Chapter 61
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I'm a homebody who ended up possessing the body of a villainess locked away in a desolate tower. Chapter 61 Embrose Marquise was strictly someone I'd come to know through business relations. Unlike the Empress, she wasn't an avid follower of the Goedam Duchy, nor did we share any personal connection. In a sense, she was little more than a passing acquaintance. 'Of course, it's my hope to maintain a close relationship with her going forward....' Yet my desire to help the Marquise and the Fabron couple stemmed from a different reason altogether. It was the fact that Fabron Marquis, who loved his wife dearly, would end his life not from plague or natural disaster, but from poverty. And because Embrose Marquis and his wife—particularly the Marquise—would suffer until the brink of death from guilt, eventually receiving treatment to cling to life. 'Knowing all this, yet allowing events to unfold as the original story dictates...' Wasn't that inhumane? If I knew nothing, that would be one thing. But standing by while aware was an entirely different matter. Besides, that day, Fabron Marquis trembled with fear, yet the Marquise's eyes gleamed with tenderness and love for her son. 'Still, it's important to hear the opinions of those involved.' Of course, that included Baroness Fabron as well. I'd met the Marquis several times and understood what sort of person he was, but the Baroness was different. I only knew she was ill—I had no idea how she felt about the Embrose Marquise, or how severely she was suffering at present.
"We've arrived."
And so, now. Ian and I had come to Fabron's Manor. To meet Baroness Fabron, who lay bedridden with illness.
"Are you still feeling unwell?"
"Teleportation sickness is... absolutely dreadful...."
As I steadied my roiling stomach, which threatened to overturn at any moment, Ian nodded as though he understood completely.
"One of my colleagues experienced teleportation sickness as well. He would bring a bag along whenever he traveled long distances."
"Ah, surely not...."
"Yes, exactly what you're thinking."
To carry a bag for vomiting with every movement—what a ghastly situation. As I shuddered at the horrifying prospect, we arrived before a rust-eaten gate. The gate stood wide open, allowing easy passage. I carefully stepped through, examining the landscape of the Marquis's Manor piece by piece.
"...Is anyone actually living here?"
Not a single servant was visible, not even an ant, and the main building exuded such a desolate atmosphere it seemed ready to collapse at any moment. Even this Garden beneath my feet appeared to have gone without care for quite some time. Neither flowers nor even weeds had been properly tended. As I stood frozen in shock, unable to speak, a familiar silhouette emerged from a small house to the right and rushed toward me. It was Fabron Marquis.
"Gra—gracious... Miss? What brings you all the way here...!"
Unlike our last meeting, when he'd appeared quite neat, his face now bore unkempt stubble, and deep shadows hung beneath his eyes.
"I sent word by letter before departing. Did you perhaps not receive it?"
"Ah...."
At my words, he scratched the back of his head with an awkward expression.
"A typhoon swept away our mailbox not long ago. Even the letters that do arrive are mostly bills and collection notices, so I haven't bothered to repair it."
Ha ha ha. An extraordinarily strained laugh echoed through the air. 'This is maddening.' Seeing Fabron Marquis in such a state, my heart grew heavy. Collection notices, no less. Had he fallen into debt? Now I finally understood the original story's claim that even a nobleman of his standing could meet his end through financial hardship. I nodded lightly and met the Marquis's gaze.
"It's been a while, Fabron Marquis. The reason I've come today is...."
I glanced toward the back, and Ian stepped forward. His hands carried a basket brimming with thermos bottles filled with various broths and soups.
"I wanted to visit Baroness Fabron."
"Th-th-this is...."
The Marquis accepted the basket, his eyes widening as he looked at me. Soon after, he gestured toward the small annex building from which he'd emerged.
"Yes, my wife will be absolutely delighted! Please, Miss April, follow me."
Fabron Marquis's gait seemed considerably lighter than when he'd first come out. * * * "Cough, cough...!"
The condition of Baroness Fabron, whom I met then, looked grave at first glance. Her complexion was pallid from illness and poor nutrition, and she coughed violently two or three times every second. Yet even amid all this, was it my imagination that her eyes sparkled as she looked at me?
"Miss April...."
At her call, I nearly leapt from my chair in an instant. W-what is this? Why do I sense a madness in her eyes similar to the Empress's?
"I heard that you, Miss, are the story writer for 【Safety Protocols of Goedam Duchy】... cough, cough!...."
"Pardon?"
Did Fabron Marquis tell her? But only a handful of people knew of my connection to Goedam Duchy. Before I could even register the strangeness of this unexpected turn, Baroness Fabron poured forth her words.
"And I found small joys watching comic books from my sickbed... cough! Thanks to them, breathing became a pleasure... cough, cough! So if I recover my health later... cough, I've resolved to dedicate this body to Goedam Duchy... cough, cough!"
"W-what!?"
So when she recovers, instead of traveling somewhere with fresh air and clean water with her husband, she intends to dedicate herself to Goedam Duchy? 'Is she serious?' But Baroness Fabron was far more serious than I'd thought.
"I especially loved the character settings for Benedict...."
She suddenly mentioned a supporting character here. Most people only remember the main cast. Yet the Baroness Fabron showed no hesitation whatsoever, eagerly expounding upon her character's background and her own thoughts.
"How could such a priest possibly exist? *Cough!* Blonde hair, priestly robes... and black leather gloves on top of that—truly, *cough!* absolutely magnificent...."
"Oh, thank you."
Faced with the Baroness Fabron gazing at me with an expression suggesting she might expire from sheer delight over the character, I could only offer a single word of gratitude. She waxed so eloquent that I grew concerned she might collapse right there. In response, I handed her the water glass from the side table and chose instead to listen attentively. 'Perhaps she simply wished to communicate with someone other than Fabron Marquis.' If that were the case, then I ought to do what I could for her. The Baroness Fabron's complexion, moistened by the water I'd offered, seemed even more vibrant than before. At the sight of her renewed vitality, I too felt a warmth bloom within me.
"...So I thought, what if I made Benedict the protagonist of a side story... *cough!* and gave him a bit of a romance with the current Nadia... *cough, cough.*" "Oh, truly? I think episodes like that would feel wonderful as a breather."
Upon my affirmation, she brightened considerably, nodding as she continued.
"Exactly, right? *Cough*... Then readers who love that romance line would... *cough!* be absolutely delighted, *cough! Cough!*" With the parting sentiment of 'Just imagining it sends shivers down my spine...,' the Baroness Fabron's appreciation session for the Goedam Duchy Series came to a close. After a brief silence, I offered her a round of applause. Clap, clap, clap. 'How to describe it....' Like a hidden master, perhaps? Though no one had ever discovered her, the Baroness Fabron was precisely the sort of person suited to be a story writer. Yet even that thought proved fleeting, as a lingering sense of incongruity made me tilt my head.
"Say, but...."
Typically, those confined to sickbeds lose their appetite and waste away to skin and bones. Yet the Baroness Fabron before me now appeared somewhat different from what I had imagined. She coughed and wheezed, and her complexion was indeed pallid, but aside from that, there seemed nothing particularly amiss. 'Could it be the result of Fabron Marquis's devoted care?' But if that were so, wouldn't she have recovered from a mere illness long ago?
"Baroness Fabron, if I may ask?"
"Yes? Oh, I apologize. I've been speaking only of myself this entire time."
"No, that's not what I meant—I heard your condition was grave, but... what exactly are your symptoms?"
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