Chapter 37
Five years ago, the relationship between us, which had been nothing more than simple childhood friends, changed in an instant after marriage.
Though we had once been friends, our positions became drastically different, and rather than growing attached to my husband, Frezen Decart, I found him increasingly difficult.
“Take care of that yourself, my lady. That much should be doable, shouldn’t it?”
“The elders must have had their reasons for scolding you. There’s meaning behind it, so don’t jump to conclusions.”
Having only recently ascended to the position of Duke, Frezen was more fragile than ever, and so he was often swept around by the pressure of the elders.
And from some point on, he began turning his back on me every single day.
Even when I gathered my courage to speak to him, he would end up not showing his face, saying he was busy.
Perhaps because of that, the back I had looked up to as a child—wide like the sun—now felt like a wall to me.
A wall so solid that I could not even dare to break through it.
“Therefore, anyone who lays a hand on my daughter and my wife will not be forgiven, even if that person is you, Aunt Artemene.”
That was the back he had shown me.
Cold and unyielding.
Yet from the man I had assumed would side with his own blood once again, unexpected words flowed out.
He even acted decisively, telling her not to touch his daughter and his wife.
The back I looked at again, unable to believe my ears, seemed to carry a strangely warm atmosphere unlike before.
“……Frezen.”
I blinked blankly, unable to say anything in my confusion.
Had Frezen ever stepped forward this directly before?
It wasn’t entirely unprecedented, but it was so rare that I had no idea how to react.
I should have stopped things before the atmosphere turned hostile, yet strangely, my legs would not move.
Once a family conflict begins, it is difficult to stop, after all.
Especially so within the Decart family.
“……Duke, whose side are you taking in front of me right now?”
“As you can see, Aunt Artemene, I am siding with my wife and my daughter.”
“So please, offer an apology.”
Just as I had expected, the atmosphere hardened sharply.
If today’s incident reached the ears of the council of elders, Frezen would be further marked, and his position could become unstable.
Moreover, Aunt Artemene, true to the Decart bloodline, was an exceptional swordswoman.
Though she could not become a knight like her brothers due to being a woman, she possessed innate talent comparable to theirs.
If the situation worsened and blades were drawn, I might one day disappear quietly without anyone noticing.
“When Reia disappeared, Count Russ Leella coincidentally appeared at my estate.”
“And Reia was with that child.”
“Do you really think this is a coincidence, Duke?”
“Must I express gratitude simply because she was rescued, when I don’t even know the exact circumstances?”
“You seem to know very well that Mela saved Reia.”
“……What did you say?”
The tension between the two was so fierce and suffocating that there was no room for me to intervene.
Fire had met fire.
As I frantically tried to figure out what to do, my eyes landed on Reia, who looked utterly terrified and anxious.
Cold sweat beaded on her small forehead, as if she had a fever.
Mela’s condition didn’t look very good either.
Even if they weren’t injured, the children must have been badly frightened.
I couldn’t let things stay like this.
“I never imagined the Duke to be such a family-oriented man!”
“I’ll look at you differently now.”
“But I won’t let this end here.”
“I must know why that child was with our granddaughter…….”
In the end, unable to bear it any longer, I stepped between them to mediate.
“Please, stop it!”
At my sudden shout, both of them turned startled gazes toward me.
Their stares were so hot they felt almost painful, as if they might bore into the back of my head.
“How dare a Countess of Leella interfere—!”
That was the moment Aunt Artemene, burning with anger, was about to point at me.
“Reia, you…….”
Reia grabbed Artemene’s sleeve with all her strength and shook her head.
It was as though she was angrily telling her not to.
The sight of her gentle face twisted into a frown felt unfamiliar.
More than anything, Reia’s skin had grown even paler than before.
If she stays outside any longer, Reia’s condition might worsen.
If Reia was suffering from the same epidemic illness as Mela, then the current situation was extremely dangerous.
Seeing this moment of mediation brought on by Reia, I hurriedly parted my lips.
“Arguing about right and wrong is fine, but please look at the children!”
“Mela and Reia are clearly not well!”
“What? Reia is…….”
At that, Frezen and Artemene each checked on the children.
And at that very moment, Reia began to gasp heavily, looking as though she was about to go into a seizure.
If I wasn’t mistaken, it was one of the symptoms of the epidemic.
“Reia, what’s wrong?”
“Are you sick again, like last time?”
“Nanny!”
“Take this child inside at once, hurry!”
“Lady Reia!”
At the same time, Artemene’s face turned deathly pale.
Nanny Quina, along with all the maids, was summoned, and the situation descended into chaos in an instant.
