Episode 17
“Wow, you must have had a hard time.”
Rona made noises.
“It was really hard.”
I didn’t notice Rona was next to me until we were done talking about the past.
When I thought about that time, I felt very sad.
“…”
Rona suddenly became quiet.
“What’s wrong?”
“You were really meant to be together.”
“What?”
Why did the talk go straight to that?
“Meant to be what?”
“It turned into love in the end, even if it started out as a physical bond. Where else can you find a story that sounds more like a fairy tale?”
Rona spoke with her hands clasped together and a rapt look on her face.
“Also, the way you take care of your sick husband with such love and kindness warms everyone’s hearts.”
Even though I looked annoyed, Rona kept making up her own fairy tale.
“Huh?”
I looked at Rona because something didn’t seem right.
“What did it become in the end?”
“Love.”
Rona’s eyes reminded me of the eyes of a missionary trying to share their faith.
After she said something embarrassing, I stuck out my tongue and licked my lips quickly.
Love, love… No matter how much I thought about it, it always seemed like a long-ago story to me, Amoide.
“Love… it’s a funny thing.”
It was never there. Not right from the start.
The first thing is that there was no “physical relationship.” I did think about my husband’s health, but that was only because I needed to stay alive myself.
Suddenly, I started to feel bad about what I had done.
I couldn’t tell the truth, though. Never, never, never.
I couldn’t say that my husband and I had never spent a good night together.
“I think I know what you want to do now.”
Rona’s face was serious as she nodded.
What did she have in mind when she did that? I opened my mouth to say something, but Rona spoke before I could.
“Right now, you’re trying to use love to become the real mistress of the ducal house!”
“…Well, I guess so.”
It seemed like the main point had been missed a little bit, but it didn’t matter much.
People have said that love can fix everything.
So, it wouldn’t be strange if I showed Amoide a little too much love.
It seemed fine to slip the word ‘love’ into Rona’s thoughts and fantasies.
But what Rona said next was a few steps ahead of anything I could have thought of.
“You’re trying to be more proactive in having a child, right?!”
“…What?”
I asked dumbly before I figured out what she meant and turned bright red.
‘You’re too far gone!’
I wanted people to think that our relationship had gotten better, for example, by making it look like we were getting along well.
“Rona!”
I tried to keep Rona from talking and looked around.
“What are you trying to hide? Too few times have passed between you two for you to really want a baby…”
There was no way to stop her small mouth from talking all the time.
“When you’re at your best, you should do it more often!”
“You lewd devil!”
“It’s fine, it happens all the time, what’s the big deal?”
Rona was so happy that she could not stop talking. I finally gave up.
“Just believe whatever you want.”
As long as other people thought we looked good, it didn’t matter what we did.
“Like… the main characters in the book I read yesterday.”
“What book did you read yesterday?”
Looking at Rona’s dreamy eyes, I asked with care.
“The Duchess Who Turned Down Love.”
“What’s going on? Why did she turn it down?”
Even though I had never heard the phrase before, it made me feel like I had heard it before for some reason.
Anyway, it looked like the rule for making titles hasn’t changed much over time.
“It’s a story about how love starts with physical attraction! A couple who signed a contract and at first were only close physically begins to open their hearts…”
“Opening both their bodies and their hearts?”
I asked, trying not to laugh.
“You’re right!”
Rona’s eyes shone like they were dusted with stars.
“They fight on the outside, but they get along great on the inside! So, on their first night as husband and wife, they break the bed…”
“What?”
The things Rona said made me laugh.
“That’s crazy, there’s no such thing,” I said.
This time, I hit Rona’s arm in a fun way.
“That’s not true.”
I laughed so hard that it made me cry.
No matter how strong someone is, this is going too far.
This is why it’s dangerous to only learn from books.
“I’m telling you. The main character is a hero who has the best fighting skills and is very strong. So, he doesn’t get tired at night either.”
“Really?”
“They keep doing it for days on end.”
“For days…?”
I couldn’t hold it in any longer, so I started laughing out loud.
“Rona, you’re making that up. That doesn’t teach you anything. It makes you have too high of hopes, you know?”
“That’s wrong!”
“What makes you think that?”
The way Rona looked made me think something was wrong.
