Because I was Terminally Ill, I Married the Male Lead’s Brother, and Now He’s Obsessed with Me

Episode 1

 

I woke up from a long ten-day sleep, and I remembered that I had a past life after 20 years.

 

This place where I’ve lived for a whole 20 years is the world from the novel I read in my previous life.

 

I was so shocked that even after waking up, I just lay there in a daze for a while.

 

Everyone thinks they are the protagonist of their own world, and I was no exception. Realizing that I am not the center of the world and that I am just an extra was truly a big shock.

 

“Ah…”

 

I let out a long sigh.

 

Well, what does it matter? It’s fine.

 

So what if I’m not the protagonist? Whether this is inside a novel or anywhere else, what difference does it make?

 

As long as I don’t get involved with the novel’s protagonists, I can live as if they are irrelevant just like before I remembered my past life, and there shouldn’t be any major issues.

 

They can live their lives, and I can live mine.

 

The timing was even before the original story began, so there was absolutely no chance of me getting involved with them.

 

No wonder, my name appeared only once in the conversation among the side characters of the novel’s female lead.

 

[A few years ago, it was Lady Anaïs. She had a similar illness as the young lady…]

 

Lady Anaïs, a similar illness.

 

That’s right.

 

I was a one-line, unfortunate character who suffered from the same illness as the female lead and left this world before her.

 

How absurd. I have a terminal illness.

 

And not just any terminal illness, but one that leaves only about a year of life left.

 

No wonder I’ve been feeling weaker and weaker in both body and mind.

 

This unexplainable symptom of falling into deep sleep at irregular intervals since I was young, waking up from it suddenly, turned out to be the incurable fatal disease that would render me unable to open my eyes forever a year later.

 

This weak and unhealthy body was the only constraint in my life, and it was such a tremendous fact to accept that I would die without living much longer.

 

At first, I couldn’t believe it.

 

Could I be mistaken? Could it be a dream rather than a past life?

 

I racked my brain as much as I could to find any differences from the novel.

 

However, the knowledge I gained from living here for the past 20 years and the vague memories of the fictional world in the novel matched perfectly, and in the end, I couldn’t deny the reality that had befallen me.

 

However, I couldn’t just accept the day of my death and give up.

 

I was someone who had everything except for this wretched health.

 

In the empire, I was a noble lady from a prestigious dukedom with wealth and power that rivaled the royal family. Wherever I went, my beauty captured people’s attention. Moreover, I had parents and brothers who cherished me. My life was truly a blessing.

 

‘To think that such a sweet life is now left with only a year.’

 

In my past life, I had lived a far from pleasant life.

 

I suffered without a family and died at a young age after enduring hardships.

 

Could it be that the gods pitied me and gave me this life as compensation?

 

‘Then they should have given me eternal health as well.’

 

No, calm down.

 

Let’s think rationally.

 

I quickly rotated my mind to find a way to calm my excitement and live.

 

Wait a minute, now that I think about it…

 

If my illness is the same as the female lead’s illness, then if she survived, I can survive too, right?

 

Even though I searched for skilled doctors across the continent, I couldn’t find a cure for this illness. But now, I finally learned that it’s a curable disease, just like the female lead’s illness from the novel across the continent.

 

‘It was an extremely rare disease caused by the disruption of the energy within the body.’

 

Ironically, this disease was cured by contact with the male lead, who possessed tremendous magical power from birth.

 

So, to make contact, I have to be very close to the male lead, just like in the original work.

 

Let’s think calmly.

 

I just estimated the time period earlier, so it’s before the original work.

 

I’m currently 20 years old, and the first meeting between the female lead and the male lead was during the Emperor’s 50th birthday celebration…

 

‘So, he was 12 years old?’

 

Quickly, I calculated in my head.

 

If my calculation is correct, the male lead’s age right now is only 12.

 

“Ah.”

 

A sigh, almost like a lament, escaped me.

 

He’s too young.

 

Knowing that the male lead is only 12 years old shattered my plan to become close to him.

 

Chastising myself for even considering physical contact with a child, I gripped my head with my hands.

 

Yes, he’s just a child, and I shouldn’t meddle with the original work.

 

After quickly accepting that fact, a few seconds later, I was once again overwhelmed by despair.

 

‘So, what about my life? What should I do?’

 

If the male lead doesn’t have magical power, he won’t be able to cure my disease, and I’ll just die without doing anything?

 

I was lost in my thoughts for quite some time when suddenly, a glimmer of light flashed through my mind.

 

‘That’s right. The male lead had an older brother.’

 

My clever brain remembered that the male lead had an older brother with a whopping 10 years age difference.

 

According to the novel’s description, this older brother had even greater magical power than the male lead.

 

* * *

 

“Lloydin  Blighton.”

 

I whispered the man’s name in a barely audible voice, even to myself.

 

Two years ago, after my former Duke passed away, he became the head of the Blighton Ducal Family at the young age of 20. In the Empire, or perhaps throughout the continent, he was one of the most famous people, known not by the name Lloydin, but by the symbolically significant Blighton family name.

 

The cursed family with the most tainted blood in the world.

 

It referred to none other than the Blighton family.

 

The world I lived in was a place where demons existed. These demons frequently invaded various countries on the continent, and it was necessary to periodically subdue them for the safety of the Empire’s citizens. The Blighton family took the lead in drying up the seeds of these demons and protecting the Empire.

 

To be precise, they were forced into this position rather than volunteering for it.

 

In any case, in order to resist the demons that emerged from all corners of the continent, an enormous power equivalent to theirs was needed. Among them, there were the power of the temple’s knights opposing the demons, but that alone was not enough. The power that could deal a greater blow to the demons than divine power was none other than the power similar to theirs.

 

That power belonged to the Blighton family, which was known to have inherited the strongest demon blood since ancient times.

 

No one knew exactly how the demon blood came to be mixed into the Blighton family.

 

However, hundreds of years ago, due to possessing the power of demons, both the Imperial Family and the temple bound them with an unbreakable oath, representing the Empire, and it had continued until now.

 

As a result, they were treated with kindness and bestowed with a prestigious title, and since then, the Blighton family quickly rose from a minor noble family in the provinces to become one of the Empire’s rare ducal families.

 

However, none of the nobles in the capital treated the Blighton as dukes.

 

They either avoided them as if a curse would befall them just by being near or openly disregarded them.

 

If it were known that I, a member of the Anaïs family, was to marry into the Blighton family, everyone would probably be extremely surprised.

 

My family, the Anaïs family, was also one of the Empire’s rare ducal families, just like the Blightons.

 

But their prestige and power were even greater and higher than not just the Blightons, but any other noble family in the Empire.

 

‘So, it might be even more difficult.’

 

I could already imagine the tremendous obstacles and difficulties ahead.

 

Well, I couldn’t just sit still.

 

With my life on the line, I had no choice but to take action.

 

‘First, I have to meet the Duke.’

 

It seemed better to meet him first, see the changes in my body firsthand, and then proceed with the plan if he could indeed cure my illness.

 

Of course, I didn’t entirely doubt the contents of the novel.

 

I simply found it more convenient to wait until I had certainty before taking any action.

 

Still, I was reassured that I probably wouldn’t fall into a deep sleep again, as I had just woken up from my illness-induced slumber.

 

‘Now, shall we start?’

 

“Lia…!”

 

After recalling the things I needed to do, I called for Lia.

 

In my own opinion, I called her loudly, but my voice was still hoarse from just waking up from a deep sleep.

 

So, I reached out to pull the string that was hanging by the bedside, but just like my voice, my body didn’t respond well either.

 

‘This is a bit severe.’