Only then did Lorendis look at Catherine.

“Have you eaten lamb?”

“I’ve eaten it a few times at dinner gatherings.”

“This is grilled on a grill, I’m not sure if it’ll suit your taste. Try a little.”

The grilled meat was tender. Though the plates were rustic and the utensils plain, it was more valuable and delicious than eating alone at the mansion.

As she ate another piece of lamb, a hand touched her greasy mouth. Lorendis was wiping the seasoning from her lips.

“It was smeared.”

And then the surroundings fell silent.

* * *

Catherine blinked drowsily. She felt slightly dizzy, creating an odd feeling. Her long hair kept falling limply.

“Tsk. You’re drunk.”

Lorendis also examined Catherine suspiciously. Since she’s a patient, he should have stopped her from drinking, but seeing that happy expression, he couldn’t readily prevent it. So he let her be, and this is what happened.

“Did she drink too much?”

“That’s right. I told her to stop.”

“Fruit beer is sweet, you know. How high can the alcohol content be?”

Leonard scratched his nape awkwardly. It was Leonard who kept refilling her glass with every sip.

“The lady is now a bit……”

“Yes. She had too much to drink.”

“I, I’m sorry.”

“What can we do, she enjoyed drinking it herself.”

Lorendis sighed, saying he knew that much. The knights could handle consecutive drinks since they’re heavy drinkers, but Catherine couldn’t.

“Are you okay?”

Lorendis was fiddling with Catherine’s hair, twisting it around. It wouldn’t be strange for a married couple, but if it’s your superior, that’s different. The laurel knights awkwardly scratched their necks and glanced around.

Her drowsy mind was strangely peaceful. She felt a bit excited too. The thumping sound of her heart was pleasant to hear. For the first time, she felt alive…

‘This isn’t bad.’

When Catherine smiled broadly, Lorendis wiped her mouth again. After eating lamb, grease had smeared on her lips. Lorendis roughly wiped it off with his finger, drank his strong liquor, and looked down at Catherine.

“Is it delicious?”

“You should stop drinking.”

“Lorendis, you’re too harsh on me.”

As she tried to gather her dizzy mind and raised her head stiffly, a faint laugh escaped. So that person knows how to laugh too. She grasped at her consciousness that was about to sink into drowsiness. She remembered sitting casually across from him and drinking, but when had she ended up sitting on his lap?

Lorendis took away her beer glass saying she should stop drinking, and after grumbling a bit, her consciousness became intermittent.

At some point, she found herself nodding off on his lap. When did I sit here……. As Catherine leaned against his chest and sighed, the knights’ gazes focused on them.

“The lady seems sleepy.”

“The two of you, despite being apart for a long time, are quite affectionate. I’ve seen His Grace exchanging letters frequently, but this is different.”

Lorendis touched his throbbing forehead and glared at his subordinates. They instinctively restrained themselves at that fierce gaze.

‘Oops. Made a mistake.’

They also instinctively felt it. Their lord was in a very bad mood. And about 80% of the reason was Leonard’s fault for continuously pouring drinks for the lady.

“Everyone drink moderately. Those who can’t show up on time tomorrow should be prepared to have something broken.”

“Oh my! Leonard, you’ll have to work hard.”

The knights snickered and raised their beer glasses high. Whether they wake up tomorrow or not, they might as well eat and enjoy now. Would His Grace really overturn the drinking table!

This time, they brought out whole barrels of homemade liquor, opened it, and filled their glasses to the brim.

These guys have been doing this for ages, and Lorendis indifferently took care of Catherine and stood up.

“Your Grace, should I call someone?”

“No need. I’ll take her myself.”

“I can walk on my own. I’m fine.”

Lorendis opened his eyes wide. Her voice was quite clear. Catherine exchanged light farewells and left the banquet hall.

She thought it would be difficult to walk straight because of her high heels, but with conscious effort, her steps were upright.

As she exited the banquet hall and walked through the mansion corridor, a hand firmly supported her waist. A strong grip secured one side of her.

An arm encircled her waist, and the way it fit entirely in one grasp highlighted the stark contrast in their physiques.

“I had fun. It was quite enjoyable……”

“Visit Dennis tomorrow.”

“He’ll probably scold me a lot……”

Her tone, which vaguely brushed off the idea that if she had done something deserving scolding, there was nothing to be done, sounded like someone who hoped for that outcome.

As she stepped on the stairs, a cold wind brushed her cheek. A window in the corridor was open. Lorendis extended his hand as if to close it.

“Just leave it.”

“Aren’t you cold?”

“I like the coldness.”

Opening the window, the north wind rushed in. It would be more accurate to say the wind slapped her cheeks. Her long blonde hair became disheveled. As she tidied it with her fingers, a shadow fell over her. Lorendis was standing close behind her.

The corridor was quiet but cozy. Is it because one more person is standing there? Catherine looked outside, illuminated by lights, and murmured.

“At first, I thought it would be nice to see snow just once before I died. The place where I lived didn’t have snow.”

“You’ll see it to the point of boredom in Helen.”

“I saw it to the point of boredom during the half-year you were away. But I found it pleasant to see again and again.”

Recently, snow and rain had mixed, so she couldn’t see it, but whenever Catherine expressed regret, the maids consistently told her: It will pour down to the point of boredom again, so don’t sigh then.

For them, it was a tedious natural phenomenon, but for Catherine, it was a small happiness. If I hadn’t been dying, would things have been a little different?

If so, would we have lived like an ordinary couple? Would married life with a husband known as cold-blooded be different from now?

‘Even now, he’s quite different from cold-blooded.’

He was a husband who wandered the battlefield while alive and only came a few months before her death. At least, that’s how it was in the future Catherine had glimpsed.

Half a year and a few more months.

Such leisure had emerged.

So what do I do now? Live like a normal couple and have a marital relationship? But I can’t bear an heir. So just mix bodies?

“This is in its own way……”

“I don’t know what you’re thinking right now. Honestly, asking me to infer what’s in that head is more difficult than interrogating criminals.”

As Catherine blinked, lost in thought, the window closed. Lorendis pushed Catherine into a corner of the corridor. As she slowly backed away to avoid him, Lorendis cornered her in a secluded nook.

It felt like being hunted. Lorendis pushed Catherine against the wall and came close. A thick thigh settled between her legs. It seemed impossible to escape him any further.

“I have no intention of breaking this marriage.”

“You will break it.”

“Dr. Dennis will cure you, and the outcome won’t change. He’s brought his disciple to find a cure, so wait.”

Lorendis spoke like someone who had suppressed his emotions. He forcibly suppressed those emotions to appear calm, but the weight was not light.

“Don’t let go of yourself.”

“Please let me go now.”

He tells her not to let go of herself, but Catherine had forgotten even how to do that.

Was that ever my choice?

“Rather, beg to be saved. Say you’re leaving because you want to live. Who would let you go when you act like you’re leaving to die?”

“Then will you let me go?”

“Of course not. You will die as a member of Helen. Even after that death, I have no intention of letting you go.”

That was personally regrettable too. It wasn’t his intention to hold and confine a dying person.