The Villain's Terminally Ill Wife

Chapter 22

“It’s a relief that you and Duke seem to get along better than I expected.”

As Olivier spoke to me, I was about to sit down at my desk and start organizing documents. She had a characteristic smile on her face.

“Richard and I?”

“Yes. At first, there was a bit of tension. To be honest, I was a bit scared.”

I realized what Olivier meant as she recalled the past.

Indeed, Richard was now treating me more kindly.

Compared to when we first met, Richard had certainly become more considerate and friendly.

He even suggested going horseback riding to share a hobby.

Remembering this, I smiled and nodded.

“That’s true.”

It was a good thing for me, after all.

I sat down at the desk, flipping through the papers.

The documents I had started to organize but left unfinished were still there.

The list of items I needed to reclaim from my father.

The most important thing to recover first was the title.

The Tristan ducal title should have been inherited by me, the eldest daughter, from my mother.

In fact, I had been trained as the heir to the Tristan Ducal House while my mother was still alive.

So, after my mother’s death, I was supposed to inherit the title.

But since I was only ten years old at the time, the title was transferred to my father due to my young age.

My father had promised to return it to me once I became an adult, but even after reaching adulthood, he never restored the title to me.

Instead, he treated it as if it was originally his.

Perhaps fearing that I might reclaim the title, he repeatedly threatened me with statements like, “You have no place here. This is originally my position as Duke Consort.”

At that time, I had half-given up, as I didn’t think it mattered much to me if I had the title or not.

Even though it was rightfully mine, I didn’t want to fight with my father and expend my energy in disputes.

But since my father had deceived Richard and sold me off, I no longer needed to be obedient to him.

Now, Richard was the one helping me and providing me with protection.

And he was also making efforts to help me retrieve the Rosier flower, which I had given up on.

Moreover, if it came to a court battle, Richard, as my spouse, would face my father on my behalf, making it much easier than fighting alone.

This was a relief for me mentally as well.

And when I die, Richard would inherit the title.

Even if I survived, I had no intention of holding onto it. My survival meant Richard had successfully obtained the Rosier flower for me.

So, I could concede the ducal title to Richard, who had gone to such lengths to save me.

I could simply receive some money, settle into a suitable mansion in the capital, and enjoy peaceful days.

And the other thing to recover from my father was the inheritance.

Of course, it wasn’t all my mother’s estate.

Since my father remarried and Cecilia was adopted as his daughter, part of my mother’s estate rightfully belonged to them as well.

What was important was my share—the inheritance I was originally supposed to receive.

This wasn’t too difficult.

I had kept my mother’s will safely.

My father probably thought he had dealt with the will a long time ago, but I couldn’t allow my mother’s final possessions to be handled so easily.

Maybe I had arranged it this way for the current situation.

I took out the will I had found among my belongings and began carefully writing down what was rightfully mine in the documents.

I also included the will as supporting evidence.

After moving the pen for a while, I finally finished organizing the documents.

If I hadn’t had the will, it would have been challenging to determine what to recover, but with the will, it was straightforward.

After signing at the bottom of the document, I reviewed it once more.

Slowly, making sure I hadn’t missed anything, I finally sighed in relief and set the documents down.

“Olivier, I’ve finished. Could you please deliver these documents to Richard?”

“Yes, my lady.”

As I handed the documents to Olivier, she accepted them with a polite nod and then bowed before leaving the office.

The door opened silently and then closed just as quietly behind her.

I leaned back in my chair, closing my eyes for a moment. The sudden paperwork had left me a bit tired.

* * *

“…My lady!”

I frowned at Olivier’s distant voice as it reached my ears.

I opened my heavy eyelids to see Olivier standing before me with a worried expression.

“Back already?”

I stretched my stiff neck from side to side and asked Olivier.

The office, which had been bright before, was now bathed in a reddish glow.

“What time is it?”

Looking out the window, I saw the sky was painted with the colors of sunset.

“It’s six o’clock, my lady.”

“Already? I must have been more tired than I thought. I must have dozed off.”

“……”

Though I spoke with a smile, Olivier couldn’t easily brush off my words.

Olivier’s expression revealed the reason for her concern.

“Were you worried?”

“…Yes. No matter how much I called, you wouldn’t wake up…”

“It seems writing all those documents wore me out. I’ll take it easy with these tasks in the future, so don’t worry too much.”

“Yes. By the way… is there anything wrong with your health?”

“Of course not. It’s my body, so if I’m unwell, I’ll definitely tell you.”

“That’s important. You must make sure to do that.”

I felt a bit sorry for causing concern, but having someone worry about me wasn’t unpleasant, so I offered a faint smile.

“By the way, you delivered those documents to Richard, right?”

“Yes. He said he would review them and get back to you. Oh, and dinner time is approaching, so the master is probably waiting for you in the dining room.”

Unconsciously, I turned my head to look at the sky. It was evening, so having dinner wasn’t unusual, but perhaps because I had just woken up, I didn’t feel very hungry yet.

Still, since Richard was waiting, I felt I should go, so I got up from my seat.

Dizziness hit me suddenly as I stood, but I quickly regained my balance.

“Let’s go.”

I left the office and headed straight to the dining room.

Richard was already there, waiting for me.

“Have you been waiting long?”

I walked in and took my usual seat across from Richard.

Seeing me, Richard shrugged his shoulders.

“You’re later than I expected.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at Richard’s lack of reassurance.

“Why are you laughing?”

Richard raised an eyebrow, apparently puzzled by my sudden laughter.

I managed to stop laughing and faced him.

“Just because. I’m sorry for making you wait. I dozed off and was late.”

“……”

Richard didn’t offer any further response to my apology.

Instead, he simply looked at me with an expression that suggested he was dissatisfied.

“I’m sorry.”

Feeling awkward, I apologized to Richard again.

I worried about what Richard might say, but fortunately, the maids started bringing out our food.

“Diarna, I reviewed the documents you prepared.”

“How were they? Is there anything that needs to be added?”

“No, they’re excellent as they are. You should consider the documents submitted.”

“Got it.”

With that, Richard began his meal.

Though I wasn’t particularly hungry, I started eating too, thinking it was better than having an empty stomach.

“Once the documents are submitted, your father will likely take action.”

“I suspect so. He won’t just sit back and let go of everything he took from me.”

“Don’t you worry?”

At Richard’s question, I paused my fork.

Worry? Of course I was worried.

He was someone who had tormented me for a long time. He wouldn’t just give in easily.

And most importantly, my father knew about my illness.

He knew my life was not long.

So, he might try to delay the proceedings as much as possible to gain an advantage in the trial.

Since the heart of this conflict was me, if I died, even Richard would be at a disadvantage.

Although there was a will, the issue of inheritance without the person involved could become another point of contention.

If I died, Richard and my father would end up dividing the estate again.

In the end, it was all about me.

Whether the trial would conclude while I was still alive or if I would find the Rosier Flower and cure my illness in the meantime.

“What does worrying do? We have to just try and see.”

“Not a bad mindset.”

Richard said with an ambiguous smile.

“I’ll take that as a compliment. Thank you.”

I casually shrugged and resumed eating, although oddly, I couldn’t taste the food.