Chapter 36: Nursing
“Your name is Morina? Try drawing something here.”
Morina seemed surprised for a moment, but as Whitley brought her paper and a pen, she quickly started sketching the tea set on the table.
It was clear she wasn’t lying about her drawing skills.
In just a short moment, her small hands became completely absorbed in her world.
Her young face quickly took on the determined look of an artist.
Her eyes held a passion so strong that she would steal paper just to draw.
The reason I asked Morina to draw was simple—I wanted proof that I had at least tried to verify the truth.
The word “proof” may be overly dramatic, but at least it proved she was telling the truth.
In the end, I sent Morina away without any punishment.
Norton seemed like he wanted to say something multiple times, though.
Instead, I made Leta take responsibility for Morina’s actions as well.
I also warned her that the Grand Duke might decide on a punishment later.
But Leta only kept repeating how grateful she was that her sister was safe.
By the time everything was settled, it was already long past mealtime.
Since I had no appetite, I lay in bed early and stared at Morina’s drawing for a long time.
In my past life, I had rarely felt happiness.
A life without sufficient supply always made people feel small and miserable.
But having to steal used stationery just to have paper for drawing…
Compared to that, complaining about a life where money decides every choice almost felt ungrateful.
Of course, people in this world had their own struggles, and it wasn’t my place to judge…
“She might become an illustrator in the future.”
I felt like giving Morina some money to buy paper, but that seemed excessive.
If I acted too kindly, people might start seeing me as a “gullible Grand Duchess.”
“Forget it. No unnecessary kindness.”
I shut my eyes tightly, trying to push away all these thoughts. My whole body felt heavy with exhaustion.
“Maybe I’ll just rest a little before the Grand Duke arrives.”
As I felt a slight fever coming on, I slowly drifted into sleep.
“Why am I here?”
I was kneeling on a guillotine.
My neck was pressed down, my arms bound.
When I lifted my head, I saw a massive crowd filling the square.
Their eyes shone with anticipation for the event that was about to unfold.
I tried to speak, but all I felt was a burning pain in my throat—no voice came out.
“I’m scared! Please, someone help me!”
As I struggled in confusion, my eyes locked with a man in the crowd.
I thought he was far away.
But as soon as he stared at me, the distance between us vanished in an instant.
His golden eyes burned into mine, swallowing me whole.
My entire body froze as if I had turned to stone.
I let out a silent scream.
His enormous golden eyes narrowed into thin, slit-like pupils. My vision blurred.
Then, an unbearable pain spread through my eyes, as if they were on fire.
No matter how much I thrashed, I couldn’t break free from his gaze.
“How foolish.”
As I cried tears of blood, a slow, deep voice echoed in my ears, filled with anger.
“You have no one to blame but yourself. This is your final chance.”
Darkness swallowed me whole.
“…Is she awake yet?”
“…I’ll check again.”
Click. The sound of a door closing brought me back to consciousness.
As I turned my head, I saw the Grand Duke sitting slightly away from my bed.
“…Your Grace?”
“Are you feeling better?”
I tried to sit up, but my body felt weak, as if I had been submerged in water.
“Don’t get up.”
It was already nighttime. When the Grand Duke turned on the small bedside lamp, his sharp face became visible.
“Why is he here?”
Ah, then I remembered.
We had promised to have dinner together that evening.
“I’m sorry.”
My voice came out cracked and hoarse. I cleared my throat a few times.
“We were supposed to eat together, right? I must have slept too long.”
The Grand Duke looked at me with concern.
“You slept for an entire day. Are you alright?”
“What?”
He raised his hand, as if to check my forehead, but then hesitated and withdrew it.
In his hand was a small towel.
“At least your fever has gone down.”
“A whole day? You mean our dinner was supposed to be yesterday?”
“I thought you were just tired, but when you didn’t wake up the next morning, I called the doctor.”
The Grand Duke let out a small sigh of relief.
“Since you have a cold, please don’t overwork yourself for now.”
I felt a bit taken aback.
‘Was I really that sick? I was just a little tired.’
The Grand Duke, who had rolled up his sleeves and was only wearing a shirt, placed a towel on the bedside table next to a water basin.
Had he been taking care of me?
It was the first time someone had stayed by my bedside while I was unwell.
A warm feeling stirred inside me as I looked at him.
When he brushed back his falling bangs, the veins on his forearm stood out. The open collar of his shirt revealed the shadows of his collarbone, which looked quite attractive.
