The Villain's Terminally Ill Wife

Chapter 30

The people of Count Theodore’s household were up early, bustling around in preparation. With the trial only three days away, Richard and I were getting ready to leave the estate for a while.

If Richard had been traveling alone, he wouldn’t have needed such an early start and such a commotion, but since I was accompanying him, the estate was in a flurry.

My health had been weakened by the Darnnella’s disease, and I was also susceptible to long carriage rides, so we had to allow plenty of time for the journey.

We traveled more slowly than usual, taking great care, and after arriving in the capital, we planned to stay at a hotel that Richard had reserved and then return slowly.

Olivier had overseen the packing of our belongings into the carriage, and a few maids who would accompany me had finished their preparations.

Before leaving, I took one last look in the mirror to steady myself.

“I can do this.”

My father had been a tormentor, taking everything from me and even abusing me. There was no need to forgive him.

After muttering this to myself a few times, I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

After about five deep breaths, I felt my mood settle.

“Madam, shall we take the Rosier pot with us?”

Luen, who had come in to do a final check, asked.

She was already excited, knowing that I was considering visiting the mage’s tower in the capital to enchant the Rosier flower. She hoped her guess was correct.

“Yes, please take it. I think one will be enough.”

“Understood!”

Hearing Luen’s enthusiastic reply, I left my bedroom.

It was time to leave, or else I would end up spending the night on the streets.

Descending the stairs and heading toward the main entrance, I found Richard waiting for me outside.

“Are you all set?”

“Yes, we can leave now.”

He nodded and extended his hand towards me, offering it as a gesture of escort.

I hadn’t expected him to make such a gesture, so I stared at him in surprise.

“Aren’t you coming?”

His deep voice brought me back to my senses, and I placed my hand in his.

He naturally draped my hand over his left arm and escorted me out of the main entrance.

He then held my hand to help me board the carriage.

“Thank you.”

I expressed my gratitude before getting into the carriage.

Richard responded with a nod.

Once I was settled inside, Richard followed and got into the carriage.

After we were both seated, he knocked on the driver’s seat, and the carriage slowly began to move.

This was my second trip to the capital.

I couldn’t remember how I spent the time during my first visit, as I was worried about meeting my father at the ball.

Now, I was heading to the capital to confront him.

My shoulders tensed with anxiety, and my lips were drying out. Even while breathing, I couldn’t hide my discomfort, so I quietly took deep breaths. I would probably feel this way until the day of the trial.

“Are you very worried?”

Richard noticed my tension and asked.

“Quite a bit. Still, before marrying you, Richard, I felt I had no one to rely on except my father.”

“If you have no one to rely on, you can depend on yourself. Diarna, I think you’re stronger than you realize.”

I looked at Richard, who sometimes said things I didn’t expect.

“Why do you think that?”

I didn’t think of myself as a strong person at all. Rather, I felt like a fragile person trapped in misfortune, trembling with fear.

Yet Richard was calling me strong.

“Do you remember the day Duke Tristan visited the estate?”

I couldn’t forget. I was trembling so much that day.

“Yes, I remember. If it hadn’t been for you, I would have ended up with a scalding hot tea from my father.”

“You have a difficult life.”

“Me?”

“Yes. You faced Duke Tristan that day instead of avoiding him. Seeing that, I thought you were strong. You don’t think you should avoid Duke Tristan just because you’re scared.”

“……”

“A strong person isn’t someone who has no fear. It’s someone who knows when they can’t avoid a situation. And that day, you didn’t avoid it.”

With that, Richard turned his head and looked out the window.

It was clear he wasn’t going to continue the conversation on this topic.

I sat quietly, reflecting on his words.

I felt a strange sensation in my chest, like a tingling.

Since hearing Richard’s words, my tension seemed to ease. I had been so worried about how to face my father when leaving the estate, but now it didn’t seem as concerning.

After all, I was just going to return things to their rightful place.

And if I were handling this alone, I might have hesitated and faltered, but that wasn’t the case now.

Though it was out of necessity, Richard was by my side.

If I got caught up in unnecessary thoughts again, he would support me as he was now.

Thinking that made me feel more at ease.

“By the way, did you know that the Colosseum is opening in the capital this month?”

I suddenly remembered that this month was the biennial opening of the Colosseum.

I didn’t particularly like fighting, but I thought Richard, who handled a sword, might be interested, so I brought it up.

“I know about it, but I don’t think we’ll have time to go.”

“Is that so?”

“Are you disappointed?”

“No. I don’t really like fighting.”

“Well, that’s good.”

The topic of conversation, which I had hoped would be more engaging, ended up being quite trivial. I felt a bit disappointed and began reading the book I had brought with me.

* * *

After a full day’s journey by carriage, we finally arrived in the capital.

Though I experienced some motion sickness during the ride, fortunately, I didn’t suffer from dizziness or any of the Darnnella’s disease symptoms, thanks to the careful driving of the carriage.

“I’m sorry. If it weren’t for me, we could have arrived faster.”

It was hard not to feel apologetic for taking a whole day to cover a distance that usually took half a day.

“It’s not a rush. We can think of it as a leisurely trip.”

“Thank you for saying that.”

The carriage pulled up to the Starlight Hotel, the largest in the capital.

As Richard and I got out of the carriage, a hotel staff member approached us.

“Are you the Count and Countess Theodore?”

“Yes.”

“Please follow me.”

We followed the hotel staff into the hotel, which was as lavish inside as the Count Theodore’s estate.

I made a concerted effort to avoid noticing the opulent hotel interior as I followed the staff and Richard.

We took a magic-powered elevator to the 8th floor, where our room was located.

“Here is the key; you can use this room,” the staff said.

Richard took the key, but his expression was far from pleased.

“Why is there only one key?”

“Pardon?”

“We reserved two rooms, didn’t we?”

Richard’s question made the hotel staff check the room list with a flustered expression.

“I’m sorry, Count. According to our records, we only have one room reserved on the 8th floor. The other rooms are reserved for the staff.”

“Then we need to book an additional room.”

Despite his displeasure, Richard tried to remain calm. It seemed there had been some issue with the reservation process.

Listening to the conversation between Richard and the hotel staff, I noticed the staff bowing apologetically.

“I’m sorry. As you know, it’s the month of the Colosseum games, so all the rooms are fully booked.”

With the biennial event attracting foreign nobles visiting for tourism, it was no surprise that rooms would be fully booked, especially in the largest hotel in the capital.

Richard’s achievement in securing even one room under such circumstances was impressive.

“There’s no help for it, Richard. Let’s just share the room.”

Richard looked at me in surprise at my suggestion.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, I’m serious. It’s going to be hard to find another room anyway.”

After a moment’s hesitation, he reluctantly nodded. He made a gesture to the hotel staff indicating that everything was fine and then headed into the room.

The Starlight Hotel’s lobby and rooms were impressively luxurious. It was clear that renting such an opulent room would have cost a fortune, especially during the peak season.

“But are you really okay with this?”

“It would have seemed odd to others if we had booked two rooms. Richard and I are married, after all. And there’s nothing wrong with sharing a room. We just need to be careful around each other.”

Richard furrowed his brows as he looked at me, as if he wanted to say something, but he didn’t offer any additional comments.

Fortunately, the room had two beds.

So, there was no need to worry about accidentally touching each other in the same bed.

I glanced around the room with a somewhat satisfied expression before sinking into one of the beds. After a whole day of traveling by carriage, every part of my body ached.