CH 29

“I didn’t know this would happen.”

It just happened all at once. Besides, who would have guessed someone planned to throw a stone? When I tried to wipe the bleeding wound, Lukas took the handkerchief from my hand and carefully pressed it against my forehead. He cleaned off the blood before tossing the handkerchief onto the table.

“Mr. Alan, get Mr. Avery.”

“Do you want him to come here?”

“Yes, to the office.”

“I don’t mind going to the infirmary or my room,” I said.

“Well, I do mind.” His answer was sharp like a knife.

I wasn’t sure why we were in the office in the first place. Literally, this was the place where he worked. When I told him this, he shook his head as if going anywhere but the office was impossible.

I couldn’t believe this.

No, what the hell?

“It’s to keep an eye on you.”

“…”

“I can’t help it because I’m worried about my wife who doesn’t know where to go. I should just keep you company while I work.”

He made me lean back against the sofa. Then he grabbed a pillow and put it into my arms. Lukas even made me hug it. For some reason, I thought he would tell me to lie down, so I quickly shot a look at the butler. I needed him to help me.

However.

“Why did you do that?”

I was met with some resentment.

It was over. It meant that even the butler, who wasn’t someone else and usually neutral, was no longer a possibility.

Again, I couldn’t help it.

In the end, I gave up.

“Now that I think about it, the squires said something earlier,” said my husband, who sat at his desk and stared at the piles and piles of documents.

With a very serious face too.

“I heard you beat up Evan. Is that honestly what happened?”

“Oh.”

What was I supposed to say?

“What happened? Tell me everything.”

I smiled and clenched my fist.

“Did you two actually have an arm-wrestling match?”

“Yes, and I won. The end.”

“…”

He nodded like he was proud of me, but the response showed he was skeptical

“The world’s Sir Cross surrendered without even making a squeak.”

That last bit was a bit exaggerated, but it wasn’t wrong. Anyway, it was true that I won.

“So don’t ignore me from now on.”

See, this is the true power of a witch. Since I beat the Pumpkin Knight, who was said to be the second-strongest in Havel, my status got promoted. Yes, that was what I thought.

“Do you think I’m gullible?”

Yet for some reason, my husband didn’t believe me.

“Let me guess. You cooked something and gave it to Evan.”

“Does he look like the kind of human that eats anything given to him?”

“…Not exactly.”

It seemed the problem wouldn’t be solved with words alone.

“If you don’t believe me, do you want to have a fight soon?”

I secretly challenged him. The pleasure of winning against Evan was beyond words, and sure, I’d feel the same way if I won against my husband, but I would’ve preferred to break his nose. I was imagining such a wonderful scene when I heard a knock.

“Did you call for me? My lord, you must be sick. Or did you get hurt somewhere…” Avery, who rushed in like the wind, trailed off while catching his breath.

He saw me on the sofa and nodded to himself.

“I think my patient is over there.”

“Yes.”

That was easy.

“Did you know your wife is a regular visitor of mine? I think we see each other once a week.”

“It happened without my consent.”

“So, where did you get hurt this time to get my lord so angry?”

I smiled awkwardly and pointed to the wound on my forehead. For a moment, Avery’s eyes flashed, and then he began to tear up.

“Haha… Did you two get into a fight and then had an accident?”

“That’s not what happened.”

“Then how did you end up like this?”

“I went into town for some business, but I was caught…”

“Ah, I see.” Avery understood even without me saying anything more. “Regardless, people are so mean.” Avery, who clicked his tongue, quickly disinfected the wound.

When asked about what hit me, I whispered to him that it was a stone. He was surprised. Avery nodded when I asked to keep it a secret from my husband. I didn’t know what would happen if he found out.

“I would give you an ointment, but I suppose your natural recovery speed is faster.”

“That’s correct.”

“Then I’ll put this back.” Avery placed the ointment back into his bag because he knew I didn’t like it.

Of course, my husband seemed to be very unhappy the physician didn’t do his job, but I didn’t care. What mattered was that the patient was satisfied.

Avery, who finished his treatment in an instant, stood up from his seat and excused himself.

“Oh, by the way, the thing I asked you to do the other day. Please give me an answer as soon as possible.”

“All right.”

My husband, who was sitting to the side and watching the treatment process, asked, “Wait. What are you talking about?”

He sounded offended that Avery and I knew something he didn’t.

“Ah, what did you say to me the other day? If I wanted to retire, find a replacement.”

