Chapter 36: Nursing
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 36: Nursing
“Your name is Morina? Try drawing something here.”
Morina seemed momentarily flustered, but as soon as Whitley brought paper and a pen, she began sketching the tea set sitting on the table.
It was clear at a glance that her claim wasn't a lie.
In that brief moment, I watched her small hands render the teacup, her entire being instantly submerged in a world of her own making. A firm, artistic stubbornness quickly settled onto her youthful face. Her eyes held the kind of obsessive passion that would drive someone to steal paper just to draw.
I had made Morina draw primarily to leave behind at least a shred of evidence that I had attempted to verify the truth. "Evidence" might be too grand a word for it, but at the very least, I’d confirmed she could actually draw.
Regardless, I sent Morina back without any particular punishment.
Norton’s mouth twitched several times as if he wanted to protest, though.
Instead, I held Reta responsible for Morina’s actions as well. I gave her a stern warning to wait for future punishment, as I didn't know what penalty the Grand Duke might impose, but Reta simply repeated her thanks, overwhelmed by the fact that her sister had returned home safely.
By the time everything was settled, mealtime had long since passed.
Having lost my appetite, I lay down in bed early and spent a long time staring at Morina’s drawing.
In the world before I possessed this body, I rarely felt happy. A life where nothing was ever enough always made a person feel wretched and pathetic.
But to think someone had to steal someone else’s stationery because they had no paper to draw on...
Compared to that, was it just a spoiled complaint to think my life had been miserable simply because every choice had to be based on money?
Of course, the people of this world have their own lives, and it’s ridiculous for me to judge them so carelessly, but…
She could actually be a decent illustrator.
Part of me wanted to send Morina off with enough money to buy paper, but no matter how I thought about it, that was going too far. If I showed clumsy kindness, I might be branded as a "pushover Grand Duchess" who was weak to a sob story.
I don’t know. No more meddling.
I squeezed my eyes shut and forced all thoughts from my mind. Perhaps because of the tension, my entire body felt lethargic.
Should I lie down for just a bit until the Grand Duke arrives?
I tossed and turned, feeling a slight fever, before finally falling asleep.
*
Why am I here?
I was kneeling atop a guillotine.
My neck was pressed down and my arms were bound. When I managed to lift my head, a square packed with countless people came into view. Their eyes sparkled with anticipation for the event about to unfold.
I tried to speak, but only a stinging pain scraped my throat; no voice came out.
I’m scared! Please, help me!
I was struggling to escape, not even knowing why this was happening.
That was when I locked eyes with a man in the crowd looking my way. I thought he was far away, but the moment he looked directly at me, the distance between us vanished instantly.
Bright yellow eyes glared at me as if to swallow me whole. My entire body froze as if turned to stone.
I let out a silent scream.
The pupils of those massive golden eyes split into thin vertical slits, consuming my vision. An indescribable agony, like my eyes were being set on fire, surged through me. No matter how much I thrashed, I couldn't break free from that locked gaze.
“How foolish.”
As tears of blood streamed down my face, a slow, low voice filled with rage echoed in my ears.
“Who is there to blame? This shall be your last chance.”
My vision blurred, and darkness soon took hold.
*
“…Not yet?”
“…I will try.”
Click. The sound of a door closing brought me back to consciousness.
Looking to the side, I saw the Grand Duke sitting a short distance from the bedside.
“…Grand Duke?”
“Are you awake?”
I tried to push myself up, but my body felt limp, as if I’d been submerged in water.
“Do not get up.”
It was already the middle of the night outside. When the Grand Duke turned on the small lamp by the bed, his sharp features were revealed.
Why is the Grand Duke in my room?
Ah, only then did I remember the promise I’d made to him this morning.
“I’m sorry.”
A grating, metallic rasp came out of my mouth, so I cleared my throat a few times.
“We were supposed to have dinner together, right? I must have slept too long.”
The Grand Duke looked at me with worried eyes.
“You have slept for an entire day. Are you alright?”
He looked as if he were about to place the back of his hand against my forehead, but he quickly withdrew it. He was holding a small towel.
“Fortunately, your fever seems to have broken.”
“I slept for a whole day? You mean, yesterday was when we were supposed to have dinner?”
“I thought you had simply fallen asleep from exhaustion, but when you didn't wake by morning, I called the physician.”
The Grand Duke let out a faint sigh of relief.
“He said it is physical exhaustion, so do not overexert yourself for the time being.”
It felt somewhat absurd.
I was just a little tired. Was my health really that bad?
The Grand Duke, who was wearing only a shirt with the sleeves rolled up, set the towel down next to the basin on the bedside table.
Did he nurse me?
This was the first time someone had stayed by my bedside like this when I woke up.
Feeling a bit ticklish inside, I gazed blankly at him. As he swept back his falling bangs, the veins on his forearms stood out. The shadows on his collarbone, revealed by his partially unbuttoned shirt, were quite captivating.
