Taming The Villainesses novel Chapter 369

There are times when you become grateful for things you once took for granted.

In my case, it usually happens when I’m in pain somewhere.

When my throat swells up and it becomes hard just to swallow water—suddenly, I realize how precious those ordinary moments of drinking water really were.

Or when my legs hurt and it becomes difficult to walk. Then I’m struck by the fact that being able to walk and run wherever I please is something to be genuinely thankful for.

Why is it that we only realize these things after the fact? If we could appreciate them in our everyday lives, wouldn’t life feel twice as happy?

In that sense, I felt grateful to Elga.

“That’s a fine cane.”

It was a dark cane, wax-polished wood with a gold-inlaid handle—something that wouldn’t look out of place in the hands of a count or high noble. And surely, it must’ve been just that.

It looked expensive.

Tap.

After adjusting the cane Elga had given me to my height, I tapped it against the floor.

Since I was experiencing intense pain in my right ankle and knee, I needed to plant something on the ground to support myself if I wanted to walk.

As I shakily lifted myself, Elga, watching me, gave a little scoff and turned her head away. Was it too painful to watch?

“You’re being dramatic.”

“I wish I were just being dramatic.”

I deflected her remark with a half-joke, then collected my robe and spell scrolls from nearby and equipped them onto my body.

Of course, it was difficult to do alone, so I had to rely on Elga’s help. Not even being able to dress myself showed just how bad my condition really was.

Still, if I keep living with the help of these young ladies, I’ll recover soon enough.

Maybe it was the effect of the Dracos’ massage and the tonic Elga gave me, but even though I was in pain, I felt strangely energetic. Maybe this is how butterflies feel after shedding their worn-out cocoons and spreading their wings.

Of course, my body wasn’t a cocoon.

Thinking that, I slowly moved my legs. As I stepped forward with the cane, I found it harder than expected to balance my weight. I wobbled side to side.

Crack.

After lying down for three whole days, my stiffened body let out a protest.

Muscles I’d never even noticed before screamed in pain, and ironically, that made me feel very much alive.

I was alive.

Right here.

As Teo Gospel of Angmar.

This wasn’t a dream or a fantasy—it was real.

Just as I was about to stumble out the door, Elga asked,

“Want me to carry you instead?”

“No, since I’ve been immobile for three days, even if I’m slow, walking on my own should help with rehabilitation.”

“You’re tougher than I expected. But if you move at snail pace like this, you’ll never make it to where Ayra is before the day’s over.”

“Then let’s just call it a leisurely date, Lady Elga.”

“What are you talking about.”

Maybe she liked the joke, because the tension in Elga’s worried expression relaxed.

We slowly made our way down the corridor and eventually stepped into the garden of Sandora City Hall. The cool evening breeze brushing across my face felt delightful.

At the same time, one by one, the people around us stopped what they were doing and turned their eyes toward us.

The workers sweeping autumn leaves, the elven gardeners picking fruit, the errand-running pages and nymph messengers—one by one, they stopped walking and looked at me.

What kind of emotions were in their eyes? I’d more or less expected people to look at me, but when it actually happened, it felt strange. At that moment, Elga quietly said,

“Just walk with your chest out. You won, didn’t you? If you won, then act like it. Forget what other people are thinking—just do whatever you want.”

Elga’s words were absolutely right.

I won.

***

As we left Sandora proper, the carriage began to rattle violently.

The hippogriffs pulling the carriage were galloping furiously, and the road leading to the nearby fortress wasn’t paved.

Rattle, rattle.

The ride was awful.

Of course, it wouldn’t be very manly to complain, “Every bump is making my muscle pain worse. I feel like I’m dying.” So I just silently looked out the window.

“So,”

Elga began in a calm, conversational tone.

“So you and Ayra are legally husband and wife now.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“But to be exact, it’s only legal on paper. Becoming real family, growing close as man and woman—that’s a different matter.”

That much was true. Like Elga said, Ayra and I were listed in the family register together for now.

Systemically, you could call us husband and wife. But if someone asked whether our relationship had developed into something truly familial, I wouldn’t know how to answer.

It made me wonder.

What does it even mean for a man and a woman to be married? I hadn’t updated the family register or held a ceremony with Elga, or the Draco sisters, or Stella.

And yet I already considered them my wives, and treated them as such. I could say we were already family.

But with Ayra, whom I was now legally married to, our relationship felt more distant than with the other ladies. It was hard to describe, but maybe it would become clearer when I met her face to face.

I said,

“This time I’m not going to see her as a court entertainer or palace mage. I’m going to see Lady Ayra as her husband. I don’t know how she’ll react, but still.”

At that, Elga let out a little scoff.