Chapter 4

Translator: Muffles♡

Editor: Merci

●・○・●・○・●

Chapter 4: Why are you hiding your pain

She nodded at Johann’s words.

“Yeah, there is.”

“Didn’t you say you would do your best for me?”

Johann gently lowered his eyebrows and made a sad expression on his face. For some reason, there’s also a hint of hurt in his low voice.

“It’s a bit disappointing if you push me away like this.”

They’d assume that she had done something wrong if anyone heard this.

‘When did I push you away!’

She felt like something was wrong with her. 

But strangely, while listening to Johann’s words, she couldn’t think of anything worthy of consideration.

Because it was true anyway.

‘Still, I didn’t mean it that way.’

Johann’s handsome face drew closer, to the point where if he stretched his arms out, he could reach her right away.

“Did you just build my hopes up just to back down now?”

“……”

“You’re so mean.”

He seemed like he became a homme fatale that suddenly shook people’s hearts. 

Even though he’s the very person who would seduce her and throw her away!

“What are you talking about? I never stepped out.”

“Then why can’t you accept what I’m trying to say?”

“It’s a little embarrassing.”

“Will you do what I want then?”

Johann, who had a smile hanging at the edge of his lip, gently brushed her bangs back with his hard fingers.

The sound of her heartbeat grew louder.

“That’s…”

He smiled softly at her awkward reply and slowly came closer to her face. The reddish-looking lip approached slowly.

Without realizing it, she quickly closed her eyes.

Then, he let out a refreshing laugh and pressed his forehead against hers.

“Are you a little relaxed now?”

“…Yes?”

“I intentionally played a joke on you.”

Johann winked and touched her earlobe with his large hand.

“I feel like you’re constantly being nervous around me because of the pressure, even if you don’t have to.”

She shouldn’t have, but she loosened up as she was swayed by his words. Thus, she pulled herself together.

‘This villain is aiming for this.’

So her wariness just grew even further.

It was because Johann, who smiled with his eyes, looking more like a playful boy than a grown man who had handled her skillfully a little while ago.

“What is it?”

“I think you’ve become a little more comfortable talking to me now.”

“It wasn’t that hard to talk from the beginning.”

“Then let’s pretend I was joking.”

Hearing Johann’s sly remarks, she couldn’t help but feel dizzy.

‘I think I got too heated while I’m being conscious of this villain.’

But apparently, the side effects of eating the eleon fruit a while ago were already starting to act up. If it kept going like this, she might even collapse in front of Johann.

‘Then it will be a big deal.’

Her opponent is a smart villain. Even with the slightest clue, he might deduce that she’s just an unloved daughter of Libertan.

‘I could die right away.’

The reason she’s able to maintain this position is because she’s valuable as a target for revenge.

Because Johann had intended to inflict an even greater pain on the beloved daughter of Libertan by giving her a gruesome death. So, simply speaking, there’s no reason to keep her alive if she’s not loved.

‘More than anything else, I’m in a situation where I couldn’t be any more hateful until I run away.’

At least her range of action shouldn’t be reduced to the point where she’s not able to do anything. And everyone who sees her sickness would only despise her more.

‘Even though it’s on behalf of his real daughter, why does the Duke of Libertan keep leaving this thing in the mansion? To be honest, it’s a lot of work, and this peasant only causes damage to the duke’s family.’

‘She must have deliberately pretended to be sick to win the sympathy of the duke.’

So, if it was the villain that originally hated her, he might imprison her more thoroughly so that she could not do anything on the excuse of being sick.

“Yes, yes. As a mean wife, I should go to bed now.”

She tried to get Johann out of the room, even if it was a little awkward. Fortunately, Johann graciously moved.

“Do you usually go to bed this early?”

“Isn’t it just you who’s going to bed later than normal?”

“Or are you doing this because you’re offended by my jokes?”

She neatly answered Johann’s question at the door.

“Not at all.”

“That’s all that matters then.”

She started to get even dizzier, and after a while, she was already unable to walk properly and stumbled.

Johann grabbed her face as she was about to turn around. For a moment, she was afraid that he would notice the heat on her head.

“Sleep well, madam.”

