‘Crash!’

“Oh no! Everything’s broken, everything’s broken!”

A thin scream echoed from inside the infirmary.

But Paul paid no attention to it. He quickly stormed out of the infirmary, stuck his face close to mine, and grinned.

“Young lady, where have you been? When I woke up and didn’t see you, I thought I’d been kidnapped and taken somewhere else…”

“Paul, stop talking. My head’s ringing.”

“Ah.”

When I covered my ears with both hands and frowned, Paul quickly shut his mouth in surprise.

Finally, the surroundings grew somewhat quiet, save for the sound of someone sniffling inside the infirmary.

After the commotion settled down, I managed to enter the infirmary and take a seat.

Though I had been taking the prescribed medicine, this was my first time meeting the physician face-to-face.

“My chair…”

The physician murmured gloomily as he stared at the wooden fragments in the corner, which had once been a chair.

I cleared my throat and quickly changed the subject.

“So, is there anything wrong with Paul’s condition?”

“No… His recovery is remarkably fast. As long as he doesn’t overexert himself, he’ll recover completely in no time. As long as he doesn’t overexert himself…”

“Hehe.”

The physician muttered absentmindedly, while Paul scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

…I wasn’t sure why, either.

At that moment, the physician, who had been wiping his tears, turned to me with a slightly more relaxed expression and smiled.

“Young lady, your body is also in a weakened state, but if you rest in a warm place for a few months and take your medicine and meals properly, you’ll recover fully. So, don’t worry.”

“…I see.”

I responded with a vague smile.

After all, he didn’t know that my body couldn’t be healed with medicine.

‘It’s like pouring water into a bottomless bucket, but I can’t exactly tell him that.’

Well, it wasn’t my money being spent, so I decided not to worry about it.

Just as I was thinking that and smiling faintly, there was a knock at the door, followed by someone entering the infirmary.

“Master, this…”

The person who entered stopped in their tracks upon noticing us gathered in one corner of the infirmary.

‘Ah.’

The first thing that caught my eye was a pair of silver glasses.

The glasses sparkled, as did the long chain attached to them, which hung around his neck.

Next, I noticed his jet-black hair, as dark as the Duke of Esperanza’s, and his silver eyes, which seemed somewhat hollow.

“…I didn’t realize you had guests.”

The boy who had entered murmured in a slightly awkward tone.

His thick, straight eyebrows furrowed slightly, and even I, who knew my mother’s and Jack Esperanza’s faces, couldn’t help but admire how strikingly beautiful he looked.

‘Why does he seem so familiar?’

Though I was certain I had never seen him before, he didn’t feel unfamiliar. It was strange.

As I furrowed my brows, mimicking his expression, and pondered, the physician’s voice reached my ears.

“What is it, Lucian?”

Ah.

It was only then that I realized who the boy before me was, and my mouth opened slightly in surprise.

‘Lucian.’

The boy who played a crucial role in helping the male lead overthrow the crown prince in the later part of the original story.

And the child I was supposed to protect.

“Ah, it’s just…”

Lucian hesitated at the physician’s question, glancing around at us with a troubled expression.

Holding a book under one arm, he gave a faint smile and nodded politely.

“It’s nothing. This isn’t the right time to ask. I’ll come back later. Excuse me.”

‘Creak. Click.’

Lucian left those words behind, closed the door, and disappeared.

Paul blinked in confusion, and the physician let out an awkward laugh, as if trying to lighten the mood.

“He’s a boy sponsored by the Esperanza family. He’s quite shy… And a bit of a germaphobe, so he tends to avoid people.”

“Ah, I see.”

Paul nodded in understanding.

I also nodded absentmindedly, but then a thought struck me.

‘Come to think of it, did the Duke tell Lucian about my plan?’

While others must not know, Lucian was the child who would eventually inherit the Esperanza Dukedom.

If things went as planned, I would soon become a ward of the Duke and a strong candidate for his successor.

Of course, I had already told the Duke that I would leave the family with my mother once I came of age.

‘Though, in reality, I plan to leave even earlier, as soon as my health deteriorates.’

Would Lucian feel like I, an outsider, was taking his rightful place?

‘If he ends up feeling betrayed by the Duke for bringing me here…’

The original story might twist in unnecessary ways.

As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I stood up without hesitation.

“Ah, young lady?”

“What…?”

“Just a moment! I’ll be right back after properly introducing myself! Please stay here!”

I shouted the last part with emphasis and dashed out of the infirmary.

Fortunately, there was an open door nearby, and beyond it, I saw Lucian’s figure crossing the garden.

“Excuse me!”

Not knowing what to call him, I simply raised my voice and ran toward him.

Perhaps he heard me, as Lucian paused and turned around.

‘Whoosh—’

A strong gust of wind blew, scattering leaves everywhere.

Against the backdrop of the sunlit, vibrant green garden, the black-haired boy turned his wide eyes toward me.

It was…

‘Truly beautiful.’

I couldn’t help but be impressed.

Earlier, I had thought he suited the darkness perfectly, but now, in the bright garden, he looked just as fitting.

“Wait, ha, wait a moment…”

I finally caught up to Lucian and stopped running.

Though the distance from the infirmary to the garden wasn’t far, the fact that I felt like I was out of breath after such a short run made it clear just how much my health was deteriorating.

“…What is it?”

Lucian, who had briefly looked surprised, quickly composed his expression and asked.

After taking a little longer to catch my breath, I finally managed to speak.

“Well…”

But as soon as I tried to say something, my mind went blank.

I had caught up to him, but I hadn’t prepared what to say, and now that I was flustered, my thoughts seemed to freeze entirely.

“Uh, um, so…”

While I stammered, unable to form a proper sentence, Lucian simply watched me quietly.

He didn’t look at me as if I were foolish, nor did he rush me. He just waited patiently, which only made me feel more embarrassed.

In the end, the words slipped out before I could stop them.

“I hope you won’t dislike me…”

“…What?”

As soon as I regained my senses, I wanted to bite my tongue.

‘Wow, how am I supposed to fix this?’

What I had meant to say was, “I might soon become a ward of the Esperanza family like you, but I have no intention of taking your place as the heir, and I’ll leave when the time comes, so don’t worry.”

How did it come to this…?

‘…Forget it. The Duke can probably explain it better.’

No matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn’t think of a way to fix the situation.

In the end, I decided to leave the cleanup to the Duke. I took a step back and bowed deeply.

“It’s nothing. I’m sorry for stopping you. Goodbye.”

I left those words behind, turned around, and started to walk away. But then—

“W-Wait…!”

A flustered voice called out, and something grabbed my wrist.

Startled, I turned my head to see Lucian looking at me with an indescribable expression.

An awkward silence fell between us.

Lucian, realizing his actions, quickly let go of my wrist.

“Ah, I’m sorry. It’s just… there was a flower petal in your hair.”

“Oh.”

Only then did I understand his actions.

I looked down and checked my hair, finding a small petal stuck to the end of it.

“Thank you for letting me know.”

I smiled and brushed the petal away, but then I paused.

‘…Didn’t the physician say Lucian has a bit of a germaphobia?’

Yet he had grabbed my wrist, a stranger he had just met, just to point out a petal in my hair?

‘Hmm.’

Something felt off, but then again, I probably seemed just as suspicious to him.

I dismissed the odd feeling as a misunderstanding and let it go.

“Well, I’ll be going now.”

“…Alright.”

Even as I returned to the infirmary, I couldn’t shake the feeling of someone’s gaze lingering on my back.

Though, it was probably just my imagination.