Episode 74
“The weather has gotten much warmer, hasn’t it?”
“Yes, it has.”
Trees and flowers scattered throughout the garden were eagerly awaiting the moment to bloom.
As we strolled among them, we continued the conversations we hadn’t finished during our meal.
“I heard you achieved a tremendous victory this time. Duke, you’re truly amazing.”
It was said that you’ve slain nearly half of the monsters living in the Black Forest.
It was an unprecedented and enormous accomplishment.
At the center of it all was my husband, Lloydin.
I looked at him proudly with a pleased expression.
“Do you think I’m amazing?”
“Of course!”
Nodding vigorously as if stating the obvious, I replied.
“In that case, it’s all thanks to you.”
“Huh? Thanks to me?”
Why would he attribute his greatness to me?
He’s strong and capable on his own.
As I looked at him with a puzzled expression, he smiled slightly and said,
“Because I had a place to come back to.”
“Oh…”
“Madam told me. She said not to get hurt and to come back no matter what. I simply tried to keep that promise.”
Moved by his words that he did it all to come back to me, I couldn’t say anything for a moment, just looked at him.
“I wanted to come back sooner, but I’m sorry for being late.”
“No, you’re not late.”
Even though there was no need for apologies, I quickly waved my hands reassuringly.
“Just having you in front of me is enough to make me happy. So, please don’t apologize.”
“Madam…”
He gazed at me with tender, affectionate eyes.
“May I hug you once more?”
“Huh?”
“To be honest, I wanted to hold you a little longer earlier.”
“Oh, really?”
I was slightly surprised by his unexpected words.
“Sure.”
But soon, I nodded in agreement, smiling softly.
In an instant, Lloydin pulled me into his embrace.
Feeling warmth and comfort, I hugged his waist tightly, nestling in closer.
It seemed like a faint laughter escaped from Lloydin, perhaps feeling good.
In that moment of silence, feeling each other’s warmth, we made up for the missed moment of reunion.
Afterward, it was quite some time before we finally finished our walk and returned to the mansion.
Considering the exhaustion accumulated during the war, I thought we would immediately fall asleep together once we entered the bedroom. However, as soon as we entered the bedroom, Lloydin mentioned having some work to do and left for his study.
Since he promised to return soon, I decided to wait for him instead of going to bed first.
After all, it had been months since I last saw him… Though sleepiness gradually crept in, I couldn’t possibly fall asleep alone.
‘By the way, when should I tell him that I collapsed?’
I thought he might have assumed I was fully recovered because of our conversation before he left.
There was no intention to hide it.
Anyway, the butler or Ian would eventually hear about it from me.
I just didn’t want to worry him right after he returned from the front lines.
Then I remembered that Lloydin was currently with the butler.
‘Oh, the butler must have told him.’
The butler mentioned it to me before.
He said Lloydin sees and hears everything, no matter how trivial it may seem.
‘Well, then he must know.’
I should have mentioned it earlier if I had known.
Now it feels like I’ve kept it a secret for no reason.
Well, I think he’ll understand when I explain it properly.
Thinking so, I sat on the sofa and waited for him.
Creak.
And after a while, the bedroom door opened, and Lloydin came in.
“Madam, I’m back.”
“Duke.”
As I rose from my seat and approached him, his expression didn’t seem particularly pleased for some reason.
‘As I suspected, he heard it from the butler.’
First, without saying a word, I took his hand and led him to the sofa.
Sitting side by side on the sofa, we turned our heads to look at each other.
“Have you finished all your work?”
“I hurriedly handled the urgent matters.”
“I see. You’re back and working right away, you must be tired.”
“I’m fine. But, madam…”
“Yes?”
His expression calling me was incredibly serious.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Huh?”
“I heard that you fell asleep while I was away.”
And as I expected, he asked about my illness.
“Oh, did the butler tell you already?”
“Yes. He did.”
