IWMHWD 78

Chapter 78: What Do You Think of Me?
Date: 2024.01.17

Perhaps because of being caught in the rain, he came down with a severe cold and was bedridden. Fortunately, maids lined up to take care of him, so Rozenbluh received devoted care.

“How is Lord Rozenbluh?”

“He’s burning with fever again today. The physician says it’s due to accumulated fatigue. What should we do?”

Emily looked as distressed as if her own father had collapsed—and she wasn’t the only one. Every maid in the Abrams estate was heartbroken as if their hearts had been stabbed when they heard Rozenbluh was ill.

They had assumed he would recover in a day or two, but even on the third day, his fever hadn’t broken.

In the meantime, the funeral had more or less concluded, and the flowers were beginning to wither and fall. People were already moving on from Craig, whispering amongst themselves about who would become the new head of the count’s family.

“When exactly are you planning to leave? The funeral’s already over.”

“I still have things to do. And how could I just leave when Lord Rozenbluh is like this?”

Cordelia made various excuses to Veluche’s persistent prodding. But the truth was, it wasn’t Rozenbluh’s condition that was keeping her.

Rather, it was because she hadn’t yet received a reply to the letter she sent to Atilay.

It might have seemed cowardly, but Cordelia didn’t feel she could return to Yebo Delim until she got that reply.

Avoiding Veluche, who had been urging her all morning to return to the capital, Cordelia headed to Rozenbluh’s room.

Even though it was midday, he was still lying in bed. Up close, he looked even worse than before.

“Ah… Lydia. Lydia…”

Poor man. Even in his dreams, he seemed to be wandering in search of his sister.

Cordelia dismissed the maids and wiped his body with a damp towel. Having nursed Craig, it was a task she could do with her eyes closed.

Though she was unconsciously tending to him, her mind was completely preoccupied with thoughts of Leonard.

‘Why hasn’t the letter arrived yet? Did it get lost somewhere? Should I send it again? But wouldn’t that seem too desperate? Maybe I should just leave without waiting?’

“Lydia.”

Suddenly, Rozenbluh grabbed her arm tightly. At some point, he’d woken and was looking at her feverishly.

“Why are you only coming now? Where have you been?”

“Lord Rozenbluh. It’s me—Cordelia.”

“I knew you’d come back. Are you safe? You’re not hurt, are you?”

It seemed he was hallucinating from the fever. Instead of breaking the illusion, Cordelia decided to go along with it.

“I’m sorry, Blay. I’m late, aren’t I? But I’m not hurt, I’m perfectly fine.”

“It’s okay. As long as you came back safely, it’s all okay. Father was very…”

The pained expression Rozenbluh had worn for days finally relaxed. Cordelia tried to pull her hand free, but his grip was surprisingly tight, and she couldn’t leave.

So, what had started as an excuse to avoid Veluche ended up becoming an unintended act of caretaking that lasted until sunset.

Seeing the dusk settle outside, Cordelia decided to wake Rozenbluh. She couldn’t spend the night here, and her wrist was going numb.

“Lord Rozenbluh. Please wake up.”

“……”

“Lord Rozenbluh. Lord Rozenbluh… Blay.”

No matter how much she shook him, he didn’t stir—until she used the name “Blay.” At that, his eyes flew open.

“Lydia?”

“Sorry, it’s me. Cordelia.”

“Cordelia? Why are you here…?”

“Why do you think? This is Abrams Estate. Don’t you remember?”

“Abrams? Where is that… ah. Cordelia.”

His dazed mind seemed to be clearing. His once-unfocused eyes began to regain life.

“You’ve been running a high fever for three days. The physician said it was a nasty cold. How do you feel?”

“It feels like my head’s going to split. My stomach’s queasy, too.”

He finally seemed to realize how bad his condition was. Rozenbluh let out a hot sigh. Cordelia replied plainly.

“That’s good.”

“Good?”

“You’re at least conscious enough to recognize your condition. You weren’t even capable of that for the past three days.”

“Have you been taking care of me all this time?”

“No.”

She shook her head firmly.

“The maids at Abrams Estate have been taking turns nursing you—so much so that they even set up night watches. I can’t take credit for that. I only stayed by your side briefly.”

“……Thank you. I’m just a guest here.”

“Taking care of you while you were ill was likely their great joy. Don’t think too much of it.”

Cordelia was half-certain that the maids would’ve paid to be allowed to nurse him.

“Now that you’re awake, there’s something you need to do.”

“Eat and regain strength?”

