Chapter 13. The Spell Should Only Affect Me

The pink eyes trembled violently without focus. The hand that weakly held his was the same.

Yuelina was shaking but didn’t let go of Theo’s hand.

He was hurt.

It might have been because of her.

“Does it hurt?”

How could it hurt?

Theo didn’t even know it was there before Yuelina discovered the wound.

Even if he had discovered it later, he would have probably dismissed it as just a scratch, thinking nothing of it.

However, instead of denying it, Theo nodded slightly. Her voice of concern for him wasn’t unpleasant to hear.

“It seems to hurt.”

“What should we do? Does it sting a lot? Is there any heat?”

“A little.”

In fact, Theo felt like another part of him was burning hot.

Whether it was his heart, or if his heart was wandering all over his body…

Anyway, his whole body kept feeling nauseous, as if he was getting dizzy.

“We should apply the ointment.”

Yuelina took the ointment that was in Theo’s other hand.

Theo slightly relaxed his grip on the ointment and handed it to her.

Yuelina squeezed out a fingernail-sized amount of ointment on her index finger and gently applied it to Theo’s scratch.

Every time her soft touch met Theo’s hand, Theo kept thumping his thigh.

It was an action to try to calm his body that felt like it would burst into flames.

It was just applying some ointment, why was his body heating up like this?

Is this really not a spell?

Theo completely forgot that he had just been berating himself for thinking that checking for a spell was a ridiculous delusion.

On the other hand, Yuelina became restless every time Theo squeezed his thigh.

How severe must the pain be for him to try to endure it like that?

“I’m sorry. Because of me……”

Theo paused at Yuelina’s words.

“You were insulted because of me, weren’t you?”

Yuelina bowed her head deeply.

Because of her, who married under the pretext of magic stones, Theo was treated the same way.

Theo’s expression gradually hardened.

Yuelina continued speaking without seeing his face.

“I heard that nobles are high-ranking people. They must be precious people to Your Highness the Grand Duke too….. Did I ruin your relationship?”

“Grand Duchess.”

At Theo’s low voice, Yuelina raised her head.

“You are the Grand Duchess.”

Theo knelt on one knee and looked at Yuelina.

Even while kneeling on the floor, he was much taller than Yuelina who was sitting in the chair.

“There is no one higher than the Grand Duchess in the principality.”

“But……”

“Some might say you became Grand Duchess in exchange for magic stones.”

Yuelina met Theo’s eyes.

They were cool eyes resembling the dawn sky, a calm sea without waves.

“Conversely, one could say that magic stones should naturally be given because you are the Grand Duchess.”

“……”

“I will give you magic stones because you are the Grand Duchess.”

“……”

“Even if you don’t want magic stones, I would have naturally done so.”

Yuelina’s eyes wavered at Theo’s words.

“You are the Grand Duchess, Yuelina, and I am the Grand Duke.”

“……”

“So do as you please. There’s no need to think you’ve done wrong.”

Yuelina nodded slowly.

Theo calling her the Grand Duchess and himself the Grand Duke seemed like…

It created an illusion as if he was whispering that they were a married couple.

Theo was right.

Regardless of why Yuelina married Theo, the fact that they were married remained unchanged.

Yuelina realized that she could act more confidently as the Grand Duchess by the Grand Duke’s side.

There was no need to be intimidated or shrink back.

Realizing this fact made her heart flutter for no reason.

It was because she felt the reality that Theo, who was kneeling on one knee and staring intently at her, was her husband.

How dependable he looked in his hunting clothes.

The hunting outfit that fit his build perfectly for ease of movement suited him well.

Yuelina let go of Theo’s hand that she had been holding, feeling embarrassed.

On the other hand, Theo was quite satisfied, thinking he had clearly explained things to Yuelina.

It was a very strong warning that she would have to live here for the rest of her life as the Grand Duchess.

He reminded her again of the terrifying condition that she would have to live here with her feet tied for life in exchange for using all the magic stones and whatnot.

And immediately after that, she let go of his hand.

How shocking must it have been for her to let go of his hand right away?

Theo became sulky and stood up, dusting off his knees.

