The Villain's Terminally Ill Wife

Chapter 16

When I held my forehead, struggling, Richard frowned.

He seemed to have many questions he wanted to ask right away, but seeing that I wasn’t in good condition, he appeared to be holding back.

Given his personality as I knew it, he would normally be more interested in satisfying his curiosity than caring about my condition, so this was a bit unexpected.

I wasn’t sure whether to call it an unfamiliar kindness or simply awkward.

When I had originally designed his character, he wasn’t supposed to have this kind of kindness. He was meant to be a twisted character, created with a dark and gloomy past, all to contribute to the heroine’s misfortune.

But the Richard I was now facing wasn’t as dark as I had made him.

Of course, even now Richard was still capable of cruel acts, like dealing harshly with those who deceived him. I had heard many such stories while I was still at the Duke of Tristan’s estate. However, the Richard I had met was much more tempered than the character I had created.

Although, thinking back, there was a bit of a problem. He had an intense disdain for anyone who deceived him, and, in a way, I had deceived him as well.

Richard raised his hands and placed them on his hips as he watched me take slow, deep breaths.

Because he was already a tall and broad man, his posture looked somewhat intimidating from where I sat.

Was he angry because I had deceived him?

That was possible.

From the beginning, Richard had been tricked by my father into marrying me.

What he had originally wanted was Cecilia. But when he found out the bride was me, how had he reacted? He hadn’t even held a wedding ceremony with me. That probably reflected his feelings about this marriage.

It was a situation where he had paid an enormous sum and received nothing in return. This was clearly my father’s fault.

But after realizing that he could reclaim everything he wanted from the Duke of Tristan through me, he started treating me more as a partner.

Now, he had found out I had been hiding even more from him, so it was possible he was angry.

And on top of that, I was terminally ill.

To reclaim everything he wanted from the Duke of Tristan through me would take a lot of time, and if I didn’t survive long enough, all his efforts would be in vain. Knowing that might have made him even angrier.

As I calmed my thoughts, trying to figure out what to say, Richard, who had also been calming down in his own way, sat down next to me and directly asked, “Diarna, is it true you have Darnnella’s Disease?”

He already knew everything.

I hesitated a little before nodding.

“Yes.”

“And it’s been five years?”

“That’s correct.”

“And without the medicine, it’s unlikely you’ll make it through this year?”

I had expected him to know about the disease, but I didn’t think he would know such detailed information. He must be really angry.

I looked up at him, watching for any signs in his expression.

“…You know everything.”

I didn’t try to hide my pain as I gauged his reaction. I had a faint hope that he wouldn’t be angry at someone who was clearly suffering.

And besides, my illness wasn’t a lie.

I was a patient in need of rest.

Even now, I wasn’t in good condition. My head was heavy, I was in pain, and I hadn’t been fully conscious for long after fainting.

To be honest, I wanted to avoid this situation where Richard suddenly found out everything.

I had hoped to have this conversation after I had prepared myself more. I knew it wasn’t something I could put off indefinitely, but still…

Without knowing my feelings, Richard asked another question.

“If you get the medicine, can you be cured? I heard the root of a blooming Rosier flower has healing properties.”

“That’s true, but it’s not something that can be easily obtained, is it?”

I answered up to that point, then suddenly, a question arose in my mind, and I looked directly into his eyes.

His gaze seemed somewhat uneasy.

I opened my mouth cautiously, just in case.

“…Will you get the medicine for me?”

“If it’s possible.”

I was stunned by his unexpected reply. Richard… was offering to get my medicine?

“Why?”

I couldn’t understand why Richard wanted to prevent my death.

Why would he go so far as to spend money to save me?

As far as I knew, Richard was the type of person who would actually welcome my death.

That way, he could claim everything that I was supposed to take from my father.

Besides, he only viewed our marriage as a business arrangement.

It wasn’t as if he had ever been in love with me.

I had expected him to be pleased, but instead, here he was, saying he would try to get the medicine if he could. This side of Richard felt unfamiliar to me.

Was Richard Theodore always like this?

