I Became The Younger Sister Of A Dying Woman - Chapter 57

57. Even if a demon were to torment you

Two carriages followed closely behind ours.

The carriages were filled with luxurious goods that had been taken from…… or rather, given as gifts.

We received money and unexpected treasures. The feeling of returning to the palace was lighter than ever.

“Are you in a good mood?”

Hernan’s rough hand came forward to gently brush my head.

“Yes, I feel like I’ve become rich.”

“Do you like wealth?”

Hernan seemed to think I was feeling good because I’d robbed his vassals of their riches.

That wasn’t entirely wrong. However, there was another reason behind my happiness.

“I can’t say I don’t love riches, but I’m even more pleased that I punished the vassals.”

“Hmm…….”

“Your Highness was as sympathetic to their cause as I am, but to me, the vassals seem to stick together too well – except for you!”

“It might seem that way.”

“…….”

“But they’re clearly enjoying bullying.”

“You’ve heard them, their sincerity in choosing me over their families.”

Yeah…

I coerced them into saying that.

But I didn’t want to point that out to innocent Hernan.

“Yes. It’s fortunate that they’re devoted.”

“Indeed.”

“Still, I don’t like the fact that…… the Viscount has decorated his residence more lavishly than the East Palace, where the prince resides.”

“They said the same group oversaw the interior of the Eastern Palace! I believe there’s a hint of deception mixed in here as well.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Hernan burst into a slight chuckle.

“Why, why are you laughing?”

“Just because I feel like it.”

“Is it the newly acquired wealth?”

Hernan, I hadn’t noticed it before, but do you secretly like wealth?

Contrary to my assumption, there was another reason behind his fondness.

“No. You seem like a true insider…”

As usual, Hernan’s ears turned red.

How adorable, oh gosh.

“Then am I a fake insider?”

“Honestly, on the battlefield, there might not be a better warrior than me.”

I nodded my head.

“But in other places, my deficiencies might become evident. I’ve only focused on martial arts, after all.”

“Devoting yourself solely to martial arts is impressive!”

“Anyway, you.”

“I’m very lovely, aren’t I?”

Hernan replied with a smile.

“So…… Linzel.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“I hope you can fill in my shortcomings.”

“Like today?”

“Exactly.”

“Alright. Fine. It’s not a difficult request.”

I leaned my face against Hernan’s broad shoulder.

Hernan lowered his shoulder a bit more to accommodate me better.

Closing my eyes, a fatigue I hadn’t felt while at the viscount´s residence flooded over me.

“Your Highness. I’m just going to close my eyes for a moment. Please let me know when we arrive at the palace.”

I didn’t intend to fall asleep, but my consciousness started to drift further away.

My awareness lingered on the boundary between dreams and reality.

“Linzel……. I …… you.”

Hernan’s words faintly reached me.

That was the last sound I heard.

* * *

Bright light poured in.

When I opened my eyes, my vision was blurry.

In that moment, cheers resounded in my ears.

“Congratulations!”

“You look so pretty!”

“Be happy!”

What is this sound?

It’s only natural that I’m pretty… Why am I even receiving congratulations?

I blinked my eyes. As I did, my blurry vision cleared up.

In front of me stood a multitude of people who were congratulating me.

Among them were familiar faces, even some nobles whose faces I recognized from the banquet hall.

“What’s going on? Am I dreaming?”

And then, I heard a voice.

“Are you still nervous? Why do you look so bewildered?”

It was a familiar voice, and it wasn’t Hernan’s.

“A blushing face. How cute.”

I turned to look at the man who found me adorable.

Almost instantly, I couldn’t help but be taken aback.

“……!”

The man was Izekiel.

Blushing cheeks and a happy smile adorned Izekiel’s face as he gazed down at me.

He even looked at me with affectionate eyes.

His gaze sent shivers down my spine.

I couldn’t understand why Izekiel, of all people, found me cute beside him.

“……Your Highness Izekiel?”

As I addressed him, Izekiel immediately responded.

“What’s wrong? Is there something bothering you?”

He seemed to find my continued astonishment rather peculiar.

“Well… why am I here with Your Highness?”

“Huh? Because it’s our wedding. It’s only natural that we’d be together.”

“What? Our, our wedding? You and me?”

“Linzel, what’s wrong? If something’s bothering you or if you’re not feeling well, just tell me. That’s what we promised, right?”

“…….”

I couldn’t reply; my lips just hung open.

I had never made such a promise, and the situation surrounding me was too shocking to comprehend.

Finally, I took a closer look at the clothes we were wearing and the surroundings.

I was in a wedding dress, and Izekiel was dressed in a white tuxedo.

The surroundings I observed were unmistakably a wedding venue.

At that moment, I felt the warmth on my cheek.

Izekiel’s two hands were cupping my cheek, turning my head towards him.

“Linzel, answer me. I’m worried.”

