The Villain's Terminally Ill Wife

Chapter 32

“Madam, madam!”

Olivier’s voice reached me through the fog of my drowsy mind.

I lifted my eyelids, feeling a cold hand touch my forehead. My vision cleared, revealing Olivier already dressed impeccably.

“It’s morning. Time to wake up.”

“Ugh,” I groaned.

Since I had tossed and turned for so long and only fallen asleep at dawn, I wanted nothing more than to sleep a bit longer. Even just an hour—or even thirty minutes—would be nice. But, as if to crush my hopes, Olivier called to me again.

“Please, madam, wake up.”

I squinted at her and then nodded reluctantly.

“I’ll get up. Just give me a moment.”

It was already bright out, and since everyone else was likely awake, I couldn’t be the only one still in bed.

Stretching lazily, I finally got up, and Olivier greeted me with a smile.

“Would you like to wash up first? This way, please.”

Once I was up, she led me to the bathroom.

As expected of a luxury hotel, the bathroom was top-notch.

I took a shower, then soaked in the tub for a bit to relax before stepping out.

Afterward, with Olivier’s help, I changed into a dress, fixed my hair, and left the room.

“Where’s Richard?”

“I’ll find out.”

I hadn’t seen him since the morning, though we were sharing same room.

Was he feeling uncomfortable because of me?

As that thought crossed my mind, Olivier returned, having spoken with another servant.

“He’s in the dining room.”

“The dining room? Already?”

He hadn’t come back during the night, at least not that I noticed. Did he spend the whole night outside?

I suddenly remembered him leaving the hotel room last night. Maybe I had been asleep when he returned, but I hadn’t seen him come back before I finally fell asleep in the early morning.

Now that it was morning and he wasn’t in the room, it made sense that he must have stayed outside.

“Yes. Let’s go, madam.”

Prompted by Olivier, we took the elevator down to the second floor where the dining room was.

Among the busy crowd, I soon spotted Richard.

I walked straight over to him.

“Have you been waiting long?”

“No, not really. You came out faster than I expected.”

“Faster? I always seem to make you wait. I’m always the last one out.”

I smiled awkwardly, feeling like I was always late.

He didn’t seem too bothered by it.

“Olivier already ordered breakfast for you.”

“Oh, really? Thank you, Olivier.”

“Not at all, madam.”

Just as I finished thanking her, the food began to arrive.

We started eating. The dishes were light and not too heavy on the palate.

“The trial is tomorrow, so if you have any errands, you should handle them today.”

Richard’s suggestion was likely practical—take care of things today because tomorrow would be busy. But for me, it served as a reminder that the trial was looming.

The weight of it pressed down on me.

I was already feeling anxious.

“And I also wanted to apologize for last night.”

“Pardon?”

His sudden apology made me blink in surprise. He wiped his lips with a napkin.

“I don’t like it when people touch me, so I acted on reflex. Even though you said it was fine, your wrist still looks red, and it might take a while to heal. Did it hurt?”

His words made me check my wrist. As he said, the area he grabbed had turned red. I hadn’t noticed any pain at the time, but it seemed my body had taken more of a toll than I thought.

“It doesn’t hurt. If it does, I’ll let you know. It’s my fault for touching you without permission while you were sleeping. I won’t do it again. Oh, by the way, Richard, do you know where the Wizard’s Tower is?”

“The Wizard’s Tower?”

“Yes. I want to check if magic might help with blooming the Rosier flowers, but I don’t really know the way.”

Even though I was born and raised in the capital, I spent most of my time inside the mansion training to become the heir of the duchy. After my mother passed away, I was practically confined to the estate.

So, although I had a vague idea of where the Wizard’s Tower was, I didn’t know its exact location or what it looked like. If Richard didn’t know, I planned to ask Olivier to hire a guide.

Richard tilted his head, thinking for a moment, then nodded. Thankfully, he seemed to know where it was.

“I’ll take you there.”

“Thank you. Are you sure it’s not interrupting anything important?”

“Not at all. I didn’t have anything scheduled for the morning.”

He spoke casually and resumed eating.

