“Answer me!”
“…Fine.”
Finally hearing assent, Ivan withdrew his hand. Muttering like a sulky child, he said:
“You’ve drained me enough. I’m going to sleep now. Well then…”
Ivan stepped out of the laboratory, looking weary.
At some point, the sound of rain had ceased. Morning sunlight filled the corridor and spilled gently through the open doorway.
His long-term relationship with her had finally come to an end. Something had changed within him that night.
◯◯◯
Aiden had stopped working and stayed in the bedchamber for several days. Having finished dealing with the spring trade matters, he now had time to spare.
‘Besides, I also wanted to rest a bit.’
It was pure coincidence that his mistress had fallen ill during his leave of absence.
Aiden cared for Sveta himself. Caring for her was difficult, but he could not bear the thought of others touching her.
Whether it was rubbing ointment into the marks on her skin or parting her lips to give her medicine, he could not bring himself to let anyone else do it.
After all, he would not allow anyone to take what was his.
This was why he insisted she remain in his bed.
“B…est… no… I… don’t want…”
It took Sveta a long time to come to her senses. During this time, she could only murmur incoherent nonsense.
“They said it was only a fever…”
“No… no…”
“What is it you dislike so much?”
“……”
Come to think of it, this woman had never hesitated to voice her disapproval. Even her feverish words carried the same message, which intrigued him.
That tiresome ‘no’ never seemed to leave her mouth.
Giving her medicine was no easy task either.
He forced her mouth open and made her drink the powder dissolved in water, but she spat half of it back out. The surroundings quickly became a mess.
And the sweat — she drenched everything without pause. The bedding became soaked repeatedly.
Unable to bear it, Aiden changed her clothes and replaced the sheets several times a day.
Thus a full week passed.
“Sveta.”
“…Mm.”
Now, at times, her trembling eyelids would lift halfway, and her glistening eyes would meet his.
“Are you conscious?”
“…No.”
Then her eyes closed once more. Although the word ‘no’ had replaced ‘I don’t want to’, the situation remained almost identical.
Although the doctor had assured him that her symptoms were improving, he found it difficult to believe. There was nothing else he could do.
Aiden gently wiped her forehead with a cool cloth.
“…You require much tending.”
Gazing down at her sleeping form, he opened the lid of a censer and lit a fragrant stick intended to aid recovery.
A thin wisp of bitter-smelling smoke rose quietly into the air.
◯◯◯
“Head Maid, please convey my words. Beg him to return to his duties at once.”
The pale secretary held out a bundle of letters. Meriette looked at the man; his face was troubled.
This pitiful youth, barely thirty years old, seemed to be growing older by the day.
It was all because the duke had been shut away in his bedroom for days on end.
Overwhelmed by work, the poor secretary finally set up a table outside the bedroom and took up position there.
“…Even if I tell him, I doubt he will listen, Secretary.”
“I don’t know how His Grace managed everything before. Handling it alone is unbearable.”
“Yes, I can see that…”
His situation was understandable, but the Duke was finally resting. As head maid, Meriette could not bring herself to disturb him.
“You alone are permitted to enter the bedchamber. That is why I beg this of you.”
“I can pass on your words, but isn’t the answer already decided?”
“Then at least deliver this letter.”
The secretary hastily pressed the uppermost letter into her hand.
“It’s an urgent message from Viscount Oitbern.”
He spoke with desperate earnestness, and Meriette could not help but furrow her brow when she saw his thin, pitiful fingers.
“Viscount Oitbern, you say…”
Hazel Strilland is the elder brother of His Grace. He has a fifth son. This time, he is a true heir. A reply must be sent today. Please.”
“……”
“It’s family business, right?”
For a moment, Meriette pictured Hazel Strilland. He had always been kind to the Duke. Their relationship was not a bad one — His Grace might even welcome such a letter.
“…Alright.”
When Meriette nodded reluctantly, Dennis knocked loudly on the door as though he had been waiting.
“Your Grace, it’s the head maid!”
“Wait, you can’t just—”
That frail man, so unlike his usual self, shouted in an uncharacteristically bold manner and pushed Meriette forward.
Startled, she stumbled into the open doorway. The door shut behind her with a sharp click.
Just as she thought she had been tricked by the secretary’s pleading expression, a monotone voice drifted out from behind the half-drawn curtains.
“…What is it?”
Compared to the secretary’s desperate babbling from just moments ago, the low voice felt strangely dissonant.
“My lord, an important letter…”
“Did I not say I was resting?”
“It is from Viscount Oitbern.”
“……”
“If you do not wish to read it now, I will take it back.”
“……”
A heavy silence filled the room while she waited for his reply. Meriette had to stop herself from shrinking her shoulders inward.
Despite having served this master for twelve years, he still seemed distant. He showed little emotion, which made him difficult to approach. Reading his feelings was left to those around him.
