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(Lurelia’s Birthday Bonus – Update 4/4 🎉)

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“Cough… Cough!”

It started again. I was out for a walk with Kyron. Even though it was winter, he suggested the walk, saying that staying indoors without moving around would be worse for my health.

As soon as I started coughing, Kyron, seemingly accustomed to it, lifted me into his arms.

“Cough!”

“Hang in there, Ekette.”

Kyron entered a small glass greenhouse within the garden. The air around me, which had been cold outside, became warmer.

He sat down on a small bench inside the greenhouse, still holding me in his arms.

The servants who had been following us during the walk also entered the greenhouse. One of them brought out a sedative they had prepared in advance.

Recently, the doctor had mentioned that administering medication daily wasn’t good, so he prescribed a sedative with a lower dosage that was relatively safer. This meant it took a little longer for the coughing to subside compared to before.

“Cough, cough!”

I kept coughing into my hand, and Kyron held me close, waiting for it to stop.

He gently patted my back, as if to comfort me and assure me that it was okay.

Usually, he wouldn’t even touch a strand of my hair, but whenever I was sick like this, he held me and gently patted my back. And

every time, since I was too distracted by the coughing, I couldn’t resist.

The servants handed me a blanket and a handkerchief they had prepared. Kyron covered me with the blanket.

When I covered my mouth with the handkerchief, a slight trace of blood appeared a moment later. I was used to seeing blood, but it didn’t make it any less unpleasant.

After a while, the coughing gradually subsided.

“Are you feeling better?”

“…Yes.”

“You’re not cold?”

I nodded.

“No, it’s warm here.”

With my body like this, when would I ever be able to send Kyron away?

“By the way, didn’t the Crown Prince urge you last time?”

“There’s no need to concern yourself with what that guy says.”

Look at him calling the Crown Prince “that guy” just because he’s not here.

“What if the Crown Prince gets really angry?”

“You don’t need to worry about things like that.”

Kyron’s words were so firm that they almost felt cold. Well, he was always like this. Unlike the warmth I felt from his chest, he was always icy.

No matter how hard I tried to persuade him to leave, it didn’t work.

So, for now… it was time to try a different approach with him.

I looked at my husband’s face as he held me and came to a conclusion.

If I were to describe the current relationship between Kyron and me, it would be like this:

‘Ekette persuades and pleads with Kyron.’

But with a slight shift in perspective, it could take on an entirely different nuance.

I needed to instill a new idea in Kyron.

‘Ekette grants Kyron the opportunity to go out!’

***

“Isn’t it boring to stay indoors all the time?”

“Are you bored?”

“Yes, very much.”

After the short walk, I went to Kyron’s room while he was resting. It was my first time entering his bedroom.

‘It’s huge.’

His room was much larger than mine.

On one side of the spacious room was a massive bed that looked like it could comfortably fit three people lying side by side. Next to it, weapons like swords, crossbows, and spears were neatly arranged, almost like an armory.

“Why is this room so big?”

“…It was made for the two of us to use.”

What a ridiculous answer.

He was occupying a room meant for the two of us all by himself, and he said it so boldly.

I realized I was less important than those weapons.

“What are all those weapons for? Do you plan to fight battles in your sleep?”

“I keep them in case they’re needed unexpectedly.”

“Why didn’t you just marry a crossbow then?”

Anyway, I hadn’t come here to pick a fight.

“Forget the weapons. I’ve been so bored that I came up with something new.”

“What is it?”

“Something fun we can do together.”

“…?”

“Do you remember when Henson, who’s been teaching me how to exercise, suggested that you and I make a bet? I had fun with that last time. How about we make another bet?”

“You lost that time, didn’t you?”

“But it was still fun. Let’s place a bet again. This time, instead of the loser being punished, the winner gets a reward.”

Naturally, the reward I had in mind for Kyron if he won was “a few days of not having to nurse me and being free to go cooperate with the Crown Prince”.

“…A reward?”

“Yes. What do you think?”

Although I asked for his opinion, I was prepared to persistently chase after him until he agreed, even if he initially refused.

Fortunately, Kyron agreed without much resistance.

“Fine. What kind of reward do you want?”

“You decide. I’ll also decide what reward you’ll get if you win. But let’s keep the rewards a secret until the bet is over.”

“Hmm, sounds interesting. But what kind of game are we betting on? Something like last time, involving exercise?”

Exercise was boring and not fun, so I immediately rejected the idea.

“No, let’s do something else.”

This bet had to result in Kyron winning. Only then could I give him his “reward.” I needed to choose a game where he had a clear advantage.

“How about a fight?”

“…What?”

He furrowed his brow, gazing at me like I’d completely lost my mind.

“You and I, fighting. You don’t mean physical combat, do you?”

“I do.”

“Ha!”

He looked at me as if I were someone who had a death wish.

“You want me to have a physical fight with you? Let’s pretend this conversation never happened.”

“No, no! Then let’s try something else!”

When he tried to cancel the bet altogether, I quickly shouted in desperation.

I had expected him to hate the idea of fighting, but I had thrown it out there just in case. As expected, he was horrified at the suggestion.

While I had proposed the bet, I wasn’t very good at coming up with games.

“Then… Oh! How about this?”

“What is it?”

“Getting your aide to say ‘I love you.’”

“You’ve really lost it this time.”

It was an idea I had come up with ambitiously, but Kyron looked at me with a face that seemed to ask how I could even think of such a thing. He even looked slightly betrayed.

“Do you… think words like that are so trivial?”

“Why? Can’t people say that if they feel good?”

A subordinate could flatter their superior like that, right? But unless the aide had completely lost their mind, there was no way they’d say “I love you” to Kyron. That’s precisely why I brought it up—it was far more likely that Kyron would win.

“You think people say things like that just because they feel good?”

“For example, if you suddenly gave your aide an unexpected long vacation and a bonus, wouldn’t they exaggerate their gratitude a little?”

“I really can’t understand your way of thinking.”

It seemed this idea wouldn’t work either.