The Villain's Sickly Wife Dislikes Being Overprotected - Chapter 2.10

“Let me take a look. If it’s badly injured, we need to apply first aid quickly…”

What if the skin was scraped?

I got close to Kyron and examined his cheek. Fortunately, it seemed to be just red, with no visible wounds.

As I was looking at the injury, I realized that Kyron’s sharp eyes were staring at me. And from quite a close distance, too.

Startled, I almost jumped back instinctively as if escaping a wild beast. But… Kyron didn’t miss this and grabbed my waist.

“You almost fell.”

His words carried the sharp sting of reproach as if demanding whether I had yet to grasp the severity of my actions after striking his cheek.

“I-I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For hitting your cheek, and for almost falling, making you catch me…”

I mumbled, avoiding eye contact. I wanted to apologize quickly and get away from this uncomfortable distance, but Kyron still hadn’t let me go.

“Didn’t you say you needed to apply first aid if it was badly injured? Aren’t you going to do it?”

He thrust his left cheek towards me. This made me pull my head back sharply.

“Um, it doesn’t seem to be injured badly enough to need first aid.”

“Really? It hurts though.”

He doesn’t look like he’s in much pain. Rather, it feels like he’s enjoying watching me.

“Then should we call for a doctor quickly?”

I was about to order the servants to call for a doctor, but at that moment, Kyron abruptly let go of me.

“No, there’s no need for a doctor.”

He suddenly spoke with a serious face. For some unknown reason, I felt threatened and slowly backed away.

“We don’t need a doctor, but I’d like to hold Henson responsible.”

Kyron’s eyes turned to Henson. Henson, startled, ran in front of Kyron with wide eyes. He looked completely on edge.

“Yes, Your Grace!”

“Did you decide on the exercise without considering Ekette’s strength level?”

Henson bowed his head deeply. Suddenly, he started to look like an innocent lamb.

“I-I’m sorry, Your Grace!”

It seems like my weak arm strength is the problem, not Henson’s fault. Poor Henson’s face was turning pale.

“Can’t you even do your own specialty properly?”

“Ah, I’ll be more careful in the future!”

At this rate, Henson might get fired in just one day.

“Properly reassess and analyze Ekette’s current strength level and bring it to me. Report in detail on how to exercise safely as well.”

“Yes! I’ll keep that in mind!”

Kyron, still looking unsatisfied, glanced over Henson and then shifted his gaze to me. I was watching the situation tensely with an expression similar to Henson’s, so I flinched at Kyron’s sudden gaze.

“It would be better to rest a bit.”

“Y-yes! You should rest, it must hurt!”

“No, not me. You.”

“M-me…?”

“It would be better for you to take a break at this point. Even this light exercise seems to have been too much for you.”

“Then what about your cheek…?”

I pointed at his left cheek with a slightly trembling hand. It was still red.

“Ah, this? It does hurt quite a bit… What, do you want to receive punishment?”

He touched his left cheek and smirked. It was the first time I’d seen him smile, but given the situation, it came across as eerie to me.

“Punishment? Really?”

“You said you were sorry.”

“…”

I was afraid of what kind of punishment he might give.

“Seeing as you’re not answering, I guess you don’t like the idea.”

The hint of a smile that had briefly crossed his face was already gone. The atmosphere felt like I might die if I said I didn’t like it.

“Ah, no. It’s not that I don’t like it…”

“Forget the punishment, let’s just say you lost the bet.”

“Yes. No, what?”

Wait a minute. What about my restaurant? My luxurious meal?

Am I losing my wish so easily?

“Henson, let’s say I won today’s bet. Is that alright?”

“Since the Duchess didn’t complete her target… I suppose that would be fine.”

Henson glanced at me before agreeing with Kyron’s opinion.

“Wait a moment!”

“Why?”

“You didn’t even properly decide what you were betting!”

I objected with a flimsy reason because I couldn’t let my restaurant meal be taken away like this.

“I thought of what to bet earlier.”

When did he think of that?

“What was it…?”

“Well, I don’t feel like telling you now.”

“How can that be…!”

“Then you rest.”

Kyron simply ignored my protest and nodded to the servants. They approached me.

“Go to the shade and rest.”

I sat on the folding chair that had been brought in advance.

Kyron continued his exercise, saying he didn’t want to stop in the middle of what he had already started.

With nothing else to do, I watched him exercise. As I watched, I had to admit that I had lost the bet.

I shook my head.

There’s no way I can win against that person anyway.

As he grabbed the band with both hands and pulled, the band ripped apart after just a few repetitions. He even tore through all the spare bands Henson had brought.

Can those things tear like that? They seemed so tough earlier.

It was a different intensity than when he was exercising with me. As time passed, I shrank back seeing the increasingly angry muscles.

Surely he’s not exercising while fuming about getting hit on the cheek earlier.

I became more and more scared.

***

After the first exercise ended inconclusively. The next day. “Madam, you have somewhere to go today.”

“Somewhere to go? Where?”

Lia started to dress me up, grinning from ear to ear.

“There’s such a place.”

“Why won’t you tell me? What is it, what is it?”

Even though I didn’t know where we were going, I started to get excited. I thought I wouldn’t be able to go out for a while because of my husband, but am I suddenly going out?

Lia carefully applied makeup to my face. Then she added decorations to my hair and even put on earrings and accessories.

“Where are we going that requires so much dressing up?”

After the application of makeup, vitality was restored to my countenance, which had been haggard from the relentless coughing. Even I was taken aback by the transformation, finding myself rather attractive in the mirror.

“Actually, there’s no need to go this far, but I wanted to do it for you.”

“You did? Why?”

She didn’t tell me, but she kept smiling from ear to ear the whole time.

Only after putting on a simple but flowing dress and slightly high-heeled shoes did my flower-like dressing up come to an end.

What on earth is this about?

Anyway, I was happy just with the fact that I was going somewhere.

“Now, shall we go out? Just follow me!”

Lia excitedly guided me.

There were still many spaces in the ducal residence that I hadn’t visited. I only knew the corridors I frequently used, most places were unfamiliar to me.

The path Lia was taking was a corridor I had never been to before.

Is there an exit door on this side too?

“It’s here.”

Lia guided the way, turning through the corridors. Finally, she stopped in front of a large door. It was a door with elaborate decorations.

“Is it here?”

“Yes!”

“We’re not going outside…?”

“Outside?”

She tilted her head.

Didn’t you say earlier that we were going somewhere?

“The place we’re going today is here!”

No matter how I looked at it, it didn’t seem like a door leading outside.

Half in doubt, I grabbed the doorknob and pushed. With a creaking sound, the heavy door opened.