Chapter 12
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#12.
I indulged in a thorough internal monologue of self-deprecation before propping myself up against the headboard. Then I answered with deliberate composure.
"I'm fine. At first, my senses were completely numbed and I was terrified, but thankfully everything seems to be working properly now."
"...."
Arkid's lips parted as if my answer was utterly absurd.
Now that I thought about it, saying I was fine was quite the understatement—my symptoms during the collapse had been rather severe.
I bit my lip and asked carefully.
"Were you worried about me?"
As I tilted my head to meet his gaze, Arkid's eyes wavered.
Perhaps I shouldn't have asked—there was no reason for Arkid to worry about me.
Just as I was about to silence him, he responded slowly.
"...Yes."
I felt my heart plummet. Arkid had been worried about me.
What date is today? I should mark this as a memorial day!
"I see."
I lowered my head, delighted by his admission of concern.
I couldn't lift my head—if Arkid saw my nostrils flaring with unbridled excitement, he might flee in alarm.
I hated being ill, but the fact that he had worried about me felt wonderful. It was a form of affection, after all.
'Has anyone ever been nursed through an illness by their beloved? Yes! Right here!'
While I was congratulating myself internally, he suddenly placed his hand on my forehead. It felt cool, suggesting my fever hadn't completely subsided.
"You still have a slight fever."
"Really? I mean, I thought I was dying, so it's strange that it's over in just a day."
As I responded with feigned vitality, Arkid shook his head.
"It wasn't a day."
"What?"
"It was ten days."
"!!"
I couldn't close my mouth at the word "ten days." Arkid, his expression pained, couldn't quite meet my eyes as he murmured.
"Worried? How could I not be worried? I'm your husband."
"...."
"You have no idea what was in my heart during those ten days as I stayed by your side."
What was in your heart?
Why is that the thing I'm most curious about?
I desperately suppressed the urge to let my nostrils flare freely. I wanted to ask him that very instant, but the atmosphere made it impossible to speak.
He looked so fragile. Arkid, his head bowed low, murmured like a penitent.
"You wouldn't wake up, and I kept wondering if something had gone terribly wrong...."
"Arkid."
"If something had happened to you, I wouldn't know where to even begin to atone...."
"Arkid!"
I cried out sharply and grabbed his hand, unable to bear watching him grow darker with despair.
Only then did Arkid come to his senses, and our eyes met.
Why is a rain-soaked puppy here?
With his eyes trembling like a drenched puppy shivering in the downpour, Arkid's gaze was so pitiful that I felt an impulse to embrace him without restraint.
But I gripped my composure firmly and spoke.
"Arkid, I haven't done anything wrong."
"...."
"Look, I'm right here in front of you."
As I brought his hand to my face, he nodded silently without a word. He seemed somewhat calmer than before.
'Could it be that I collapsed and received a scolding from the Grand Duke?'
Of all times, I had to collapse while out with Arkid.
I should have endured alone and collapsed only after returning to my room!
I felt hurt, thinking I had caused trouble for Arkid.
Then, suddenly, I became curious about why I had collapsed in the first place.
"But why did I collapse?"
At my question, Arkid's lips trembled as he hesitated.
"I thought you already knew."
"Not at all. What's the reason?"
As I tilted my head in confusion, he exhaled a hot breath and spoke.
"It was a Delus flower allergy."
"I'm sorry...?"
What is he talking about?
Delus flowers weren't rare in Hadelus Territory, were they?
In fact, Hadelus Castle's garden even had a separate garden dedicated solely to Delus flowers.
Arkid explained calmly to my bewildered expression. His face had already hardened.
"Don't pretend you don't know."
"...."
"You collapsed for a similar reason last year as well."
"Ah."
I let out a shallow exclamation at the mention of last year. It was all the more so because it was a past I knew nothing about.
'This is truly unexpected. How on earth did Rhoena manage in Delus?'
Now that I thought about it, in the original story, Arkid would recall his former wife whenever he saw Delus flowers.
Because she despised those flowers so much that they ensured not a single bloom would appear in the castle where the couple resided.
'So that's why she was so extreme about it.'
Struggling with how to respond to this unexpected truth, he continued speaking.
"So when I gave you Delus flowers as a gift, you told me to throw them away?"
"I...."
"You should have told me the truth instead."
"...."
"My wife nearly died. Why did you hide it?"
Arkid bit his lower lip firmly, swallowing his anger.
I found myself unwilling to be angry at a patient who had just awakened.