“I remember.” My husband nodded.

Avery rummaged through his bag again, saying he had good news, and took out a piece of paper. The word “recommendation” were written at the top.

“I’d like to recommend her as my successor. What do you think?”

“Excuse me?” My husband sounded genuinely surprised.

I wasn’t, on the other hand. Of course, it was a ridiculous notion to have a witch replace a physician.

“I think it’s a good idea.”

“Really? I’m glad.” Avery, excited by my husband’s words, continued, “Everyone knows a witch’s medical expertise is far superior to a human’s. She made the medicine that’s already very popular with the people at the castle. Of course, it would be hard to convince the nobles and others who live outside…” Avery touched his beard. “To be honest, I think it’s only a matter of time.”

That was the important part of the conversation. Well, with the argument made, it was time to see what the final decision was. I expected him to say no, saying it was utter nonsense.

“Go ahead. Don’t worry about it.”

Huh?

“I knew you’d agree.”

Oh, oh my.

Unlike me who was surprised, Avery nodded nonchalantly like he expected this to happen.

“A-Are you actually fine with this? Really?”

“Yes.”

When I asked again, wondering if I had misheard something, my husband wrote his signature at the bottom of the document in question. Avery glanced in my direction.

Then, he winked at me.

***

“I have good news and bad news. What would you like to hear first?”

“…”

My husband, who suddenly showed up while I was studying, asked me a question.

“Are you going to tell me anything else?”

“Just pick one.”

“…”

It was obvious. He was going to mess with me again. Staring at him, I quickly turned the page of the book I was reading.

“I know you’re bored, but I’m busy right now. I’ll play with you later.”

“I didn’t come empty-handed.”

Oh?

Before I could say a witty remark, he quickly held out something like he was dying to give it to me. I saw the pink box in his hand.

That lovely packaged box, it had to be…!

“In the end, you didn’t get what you wanted yesterday, correct?” he said in a honeyed voice.

He smirked, knowing he had my attention. Indeed, it was the snacks in question I went out to buy by taking advantage of his absence from the castle.

“…Let’s have tea together.”

“What an honor.” My husband, who sat across from me, gestured to the maid who approached us.

He still was the person who hated tea.

I thought I’d tell him to leave quickly if he wasn’t going to drink it, but seeing the box of snacks, I decided to let it slide. Just this once.

“How’s your wound? Are you feeling all right?”

“It’s fine. I’m all better now.”

“Show me.”

After thinking about it, I moved my bangs to the side.

“It truly disappeared without a trace.”

“I was right, wasn’t I?”

“I thought you were lying at first.”

If I didn’t get better this time, my husband would probably have sent a formal letter to Kartelle asking if I was actually a witch. Fortunately, the wound on my forehead healed completely. There wasn’t even a scar left.

His expression softened after I fixed my hair. It was annoying, having to treat my bangs like pulling open some curtains so he could do a proper inspection.

“Try not to get hurt anymore.” I couldn’t believe he’d leave it like that, but his voice was very soft.

Again, I felt something in my heart. It wasn’t so much as a lingering feeling, but…

“Oh, come to think of it, Lady Duncan is very upset you asked to lessen the amount of time spent on lessons.”

“Because of someone in the castle, I’m in charge of the infirmary.”

When I complained that I had a lot of work to do, Lukas took away the cookie in my hand.

What the…

“You have to be more specific. Who is it that you speak of?” A mischievous smile was on his face. I glared as hard as I could at my husband.

I’m just going to pretend I didn’t see it. But it was tempting when Avery first made the offer. However, the problem is that after the incident yesterday, my excitement and expectations were at rock bottom. I didn’t expect people to hate witches that much.

I only helped a child stand up, but the people thought I cast a curse on him. I wondered if they would even try to get treatment from me, who was a witch. I wasn’t confident in the slightest and was going to give up because of that.

“It’s fine. It’ll be good for you.”

He patted me on the back as if to assure me it was all right to give it a try.

With the duke’s permission, Avery was able to leave. He was so excited to retire. He said he would start the transition process right away, and when I saw I had a lot of books waiting for me in the morning, I realized something was wrong.

But he was too far away to reconsider his offer. Thanks to him, I’ve been studying all day, reading notes, and writing down prescriptions. Since I inevitably had to lock myself in one place, everyone was fine with it.

Especially my husband.

“So, the good news and bad news. What do you mean by that?” I asked before taking a big cookie and biting into it.