Amid the flurry of movement, my gaze fixed on Reia.
More precisely, on the nape of her neck.
When I clearly saw scar-like blotches there, a question suddenly surfaced.
Did Reia contract the epidemic in the original story as well?
I didn’t recall any mention of it.
Only that the Decart family and the Lopenter Marquis formed a connection through the cure.
Just how did the Lopenter Marquis persuade the Decart family…….
As that thought reached its conclusion, an unfamiliar sense of discomfort washed over my entire body.
Yes.
There was a missing causal link between the Lopenter Marquis and the Decart family.
Why would the conservative, bloodline-obsessed, and wary Decart family so readily accept negotiations with the Lopenter Marquis?
Was it simply because the Marquis was eloquent?
No.
There had to be another reason.
A circumstance the Decart family had no choice but to accept.
“Take her to the bedroom at once, hurry!”
“Reia, no, don’t……!”
For example, if someone within the Decart family had been afflicted with that disease.
Only then did all the doubts finally fall into place.
Reia’s entire body burned like fire, perhaps from shivering for so long in the cold air, and she eventually lost consciousness.
Because of that, Artemene hurriedly took Reia to the bedroom.
“I’m sorry, my lady.”
“Lady Artemene ordered that no outsiders be allowed in.”
“I just need a moment to check Reia’s condition.”
“At least let me speak to Aunt Artemene……!”
However, Artemene had firmly locked Reia’s door and forbade all entry.
Well, who would allow in someone they disliked?
The fact that I was even inside the estate was already a major concession.
“You may not enter.”
Before Reia could suffer another seizure, she needed an extra dose of stabilizer.
Yet Artemene’s guards stood firmly in my way.
I couldn’t keep persuading them endlessly, and it was unbearably frustrating.
Still, at least it was fortunate that Mela had been sent back.
Had she been with me, she might have suffered the same humiliation.
“Just five minutes.”
“Can’t you speak to Lady Artemene for me?”
“Please, I’m begging you.”
“It’s useless, my lady.”
“Outsiders are strictly forbidden—”
The guard suddenly cut himself off, his gaze shifting behind me.
Then he began to tremble.
“Y-You have arrived…….”
“D-Duke!”
I wondered why the guards were so shocked.
The one standing behind me was none other than Frezen.
“Do you know who it is that you are blocking right now?”
“Pardon?”
“O-Of course we do.”
“Don’t answer with another question.”
“I asked whether you know.”
“S-She is the lady of the Decart Ducal House!”
Only then did the guards seem to grasp the meaning of his words.
They answered in terror, and even I felt intimidated by the oppressive aura.
“Is that so?”
“Then step aside at once.”
“B-But……!”
When the guard hesitated, Frezen’s eyebrow tilted sharply upward once more.
Though no sword was drawn, the atmosphere was deadly enough that anything could happen.
“W-We have committed a grave offense.”
“We will open it immediately.”
“Our apologies!”
Fortunately, the quick-witted guard bowed ninety degrees and immediately changed his attitude.
The door opened, and only then did I release a breath of relief.
“Thank you, Duke.”
I offered him a brief word of thanks and hurried forward.
“Evlyen.”
Frezen called my name.
I paused and looked up at him.
His eyes were warm, just like when he had shown me his back earlier.
And at his next words, my heart tickled strangely.
“I’ll be by your side.”
“So don’t lose.”
“……Countess Leella.”
“Just how many times do you intend to be disrespectful?”
When the door opened, Artemene and the nanny, who had been talking, turned toward me and stiffened.
“Aunt Artemene, I’m truly sorry.”
“I’ll accept any punishment for entering without permission.”
“But I was so worried about Reia……!”
I pushed past Artemene, who tried to block me, and hurriedly checked Reia’s condition.
She had her eyes gently closed, as if she had just fallen asleep.
Something’s wrong.
Her breathing…….
It was unstable, hardly what one would call calm.
Her fingernails and lips carried a strange bluish tint.
“Aunt Artemene, when was the last time Reia took the cure?”
“The cure?”
As Artemene frowned and reluctantly tried to answer, Grimora stepped forward.
“Lady Reia does not take the cure.”
“When she is with me, she remains stable.”
“That aside, you are truly acting willfully, Lady Evlyen.”
“To commit such rudeness toward Lady Artemene…….”
She hadn’t taken the cure?
No.
That couldn’t be.
There were clear signs that her breathing had been forcibly suppressed.
She must be hiding the medicine somewhere.
With that thought, I hurriedly scanned the surroundings, inhaling carefully.
It didn’t take long.
I found it.
I found where Grimora had hidden the medicine.
“……Found it.”