“No. Can you let go of my hand now? I’m starting to lose feeling.”

“My hand? Ah—oh no.”

He must not have realized. Rozenbluh quickly let go of her wrist, horrified. As sensation returned, a tingling shot through her hand. Sure enough, red marks and bruises had formed.

“I’m really sorry, Cordelia. Why didn’t you wake me?”

“I did. Dozens of times.”

“…S-sorry.”

He stammered in an uncharacteristically awkward way. Cordelia brushed it off.

“It’s fine. I’ll have the maid bring some soup. You must be hungry.”

“What about you, Cordelia?”

“Hmm?”

“Did you eat? I was worried you skipped your meal because of me.”

“Oh, I wasn’t really hungry…”

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Even though it was only a knock, there was a sense of urgency behind it.

“Come in.”

“My lady! My lady!”

As expected, the attendant burst in, panting, and rushed over to Cordelia.

“What’s going on?”

“A carriage has arrived, and a guest—um, outside right now…”

“Calm down and speak clearly. A guest? Who?”

“A-a marquis! Someone bearing the seal of Atilay has arrived.”

The servant finally caught his breath and shared what he saw, looking as though he still couldn’t believe it himself.

“What? My teacher—no, the Marquis of Atilay is here?”

Cordelia’s face lit up brilliantly. She jumped to her feet.

“Where is he? Has he passed the gates? Reception room? No—should I bring him to the office?”

Just this morning, she had been gloomily waiting for a reply that never came. But hearing that Leonard had come in person made her feel like she could fly.

Just as she was about to run out, Rozenbluh stopped her.

“Leo’s here?”

“Looks like it. Geez, he could’ve at least sent a message first. Showing up unannounced like this…”

Though her tone was annoyed, her lips were twitching with joy. Seeing her face, Rozenbluh felt an odd emptiness inside.

“Cordelia… Never mind. You should go. Leo’s probably waiting.”

“Take care and eat something, okay? You’ll need your strength to leave later.”

“Thanks.”

Before Rozenbluh could fully express his gratitude, Cordelia had already rushed out the door. Compared to his pounding head and queasy stomach, it was the hollow spot in his heart that ached most.

He had to be crazy.

Ever since the night Leonard decided to go to Abrams, he hadn’t been able to understand himself.

He had thrown aside mountains of work and rushed to Abrams, which was neither a rational nor reasonable choice.

[Kept postponing his return using work as an excuse.]

[Shows no sign of leaving even after the funeral.]

Reports like that kept coming from Veluche, and Leonard could no longer sit still.

Adding to that, Baron kept saying things like, “If I were her, I’d have run away too,” which only made Leonard more anxious.

‘Wouldn’t it be better if I weren’t your disciple, Master?’

Why he had run all the way here for a disciple who said something like that, he didn’t know.

There were countless people lining up to become his disciple at the Tower right now, so why was he so obsessed with Cordelia?

Obsession. That was the only word to describe his actions.

Leonard was overwhelmed by a wave of unfamiliar emotions. Feelings he couldn’t name or understand kept crashing into him.

He tried to explain to himself that he had rushed to Abrams after four sleepless days just to scold his insolent disciple.

“Welcome, welcome! Welcome to Abrams. Unfortunately, the Count is currently—”

“I know. Craig Abrams passed away recently and had a funeral. I came to see Cordelia Vasquez.”

Before he could even pass the gates of Abrams, the pale butler ran out, bowing. The man seemed so scared of the sudden arrival of Marquis Atilay that he couldn’t even meet his eyes.

“I’ve already notified the lady. She’ll be here shortly. Please, allow me to escort you inside.”

Leonard dismounted and handed the reins to a servant. Then he strode past the butler and into the estate.

He never expected to return to this place.

As he passed through the corridor into the inner estate, the modest garden—more like a vegetable patch—and the gloomy gray castle walls were just as he remembered.

“Sh-should I escort you to the drawing room? Or—”

“That’s fine.”

He waved the flustered butler off with a dismissive hand. The butler fidgeted, not knowing what to do, just praying the maid fetching Cordelia would return soon.

Leonard crossed his arms and scanned the interior of the estate. At that moment, light footsteps clicked from the staircase. He pretended not to notice, but all his senses focused in that direction.

What should I say when we meet?

First, I should scold her for being so lazy that she made her teacher come all this way. Then I must ask why she never even wrote me a letter. No matter how busy she was, she should’ve at least checked on her teacher’s wellbeing. It’s simply unacceptable.