Chapter 41

Hugo opened his eyes with a low groan.

“Are you awake?”

John, who was adjusting the pillow placed under Hugo’s leg, brightened up.

“How do you feel? Is your head dizzy, or do you feel stiff?”

“Give me some water.”

Hugo cleared his throat to loosen his tightly locked voice. Then he gestured towards John, who was hovering over him.

John quickly poured water into a glass and handed it over.

As the cool water went down, Hugo’s Adam’s apple moved up and down with each gulp.

“Would you like another glass?”

John asked, holding the pitcher, after Hugo had emptied the glass in an instant. Hugo shook his head.

“How long did I sleep?”

Hugo stretched his neck. John tidied up the pitcher and glass as he replied.

“Just under a full day?”

Hugo turned his head to look out the window. It was very dark outside.

Tsk, Hugo clicked his tongue. He had wasted an entire day. He had so much to do, yet he wasted it sleeping.

Hugo shook his head, which was like a bird’s nest, regretting the lost time.

“Why did you go to Lavender Lake late last night?”

John, seeing that Hugo seemed fine, started to nag.

“I had something to do.”

“At that hour? At Lavender Lake?”

“Stop talking, my leg aches.”

“Suddenly?”

“Yes, suddenly.”

Hugo blatantly avoided the conversation. John glared at Hugo, urging him for an answer, but Hugo just lay back on the bed.

“Do you know how worried I was?”

However, John had no intention of stopping the conversation.

“Who brought me back to the estate?”

When it’s hard to avoid a conversation, it’s better to take control.

“The coachman who accompanied you, Your Grace. He almost fainted when you didn’t return soon.”

“I should reward the coachman generously.”

“Roek the butler has already taken care of his leave and gifts.”

“Well done.” 

Hugo muttered, glancing at his leg wrapped in bandages, and asked.

“Did the doctor visit? How long do I have to stay in bed?”

“You can get up right away.”

“Really? My leg seems to ache, which is strange.”

“It’s your imagination.”

“What?”

John grinned. There was a mischievous scent to his smile. Hugo squinted his eyes.

“What trick have you pulled?”

Hugo looked at John suspiciously and pulled his leg closer.

If he had seriously injured his leg, even this movement would have been painful, but it was only uncomfortable because of the bandage, not painful.

The throbbing seemed to be due to the bandage being wrapped too tightly.

“You should be grateful to me, Your Grace.”

Why was John boasting?

The more Hugo talked with John, the more puzzled he became.

Hugo sat up again. Then he unwound the bandage.

Why was my leg bandaged when it wasn’t injured?

For what reason?

Then, a scene flashed through Hugo’s mind.

Catherine looking down at him with a tender expression….

“Wasn’t that a dream?”

Hugo muttered, recalling the dream.

Her face, which was unusually vivid, the scent he sensed when she came close, the warmth he felt at his fingertips, were all too clear.

“John, did Catherine visit?”

Hugo asked, running a dry hand over his face.

“Yes. She came in the morning and again in the afternoon. She brought lots of food that’s good for the bones.”

John answered proudly, as if he were a victorious general. Hugo squinted his eyes and alternated his gaze between his unbandaged leg and John.

He finally understood why John was boasting.

“It was your doing.”

John whistled a low tune, feigning innocence.

Hugo wasn’t injured.

While returning to the carriage, thinking he had filled all the pits, he fell into one he hadn’t found and lost consciousness.

It was true that he had passed out, but his leg was fine.

Hugo’s inability to wake up for a day was simply due to accumulated fatigue.

It was John who wrapped Hugo’s sleeping leg in bandages.

And he informed Catherine early in the morning that Hugo was severely injured.

The reason was obvious.

“How about receiving care from Miss Catherine this time? For some reason, she seemed very sorry to you, Your Grace.”

“You deceived her.”

“Please call it a benevolent lie. The result is good, isn’t it?”

When John devised the plan for Hugo’s feigned illness, he thought Catherine would be indifferent.

He contacted her with the mindset that there was nothing to lose, but Catherine rushed over at an early hour.

Catherine seemed so sorry that she was ready to feed Hugo if he wanted.

