Translator and Editor: Skye and Nabi

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Chapter 31

After I came back into the room, I was lost in thought about the situation with Serena in front of me.

I didn’t expect Evan to know about my illness so suddenly…

Soon after, the servant who called Lisa came and requested me to the Duke’s office.

“Anyway, since I’m being called, I have to hurry and go now…”

“All right, Prince Evan found out about your illness, so let’s take the precautions accordingly.”

When I threw up blood, Evan’s expression almost seemed as though the world was collapsing. Well, it was understandable because he had lost his mother as soon as he was born, so it would be shocking if the person he considered as her substitute was also ill.

And, right now, Duke Icard and Evan didn’t have the best of relationships.

Because of that, I was afraid that the little Duke would be running wild after learning that his father put a time-limited wife next to him. Well, if looking at it long-term, it didn’t matter to me anyway. Nevertheless, I was still worried if the atmosphere between them worsened.

No… He said he would follow his father’s will, so why would he care?

“Maybe, we can turn this into an opportunity.”

Serena spoke thoughtfully.

“Didn’t he buy Ganache, and wanted to have tea time with you? It’s a little suspicious.”

“What do you mean?”

“What if the Young Master fell in love with you?”

I tilted my head with my arms crossed at her words.

“He’s only thirteen years old… and, I don’t think he’s the type to start liking someone so easily. Nothing special has happened between us before.”

“Oh…? Thirteen is old enough to love, you know.”

“Evan might be younger in appearance because of the environment around him. It’s not like I’m his first love…”

Of course, it felt like he was looking for a trace of his mother because of Ludva’s incident, but children didn’t look for their mother forever, so Evan should get better when he gets older.

“To be more accurate, I am close to Evan. Maybe he just wants to get along with me…”

“Still, it would be better to cut the sprouts as soon as possible.”

Serena said firmly while staring at me.

“If you’re together too much, you’ll get attached, Laria.”

“Is that so?”

That was true. There was a saying that affection is the scariest thing in the world. Evan might be adorable, although I didn’t want the situation to get complicated.

“Then, how about doing this?”

Upon hearing Serena’s suggestion, I was lost in thought for a moment and replied.

“Okay, but for a fool-proof escape, we’d better not raise any suspicion right now.”

* * *

When I entered the office with Serena, a cold atmosphere surrounded Duke Icard and Evan.

“He almost ogled with his eyes and ran to me.”

Duke Icard spoke coldly.

“It’s not a deadly disease, so you don’t have to worry.”

It was a white lie to cover me and Serena. It was because if I had said it was a deadly disease he wouldn’t be able to handle it, since Evan’s mental state now…

At that, I nodded next to Serena to emphasize her words.

“But, why did you bring your doctor?”

When Duke Icard asked while frowning, Serena smiled and spoke brightly.

“I need to tell you something!”

I sat next to Serena with the most pitiful expression I could muster.

“Well, thanks to me, she got a lot better in the last few days…”

“Is it true?”

Duke Icard asked, cutting off Serena’s words, and Lisa, who was standing at the door in a restless state, nodded hurriedly.

“Yes. The number of blood clots has definitely decreased.”

Well… I’ve been taking care of Evan these days, so I’ve had to reduce the number of coughs so he wouldn’t see it.

“Why didn’t you tell me before? I can’t believe you’re just telling me this now.”

With those words from Evan, Duke Icard raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth.

“I have selected her myself. She graduated from Medical Academy with excellent grades, and I admire her recommendations and achievements.”

Serena was from a Guild that was able to deceive the ultimate villain… He should reflect on his role as an evil mastermind…

“And, I’ve been talking to you all this time, however…”

‘Uh? You’ve been talking to him all this time?’

After the Ludva incident, I thought these two didn’t talk again. So, hearing this, I was glad if the Duke and Evan could talk again for any reason.

‘Please talk candidly and get rid of Evan’s trauma!’

“Are you sure you brought the best doctor on the continent?”

Evan asked sharply at his father and continued his words.

“I can never let her go like mother.”

The boy’s eyes were so glaring that I couldn’t even intervene.

“You have been sharing the same room, though you didn’t even realize your wife’s symptoms. Now, you are trying to doubt my sight?”