Just as she worried she might have overstepped, his deep voice rumbled again.
“Bring it here.”
“Yes.”
Meriette let out a quiet sigh and took a few careful steps forward.
In contrast to the bustle outside, the Duke was reclining at ease against the headboard.
He had been acting strangely lately. It was as though another soul had inhabited that vast body; he exuded a foreign air. The fact that he was reading a novel rather than a report was proof enough of that.
Turning the pages languidly and with boredom, the Duke finally spoke.
“What does Hazel write of?”
“…He has gained a fifth son.”
“……”
“They say this time, he is not a bastard.”
At last, the Duke held out his large hand. Meriette carefully placed the letter in it.
His jewel-like green eyes moved steadily over the lines of text.
As he read, he absentmindedly stroked the hair of his sleeping mistress with his large hand.
The woman’s steady breaths mingled with the warmth of the summer sunlight. The duke brushed his finger lightly over her rose-coloured cheek.
Meriette was startled when he spoke.
“I must write a reply.”
“Shall I prepare the materials?”
“No.”
‘Ah, he dislikes having ink splatter in the bedchamber.’
Folding her hands politely, Meriette waited for him to rise.
The duke tilted his head and lowered his gaze to his mistress. His lips curved upwards ever so faintly.
Such a small gesture was, in truth, extraordinary. Meriette, skilled at reading his emotions, understood at once.
It was unmistakable affection.
For the first time, she saw her master show tenderness towards another, and it made her feel strangely sentimental.
Careful not to let it show on her face, Meriette looked at him.
He murmured softly.
“She’s still sweating.”
“I will change her into a fresh robe.”
“Good.”
In an instant, he recovered his cool, immaculate composure and strode out of the chamber with brisk steps.
◯◯◯
“Young lady, I’ve brought you some fresh clothes.”
Hearing the familiar voice, Sveta managed to raise her heavy eyelids slightly.
“I’ll help you change.”
Through her narrow field of vision, she caught a glimpse of familiar features: sapphire-blue eyes, freckles scattered like strawberry seeds, and plump lips.
“B… Beth…”
Her hair was jet-black, not Beth’s color, yet the sharp curve of her lips was unmistakably hers.
The freckles scattered across her cheeks were far darker than Beth’s had ever been. But the pointed chin, like a pumpkin seed—the distinct features of an Aetanian—belonged to her.
The woman standing before her smiled silently.
Beth smiled.
“At last… a dream…”
A sorrowful smile broke across Sveta’s lips.
To see that beloved face again, even in a dream, made her smile. Yet to see it so marred filled her with grief.
Her body was lifted, and she was dressed in a clean, fresh robe.
The head maid’s stern voice drifted faintly to her ears.
“Beca, finish before His Grace returns.”
“Yes, Head Maid. I’ll just pull up the blanket and be on my way.”
The black-haired maid pulled the curtain back and closed the door with a heavy sound.
She pulled the stiff white blanket up to Sveta’s chin. Then, after wiping the sweat from her brow, she leaned close.
Her lips brushed Sveta’s cheek with a soft peck before pulling away.
‘…Ticklish… Beth…’
‘This isn’t a dream.’
‘Not a dream? If it’s not a dream, how can I be seeing you here in the duke’s bedchamber? It made no sense at all.’
The thought of what she wanted to say stirred in her mind, but her eyelids drifted shut. She surrendered to the fading of her consciousness and slipped deeper into sleep.
“Sveta.”
Along with the familiar warmth of the laundry’s scent, Beth’s voice called her awake once more.
“This isn’t a dream.”
“…No.”
“Impossible.”
Sveta shook her head as much as she could. However, she was too weak to do anything more than turn her face slightly to one side.
“Look at me, Sveta.”
A hand gripped her face and turned it back. The pressure on her cheeks made her open her eyes again.
With a dry breath, the question slipped out.
“…Why.”
‘If this were real life, why would you come here? Why would you come here? It’s dangerous. He could kill you.’
So many words prickled against her palate, but her tongue had grown heavy as lead and not a sound escaped her lips.
Bess watched her in silence, then whispered.
“I came to take you with me.”
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Danes96
Por lo visto, Beth es una mala persona. La humilló y acomodo toda la vida de Sveta para su propia diversión, disfrutaba dar el castigo y después la medicina. El problema radica en como fue criada Sveta, no sabe realmente lo que es el amor o al menos un afecto genuino.
Aiden nos confirma que es una mierda, forzó su relación con Sveta justo cuando salía de un confinamiento sin agua, comida y en el frío. Es tan egoísta que no pensó en dejarla recuperar, sediento únicamente a sus deseos.
Quedó claro que Sveta no es de descendencia bárbara, Jaden la robo. Siendo hija de un noble. No está claro si es de su madre adoptó a actual o del niño que cuidaba.
Solo siento lastima por su situación, no la culpo por pensar que ama a ese animal ingrato