Before I knew it, I walked past Rhonda and reached the door. I opened it and was about to enter the hallway.
“I suggest you stop right there.”
Oh no.
“Take a step back.”
The deep but definitely determined voice made me stop in my tracks. There was no need to turn around and check. He approached me first.
“Are you all right?”
“I’ve already told Miss Rhonda several times that I’m fine now.”
“I don’t believe you.” My husband looked at me with an expression that insisted he’d be satisfied after checking himself. Once the makeshift inspection was over, he nodded as if I was given a pass.
Yes! It was time to ask if I could go outside.
“Just in case anything happens, it would be best to stay inside.”
“…”
Damn it, he declined under the guise of a suggestion. While I frowned at this feeling of betrayal, he smiled. Come to think of it, he looked livelier today. He was happy to tease me or happy the guests were leaving. If it was the latter, I was okay with that.
“You wanted to be alone in your room.”
“But…”
“There are no ifs, ands, or buts, dearest.”
Then, I heard someone run down the hall, and the butler appeared with clothes in his arms. As soon as our gazes met, his mood greatly improved.
“Oh, my lady! You’re awake!”
“For a while, yes.”
“I’m so glad. How are you feeling? The guests are leaving soon, so would you like to say goodbye to them?”
“Mr. Alan.”
I was about to nod, but my husband quickly stood in front of me. I only saw the back of his head; however, seeing the butler freeze on the spot, I knew my husband’s expression befit one who was called the Black Reaper.
“Did you forget you collapsed yesterday?” Lukas asked, turning his head toward me.
As expected. I nodded reluctantly. We were in the middle of a conversation, though I didn’t remember part of it. It appeared like I lost my mind.
“You even vomited more blood.”
I thought I had done enough puking for the night.
“You had to be bathed twice.”
“What did you just say?”
I couldn’t believe I continued to vomit blood, yet I was clean and dry. My husband was also implying he put a lot of effort into keeping me from being covered in blood. It would be a situation where I’d be thankful and pity him, but my fist trembled.
“Ah, your face is red again.”
Why else would it be?
“Are you embarrassed?”
Of course! But I was also ashamed I had to be naked in front of him more than once. “Tch…”
“It’s all right. Don’t be shy,” he said softly.
I rolled my eyes as my husband gradually moved closer to me. I failed to create some distance between us. I thought I was still suffering from the poison, but before I knew it, he had hugged me and tightened his grip so that I wouldn’t run away.
“A couple is always supposed to bathe together whether it’s during the day or at night.”
If there is a god out there, please tell me how to make this man shut up. There was no main religion in the world of witches, but I was willing to become a follower of said god for the rest of my life if it meant my wish would be granted.
“Do you want a kiss? Why are you staring at me like that?”
…I was going to go insane at this rate. Several conversations led to a sudden rush of blood to the head, but it often happened whenever I was with him.
“Oh my, you have a fever.”
“No—”
“Shh, it seems my poor wife is still sick.” He suddenly touched my forehead. Surprised, no, pretending to be surprised, he slightly shook his head before hugging me again.
This “fever” was because of someone here. What’s next? He was going to tuck me in and spoon-feed me the medicine himself?
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Instantly, my husband put me back in bed and pulled the blanket over me. He wished me to rest well and kissed my forehead. He was very proud of himself; the absurdity of the situation made me chuckle. I realized what I had just done and stopped, but it was too late.
“Don’t worry, my lady. Well, I’m worried about… Anyway, I was the one who bathed you earlier,” said Rhonda as she walked up to me.
Last night, the butler called for her and explained the situation, so she had stayed up all night just in case. No wonder she had bags under her eyes.
My feelings of embarrassment and irritation toward my husband vanished. And he seemed to notice it immediately.
“Regardless, you shouldn’t be stubborn and focus on resting.”
“I’m fine now.” I sat up.
“You drank poison. You may appear all right, but we don’t know what will happen later.” He sighed and gestured for the butler to come closer. Alan, who was blinking, quickly approached and helped my husband get dressed.
He actually planned to go out alone.
“Ella, the poison takes time to run its full course. What if it’s still in your body, waiting for the perfect moment to strike?”
“You aren’t wrong…” I was at a loss for words. Of course, I didn’t think humans were advanced enough to create such a poison in the first place. Ah, right. “Witches are resistant to most poisons.”
I spoke proudly, and my husband’s expression changed slightly. It was an unexpected but satisfying reaction.
“I’ll be fine going forward.” A witch’s body was very strong unlike a human’s, inside and out. “The poison is automatically cleansed from my body. Of course, how long it takes depends on its potency… The point is that the same poison won’t work twice.”
A witch is a wondrous existence. Impressive, right?
“…No.”
“I have to show everyone I’m alive! Otherwise, he’ll think he succeeded!”
“What’s important is that you are safe.”
“…”
“Perhaps you’re misunderstanding something. Even if you reveal yourself to be alive, they will try even harder to kill you.”
Ugh, what he said made sense. As long as people were determined to see me dead from the beginning, they’ll use something else once they find out the poison failed.
Still… Still!
“They need to see that poison doesn’t work on a witch…”
“…”
“I was going to show them my best self…” I murmured. I wrapped the soft blanket around me, curled up into a ball, and rocked back and forth.
My husband who insisted I stay in my room was silent.
Did it work? Or did he find my whining just plain annoying? I wondered if he was planning to strangle me since this wasn’t something he’d fall for. Yet wasn’t it better to finish something you started?
“I worked so hard to get better…” Of course, I wasn’t completely fine, but I’d like to think my desire to recover had some effect. “I was strangled and bullied because I couldn’t use mana. I just want to prove I’m strong.”
“…”
“I’m going to be ignored again…” I wiped away my fake tears.
Still, my husband had yet to respond. How will he react? To be honest, this method of gaining sympathy was a last resort for me, but it was the only one that worked. I refuse to lie in bed and watch the guests leave from afar.
I didn’t know the look on my husband’s face, but then I heard a sigh from the bedside.
“I understand how you feel, however, what if you get hurt again…”
“Who would dare attack me when you’re by my side?”
“…”
“You’ll protect me like always. You’re the strongest knight on the entire continent.” I didn’t forget to look at him with puppy dog eyes.
My husband, who had been firm in his resolve, began to falter. He frowned as if there was an intense, internal conflict in his mind. How long did he remain like that?
“…Please get dressed.”
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Yes!
“In exchange, you must rest until I say it’s all right for you to walk around. Do you understand?”
“Of course!”
There were plenty of stories about him, the man known as the Black Reaper. He was rumored to be the strongest knight among the humans. He lost to me! I briefly forgot all the pain I felt before.
Everyone, look. This was the day I won against Lukas Havel.