After we finished our breakfast, we waited for Luen to bring the Rosier pot. Once we received it, we left the hotel.

We walked through the streets of the capital, following Richard.

Since it was the week of the Coliseum, the streets were overflowing with people. Afraid I might lose sight of him in the crowd, I grabbed the hem of his jacket.

Since he disliked being touched, this seemed like a good compromise.

Richard noticed and looked back at me, puzzled.

“What are you doing?”

“You said last night that you don’t like being touched. But with so many people around, I’m worried I might lose you, so I thought I’d at least hold onto this.”

Richard looked at me for a moment, then let out a small laugh. He reached out and took my hand.

“What I don’t like is being touched without permission. But if it’s necessary, I don’t mind.”

With that, he began walking again, confidently making his way through the crowd.

Thanks to him holding my hand, I was able to follow him easily through the sea of people.

We continued walking, weaving through the busy streets. While the area near the hotel had been relatively quiet, the city center was packed with people.

Richard held my hand firmly as we made our way through the throngs of people, and finally, the Wizard’s Tower loomed before us.

“Who goes there?”

The staff member guarding the entrance of the Wizard’s Tower asked us, his expression indifferent despite the fact that Richard and I were dressed in noble attire.

Wizards were always like that—those rare few with magical talent. They knew they possessed special powers and therefore felt no need to bow to others.

“We’ve come to ask for some magic to be used,” Richard said.

“What kind of magic? As you know, there are many different kinds.”

“We’d like some magic cast on this potted plant,” I said, showing the plant I had brought.

The staff member held up five fingers.

“It’ll be 5 gold pieces per spell. Payment is required upfront.”

At his words, I pulled out 5 gold pieces and handed them over. The staff member then began leading us inside the Wizard’s Tower.

The interior of the tower was quiet. I had imagined wizards constantly practicing spells or dealing with magical failures, but it was nothing like that.

“This way,” the staff member urged, his tone was rough, ignoring my curious glances around.

When we reached the designated area, the staff member sat across from Richard and me.

“Could you hand over the potted plant?”

“Here it is,” I said, placing the pot on the table.

He closed his eyes and extended his hands toward the Rosier plant. Soon, a soft, warm white light began to emanate from his hands.

“Wow!” I exclaimed, witnessing magic firsthand for the first time.

I had always known wizards existed, but seeing magic being used so effortlessly was incredible.

However, despite the magic, the Rosier plant showed no signs of change.

At first, I watched eagerly, my eyes wide in anticipation. But as time passed and nothing happened, I eventually squeezed my eyes shut and then opened them again.

By that time, the staff member had finished casting the spell. He removed his hands and glared at the plant with a look of frustration.

“Did it not work?” I asked.

He remained silent for a moment, then reached into his pocket and handed me back the 5 gold pieces I had given him. I stared at him, confused, as his face flushed with frustration.

“Unfortunately, it seems that this flower does not respond to magic. I’m returning your payment, and you can come back if you have any other requests in the future.”

Unable to hide my disappointment, I pressed for clarification. I had simply handed over the pot and asked for magic to be cast, so I wondered if there had been a misunderstanding between what I intended and what the wizard had understood.

“You came here to make the flower bloom, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” I admitted.

“Sometimes people bring in potted plants for various reasons, whether it’s for a confession or decoration. Whatever their personal reasons may be, they’ve used magic to make flowers bloom before. But in your case…”

The wizard trailed off, glancing nervously at Richard before continuing, after a brief, awkward cough.

“The plant you brought with you doesn’t seem to accept any blooming magic. Since the magic didn’t work, I’m returning your money.”

Though I had already suspected it, I now had to accept that magic wouldn’t help the Rosier bloom. I bowed my head, staring at the plant. What exactly was needed to make it bloom?

Unable to hide my frustration, I let out a small sigh.

“Let’s go,” I said, turning to Richard, who had been standing by the whole time. He placed a hand on my shoulder, offering me some small comfort.

His attempt at consolation made me smile faintly.

With no success, we had to leave the Wizard’s Tower empty-handed.