Duke Icard asked, raising his chin arrogantly and glancing down at Evan.

“In addition, the exact name of Laria’s disease is already diagnosed.”

…Ah, after all, I was the person who told Serena the name and what to say. It seemed as though the Dark Information Guild was eviler and master-minded than the villain himself.

In the end, I became the transmigrated person who was on top of the ultimate villain.

“How indifferent are you to your wife, that you didn’t see her throwing up blood?”

“Did father know this before as well?”

“Of course. I have even ordered handkerchiefs.”

Well, now he was just being shameless, acting as if he found out because he was attentive, even though he knew it from the very beginning…

When Evan was speechless, Duke Icard raised his chin and spoke with a look of victory.

“I even got a thank-you card.”

“I got that card, too.” Evan scoffed.

“Did she draw a picture there?”

“There was… no drawing in it.”

“Well, there was one in mine.”

“…Still, the content she wrote was quite long.”

“How many lines?”

I was dumbfounded and stared at the two of them alternately, confused. Regardless of how the conversations between Duke Icard and Evan would be, I was hoping for a more honest talk. But I didn’t exactly picture it would go this way.

‘Is this what you two really want to talk about right now?’

“Hey, Evan…”

I rolled my eyes and intervened. It seemed like there would be no end to it at this rate.

“If you’re a little upset that you have a sick wife then…”

“No way, Laria.”

He cut my sentence and denied it vigorously.

As expected, no matter how quarrelsome they may be, Evan always followed his father’s will so it wouldn’t matter if I had an illness or not.

“Then, if looking at me makes you recall Lady Matilda…”

“Why would I think of Mother when I look at you?”

Oh, wasn’t that it? I surely thought that you felt I was similar to Matilda…

“Anyway, thanks to my treatment, she improved a lot…”

Serena quickly stretched her shoulders and stepped in confidently.

“I think it would be better to go for a full treatment and take a break in a retreat.”

“A retreat…?”

“Yes! The Duchy is so close to the Capital that there’s not much greenery… I think a place with a slightly higher temperature and dense forest would be nice. Since she has bad lungs, breathing in some good air could maximize the effectiveness of her treatment.”

I wasn’t sure if that would make sense, but anyway…

At Serena’s words, Evan and Duke Icard’s expressions hardened at the same time. It was just a worried face, but my heart started pounding rapidly.

“There is a villa in Borotna Estate owned by the Duke, right? So, why don’t you let her stay there?”

The Borotna Estate was close to the Hanua Estate that I bought under a borrowed name.

What Serena was planning was to distance myself from Evan in the name of recovery.

She also mentioned that if I was far away from him, I wouldn’t get too close to Evan, and I could prevent any kind of obsession from his side in the future.

In addition, she even said…

“Avoid your husband’s eyes and go. Play with any man you want! Just look at me, you need to meet a lot of guys to have good eyes with men.”

Obviously, contrary to Serena’s opinion, money was much more urgent than men, although I agreed with getting out of the Duke’s residence.

Personally, to avoid any possible issues later, I would first go to Borotna Estate and secretly build a foundation to stay in Hanua.

To settle down in Hanua, I had to carefully come up with a plan for a house and other stuff. Duke Icard was also very busy controlling the Duchy. It was quite burdensome for him to run a land like that.

No matter if I borrowed the name or not, I was still the owner of the territory, so I couldn’t just leave my Hanua property unattended.

“Then, Laria can heal completely?”

Evan asked, staring at Serena.

“I wouldn’t say anything like a complete recovery… still, she would be able to recover quite well.”

“You…”

I was surprised at how fierce the glare directed at Serena.

As expected, no matter how good Evan was doing these days, my instincts still shouted ‘dangerous!’

Of course, there was no way a person could turn into a gentle boy all of a sudden like that.

“Are you certain she’ll get better when she goes to Borotna?”

He questioned Serena again with a darkened expression.

Nonetheless, Serena answered firmly.

“Yes, I’ll bet my doctor’s license.”

‘Serena, you don’t have a license…’

Her level of shamelessness was similar to mine.

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Advanced Chapters!

Rate the novel on Novel Updates.

Join our discord to receive the latest updates as soon as possible!