But he just smiled and slowly brushed her bangs before leaving.

* * *

On the other side, Johann did not leave and stood with his back on the door.

He came to shake Estelle, but on the contrary, his doubts only grew bigger.

‘She has a fever.’

When he deliberately brushed her bangs and touched her forehead, he could feel a certain heat.

‘It must have been an allergy to eleon fruit.’

That must have been why she tried to get him out of the room. 

Johann remembered Estelle, who calmly let him go with an expressionless face.

The acting was so natural that he wouldn’t even know that the fever had risen if he hadn’t checked it on purpose.

‘Why are you trying to hide your allergy symptoms?’

She should have pretended to be caught by mistake to win his sympathy.

Johann narrowed his eyebrows at Estelle’s behavior, which he could not comprehend.

After waiting for a moment, he heard the soft breathing of the woman who had fallen asleep. He heard a moan of pain in the middle; it seemed like she was trying to endure the pain.

Johann opened the door silently.

The room he entered again was just as Johann had expected.

Estelle grunted as if the blanket was something to protect her. Johann placed his large hand on the woman’s forehead, which was filled with cold sweat.

‘I should have called the doctor.’

He took the eleon allergy medicine he had brought for Estelle out of his pocket. If she honestly confessed her allergy, he would have brought it out so he could score points.

‘You hid it until the end but still end up using it.’

Johann put a few drops of the medicine on Estelle’s lips.

Estelle’s breathing, which sounded very disturbed, began to calm down as the drug started to take effect.

Suddenly, realizing the strange fact, Johann frowned and looked at his own hand.

From the moment before, up until now, although he had contact with the hateful Libertan’s daughter, he did not feel any disgust at all.

He even felt that the soft touch was pleasant.

How ridiculous.

* * *

After a long time, her body felt refreshed, unlike usual as she stretched.

‘Is it because the sleeping place has changed?’

Originally, the effects of eating eleon fruit would be very difficult until daytime at least. However, her current state seemed to have taken some medicine instead of the eleon fruit yesterday.

‘Or maybe my allergy to eleon fruit has gotten better.’

‘Weren’t there times when the disease is alleviated without us realizing it as we go through life?’

As soon as she woke up, she pulled the black curtains and enjoyed the morning sun. Then, Betty came in.

“Madam, did you sleep well?”

“Yes. The bedroom was very nice and I slept well.”

Betty’s brown eyes fluttered slightly when she heard that she liked the bed. Apparently, it was strange to hear that a dark bedroom was good.

“Yeah, that’s right. I was worried about not being able to prepare a room suitable for madam, so I’m very happy.”

“It suits my taste.”

Contrary to how it looks, this bed was very good at alleviating allergy symptoms.

‘Maybe it’s not because of the bed.’

Still, it was fortunate that the bed she slept in for the first time suited her body well.

“It’s the first time I’ve slept in such a nice bed.”

In the original work, the Duke of Blanchett only used loyal people. So everyone came together and tried to get her into trouble.

‘Is it better to praise Duke Blanchett?’

After all, when a person is praised for something he did, he will surely feel good.

“So much that I was worried about whether I could be a hostess in such a good family.”

“…Don’t worry, madam. Your Grace will do well.”

“Thank you for looking at me that way.”

She smiled broadly with sincerity, but it seemed like Betty had a sad expression on her face.

‘Am I wrong?’

Betty looked at her again, and her smile was brighter than before, but when she praised the Duke of Blanchett, why did she suddenly look sad?

“I’m sorry I couldn’t prepare the bathwater yesterday. I have prepared bathwater in advance this morning. How about taking a bath after a light breakfast?”

It was a little unsettling actually.

“Great. May I ask what’s the menu for this morning?”

* * *

Johann said he had to go out because he was busy with work in the morning.

So she ate a simple prepared breakfast by herself. Without Johann, she was able to eat more comfortably than before.

‘The cherry pie was so delicious.’

Fortunately, there was no eleon fruit dessert today, so it was relatively a satisfying meal.

It’s a bit excessive to have dessert in the morning, but it’s not polite to the chef to refuse the food.

After drinking tea, she followed Betty’s guide and walked down the hallway of the annex for a bath.