I was genuinely puzzled.

“Because I don’t want you to die.”

Why?

How could my death possibly affect you?

I suppressed the questions that were once again rising inside me.

There was no reason to be suspicious of someone who was offering to save my life.

I wanted to live, after all.

But still, I couldn’t help but be confused by his actions.

“Why did you hide your illness from me in the first place?”

How could I convey my thoughts clearly?

I didn’t want you to know.

But that wasn’t an answer. That was just avoiding the question.

I had no choice but to express what I truly felt.

“I didn’t want you to know that I was defective.”

“…What?”

“I didn’t want you to know that I’m not only someone who was abandoned by her family, but also someone who’s running out of time—a defective person.”

The truth is, I didn’t want anyone else to know that I was defective, either.

But maybe that was too much to ask.

It was meaningless to try to hide my condition with a body that was already dying.

“…”

Richard remained silent for a while, as if trying to process what I had said.

He looked at me with a troubled expression, then suddenly seemed angry, and then his face turned melancholic.

I suppose today was the first time I’d seen so many different expressions on him.

As I awkwardly smiled at the thought, Richard’s face hardened.

“Why do you always think like that?”

“Richard?”

“Why do you always talk as if you’ve given up on yourself?”

Richard was looking at me, but for some reason, it felt like he wasn’t really seeing me.

It was as if he was projecting someone else onto me.

I had no idea who he was seeing through me, so I could only blink and bite my lip.

“Don’t you want to live?”

Richard asked in a frustrated tone.

Feeling somewhat scolded, I opened and closed my mouth a few times.

“Even if I want to live, is that enough?”

If you ask if I wanted to live, the answer would be yes.

I’m human, after all, so of course, I want to live.

No one is entirely without a desire to live.

But just because I wanted it didn’t mean it would happen.

In any case, obtaining a blooming Rosier flower was as difficult as plucking a star from the sky, so I didn’t understand what he expected me to do.

Was he suggesting I should beg him to save me, to get the medicine for me, just like Diarna in the original story?

But I didn’t want to beg for my life like that.

“But everyone knows that obtaining a blooming Rosier flower is nearly impossible.”

“So you’re giving up without even trying?”

“Yes?”

“Why would you say that without even making an attempt?”

“Well, that’s because…”

“Diarna, I haven’t seen you many times, but every time I do, you’re always like this.”

Richard spoke each word as if he were biting into them.

He appeared angry, glaring at me with eyes that seemed to blaze with fire.

Then, almost instinctively, he grabbed my outstretched hand.

“If you want to live, I’ll get the medicine for you.”

“Richard, why would you?”

That was the core of my question.

Why Richard?

For what reason?

But instead of answering, Richard’s grip on my hand tightened.

Despite the pain, I couldn’t bring myself to pull away.

“Because I don’t want you to die.”

Richard took a deep breath and looked directly into my eyes.

“Do you really think I’d just let you die like this?”

In a daze, I looked up at him.

I still couldn’t understand his words, but I understood his intentions.

At the very least, he didn’t want me to die.

The moment I realized that, tears welled up in my eyes.

Richard’s figure blurred as tears filled my vision.

No one had ever said that to me before.

That they didn’t want me to die.

My family wished for my death.

Even before I fell ill, I had always heard that people wanted me dead.

And because of that, I unconsciously believed that was how it should be.

After all, there wouldn’t be anyone to mourn if I disappeared.

So I thought it was only natural.

I knew it was a foolish thought, but after more than ten years of having it engraved in my mind, I couldn’t escape from it, even myself.

But now, Richard, someone I had only known for a few days, had said those words to me.

Tears that I had been holding back began to stream down my cheeks.

They fell, drop by drop, soaking the blanket.

Words that had been caught in my throat swirled inside my mouth.

Richard, seeing me like this, awkwardly pulled me into an embrace.

Clinging to him, I foolishly continued to cry.

Eventually, I buried my face in his shoulder.

Even though our relationship had started from a forced, unwanted connection, I felt that I wouldn’t regret meeting him.