“I was planning to tell you slowly. I thought it wouldn’t be right to tell you such news right after you returned.”
I told him exactly what I had thought.
‘Hmm, I wonder how surprised he was when he heard that from William.’
Lloydin let out a deep sigh.
“It’s okay now. Look, I’m fine, aren’t I?”
I deliberately smiled broadly as if to reassure him.
“You didn’t get hurt?”
But Lloydin still sounded worried.
“I didn’t. Like you saw last time, sometimes I suddenly collapse, but sometimes I just can’t wake up from sleep at night. This time, it was the latter.”
“Thank goodness.”
“When I woke up without the crossroads in my dreams and thought you had come, but it was Ian.”
I had heard vaguely about what happened to Ian, but I planned to ask Lloydin for details when he returned. So, I thought it was a good opportunity and spoke up.
“I told Ian before he went back to the academy, just in case, so I had no choice but to tell him what madam’s illness was and how to treat it. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you beforehand.”
“No, Duke, you don’t need to apologize at all. You saved me.”
Instead of feeling sorry, when the one who should be thanked apologizes, I applauded.
“If you hadn’t done that, I would have fallen asleep for quite some time again. Thank you so much.”
“No, I just did what I had to do.”
He answered with a determined expression, as if curing me was his mission.
“But, the day before you left, it seemed like my illness had improved, but it hadn’t.”
“Yes. I thought so too, but it didn’t.”
Throughout our married life, I never once fell asleep, so I thought I might have recovered from the illness. But as soon as he left, the illness came back as if possessed by a ghost.
Still, the hopeful thing was that the number of paths in my dreams had significantly decreased compared to before.
“Ah, I see.”
“Still, the number of paths has decreased significantly from before. Clearly, the time I spent with you has had a positive effect on me.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Perhaps if a little more time passes, the illness will improve, don’t you think?”
“I hope so.”
Lloydin replied with a relieved smile.
“By the way, I remember something you said before.”
“What did I say?”
“You said that to recover from the illness, there needs to be contact with me.”
“Yes, that’s right. So, we’re holding hands like this.”
When he mentioned the fact that I already knew, I raised our clasped hands to show him.
“It also means that if there’s deeper and closer exposure to magic, the illness will heal faster.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
As soon as I heard his words, vague memories of the conversations we had at that time came back to me.
What did I say next?
‘Ah!’
As the conversation floated back to my mind, Lloydin opened his mouth.
“And you mentioned that you had thought about it at least once, but do you still have the same thought?”
“Huh? Um, well, naturally.”
I answered, feeling a little flustered for a moment.
What is he trying to say?
As I pondered his words again, my heart began to race.
I was nervous that my heartbeats, which were racing too fast and too loudly, might give me away.
To hide that sound, I began to speak at an incredibly fast pace.
“If there is deeper contact, the illness will heal faster, and that’s good for me. But, as I said then, I have no intention of forcing or asking you to do anything you don’t like…”
“I don’t mind.”
“Huh?”
“I said I don’t mind.”
His words, heard before I finished speaking, blanked my mind for a moment.
And my body froze, unable to move a single finger.
“What…?”
The words I managed to force out meant asking him to clarify his meaning.
“I said I don’t mind in response to the doctor’s question. Since you also said you don’t mind, now neither of us minds. Is that correct?”
“…Yes. That’s correct, but…”
Now, all the conversation came flooding back to me.
I had said exactly that to him at that time.
Like someone who had never asked anyone if they liked or disliked something, Lloydin, who was awkwardly asking, asked for the other person’s consent and whether they didn’t mind.
And he was confirming it with me just like he did back then.
Asking if it’s okay to have more intimate contact.
When the moment I had only imagined suddenly arrived, my mind cleared.
Let me ask one more time.
Just to make sure I don’t misunderstand this situation alone, to not expect too much, to not be disappointed.
I wanted to confirm once again if he really intended what I was thinking.
