Sickly? Husband's Contractual Wife

Episode 59

“Someone that might want to kill me?”

“Have you ever thought of that?”

“It’s not that I haven’t.”

He moaned softly.

“…Because there’s simply too much.”

“Ah.”

I immediately understood what he was saying.

There were five brothers in the House Ifrit, together with Amoide’s father.

And then there are the brothers’ sons and grandsons.

“If I die without an heir, my uncles or their children will inherit everything I own.”

He continued to explain with a casual expression.

“Unlike our house, my uncles’ houses have thrived in descendants. All of their roots are in this house, but the sprouting branches have bred more actively.”

Count Kaint, Marquis Orlorf, Count Banter…

In addition to these well-known lineages, several noble families traced their origins back to the Duke of Ifrit.

“However, because the roots are weak and about to be uprooted, it’s understandable that my mother is going insane.”

“…”

“Successor, successor, successor. That’s why it’s always at the back of their minds.”

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

It was something I had heard repeatedly when I initially arrived at this estate two years ago.

But he must have been subjected to such pressure from his mother his entire life.

His demeanor is twisted and odd, which is most likely owing to his poor physique and these conditions.

“Therefore, all the more reason. Have you considered the risk of someone hurting you?”

“… You told me to report all of the medicines and foods I eat.”

“Yes.”

“Then it should be clear. And before I eat, I always…”

“You always have to test for poison.”

I reacted swiftly.

Test for poison reaction.

Not just Duke Ifrit, but all royal families, particularly those with a claim to the throne, always undertook a poison test before meals.

Amoide was no exception.

Every time, a servant in charge of this chore would insert a long silver needle into the food, and Amoide would eat only after evaluating whether or not it was poisoned. Camilla was similar.

Despite the fact that it was a duke’s residence rather than the imperial palace, the test was always thoroughly carried out.

Because the Ifrit Duke’s family was connected to the royal family and had the right to succeed to the throne, this procedure occurred naturally.

Every test procedure, however, had its limitations.

There would be fewer royals who died screaming from poisoning if a single piece of silver could detect all poisons.

“But you’re aware that it’s not ideal. Like a toxin that isn’t affected by silver.”

“That’s why the servants are eating it. You tried that recently as well.”

Each time, I sampled a small portion of his dinner. Of course, nothing was wrong.

“But you were fine, and I just collapsed.”

“…Yes.”

I was uneasy. Had I overlooked something?

It happened despite the fact that everything was normal – sleep, medicine, and everything else.

Maybe there was one more thing.

“Do you think it’s a coincidence that this happened as soon as I stepped away from taking care of your health?”

“What exactly do you mean?”

“This is unusual. What caused this to happen?”

Whoosh.

I was so deep in contemplation that I didn’t see him getting closer.

My entire body was shrouded in a black shadow that blocked the sunlight. He was peering down from above at me.

“Why, why?”

I stuttered as I looked at him. Then he leaned all the way down.

His face was mashed up to mine.

We were so close that I could hear every breath he took. Without even realizing it, I was frozen.

“You.”

His flat tone rang in my ear.

“Don’t squander your time. Stop making a scene and peddling half-baked conspiracy ideas. Understand?”

His piercing voice pierced my ear.

“I don’t know why you want to prolong my life, because whatever you do…”

Hot breath brushed across my ear with a whoosh. I shuddered.

“I’m just going to die anyway.”

“…”

He said that he is dying.

He said that he’s gonna die anyway.”

He was speaking as if he had been to the future, as if he had already died.

“How can you be sure of that?”

I wasn’t expecting him to be so certain of his own death.

I knew he wasn’t fighting for his life, but I didn’t expect him to be in such despair.

“Amoide, you don’t want to live?”

Even I am struggling in this way.

I’m working so hard to change the predicted future, for the future me who might die in an unjust manner.

But why is he like this?

“…”

He gave a faint smile in response to my question.

