Chapter 6: Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The butler left the room and closed the door. First of all, I felt relieved because the most urgent flames seemed to have been extinguished. The butler was someone who knew how Astell was treated in the Marquisate. And he was the only one who looked after Astell.

Therefore, Astell’s trust in Jace, the butler, was extraordinary, and the loyalty he showed to Astell was strong. That’s why he tolerated everything she had done until now and cleaned up the mess. Since he’s a talented person, I thought that Jace would take good care of Bleon.

‘By the way, what is Bleon doing?’

I’d been very busy since morning, so I didn’t have time to look for him.

“Madam, breakfast is ready.”

It happened to be meal time. He should be in the dining room.

“Okay.”

I left the room for breakfast. But Bleon was waiting for me at the door.

“Bleon? Oh no, Duke.”

I corrected his name on my lips in a moment.

“Let’s come down together. Wife.”

Bleon took my hand and led me.

“You can go ahead.”

Talking to him formally was not awkward as it was. Bleon didn’t say much because I had already told him I would do it in the future.

“I couldn’t even wash with you today and I was so far away from my wife, I was anxious…”

What kind of separation anxiety is this?

“In the future, it will become natural to do everything separately.”

“What?”

Suddenly, Bleon stopped walking and looked at me.

“…Did I really do something wrong?”

“No, that’s not it.”

I beckoned the employees around me to be dismissed. Then I carefully led Bleon to a corner and spoke in a low voice so that no one could hear me.

“Bleon. Our relationship so far has been a bit unusual.”

Not just a bit. It was incredibly unusual.

I paused again to approach him in a friendly way to convince him.

“Originally, most of the nobles served by their servants act accordingly like masters. But we didn’t, didn’t we?”

Still, Bleon nodded his head slightly as if he had any memories from when he was ten years old.

“From now on, I will do that. So I told the butler to hire more employees. Someone to attend for you will come in soon, so until then, please be patient if you feel uncomfortable.”

“…Why? I like how it is now.”

“That’s…”

He’s been terribly brainwashed. But for now, we can try to put him back to normal.

“Then let’s do this.”

To him who keeps saying that now is better, I suggested another way.

“First of all, let’s try to live in a different way than we do now. If you live like that for a year or so and you’re still not used to it, then we’ll do whatever Bleon wants. What do you think?”

I was convinced that, of course, a human would choose to live freely. When he has tasted freedom, he will never give up on it. And I thought a year would be enough to get him back on his feet, so I set the deadline for one year.

“All right… If my wife wants it… I will do that.”

“Of course, my husband is so good.”

I grabbed his hands and smiled broadly. After the conversation, we headed to the dining room. Originally, we had to sit face to face at a long table to eat, but he sat next to me because he was still anxious about being apart from me. Then he meticulously took care of what I ate. Instead of slicing the meat and breaking the bread myself, it was enough for me to just work hard with a spoon and fork.

“I will eat it myself. The Duke should eat too.”

“It’s what I do. If my wife enjoys it, I am full with just that.”

If I had heard this in other situations, I would have thought it was a sweet and romantic word, but somehow it was kind of like that between us.

“You don’t have to take care of me like this anymore. So you don’t have to do this.”

I said sternly.

“…I understand…”

Then Bleon answered in a small voice. I deliberately ignored him and continued eating. But Bleon hadn’t eaten since he heard me.

‘It really bothers me.’

“Then just for breakfast this morning. From now on, the Duke will sit across from me and eat. Okay?”

His gloomy face brightened at my words. Then he broke the bread again and even fed me some food directly.

“All right, Wife. Then, ahh.”

I opened my mouth, feeling embarrassed that I couldn’t stop him again. After eating, we went back to my bedroom. I had something to say.

“Bleon. From today onwards, I will take my hands off the work. From now on, you will be in charge of the Duchy by yourself. Don’t worry, the butler will take good care of you after reporting what you’ve been doing. Understand?”

“…But…”

“Bleon is, after all, the head of the Einer Duchy. You can do it.”

I grabbed his hands and encouraged him.

“If you have any troubles, you can ask me for help, but you still have to make all the decisions in the future. It is Bleon who has to lead this family.”

I felt Bleon staring at me piercingly.

I wondered if he was thinking something like, ‘Why did my wife change after being sick, why is she like this all of a sudden?’

“Madam. The doctor is here.”

Just then, a doctor I told the butler to call arrived.

“Let him in.”

The door opened and a man who appeared to be in his mid-forties entered with the butler. He bowed his head and greeted us.

“Greetings to the Duke and Duchess of Einer.”

“Come here and examine the Duke’s body.”

“Understood.”

While the doctor examined him, I stood by Bleon’s side and watched.

“Fortunately, there are no major problems. However, he has been under a lot of stress lately, so his energy has weakened a bit.”

“Stress?”

Is it because I wasn’t awake for a week?

“Yes. We will make medicine to manage the stress. And…”

Suddenly the doctor stopped and looked at me. Confused, I soon realized why he was doing this.

“Speak freely.”

“The Duke appears to be addicted to drugs.”

The doctor that Astell had so far didn’t seem to be a quack.

“Yes. That’s why I called you. He took the antidote, but I was hoping for a quicker recovery.”

“Oh…”

The doctor was silent as if he already knew what kind of drug it was.

“Well, Madam. One of my students is specializing in detoxification. Can I bring her in?”

“To detoxify?”

“Yes. She’s a very talented child, so you don’t have to worry.”

Of course, I’m not worried. Why did I even call this doctor to examine Bleon? In a way, it was to summon the female lead, Philia.

“Then bring her here tomorrow.”

“Understood.”

Those who were in the room left, and only the two of us were left.

“I am healthy. Wife…”

“I know that Bleon is healthy. Just look. You’re very strong.”

“Then why…”

“Because looking healthy on the outside doesn’t mean you’re healthy on the inside.”

I raised my hand and placed it in the middle of his chest.

“Bleon is very sick here. I’m sorry. It’s all because of me. So now I will take responsibility and take care of you. So, starting tomorrow, let’s continue to receive treatment from the doctor.”

The female lead, Philia, was one of the most talented doctors on the continent. Even if Bleon was so broken, she managed to heal him to the end and then save him. So I decided to get her help sooner this time.

‘If she watches over the treatment for a year or so and takes care of him, wouldn’t it be okay to let them meet sooner?’

Then, a year later, the two will fall in love, and I could quietly get a divorce and leave.

“Wi, wife…”

“Huh?”

Bleon had something to say, but hesitated, as if he couldn’t utter it easily.

“What is it?”

“Wife is more sick too… here…”

Bleon placed his hand slightly in the middle of my chest like what I had done.

“Oh…”

As expected, Bleon knew everything, saying that I was in a worse condition than he was. I needed to answer, but somehow the words didn’t come out so easily. I looked at him for a while, cleared my throat, and opened my mouth.

“Hmm. I’ll get treatment too. Let’s get it together. So, from now on, let’s not hurt anyone and let’s live like that.”

For a moment, the two of them remembered all the things they had been through so far, and they felt like they were about to burst into tears. So I turned around and went to the window.

“I will live happily ever after. Will Bleon do the same?”

I said looking out the window.

“Yes. I will live together with my wife for a long time.”

I didn’t see the expression on Bleon’s face as he said that, but since his voice was bright, I thought that maybe his expression was the same as mine.

“Hmm. Let’s live for a long time. Both of us.”

I didn’t want to spew out promises that I couldn’t keep, so I purposely omitted the word ‘together’ that Bleon said.