Wow, I’m cured.
I was about to make a joke about how just looking at him made me feel recovered, but the Grand Duke’s expression was strangely solemn. After I called him a few times, he finally met my eyes.
Deep shadows were cast across his face by the orange light of the lamp.
“Grand Duke, are you okay?”
Biting his lip, he spoke slowly.
“It might be because of me.”
“What? What is?”
“The fact that the Grand Duchess is ill.”
Ah, I wondered what he was on about, but it was just the sound of the Grand Duke wallowing in gloom again.
“It is likely because you were near me…”
I cut off his suppressed, choked voice with a sharp rebuttal.
“I’m not sick because of you.”
“Grand Duchess…”
I pushed aside his attempt to stop me and sat up in bed.
“It’s because I played too hard.”
“I was so excited that I went running around everywhere, and that’s why I’m exhausted.”
It wasn't entirely a lie. In truth, fatigue had been building up while I prepared the gifts for the knights, and a lot had happened. I’d been frequenting the shopping district lately, and I’d even gone outside the castle today.
“What is there to be excited about here?”
The Grand Duke looked at me as if I were telling a pointless lie.
“I know better than anyone that the North is a boring place. Did you not say yourself that you were bored?”
“I did not! Do you know how many fun things there are in the North?”
My voice rose without me realizing it.
“When I was at the Marquis’s estate, I couldn't even go out as I pleased. Here, I can see the village to my heart’s content, shop at the district, eat tomato stew—it’s so much fun!”
“…The stew?”
“And you’re here too, Grand Duke.”
At those words, the Grand Duke stared at me, looking like he’d lost his speech.
I meant it.
Lately, playing silly pranks on him morning and night, or exchanging a few trivial words while tying his cravat, had become quite pleasant.
“I talk with you, go on walks with you… I’m having so much fun every single day.”
Well, the fact that his face is fun to look at plays a big part in that.
“Grand Duke, I like it here.”
I spoke firmly, signaling him not to say anything unnecessary.
“I’m all better now, so you don't need to worry. Actually, being sick is kind of nice.”
“My husband even nursed me like this.”
“I guess this is why people get married.”
The Grand Duke’s face, already looking flushed from the lamplight, turned even redder.
“How can you joke at a time like this?”
After standing there like a mute who’d eaten honey for a long time, the Grand Duke finally spoke in a slightly strained voice.
“And in the future, do not do things like this.”
“Things like what?”
“The gifts for the knights. Your hands…”
The Grand Duke bit his lip hard.
Only then did I lift my hands to see several small bandages wrapped around them.
“Your hands were covered in blisters. Did you just leave them like that without treatment?”
A few days ago, while preparing the gifts, I’d stayed up all night writing and tying ribbons, which had caused some blisters. It was because Annette’s hands were so soft, having never done a day’s work in her life.
But there shouldn't even be a trace of them left by now.
Covered in blisters? Please.
I’d noticed it when I first hurt my palm, but he really does exaggerate.
However, seeing the Grand Duke’s eyebrows arch as if he were about to lecture me further, I beat him to the punch.
“I just wanted to make a good impression.”
“On whom, exactly?”
“Who else? Your knights, of course.”
“Even if I’m only staying for a year, I don't want to spend that time being hated.”
The Grand Duke furrowed his brow.
“Who would ever hate you?”
His expression was so genuinely innocent that I let out a snort.
“You yourself rejected me several times, saying you didn't want to marry me.”
I have to get close to the people here within a year somehow. Does the Grand Duke even understand how I felt, tying ribbons until my hands blistered just to look a little better in the eyes of the knights?
The Grand Duke flinched and spoke in a small, receding voice.
“I… I made a mistake then.”
“I only meant that you are so…”
He cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Anyway, I meant that there is no way anyone could dislike you. The knights liked the gifts very much, so do not worry about such things. Furthermore…”
Clenching his fist slightly, the Grand Duke hesitated before adding, “Regardless of the duration, our marriage is real, and you are the Grand Duchess of Blenheim. You do not need to walk on eggshells around others.”
The Grand Duke’s firm voice settled the slight unease in my heart.
“So, if there is anyone who upsets the Grand Duchess, tell me.”
“And if I do? Will you scold them for me?”
At my childish question, asked with sparkling eyes, the corners of the Grand Duke’s mouth twitched up and down.
“…I will scold them for you.”
“You can’t forget that promise.”
It was an answer I liked very much. Seeing me nod as if to commit it to memory, the Grand Duke bit his lip as if suppressing a laugh before gently advising me.
“The physician will be here soon. Lie down a little longer.”
Perhaps because I hadn't eaten, I did feel a bit weak, so I obediently lay back down.
I was certain I’d had some kind of dream before waking up, but the details no longer mattered. Feeling the Grand Duke’s hand tucking the blanket around me, I closed my eyes again.