He had a pretty vacant look on his face, as if he had given up on everything.

“I mean, you’re always so… healthy. How can you say you’re going to die? You’re still young, and you have ambitions…”

“What kind of ambitions?”

In a dry tone, he inquired.

“To return as captain of the Sun Knights.”

“…”

He appeared to be at a loss for words for a little while.

“You want to return. You were the happiest person when you handled the sword, but right now, you’re like an eagle caught in a cage…”

Thud.

He was leaning against the wall while pinning me.

“You…”

He leaned in close to me. As his face grew dangerously close, my head plummeted like a mouse.

“What do you know?”

He let out a sigh and drew away.

When I lifted my head, all I saw was his back fade into the distance.

* * *

“Didn’t it not go well?”

Rona murmured, as though she was more dissatisfied than I was.

“Indeed, at times like this, it’s perfect to have something to eat…”

“What exactly do you mean, eat something?”

I felt I heard something wrong and asked Rona again.

“Ah, yes, that’s right, there was that.”

Rona moved over to the glass cabinet and took ‘it’ out, not sure if she had heard me.

“When you’re in trouble, nothing beats this.”

With wide eyes, I looked at what Rona was holding.

“Shall we taste it first?”

Rona strained to extract the cork from the glass bottle.

“Wow.”

After taking a sip of the poured wine, Rona sighed in admiration.

“It’s heavenly!”

“It’s been well aged.”

I poured some into a small glass and sipped it. The fragrant taste traveled throughout my tongue, quickly lifting my spirits.

“Wow, this is my first time ever trying such a drink.”

As she stared down at the wine bottle, Rona couldn’t help but smile. Then she casually addressed me.

“Madame, shall we have a drink with the master, yes?”

With her wrist, Rona made a drinking gesture.

“…No need.”

“What exactly do you mean, ‘no need’?”

Rona smiled mischievously as she repeated her words.

“He refused your apology because you didn’t have a gift. If I were him and there were reports about my vigor, I’d be furious for a long time…”

“Well, that’s…”

I tried to convince myself that it wasn’t solely due to that, but I gave up.

“Well… it’s not too bad.”

A gift is usually appreciated when attempting to make amends. According to Raymond, moderate drinking is not a problem for Amoide.

“I think it’s fine as a peace offering.”

I rose from my seat, holding the bottle of wine in my arms.

“If he’s still mad after all of this!”

He’s a jerk, a one-of-a-kind jerk.

Rona’s eyes twinkled when she gazed at me.

“Get your strength up, you can do it.”

“Alright!”

Was I already a little tipsy? I felt an unexplainable burst of confidence.

“I’m going to go.”

I strolled out the door with a bottle of wine on each side.

“Ah.”

I returned, clinked a bottle, and took up another, making a noise.

“Two won’t be enough.”

I took my steps like a knight going to war, carrying two bottles at my sides and the remaining one in both hands.

* * *

“Amoide.”

Bang.

As I closed the door and walked in, I was met with an unmistakably furious stare.

“What exactly is it?”

He sounded annoyed, fatigued, and agitated.

I got the impression from his glance that he was fed up, as if he was asking whether I had still not given up.

“First of all.”

“…”

I’m truly sorry.”

“For what?”

He crossed his knees and laid his head on the back of his hand that was leaning on the table.

“What exactly did you do wrong?”

He was definitely asking me to acknowledge my flaws aloud, even though he was well aware of them.

…He’s a jerk.

It was embarrassing, but it was unavoidable in order to calm that irate man down.

“My hand is fine, but I pretended it was hurting.”

I told the truth.

“And…”

“And?”

“I also lied about your vigor.”

“…”

I noticed his look changed for a second, but I continued speaking.

“Also… I lied about confessing my feelings.”

“…”

This time, the expression on his face vanished.

Instead, there was a frozen expression on his face. After such an expression, it was obvious what he would say next.

“Get lost.”