The Villain's Sickly Wife Dislikes Being Overprotected - Chapter 2.9

“How about the two of you have a little competition? The one who follows this lesson better wins.”

A competition?

“What are we betting on?”

“Haha, you can freely decide on that between yourselves, whatever you wish.”

“But this is disadvantageous for Ekette at first glance.”

For the first time, I completely agreed with Kyron’s words. My stiff and weak body is no match for his.

“Yes, that’s why we’ll set a higher standard for Your Grace. The winner will be the one who achieves their target with a more accurate form. In this case, we’ll set a higher goal for Your Grace.”

Kyron nodded now as if it seemed reasonable.

“Well then, what will you bet?”

Henson asked, even clapping his hands together. He seemed much more excited than we were.

“Hmm…… I have one thing I want.”

It didn’t take long to decide what to bet.

“You’ve already thought of something?”

“Yes. Just one thing.”

“What is it?”

“I want to go to that restaurant we went to yesterday again.”

In fact, going to a restaurant shouldn’t be a difficult thing for a Duchess. No, it shouldn’t be difficult at all.

But Kyron was reluctant about my going out because of yesterday’s incident. He said I shouldn’t go out much until my illness gets better.

How would he know when this illness will get better?

My illness isn’t the type that gets better by staying indoors, nor does it worsen by going out. It comes suddenly while I’m living my daily life as usual.

Sometimes I even thought that this might not be a physical illness, but some kind of curse.

“The restaurant? No.”

It was a flat-out refusal. He didn’t even make an effort to pretend to consider it.

He must think I’ll bring shame to the ducal family by suddenly coughing up blood or something.

“Why not?”

“Because you’re a patient.”

“This is a bet, so I should be able to ask for what I want. I don’t need anything else.”

“Your Grace, I think granting the Duchess’s wish would be more helpful in boosting her motivation for exercise!”

For the first time, Henson said something right.

“That’s right! Henson, you know your stuff.”

“Hehe, you think so?”

Our argument seemed to end thanks to Henson taking my side.

“…Alright. I’ll allow you to go once.”

I almost clapped my hands in joy, but…

“However, since we don’t know when something like yesterday might happen again, you have to go with me.”

My joy was cruelly crushed.

Since when did he start talking about going places with me? I realized how much he cared about public opinion. Is he that averse to people finding out his wife is ill?

“This is something I can’t compromise on.”

I resigned myself.

Well, at least I get to go to the restaurant. We can just sit at different tables when we go together.

“Fine.”

“So if the Duchess wins the bet, you’ll go to the restaurant. Your Grace, what will you bet?”

Does that cold, armor-like person even have anything he wants?

At most, it would probably be something like ‘Don’t bother me.’ I wasn’t worried at all about what Kyron would bet.

As expected, he seemed unable to think of anything to bet, and after pondering for a while, he shook his head.

“I’ll need to think about it more.”

“Yes, that’s fine! Take your time to think carefully!”

Henson answered energetically.

“Now that we’ve set the bet, let’s start in earnest!”

Henson brought out something long, yellow, and flimsy.

“This is a band made from special fibers. It’s useful for strength training. Today, we’ll be exercising using this band.”

Kyron and I each received a band.

“Stand facing each other and hold one in each hand, both of you together.”

Why does it have to be a face-to-face position?

I grumbled inwardly as I stood facing Kyron.

It’s awkward to look at his face, but if I look at my eye level, I keep seeing his firm bare chest.

I don’t know where to fix my gaze. Maybe I should just look at Henson.

“Don’t look at me, look straight ahead.”

Damn it.

“Spread your legs about this much, and slightly bend your knees.”

Henson corrected our postures from the side.

“What if I suddenly start coughing while exercising face-to-face like this? I can’t spit all over your face. I think we should end today’s exercise here!”

It was my last desperate attempt.

“We have the sedative from the doctor, so it should be fine. As for spit on the face, I’ve been hit with mud, blood, and all sorts of things in battle, so it’s nothing.”

I had no response to his calm, low-pitched rebuttal.

“Now, from this position, pull the band in time with the count. Duchess, you only need to do fifteen repetitions, while Your Grace will need to do thirty more with me after that.”

Henson demonstrated the posture.

It doesn’t look too difficult… The problem is this muscular man standing in front of me.

“Your Grace, please pull gently to match the Duchess’s strength. Alright, start! One! Two!”

As Henson started counting and I was floundering, Kyron began pulling the band accurately and quickly.

“Aaah!”

I almost fell forward, pulled by him. Good thing Kyron quickly caught me.

I adjusted my position and began pulling the resistance band, mimicking Kyron’s technique. As I attempted the exercise, I quickly realized it demanded far more arm strength than I had anticipated.

“Seven! Eight!”

Kyron executed the movements with ease as if he were manipulating a weightless object. In stark contrast, I found myself grappling with the band, my hands growing sweaty and slippery from the exertion.

“Ten! Eleven!”

I had reached my absolute limit. My arms felt as though they were on the verge of exploding, and I was fighting back tears.

Just as I was grimacing, silently pleading for the ordeal to end, my grip suddenly faltered. Despite my tight hold and forceful pulling, I found myself empty-handed in an instant.

For a split second, confusion clouded my mind.

Then, a sharp, resounding snap pierced the air.

The resistance band, now free from my grasp, had catapulted across the space. Its trajectory ended squarely on Kyron’s face.

I had only been striving to complete the exercise, but…

“Oh my goodness!”

Not only was Henson surprised, but the watching servants also rushed over in shock.

“Your Grace!”

“Are you alright, Your Grace?”

The resistance band, having escaped my grasp, had struck Kyron’s cheek with alarming force.

There was no room for denial, no matter how much I wished otherwise. The rapidly reddening mark on his left cheek stood as irrefutable evidence.

For a fleeting moment, I marveled at the realization that even this seemingly indestructible man had vulnerable flesh beneath his steely exterior. Then, a chilling thought hit me: if someone as robust as Kyron ended up like this, just how severe must the impact have been?

The gravity of my blunder dawned on me with a crushing weight. I clasped my hand over my mouth in horror, instinctively retreating with tentative steps.

“Ekette.”

My name came out of his mouth at last.

Is it because I’m startled that his voice seems harsher than usual? My heart was pounding so hard that I couldn’t even respond.

Kyron stared at me for a few seconds with razor-sharp eyes before opening his mouth.

“You really… have no arm strength at all.”

He gently rubbed his reddened left cheek. Then he let out a deep sigh.

“It’s worse than I expected.”

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t know this would happen…”

But his hardened face didn’t soften with just this meager apology.

“How can you be this weak?”

Looking at my arms, his expression darkened as if he was angry.

Is how weak my arm strength is important right now? What’s important is his reddened cheek.

“Are you okay? Does it hurt a lot?”

I approached him nervously.