#11.
Archid laid Roena down on the bed and asked urgently, “Does she have a chronic illness?”
“What? Oh, no… she’s always been so healthy…” Hanna stammered, her eyes welling with tears.
Archid was drenched in sweat from carrying Roena all the way back, but he kept his voice steady as he explained.
“She was struggling to breathe, so I performed some emergency first aid… but we must have the physician examine her first.”
“Eek! My Lady!”
Vivian, who had gone to change the bedside water, let out a scream at the sight of the groaning Roena. She set the water pitcher haphazardly on the table and rushed to the bedside.
“H-How did this happen?”
“She collapsed suddenly, so I don’t quite—”
Archid’s brow furrowed and his lips twitched as he spoke, but he was interrupted.
“Where is the patient?”
The physician burst through the door and immediately began examining Roena’s condition. Archid let out a long sigh of relief that the doctor had arrived in time. He sank heavily into a nearby chair.
*Thank God.*
Hanna, finally regaining some composure, gasped again when she noticed Archid’s state.
“Young Master, your shoe…”
“Ah.”
Archid looked down at his feet and let out a low groan. Somewhere in the frantic rush, he had lost a shoe; he was sitting there with only one on.
*Was I really that desperate?*
A hollow laugh escaped him at his own un-aristocratic behavior.
*Do not run, even in a panic.*
*Never let your emotions show on your face.*
*Do not walk with a hunched back like a common thug.*
These were the pieces of advice Baron Lorke had spat at him until his ears bled back when he was his tutor. The man had often coupled them with insults, sneering that his illegitimacy made it impossible for him to ever possess true noble grace.
He had lived his life so carefully, yet Roena’s collapse had caused all that cultivated poise to vanish in an instant.
Seeing Archid fall silent, Hanna spoke up cautiously. “I will bring you another pair of shoes.”
“Please do.”
Archid nodded and rubbed his weary face with his hands as Hanna hurried away.
After a few moments, the physician finished his examination. “Fortunately, thanks to your quick first aid, her life is not in danger.”
“What exactly caused such a sudden collapse?”
“It… appears to be an allergic reaction.”
“What?”
Archid blinked in confusion. Beside him, Vivian spoke up. “That can’t be. Our Lady has never had such an ailment…”
“Nevertheless, these symptoms indicate shock caused by an acute allergic reaction,” the physician replied firmly.
Vivian paced restlessly, muttering to herself, “That’s so strange. Back at April Castle, she wandered around just fine even during the changing of the seasons…”
“Did she visit a place with a high concentration of airborne particles today?” the physician asked.
Vivian answered, “Ah, she went to the seed farm to look at seeds. But our Lady doesn’t have a pollen allergy?”
Archid paused at the mention that she had been fine at April Castle and supposedly had no pollen allergies.
*Wait…*
He suddenly recalled Roena’s radiant face in the Delus flower garden. Her cheeks had been unusually flushed, which he had simply interpreted as excitement or joy.
“It seems her immune system weakened after moving to the Hadelus territory. I will prescribe a restorative tonic to build up her strength.”
As the physician finished his diagnosis and prepared to leave, Archid stood up from his chair.
“Are there any Delus flowers at April Castle?”
Vivian blinked at the non sequitur. “The weather at April Castle is too warm for Delus flowers to grow. We all saw them for the first time after coming here.”
She frowned, clearly having no knowledge of the flower existing in their previous home. Archid pondered her words for a moment before turning back to the physician.
“Around this time last year, did Roena show similar symptoms?”
“I’m not sure. I would have to check the records…”
As the physician started to give a dismissive shrug, Vivian clapped her hands together.
“Oh! That’s right! My Lady was sick like this last year, too.”
“……”
“It seemed mild back then… but her cheeks were just as red as they were today.”
Vivian trembled, looking at Roena with pity. She seemed to be blaming herself for not properly understanding her mistress’s health.
Archid bit his lower lip and asked, “Was that on a day she went out with my mother and returned alone?”
“Gasp, how did you know? My Lady told me to keep that a secret…”
Vivian’s eyes widened as she trailed off. Archid wiped his face again and turned to the physician with a cold voice.
“It was the Delus flowers.”
“Pardon?”
The physician looked at him as if he were talking nonsense, but Archid countered sharply.
“She collapsed in the Delus flower garden.”
“Why would that…?”
