, she refused.
Watching her reject it so adamantly, Michael sighed.
The blanket he had tried to give her was the same color as the one she had once hidden under her bed and never used.
āā¦Haah.ā
He covered his face with his hands.
No matter how much he tried to push the image away, Ireneās suffering lingered in his mind.
āI was arrogant.ā
Michael bit his lip.
He had been overjoyed to find Irene in this lifeā
A version of her that hadnāt yet been hurt by him.
He had believed that if he simply started over, everything would be fine.
This time, he would never hurt her.
If he corrected every mistake from the pastā
If he dedicated himself entirely to herā
Irene would surely love him again.
If he moved forward without faltering, fixing everything, she would undoubtedly find happiness.
He had been certain of it.
But last night, as he watched Irene break down, Michael realizedā
No matter how hard he tried, he could never erase the pain he had left behind.
If that was the caseā¦
Wouldnāt Irene be happier if all of her past memories disappeared?
The moment he had that thought, Michael sensed something stirring in the distance.
Somewhere, a new existence was beginning to form.
The world itself was creating another āMichaelā for Irene.
A Michael who could erase all of her past memories.
