“The tea tastes really good. Lady Elia should have it too. Oh, and the Duke too.”
Ladiana smiled brightly as she said that.
“I don’t know what to eat when there’s nothing in front of me.”
“Elia, I’m sleepy…”
Between them quietly wrestling, the child tugged at her collar. For being sleepy, the child’s eyes were very clear. Looking at the child who was now even lying, she let out a sigh.
‘First, let’s export the cause provider.’
“Lady Ladiana.”
“Yes. Please tell me.”
“I’m sorry, but would you like to go home early today?”
Ladiana looked shocked. As if she never thought she would hear her say that.
“Next time you come, I’ll treat you to a strawberry cake I made myself.”
“…Really?”
“Of course. I’ll make it pretty and give it to you.”
“All right.”
Ladiana rose from her seat with her face brightened.
“Then I’ll see you next time, Lady Elia.”
“Yes. Take care.”
Ladiana lightly squeezed her hand with her face full of regret and left her living room. But even after the door closed, there was an awkward atmosphere. She looked at them both in turn and shook her head. As Ladiana’s visits began to become more frequent, she was always like this, so she had anticipated this situation today as well. She looked at the two who were still staring and jumped up from her seat. She was at her limit.
“If you have any complaints, please speak up. The Duke and Liam, both.”
They both looked at her at the same time she said that.
“Duke. If you don’t like Lady Ladiana meeting me, you can refuse the visit request. Why on earth are you allowing Lady Ladiana to visit?”
“Of course you are…”
“Of course I, what?”
The Duke, who was about to say something, suddenly closed his mouth. This time she looked at the child.
“Liam. you are no different from the duke. Don’t just pretend, but be honest.”
The child was wriggling with his hands clasped together and glanced at her. But he didn’t seem to have any intention of sharing his true feelings. She had an idea why it’s like that, but still.
“Liam. Words are meant to be said. Things you think the other person will know even if you don’t say them.”
She paused for a moment and looked at the Duke.
“It’s a really stupid idea. If you don’t say it, you won’t know what you really mean.”
Perhaps because the point had been struck, the two’s expressions turned into embarrassment. She sighed softly and turned around.
“Anyway, both of you, think about it, okay?”
She left the two of them alone and left the living room.
* * *
She stayed in the study all day just reading books, and after coming out, she headed to her room. Then, a sudden thought occurred to her and she looked back.
“Richard, is there any vacancy around here?”
“There is a guest room. Why is that?”
“I’m going to go there and sleep today.”
“What about Lord Deliam?”
“One day will be fine. Liam will need time to think anyway.”
She said so, leaving Richard alone, who was wondering if he didn’t understand what she was saying.
“Jade, please guide me.”
“Okay.”
Jade turned his body as if asking her to follow.
The room they arrived at wasn’t as bad as expected. Since it was a guest room, she thought it would be old-fashioned, but it was almost no different from the room she was staying in. She lay down on the bed and stared blankly at the thousand pages. Was this her first time coming here and sleeping alone without Deliam? She slowly blinked as sleep gradually poured in.
‘Let’s sleep for today.’
She closed her eyes and completely surrendered herself to the rushing beasts.
* * *
When she came to her senses, she found herself in a completely white space. It was a very familiar space, so she wasn’t embarrassed anymore. She just had a little doubt. Usually, when you realize it’s a dream, you wake up, right?
At that time, space began to warp. The place was changing. Originally, the order was the same when she came here, but this time it was different from other times. This was because something unpleasantly thick began to surround her entire body. She saw a scene that had completely changed and everything was gray. A thick iron grill was blocking her path. Why was she in this place that looked like a prison? As she was trying to move her body, she realized something was uncomfortable and looked down. The wrists and ankles, which had been fine until just a moment ago, were now filled with black restraints. She tried to somehow free the restraints, but failed. The restraints were tightening her wrists and ankles very tightly. It was a time when she just quietly exhaled in a space that was extremely unpleasant. There was a faint sound of footsteps coming from somewhere. She held her breath and stared ahead.
Eventually, when the sound of footsteps reached right in front of her, she couldn’t hide her surprise. The person in front of her was none other than the Marquis Dior.
Why did that man… His cold, damp gaze like a snake was fixed on her. The Marquis, who had been looking down at her so coldly that it took her breath away, finally opened his mouth.
“…Kayden Nathan.”
But what came out of his mouth were completely unexpected words. Why was he calling her by the Duke’s name? As questions filled the mind, the corners of the Marquis’ mouth rose strangely.
“No, I am just a criminal who committed treason.”
What on earth was he talking about? She wanted to ask right away, but no voice came out at all. At that time, the Marquis stretched out his hand through the iron bars. Her neck was being tightened mercilessly in his grasp. She blinked her eyes slowly, feeling like her breathing was suffocating. She wanted to protest, but her body didn’t move at all.
“I am the one who won. You are just a failure.”
The sound of the Marquis laughing rang in her ears, but her vision was so blurred that she couldn’t even see him properly. Eventually, his eyelids began to weigh heavily and his consciousness began to sink rapidly. She closed her eyes helplessly and was quickly dragged into a distant swamp of unconsciousness.
* * *
“…Huh!”
She opened her eyes and took a sharp breath. Because of this, she started coughing non-stop. A great pain came over her, as if her lungs had been torn apart. When she finally stopped coughing, her entire body was exhausted. She looked up at the cloth blankly and finally fumbled on the top of the drawer next to her. She took the water bottle in her hand and poured it into her mouth. He quenched his thirst and stood up, not knowing if he was drinking or pouring water. She exhaled slowly and closed her eyes. What on earth was that just now?