“So Catherine came by?”

John nodded proudly.

“She worried about me?”

John nodded again.

‘Ah, Catherine.’

Hugo turned over and buried his face in the pillow.

Otherwise, the loud shout he was about to let out would have startled everyone in the estate.

Hugo covered his mouth with the pillow and yelled at the top of his lungs.

“Great, it’s great! Catherine, you’re the best!”

To interpret, ‘I’m so happy I could die! Catherine, you’re the best!’

He had no mental space to be angry at the scam his subordinate had orchestrated.

Just the fact that the sweet dream he had wasn’t a dream, and that it provided a dream-like moment, was enough for him to forgive John for everything.

Even if he were to commit treason, for that matter.

***

Hugo’s feigned illness was likely to be prolonged. John had said he sprained his ankle.

However, after spending half a day lying in bed handling affairs, Hugo was considering telling Catherine the truth even now.

His conscience pricked him, and above all, it was torture for someone who had roamed the battlefields to lie in bed.

Staying in bed could lead to illness instead.

“I should tell Catherine the truth.”

As it is, he couldn’t even follow Catherine to the social events she attended.

Everyone in the capital knew Catherine was Hugo’s fiancée, but Catherine was so charming that Hugo was very worried about sending her to social events alone.

He was deeply concerned about how Catherine would react upon learning the truth, but Hugo rose to go find Catherine and tell her the truth.

At that moment, the door burst open, and John rushed in.

“Your Grace! Lady Catherine is here. Lie down quickly, quickly!”

John laid Hugo, who was awkwardly standing, back down.

He didn’t forget to place a pillow under the falsely bandaged leg.

Hugo was impressed anew by John’s quick actions.

Before long, Catherine entered. Even though he had seen her just a few hours ago, he was delighted to see her again.

Hugo’s lips twitched uncontrollably. Then he quickly controlled his lips.

It would be strange for anyone to see a patient who was bedridden due to an accident smiling foolishly.

“Hugo, you’re finally awake. How is your leg? Are you very uncomfortable?”

Catherine settled down next to Hugo with a face full of concern.

Hugo, forgetting his resolve to confess the truth, closed his mouth like a mute who had eaten honey.

The moment he saw Catherine’s affectionate gaze, Hugo’s plan to tell the truth wavered.

The person reflected in Catherine’s eyes was solely him.

Before their marriage, he didn’t remember well, but after their divorce, Catherine never looked at him when they met.

It was as if, although their eyes met, other people or other thoughts were in between.

When would he see eyes filled solely with himself again?

When she declared divorce, she was so indifferent, without a trace of lingering affection, that Hugo yearned for even a single affectionate glance from Catherine.

He felt like a child lying to seek attention.

It wasn’t a behavior befitting an adult, a war hero, or a Duke, but what could he do? He wanted Catherine’s attention, even if it meant this.

Even the way Catherine called his name, Hugo, was so affectionate.

Hugo clenched his fist tightly under the blanket.

Someone was stabbing his conscience madly with a needle. His conscience hurt more than his leg.

“Hugo, have you washed?”

Catherine’s words snapped Hugo back to reality. He subtly turned his head and sniffed his body.

Hugo wasn’t particularly sweaty, and since he hadn’t really injured his leg, he had washed clean as soon as he got up.

So his body smelled not of a patient who hadn’t washed for days but of a sweet powdery scent.

‘Should I not have washed?’

Hugo completely forgot about confessing the truth.

Having decided to act, he should have gone for method acting. Now he decided to fully participate in the charade.

It had become that way without him realizing it.

“Catherine, would you step outside for a moment? John. Open the window for ventilation and bring some scented candles.”

Since Catherine was sensitive to scents, she might have smelled a musty odor that he couldn’t detect.

Hugo wanted to leave a good impression on Catherine.

As he gave orders to John while lying down, Catherine waved her hands dismissively.

“There’s no smell, Hugo! It’s not because of the smell, it’s just that you’re someone who showers morning and evening. I thought you might feel uncomfortable.”

Hugo stopped raising his upper body on his elbows and looked at Catherine.

“How do you know that I shower morning and evening, Catherine?”