10: A Dream

Although Aella hadn’t eaten anything, she couldn’t stop dry heaving. Hives had broken out on her face, and her entire body was burning with a fever.

“Haa, haa. Ugh! Guh! Ah. Haa.”

“Sniff! Y-Your Grace! Please hold on a little longer! I’ve sent for the doctor, and he’ll be here soon! Sniff! Your Grace! You absolutely mustn’t—mustn’t leave us!”

Aella gave Kina a faint smile as she gripped her trembling hands tightly.

“You… really… I’m… like this… Ugh, ugh! Guh!”

“Your Grace!”

As Aella sat up, she began vomiting bile. Kina held her in her arms, gently rubbing her back. At that moment, Charlotte climbed onto the bed and tried to approach Aella.

“Haa. Ki-Kina. Please hold Charlotte for me. Just in case…”

“Yes, Charlotte. Come here.”

Aella, leaning against Kina, smiled weakly at Charlotte, who was crying pitifully as she stared at her.

‘I can’t… lose consciousness. It’s only the beginning, and if I collapse now, Kina, who trusted me and followed me here… and Charlotte…’

Aella thought of the maid who had been with Rensi. It was highly likely that those two were the maids Kael had assigned to watch over Charlotte. No matter how clever Charlotte was, if she fell into the hands of those two malicious women, something terrible would surely happen. Just imagining it made Aella shudder, and she forced herself to focus.

‘I… I can overcome this. I have to. Even if it’s just mentally, I have to endure. Mother… Mother. Please… give me strength.’

Clutching her chest, Aella dry heaved again until there was a knock at the door, and Dr. Lanse, the physician who had cared for her since childhood, entered.

“Lady Aella! No, Duchess! My goodness, what is this!”

“Doctor! Please help Your Grace!”

“First… an examination!”

Lying down on the bed, Aella entrusted herself to Lanse.

“It seems to be food poisoning.”

‘Those wretches… how dare they!’

Kina ground her teeth in anger as Aella, her face pale and exhausted, watched Lanse carefully examine her.

“And these hives are an allergic reaction. I’ll prepare some medicine and send it to you by tomorrow morning. Be sure to take it. Until the medication is finished, you should only eat thin porridge. Absolutely no spicy or irritating food.”

“Thank you so much, Doctor. I already feel a bit better thanks to you.”

“That’s a relief to hear.”

As Lanse looked around the room, Aella told him he could leave and asked Kina to see him out on her behalf.

Once Kina and Lanse had left, Aella was alone. She climbed onto the bed and hugged Charlotte tightly as the cat approached her.

“Charlotte… you know, I think this place is going to be even more of a hell than I imagined. Honestly, I’m scared. If this is only the beginning, then… I’m even more terrified.”

Aella’s frail body trembled as she held Charlotte close.

She cried quietly while holding Charlotte, but she quickly wiped her tears, worried that Kina might return and see her.

Meow~

Sitting up, Aella stroked Charlotte’s head as the cat meowed pitifully on her lap. She kissed Charlotte’s forehead.

“I’m fine, Charlotte. As long as I have you and Kina, I can endure anything. So… please don’t ever leave me. Charlotte, I’m begging you.”

Meow~

When Charlotte, nestled in her arms, licked her cheek, Aella managed to smile.

“Thank you. I love you, Charlotte. I really love you…”

Standing by the door, Ian let out a short breath. When a sharp and stern voice demanded to know who he was, he turned his head to see Kina standing there, her eyes blazing.

‘This woman who followed Her Grace… I think her name was Kina. She’s… cute.’

Kina found the tall man staring down at her unsettling.

Especially since he appeared to be one of the knights of the Hormons household, who treated the innocent Aella so poorly.

“Did you not hear me? Who are you? What are you doing in front of Her Grace’s quarters?”

“I am… Ian, the captain of the knights.”

“Did His Grace send you?”

“Yes. He told me to check on her condition.”

“Hah! Then tell him to come see for himself.”

“Kina.”

“Yes, Your Grace. I’m coming in.”

Kina nodded and entered the room, closing the door behind her. From behind the door, Ian could hear Kina being scolded by the Duchess and apologizing.

“Kina… truly bold and adorable… But I’m worried. If she were to offend His Grace in any way…”

After the late Duke passed away, the young master of the Hormons household, who had once been kind and gentle to even the staff, changed completely. It was as if he had become a different person.

Though Ian found the change chilling and unfamiliar, he had no choice but to serve the man who would be his master for life.

Above all, the Duke had brought the daughter of his enemy, Count Blueanz, into the household as his Duchess with the intention of slowly tormenting her.

‘How did it come to this…?’

Having grown up alongside Kael, Ian had always been aware of the feelings Kael and Aella harbored for each other. From the moment they became aware of the opposite s*x, their affectionate gazes toward one another had been clear.