The hunt was off, and in the end, he couldn’t confirm whether it was a spell or not.

In fact, there was no need to check if it was a spell or not.

He could just take the antidote, vomit blood for a few days, and groan in pain. What could be worse than dying if something went wrong?

At that moment, Yuelina’s clear and beautiful voice caught his ankle.

“Then, are we going hunting now?”

“Hunting?”

Yuelina stood in front of Theo and took off the cloak she had been wearing.

Theo’s mouth slowly opened.

“Secretary Ulysse prepared hunting clothes for me, just in case.”

Yuelina was wearing hunting clothes under her cloak.

It was an outfit that fit her body snugly for ease of movement, just like what Theo was wearing.

All the dresses Yuelina had worn until now were bought by Ulysse from the clothing store without even looking at them.

So the clothes were a bit loose on Yuelina with her slender frame.

But the hunting outfit was tailored for Yuelina.

A sky-blue shirt with abundant shirring and no collar. A suede vest emphasizing the waistline. Black pants with good elasticity and boots that came up to the knees.

It seemed to wrap her up tightly.

But Theo didn’t know where to look.

The tightly fitting upper part revealed curved lines, not to mention the lower part with elastic pants.

He clearly remembered holding her to prevent her from falling. But he hadn’t felt any weight then…

She had been hiding this under those loose dresses?

“Is… is it strange?”

Yuelina felt awkward when Theo stared at her appearance without saying a word.

Theo shook his head, trying hard to come to his senses at Yuelina’s voice.

“Have you… hunted before?”

“Not formally… but I went a few times with my father when I was young.”

“Then is there any tool you can use?”

“A popgun.”

Theo chuckled at Yuelina’s unexpected answer.

A popgun, huh.

Popguns were used to hit flying birds.

For example, crow-t*ts.

Chicks.

Well, hunting white ferrets wouldn’t be bad either.

Come to think of it, with a popgun, you could only catch animals similar to Yuelina.

Does this woman have a peculiar hobby of catching her own kind?

“But I’ve never caught anything. Every time I went hunting, I got distracted by squirrels or deer……”

Well, that figures.

The reason she wanted to go hunting must be to meet her similar kind.

If Yuelina were left alone in the mountains, someone would surely mistake her for a white squirrel.

That’s how much Yuelina resembled a cute squirrel.

Theo’s mind was certainly convinced of this.

“We don’t have popguns here, so hunting might be difficult.”

The cabin only had bows as big as Yuelina’s upper body, or swords and the like.

Above all, Yuelina had injured her palm.

Theo had no intention of letting Yuelina, who had suffered a severe injury, hold something like a popgun.

“Ah… I see.”

Yuelina showed a disappointed look at Theo’s words.

“How about taking a walk in front of here instead?”

“Yes. That’s good too!”

Theo’s lips curved into a smile at Yuelina’s brightened face.

Theo came out with Yuelina. It was weather where the noon sun was shining intensely.

The air was cold, but the sunlight filled the surroundings with a warm feeling.

Yuelina took a deep breath in and out. Her breath rose in fluffy puffs.

Theo, watching her quietly, also took a deep breath in and out following her.

His breath came out in a puff like smoke rising from a chimney.

Yuelina burst into laughter, finding it amusing.

Like sunshine.

For the first time, she showed an innocent, clear, and bright smile in front of him without holding back.

Beautiful.

Among the words the nobles had said to Yuelina, that was the only one Theo could allow.

If she’s beautiful, what else can you say but that she’s beautiful?

Yuelina is truly beautiful.

It was the first time in Theo’s life that he realized what beautiful meant.

If Yuelina hadn’t been there, he would have lived on without knowing what was beautiful or pretty.

So his condition was no different from being under an unnamed spell.

A spell that makes one recognize beauty.

Suddenly, Theo’s face contorted.

What? Beautiful?

How dare they say she’s beautiful?

Suddenly, the fact that the nobles had commented on Yuelina’s appearance made him feel not just bad, but furious to the point where anger rose to the top of his head.

Yuelina’s spell should only affect him.

He had to thoroughly control it so that others couldn’t fall under Yuelina’s spell.