She raised her hand and felt around her neck. She was clearly just dreaming, but the sensation of being strangled was still vivid. When she remembered that, this space felt like a prison. Feeling suddenly overwhelmed, she got up from the bed and ran out of the room.
“…Ugh, huh.”
She sat down in the hallway and exhaled, but her body was lifted.
“Hey, where does it hurt?”
She heard Richard’s voice from above, but she didn’t even have the presence of mind to answer. Just when she finally calmed down, she suddenly lifted her head up due to an overwhelming thought.
“Where is the Duke now?”
“He is probably in the bedroom. Are you feeling okay?”
“It’s okay. Let’s go faster than that.”
“Where?”
“To the Duke.”
“…now? It’s difficult right now because it’s bedtime.”
“I just wanted to check for a moment.”
“Why on earth are you doing this?”
This time Jade asked her. She bit her lip hard because she couldn’t understand his gaze. There was no way she could answer why. Even she didn’t know why she was doing that.
“Then I want to go to Liam.”
She got up and headed to the room where the child would be sleeping. Seeing Deliam might calm her down a little. She moved her legs impatiently. As soon as she arrived in front of the child’s room, she opened the door without hesitation and went inside.
After the door closed, she exhaled for a moment and looked around the dark room. As she looked at the small peak rising above the bed, her mind gradually began to calm down. The small peak slowly rose and fell. She walked to the bed and gently grabbed the hair that was sticking out of the blanket. She exhaled slowly and carefully got into the blanket. A faint odor of anger passed through her nose. She breathed in and out repeatedly and hugged the child tightly. Then, as if he had been waiting, the child snuggled into her arms. It was as if he was comforting her, and his eyes were shut and closed.
“…Okay, it’s just a dream. Don’t worry about it.”
She mumbled, closed her eyes, and tried to sleep.
* * *
The sun rose and it was morning. As she blinked quietly in the dazzling sunlight, a white and dreamy thing floated above her. The child who opened his eyes first was sitting above her, looking at her quietly. She looked at the child blankly, then reached out and touched his cheek. It felt soft and soft to the touch.
“…It tickles.”
The child smiled, slightly wrinkled the tip of his nose. She touched his soft cheek a few more times and then raised her body. The moment he got off the bed and put his feet on the floor.
“Wow, Elia!”
She fell down so awkwardly that she let out a small groan. It was extremely painful as her face hit the floor.
“Are you okay? Elia, Elia!”
“…”
“Elia, wake up!”
As the room became noisy with the child’s voice, the door burst open.
“Lord Deliam, what’s going on…”
As soon as she heard Richard’s voice, her body suddenly lifted up. Richard, who was holding her, frowned.
“…I have a fever.”
“Elia, are you ill?”
“That’s right, Lord Deliam.”
“Call the doctor!”
The child shouted outside of her and clung to her. Richard laid the child down on the bed and covered them with a blanket. She looked at the child through blurred vision and then closed her eyes. Something small and soft touched her forehead. It was like a child’s hand.
“My body feels really hot. I think I have a severe fever.”
She didn’t even have the energy to respond, so she just nodded. As soon as she realized she had a fever, her body became cramped. She felt a little nervous, so she pushed the blanket over her. Someone pulled up the blanket that was pushed down to below the waist.
‘It’s stuffy, I don’t like it.’
She pushed the blanket off. Someone pulled the blanket back up and covered it.
“Elia, is it hot?”
She barely nodded at the child’s voice.
“Be patient. The doctor will come.”
Someone came in with a clicking sound. It seemed that he was a doctor. After a while, as he was lightly touching and examining her body, she heard a voice.
“It seems like a pretty severe body ailment. I think it could lead to the flu, so I’ll prescribe strong medicine.”
She heard the doctor saying something to someone. When she finally opened her eyes, she saw the child’s face blurry.
“Elia, don’t worry. I’ll get the medicine right away.”
The maid came inside and placed the ice pack on her forehead. As a cold feeling spread across her forehead, she felt like she had at least some chance to survive.
“You can’t sleep yet because you have to take your medicine. Okay?”
She nodded slowly at the child’s words. While waiting for the medicine to arrive, she seemed to have fallen asleep. She felt like her body was shaking and then came to consciousness.
“Elia, wake up for a moment. Let’s take some medicine.”
As the maid put the medicine she offered into her mouth, her cup of water was held out. She barely swallowed the medicine and closed her eyes again. She seemed to wake up a few times during her sleep. She was in a drowsy state the whole time due to the heat that rarely went down. It was hard to tell whether she was sleeping or not. Every time she opened her eyes, a shape appeared. Sometimes it was a small shape, and sometimes it was a large shape.
Time passed a few more times while she was intoxicated with heat. She was so confused that she couldn’t even tell how much had passed. She didn’t know why, but the medicine the doctor prescribed didn’t seem to work very well. Her body was still hot and stuffy. Her mouth was open, her hot breath coming out, and then her body rolled over. Maybe it was because her body was in pain, but even the slightest discomfort made her nervous. Then, something cool touched her cheek. It seemed like she was muttering something to go away without realizing it. The large figure that had shimmered in her vision suddenly shook violently.
‘Why are you moving like that fiercely…’
She grumbled internally to someone she didn’t know, and then fell asleep again.
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on September, 17.
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