“Your Highness Izekiel…”

Izekiel’s silver eyes looked pained.

It seemed he was distressed because I hadn’t given him a reason.

The sensation of nausea hit me right then.

“Ugh!”

I covered my mouth and lowered my head.

I could taste bitterness in my mouth.

Between my slightly parted lips, something warm and slightly viscous spurted out.

I looked down at the vomit on my palm.

“…Blood?”

Bleeding?

Am I bleeding right now?

The shivers that had been running through my body intensified.

In my confusion, I couldn’t do anything. Izekiel shouted.

“Get, get a doctor! Quickly!”

The crowd that had congratulated us began to disperse in an instant.

Amidst the commotion, a woman caught my eye.

She was looking at me with a face that seemed like it was about to burst into tears.

I called out her name loudly.

“…Letty! Gasp, gasp.”

I gasped for air with only my upper body raised.

Even though I wasn’t running, I was out of breath.

As I exhaled, I looked around.

The wedding venue had vanished without a trace.

I was in a familiar bedchamber. The light had completely faded, and it was dim.

It seemed like I had fully dozed off in the carriage after all, and Hernan hadn’t woken me up.

I swept a stray strand of hair out of my face. My forehead was drenched in cold sweat.

‘……That was just a dream.’

If it hadn’t been a dream, things would have been even stranger.

A marriage between Izekiel and me. And Letty watching over it.

I should be relieved that it was just a dream.

As my breathing steadied, a sudden memory resurfaced.

It was about the strange feeling I had on the day I married Hernan.

I had thought of myself as someone who had “been married before” that day.

Could there be a connection between the strange feeling I had that day and the dream I had just dreamed?

Once again, a glitch in my memories that I had to relive.

Am I okay?

Could there be something wrong with my mind?

The sound of a gentle voice reached me then.

“Linzel? Did you have a nightmare?”

It was Hernan, who had been sleeping by my side.

He seemed to have woken up at the sound of my movement.

“…Yes. I think I had a nightmare.”

I felt bad for Izekiel, for dismissing the encounter with him as a nightmare.

It’s not that marrying Izekiel was a bad thing.

What made me uneasy was the fact that I had married the man Letty had been fond of and that I had even bled in the ceremony.

“What can I do for you?”

Hernan sat up, following my movements. I leaned against his chest.

“Just hold me until I fall asleep again.”

“…….”

“And pat me so that I don’t have scary dreams. That’s all.”

“I’ll do that.”

Lying in Hernan’s embrace, I shivered without realizing it. He held me tighter.

“Don’t worry. Even if a demon were to torment you, I’ll be the one to banish that demon.”

“……Highness.”

“You haven’t forgotten that I’m a demon, have you? It’s only natural for one demon to catch another.”

Hernan didn’t like being called a demon.

Nevertheless, he was using that nickname to comfort me.

“Your Highness, this girl is one happy person indeed.”

Was it because of Hernan’s reassuring words?

The trembling in my body began to subside.

“You’re the only one who would be happy to discuss slaying a demon.”

I chuckled softly.

“You too, Your Highness.”

“When you sleep again, you will not have nightmares. I guarantee it.”

“Yes. I take You at Your word.”

It wasn’t an empty promise; it felt like I truly would not have nightmares.

But as I closed my eyes, the image from the dream came to mind.

The memory was vivid, as if it had happened right in front of me.

As if it were something I had truly experienced.

What was fortunate was that I didn’t feel fear or trembles.

Thanks to Hernan.

I gradually fell asleep, entering a deep slumber free even from dreams.

***

“Her royal Highness is an outrageously cunning woman. That prince Hernan would marry someone like her. Tsk.”

Viscount Flan clicked his tongue.

Then he looked around the bare drawing room.

‘Not only did she take the items on display in the hallway, but she also took the finer things in the drawing room…….’

Viscount Flan mentally calculated the amount of money he had lost today.

The sums were so large that he could hardly comprehend them.

“Viscount Flan has been robbed today, but it may be my turn next.”

“You are right. There is no law that says it won’t happen.”

Hernan’s two vassals gritted their teeth, excluding Viscount Flan.

Then the baron spoke to himself in a low voice.

“Well… even though it’s technically Hernan’s, given that we purchased those items from the Olive Knights’ secret funds, but…”

“Baron. Keep quiet. Are you going to question my words? Whose side are you on?”

Viscount Flan’s stern tone made the baron lower his head.

“Of course, I’m on the Viscount’s side. Ahem.”

Viscount Flan let out a sigh as if exhausted.

“If this continues, even prince Hernan might be tainted by wickedness.”

“True. So, what should we do about it?”

“We need to show prince Hernan the time when her Royal Highness was running wild without fear.”

“Is there a way?”

Viscount Flan’s eyes gleamed with a fierce light.

“I’ll try to contact ‘that person’.”

‘That person’ was someone who had told him that when the tiger disappears, the fox might ascend the throne.