They were a lovable and enviable young master and lady.

Like their parents, Ian had thought the two would marry and become the Duke and Duchess of the household, the people he was meant to protect. But on the day they reached adulthood, tragedy struck when the late Duke passed away under devastating and humiliating circumstances.

He had been killed by someone’s hand, under someone’s orders.

Everyone suspected Count Blueanz as the one who orchestrated the murder of the late Duke of Hormons.

Although there was no definitive proof, the suspicion was undeniable.

Furthermore, it was said that the young man who had carried out the murder under the Count’s orders had died with his eyes wide open. His restless soul was rumored to wander the streets every night in a ghastly state, showing himself to passersby to plead his innocence. This only solidified the belief that Count Blueanz was responsible.

“Haa, I should report to His Grace first.”

As Ian prepared to leave, he recalled Kina, who had looked him straight in the eye, and felt his face heat up.

“What am I thinking at a time like this! Get a grip, you idiot!”

Ian smacked his forehead, but accidentally hit his right eye, causing him to crouch in pain, clutching his face until the throbbing subsided.

***

Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

Matteo entered the room and greeted Kael politely. Kael merely gestured for him to speak.

Standing before Kael, who was signing documents without looking up, Matteo relayed what the physician had said earlier.

“Food poisoning, it seems. Ha, ha.”

“Natasha is scolding the maids responsible as we speak.”

“Matteo.”

“Yes.”

“They’re being punished because they caused a commotion during my meal.”

“Yes.”

As Matteo straightened up and glanced at Kael, Kael stared at him coldly and spoke again.

“Let Natasha know that if there’s another disturbance in my presence, it won’t end with mere scolding.”

“Yes.”

After Matteo left, Kael returned to his work.

Even from a distance, Kael, with his sharp sense of smell, had been able to detect the stench of the soup placed before Aella.

He had witnessed the maid pouring that vile soup over Aella’s face.

Though he had nearly lost his composure at the blatant act of insubordination, Kael quickly regained his calm.

Aella Hormons was the only daughter of Hans Blueanz, the man he despised and cursed forever.

Even if it seemed petty, Kael wanted to torment Hans Blueanz by slowly draining the life out of his beloved daughter.

Since Hans had driven his father to his death, Kael wanted him to feel even a fraction of the pain and injustice his father had suffered.

“D*mn it!”

Kael threw the pen he was holding to the floor, unable to shake the image of Aella’s pained expression and her agonized voice from his mind.

Standing abruptly, he walked to the window and flung it open.

“Haa…”

As the sharp wind cooled his face, Kael ran his fingers through his hair.

[Oh my, Kael. Why are you so angry?]

[Ella…]

Kael suddenly remembered a memory he didn’t want to recall.

It was from his childhood, when Aella had come to find him after he had locked himself in his room, furious.

[It wasn’t even my fault, but I got scolded by Father because of that d*mn Roveltan!]

[So that’s why you’re upset.]

When Kael nodded, young Aella smiled and took his hand, leading him to the window and throwing it open.

Whoosh—

[How is it? Feeling a bit better?]

[Yeah…]

[Whenever you’re angry, let the cool breeze calm you down. It’ll make you feel so much better. Got it, Kael?]

[…Yeah, Ella. Thanks.]

[Don’t mention it!]

Aella’s smile, brighter than the sun, had made Kael truly happy. His unchanged feelings had only grown stronger over time, turning into love.

Kael closed the window with a rough motion and sat back down, his expression cold.

“I won’t waver anymore.”

He looked at his father’s portrait on the wall and made a firm resolution.

***

‘My body feels so hot.’

In the deep hours of the night, Aella, burning with fever, couldn’t sleep due to the pain.

“Haa. I’m… so thirsty. Ki-Kina… Kina.”

“Your Grace?! What’s wrong?!”

“Wa-water… Please get me water…”

“Just a moment!”

As Kina left, Aella closed her eyes and let out a dry cough.

Her fever was so high that her vision was blurry.

Click.

“?!”

She heard someone enter the room. It couldn’t have been Kina, who had just left.

Step.

Step.

‘Men’s shoes? No way… It can’t be.’

Aella opened her eyes slightly. Though her vision was still blurry, she caught sight of dark brown hair.

‘Kael… No. I must be hallucinating. Or… am I dreaming?’

Though her fever-clouded eyes couldn’t see clearly, Aella tried to focus on the man looking down at her. But her fever worsened, and tears welled up in her eyes.

“Sniff… It hurts. Kael… I’m in so much pain…”

Aella felt a hand touch her cheek.

“Kael…”

“…”

“Kael… Sniff. Hic. Sniff.”

The man silently stroked her cheek, offering no response.

Aella closed her eyes.

‘Even if it’s just a dream, Kael… if I can feel your touch, then I’m… happy. Kael… I love you.’