Though his expression was frightening, I felt an unexpected pang of sympathy.
It seemed his anger was not directed at me, but at himself. His face bore the look of someone furious with their own weakness.
'Why did Rhoena hide this from everyone?'
She had even concealed it from the handmaidens she brought with her.
In a place surrounded on all sides by Delus flowers, such concealment was as futile as covering one's eyes and pretending blindness.
'It seems her escape from the Flower Garden last year wasn't accidental after all.'
Yet regardless of Rhoena's intentions, her actions appeared unfavorable to the Grand Duchess. Indeed, she had fallen into disfavor because of it.
'With such pride in her young heart, it must have been difficult for her to speak of it.'
A child had been thrust into a remote land she had never visited before.
Her only support was the handmaidens who came with her from Count April's Estate, and everyone addressed her as the Grand Duchess, demanding she fulfill her duties.
Yet of all things, she possessed an allergy to the Delus flower—the very symbol of Hadelus Territory.
Naturally, she would have hidden it carefully, fearing it would be seen as a weakness.
Her response had been clumsy in her youth. The unfortunate result was that it had only worsened our relationship.
'What am I to do about this?'
At that moment, I murmured while gripping the hand Arkid held.
"Yet hiding such things doesn't make them disappear...."
"Pardon?"
When I asked him to repeat himself, unable to hear the rest, he met my gaze. His ashen eyes looked directly at me.
An indescribable emotion seemed to shimmer within them. My lips parted involuntarily, drawn into the depths of his gaze.
After a moment, he asked hesitantly.
"Is this because of me?"
"That's not it at all!"
I was startled by Arkid's sudden self-reproach and refuted him immediately. Yet he seemed unconvinced.
His long, dark lashes trembled. His eyes glistened as though wet with tears.
"If I had been a more trustworthy husband, would you have opened your heart to me?"
"Arkid...."
Faced with his expression on the verge of tears, I found myself at a loss.
There had been a time when I thought I wanted to see him cry, but now I desperately wished to take that back.
I wanted nothing more than for him to smile. The fact that I was the one making him sad filled me with anguish.
"I'm sorry."
As I apologized with a trembling voice, Arkid shook his head gently.
His eyes were tender and warm. Because of that, my tears threatened to fall all the more.
"I will make an effort. So that you can rely on me."
"I will too. From now on, I'll tell you everything, Arkid. I won't hide anything from you."
"Yes. I understand."
Arkid smiled faintly and gently wiped the corners of my eyes. A tear that had been hanging precariously burst against his fingertip.
"But what happened to Lady Lorke at that time?"
As I changed the subject out of embarrassment, his expression hardened. As though he despised even thinking about it, his face became rigid.
"There is no need to concern yourself with such a person."
"Arkid?"
His face turned cold in an instant, and my eyes widened. For just a moment, he bore an uncanny resemblance to the Grand Duke's icy expression.
Arkid laid me back down and drew the blanket over me.
"You need only concern yourself with your recovery, madam."
"Yes...."
I answered meekly, pricked by too many guilty thoughts. After that, Arkid remained by my side until I fell asleep.
* * *
"Y-Your Highness, the Grand Duchess."
Lady Lorke stared at Elena with a pallid complexion.
Elena crossed her legs with elegant poise and gestured for her to sit.
Trembling visibly, Lady Lorke settled onto the sofa across from Elena.
This was the first time Elena had visited the Lorke Residence in person.
She had never once called during the time Bestia had taken residence at Hadelus Castle. What could this mean?
Elena regarded the terrified Bestia with a snort of disdain.
'Help me, Mother.'
'Help you with what?'
'Ensure that Lady Lorke never appears before the Grand Duchess again.'
'So Lady Lorke was behind the Grand Duchess's collapse, I see.'
'There were greater reasons, of course, but it is true that emergency treatment was delayed because of Lady Lorke.'
A stepson who had never made a single request in his life had suddenly appeared, asking for her aid.
And for a woman no less—one notorious for their poor relations and who looked down upon him.
Moreover, Elena had never seen such brilliance in Arkid's eyes before.
It was far more pleasing than his usual downcast demeanor, always avoiding her gaze.
That was why she had come to find Lady Lorke at his request.
'Besides, I never cared for that woman anyway.'
How dare she forget her place and behave so brazenly toward the Grand Duke and Duchess.
Elena spoke with a radiant smile, her words cutting straight to the point.
"I'd prefer it if you left Hadelus Territory immediately."
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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