The walls of the central hallway were covered with a black cloth. It looked like the frames were all covered. 

Betty, who was passing by, noticed her gaze and asked with a smile.

“Are you curious about the black portraits?”

“Black portraits?”

“Yes. In the Duchy of Blanchett, there is a tradition of hanging portraits of those who should not be forgotten and remembering them for a long time. It’s a tradition unique to the Blanchett, so you might be unfamiliar.”

Fortunately, this wasn’t the first time she had heard of it.

‘Did I get scared when I saw this portrait behind the black cloth in the original story?’

The black cloth portraits were portraits of vassals who had been loyal to Blanchett for a long time, enough to have said that they were not to be forgotten.

If there is a peculiar part, it is drawn in a very scary and bizarre way, unlike a typical portrait.

‘It was to commemorate the will of the vassals who wanted to protect Blanchett even after death.’

Anyway, the important thing is that she was terrified when she saw this portrait in the original work, so there was a problem.

It was because the adopted daughter of the Duke of Libertan showed ignorance with regard to the vassals of the Duke of Blanchett.

‘If I had known, would I still be surprised?’

By the way, Betty was careful when she asked her.

“Are you curious about the portrait behind the black cloth?”

“Can I see?”

“Of course, you are the Duchess of Blanchett after all.”

Betty pulled the black cloth away.

‘Is this really surprising?’

Maybe it was because she already knew it, but it was a portrait that could be viewed as a moderately individualistic painting. 

Betty also showed other portraits.

Among them, a very familiar name was written under the portrait.

‘Lexius Polman?’

She doesn’t know why it’s so familiar. Did she read it in the novel?

Then Betty’s cautious question came. This is the question she had been waiting for.

“Aren’t these portraits scary in your eyes?”

“They are such important people in the Duchy of Blanchett that they should not be forgotten. It’s not that scary when you think about it that way.”

“……”

“I just feel grateful.”

She smiled and finished the words she had prepared from the moment she saw the portrait. 

Betty, who looked at her without saying anything for a moment, smiled happily.

“Your Grace is a very kind person. Other people in the duchy would be very happy to hear it.”

“Thank you for the kind words.”

For some reason, Betty’s reaction seemed a little different from when they first met.

‘Were showing good looks worked?’

Of course, that didn’t change the fact that Betty is Johann’s spy. So she opened her mouth to pretend to be the Duchess who cared for the servant.

“But I also know who I am. I’m not that good of a person, I’m not that good at anything.”

“……”

“So, if Betty doesn’t want to have me at any time, just tell me. Because I fully understand.”

Then, it might be easier to escape when the person serving you disappears.

Betty had a mysterious expression on her face and kept quiet.

‘It’s not a difficult story to tell.’

The bathroom was near the room we arrived at from the hallway. Although it was an annex, it seemed like a huge place with a separate bathroom.

“This is the bathroom you will be using.”

The bathroom was much more luxurious than she expected. The bathwater is warm enough to wash right away.

“Then I’ll be here with you, can I take off your clothes now?”

Betty reached out her hand with familiarity.

‘This moment is coming after all.’

This situation was a bit awkward for her, who washed alone in Libertan. Of course, there were things she wanted to hide.

“Can’t I wash by myself?”

“……without a bath attendant?”

Betty’s brown eyes were full of doubt.

“Lady, if you’re uncomfortable with me, I’ll get another maid…”

“It’s not like that. It’s just… I’m ashamed.”

“Still, you are the wife of the Duke of Blanchett, and you have to take the bath eventually.”

Betty looked very stubborn. The last time she changed clothes, she was fine.

‘Did Johann tell you to keep an eye on me taking a bath?’

If that’s the case, there’s nothing she can do about it. 

Because she can’t force herself to avoid it and get more suspicious.

“Then there is nothing I can do. I’ll take a bath.”

Eventually, she was served by Betty and took her clothes off. 

Betty, who was holding her clothes, gasped and dropped the dress.

“Madam, this is…”

Her gaze was fixed on the scars on her body.

‘That’s why I wanted to hide it.’

This was her very old scar. 

If one didn’t know the circumstances, one would probably be surprised to see it.