“If there were no Delus flowers at April Castle, she wouldn’t have known she was allergic to them.”
“Ah.”
The physician finally caught on to the blind spot and let out a small gasp. Archid grabbed the man’s arm, angered by his negligent attitude.
“If you made a similar diagnosis back then, shouldn’t you have performed a thorough examination at least once?”
“Well, at the time it was quite mild, and finding the exact cause of an allergy is extremely difficult…”
The physician began to sweat profusely, fumbling for an excuse.
Archid felt his anger rising at the doctor’s laxity. He knew his own standing in Hadelus Castle only too well. Since the Grand Ducal couple was so openly indifferent to him, it took only a moment for the servants to follow suit.
Archid had endured that indifference as a matter of habit. In fact, he had found it more comfortable, as receiving attention felt awkward and foreign to him. But he had never imagined they would be this indifferent toward Roena as well.
*No. It was my mistake to expect them to treat her better just because she is my wife.*
Archid let out a self-deprecating, hollow laugh. The fact that the household was so disorganized that they couldn’t even manage the health of a young mistress was appalling. He found himself clenching his fists.
*‘Just look at me as I am now.’*
He remembered Roena’s words, spoken with that bright smile. He had thought he knew her well. He had judged her as a prideful, insolent, and utterly incorrigible girl who lacked any respect for her elders. Because of that, he had made it his job to restrain her and focused only on the bare minimum of his duties as a husband.
*‘Was she trying to hide her allergy to the Delus flower because she was to become the Grand Duchess of Hadelus?’*
If it were the Roena he knew, that was exactly the kind of thing she would do. Rather than revealing a weakness, she would have chosen to act out and ruin things on purpose.
Archid groaned inwardly. He felt pathetic for failing to see through the immature actions of the young girl—failing to realize that he, too, was just as young.
But for him, the position of the Hadelus heir was always too heavy a burden to allow for the excuse of “being young.”
Unaware of how much his own anger was showing, Archid barked at the physician.
“This matter will not be overlooked.”
He kicked the door open and stormed out, intending to go straight to his father.
“Y-Young Master…!”
The physician tried to follow him in a panic, but Vivian grabbed him.
“Where do you think you’re going in the middle of treating her?!”
—
My whole body felt prickly. As I slowly opened my eyes, I realized I was back in my room. My limbs had felt numb and tingly before, but now they felt normal. My head was still a bit foggy, but overall, I didn’t feel too bad.
Actually, having sweated so much, I felt strangely refreshed. Then, the familiar scent of incense reached my nose.
*Oh, I can smell things again.*
My ears, which had felt muffled, were now sharp enough to hear the small household noises made by the servants.
*Wow, I thought I was a goner.*
I shuddered at the memory of my senses being paralyzed for the first time in my life. Feeling a bit frightened, I tried to clench and unclench my hands, but one of them felt heavy—as if someone was holding it.
I slowly turned my head to the side and saw dark hair.
“Archid?”
He flinched at my startled whisper. A moment later, a pair of dull, ashen eyes gazed at me. Unlike their usual clear brilliance, he looked quite haggard. He looked exactly like someone who had been nursing a patient for a long time.
*What? Was I out for a while?*
Archid blinked, looking like he wasn’t quite awake yet. Seeing the sunlight streaming in behind him, I realized it was morning. Bathed in that morning light, Archid looked absolutely ethereal.
*Ah… is this heaven? And Archid is the angel sent to welcome me?*
My heart began to thud at the sight of Archid, fresh from sleep. Goodness, to have the luck of witnessing Archid’s face the moment he woke up without any warning…
*Lord, if opportunities like this come often, I won’t complain about fainting a few more times.*
Naturally, my delusions were starting to spiral when I suddenly realized Archid had stayed in my room all night. Archid, who usually kept his guard up like a hedgehog, had stayed by my side to nurse me. It was a monumental step forward.
*I guess my excuses actually worked.*
I forgot all about having been sick and couldn’t hide my joy. I was so happy to be acknowledged that I even gave him a bright, cheerful greeting.
“Good morning. Um, is it morning?”
“!!”
Finally snapping back to reality, Archid bolted upright. Naturally, our hands came apart. I clenched and unclenched my hand, feeling the lingering warmth with a touch of regret.
“Are you alright?” Archid asked, his voice thick with concern. I nodded silently.
“Is anything hurting?”
Well, my heart hurts. Because you’re just too handsome, Archid.