‘Wow, I feel completely healed already.’
Just seeing him made me feel better.
I was about to joke about it, but the Grand Duke’s expression was unusually serious.
“Your Grace?”
“…….”
“Your Grace?”
I called him again, and only then did he meet my eyes.
His face, lit by the dim orange lamp, had a deep shadow cast over it.
“Your Grace, are you okay?”
Biting his lip, he finally spoke slowly.
“It might be because of me.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I mean… you getting sick.”
Oh, so that’s what he was thinking.
‘He’s really overthinking this.’
“Since you were near me…”
“No, that’s not it.”
I cut him off firmly, my voice unexpectedly choked with emotion.
“It’s not because of you.”
“Your Grace…”
I pushed aside his concern and sat up in bed.
“I was just having too much fun.”
“……?”
“I was excited and went out too much, so I caught a cold.”
That wasn’t entirely untrue.
I had been exhausted from preparing gifts for the knights, and I’d been going out frequently to the market. Just today, I had gone outside the castle as well.
“What’s so exciting about this place?”
The Grand Duke looked at me as if I were making up an obvious lie.
“I know better than anyone how boring the North can be. Didn’t you say it was dull here?”
“That’s not true! There are so many fun things in the North!”
My voice rose without me realizing it.
“Back at my family’s estate, I couldn’t even go outside freely. But here, I can explore the town, shop at the marketplace, and eat delicious tomato stew! It’s been wonderful!”
“…Stew?”
“And I have you here, too.”
“…….”
The Grand Duke looked at me, momentarily speechless.
I meant what I said.
Lately, I had enjoyed joking with him in the mornings and evenings, helping him with his cravat, and sharing small conversations.
“Talking with you, taking walks together… I really enjoy my days here.”
Of course, a big part of that was because he was nice to look at.
“Your Grace, I like it here.”
I spoke firmly, making it clear that he shouldn’t say unnecessary things.
“And now that I’ve recovered, you don’t need to worry. Actually, I kind of liked being sick.”
“…….”
“Because my husband took care of me.”
“…….”
“So this is why people get married.”
The Grand Duke’s face, already reddish from the warm light, turned even redder.
“You’re making jokes at a time like this?”
After a long silence, he finally spoke, his voice slightly strained.
“And don’t do that again.”
“Do what?”
“The gifts for the knights. Your hands…”
He bit his lip.
I looked down at my hands and saw a few small bandages.
“When I saw your hands, they were covered in blisters. And you didn’t even treat them.”
A few days ago, while preparing gifts for the knights, I had spent hours writing and tying ribbons. Since my hands were so soft and unused to labor, they had blistered easily.
But by now, there were barely any traces left.
‘Covered in blisters? He’s exaggerating.’
The Grand Duke frowned, looking as if he was about to scold me again, so I quickly spoke first.
“I just wanted to make a good impression.”
“On who?”
“Who else? Your knights.”
“…….”
“I know I’ll only be here for a year, but I don’t want to be disliked.”
The Grand Duke’s brows furrowed.
“Who dislikes you?”
His expression was so sincere that I almost laughed.
“You, for one. You rejected this marriage multiple times, remember?”
The Grand Duke flinched and mumbled softly,
“I made a mistake.”
“…….”
“I just meant that you were… well…”
He cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Anyway, no one dislikes you. The knights liked the gifts, so don’t worry. Besides…”
He clenched his fists slightly and hesitated before adding,
“No matter how long this lasts, our marriage is real, and you are the Duchess of Blenheim. You don’t need to worry about others’ opinions.”
His firm voice eased something inside me.
“So if anyone ever treats you poorly, tell me.”
“And what will you do? Scold them?”
I asked playfully, my eyes twinkling.
The corner of the Grand Duke’s lips twitched as if suppressing a smile.
“…I’ll scold them.”
“Don’t forget you said that.”
That was a very satisfying answer.
As I nodded, the Grand Duke bit his lip as if holding back laughter, then gently advised me,
“The doctor will be here soon. Stay in bed a little longer.”
Since I still felt a bit weak from not eating, I obediently lay back down.
I had dreamed about something before I woke up, but it didn’t seem important anymore.
As the Grand Duke tucked the blanket around me, I closed my eyes again, feeling his gentle touch.
-ˋˏ ༻❁✿❀༺ ˎˊ-
• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Freya• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
If you want to support the translation and the translator, you can buy a coffee~
-ˋˏ ༻❁✿❀༺ ˎˊ-