“Don’t tell me, Rona, that you and Robert…?”
This kid is still very young!
“No, not yet, and that kind of thing.”
Rona looked very angry as she wildly waved her hands and looked at me.
“The book’s main character is a knight, just like your husband. In addition, he is in charge of the Knights of the Sun. Only the best people in the Empire can work there.”
Rona brought up Amoide’s story out of the blue.
“Your husband is a truly extraordinary person.”
Something about what Rona said made me feel sad and happy at the same time.
I had heard that Amoidee, at the age of 18, became the empire’s youngest Commander ever.
Even though the heads of the Ifrit family had been Knights of the Sun Commanders for years, it was never an easy job.
After fighting with other knights in the order, only the best could reach that level.
“Even when he was young, he was a great fighter, so it was clear that he would become the Commander. And he did it.”
“Right.”
But because he fell sick, he had been out of work for a long time.
In other words, there had been no one in charge of the Knights of the Sun for an incredible five years.
Vice Commander Duke Diaz was in charge of the post that Amoide used to hold.
“But why did you bring up that story all of a sudden?”
I looked at Rona, confused by how quickly she changed the subject.
“Knights are known for having a lot of energy! Especially those who are good with swords. So, if your husband gets well after being sick…”
“Enough.”
I quickly cut Rona off.
“Oh, I’m so sorry.”
Rona put her hand over her mouth and watched how I reacted. But she soon took a sneaky look at me and smiled.
“Right now, you only see each other on certain days, but if your husband gets better, you might see each other more often…”
“Stop doing it.”
I waved my hand quickly.
“Where did you hear such nonsense?”
“All of the maids I work with say so.”
What the heck?
My head felt dizzy.
“Don’t worry, my lady. Having a strong link to your heart is just as important as having a good body.”
“…Is this true?”
I asked, half-giving up.
“Yes! Some noble couples may not get along well during the day, but once they get into bed, they don’t want to leave for a long time… That’s how they even had three kids!”
Deep, deep hope filled Rona’s eyes. I did my best to stay away from it.
The beautiful painting that Rona made.
‘Rona, you can’t make that story happen.’
But Rona’s eyes were shining so brightly that I couldn’t say it.
The sad truth is that there would be no reason to look up at the sky or pick out stars.
But at this point, Rona’s mistake wasn’t hurting anyone, so I chose not to correct her.
Yes, from now on I would be a Duchess who not only got along well with her husband but when it comes to the bedroom…
“Oh, I just thought of something.”
Rona clapped her hands all of a sudden.
“Doctor Raymond said he would come see you, my lady. I came to look for you because…”
“We lost our way.”
“Oh no, your passionate nights wouldn’t be silly if you cared about each other as much as you say…”
“What about me? Why?”
I cut Rona off quickly because I didn’t want another round of nonsense to start.
“Maybe he wants to check up on you because you fainted?”
“I was just a little bit laid back.”
Everyone looked like they were scared. Maybe it’s because I’m a valuable person who needs to have a child to pass on the family name.
“Should I ask him to come again next time if you’re tired?”
“No, it’s all right. In fact, it’s a lot of fun. I have some questions for him.”
Now that Camilla had given me permission and I was being nice to my husband, it was time to move on to other things.
The strange sickness and Amoide’s health. I had to learn more about that disease.
***
“Can you tell me how you feel?”
Raymond took off his hat, said hello, and walked over to where I was sitting at the tea table.
“I am in great shape, Raymond. Thank you for taking care of me when I passed out.
I smiled as I answered, and he smiled back.
“I’m glad to see you looking well. May I take a quick look at you?”
Raymond said something that made me smile.
“Of course.”
Raymond got out his stethoscope and started to listen to my heart and lungs carefully.
During this time, I paid close attention to him.
Raymond was a good-looking guy with brown hair and eyes who gave off a friendly vibe.
His speech was always soft, and his tone was always gentle. This made people feel at ease when they heard him.
But when he was helping people, he had a very different attitude.
Every time Amoide fell down, Raymond would stay up all night by his side to see how he was doing, which was a big help.
Maybe that’s why even Camilla was nice to him.
He was one of the few people the strict queen could count on and trust.
‘He is the most likely person to have a close connection to Amoidee’s death.’
