Chapter 47
Chapter 47
“Amoide, where does it hurt?”
As he leaned against the window, he looked frailer than usual.
Even his eyelashes seed different than usual whenever he blinked.
And apart from that, his voice sounded heavy.
“Amoide.”
I quickly put my hand over his forehead, at which his eyes opened wide in surprise from the sudden contact.
And yet he didn’t push my hand away.
“You’re warm…”
He stared at silently, blue eyes unwavering.
Then, he lifted his hand to place it over my hand that was on his forehead. The touch his hand provided wasn’t the sa as usual.
His hand was incredibly warm.
It wasn’t just a matter of body temperature. Even his eyes and breath seem to have heated up. And just looking at him made think I’d be burnt beside him as well.
“You.”
His voice was hushed.
“…”
“You’re too loud.”
Then… he collapsed.
* * *
“It’s simply a common cold caught during spring.”
Raymond’s calm explanation allowed everyone to sigh in relief.
“Amoide, Amoide is…”
Camilla repeated his na with a blank face.
“It’s just a mild cold. A slight fever. His condition is stable and he’s only asleep. I’ve prescribed the necessary dicine so that he can recover quickly. He’ll be fine.”
Raymond kept repeating his words to appease Camilla.
“The dicine he’s been taking has weakened his immune system. He’s always had a cold around this ti of the year. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Raymond looked at and let out his reassuring words again, his eyes on Amoide’s hand that I was clasping so tightly, but I gradually loosened my grip.
“Really? Is that really true?”
“Of course. There are fewer complications this ti. He was sick several tis more around this ti last year.”
“Ah…”
Co to think of it, I heard that he collapsed a lot more often last year. Compared to that ti, what Raymond said about the number of tis Amoide collapsed was right.
“Perhaps it’s because of the Duchess taking good care of the Duke’s health.”
“I don’t deserve that praise, Raymond,” I said as I flushed in embarrassnt.
“Even so, I look forward to working with you more in the future, Your Grace.”
Raymond smiled warmly as he helped Camilla out of the room.
Watching them leave, I could feel a twinge of guilt.
Sorry, Raymond.
Because I’m still doubting you. Honestly, I’m not completely sold on what you said just now.
“Ugh…”
Hearing the groan from the bed imdiately made rush towards Amoide’s side.
“Are you awake?”
He stared at through bleary eyes, expressing his confusion. With a gentle tone, I explained what happened.
“You have a fever… but the doctor said you’ll be fine. I heard it’s just a cold that you usually get this ti of the year.”
I said this lightly. I’m sure he’s tired of collapsing like this.
“Amoide, do you want so water? Are you thirsty?”
He nodded weakly.
As I beckoned Rona, who was standing at attention at one corner of the room, she ca running with a glass of water and the dicine that was on the table.
But before Rona could give the glass, soone stopped her midway.
“What is it, Emma?” Rona snapped back at the person who was holding her back by the collar.
“It’s my job.” With her eyebrows raised, Emma glared straight at .
‘Are you really staring at like that?’
Emma was an extrely loyal maid who had been serving as Amoide’s maid even before he fell sick.
But the problem was that there was sothing different about it.
“What’s so important about who brings the water to ?”
Emma stared into my eyes.
“Because it’s my job. I don’t want to be a maid who neglects her work.”
Emma answered with her chin raised. No wonder it seed like lasers were shooting out of her eyes.
“Fine. Then can anyone give the dicine?”
Rona glanced back at and handed the bottle back to Emma, but Rona didn’t forget to side-eye Emma. She didn’t look intimidating though, because of her round eyes and bangs that were cut above her eyebrows.
Emma approached the bed with the dicine bottle and stood next to where I was sitting. I looked up to see her face, which was slightly nacing, but only because she was towering over .
“It’s my duty, Young Madam,” Emma said with a clear voice. In fact, it’s like she was insinuating sothing beyond the bottle of pills.
For so reason, an unexpected spirit in bristled.
But behind , I heard Amoide’s voice.
“Give the bottle, Emma.”
At that mont, Emma’s expression obviously blood, and at the sa ti, I could hear sothing breaking in .
“Young Madam, I’ll go ahead and give His Grace the dicine…”
I blocked her hand on the bottle while Amoide was reaching for it.
As I did this, at the corner of my eye I saw Amoide’s expression flicker.
“It’s fine, so just leave it to .”
I tried to take the bottle from Emma’s hand, but…
‘Huh?’
The grip over the small glass bottle was tighter than I expected.
“Emma?”
As her hand was shaking to maintain her grip, her lips were trembling equally as much.
I couldn’t win with brute force anyway. How could I beat soone with that much determination? So I changed my thod.
I shifted my grip and placed my hand over hers in a caress.
“Hiiek—”
Perhaps she found the touch creepy, but Emma relaxed her grip at once, and with that opening, I quickly took the bottle from her.
“Thank you for bringing the bottle, Emma.”
I smiled as I pulled away with the bottle in my hand.
“Now, drink your dicine.”
“…”
I was looking at his hand, but he didn’t readily accept the dicine.
“Co on.”
Would the dicine turn into poison if I’m the one giving it to you? Why are you staring at like that?
“Do you want to feed it to you again this ti?”
Tak.
Before I even finished talking, he took the bottle from my hand.
“Happy?”
After bringing it to his lips, he shook the bottle upside down to show that it was all finished.
“Everyone, get out.”
“Alright. Go out now.”
I repeated what he said, which made him widen his eyes as if he were startled by my words.
“What? You told them to leave.”
I answered back as casually as I could, and under my chin, I brought up both hands to cup my face.
“I’m not leaving.”
Let’s add a bit of a nasal tone for a cutesy effect but, uh…
‘Why are you looking at like that again?’
Of course, I didn’t give up.
“Amoide, I’ll stay right next to you,” I crooned, putting back his arm under the covers and patting it. “What are you all doing? Everyone, out.”
At my command, everyone but Rona and Emma left the room at once.
“What are you doing? His Grace said he wants to rest,” Rona said as she was practically yanking Emma out the room.
Emma looked back at Amoide with expectant eyes while she was being manhandled by Rona, but Amoide said nothing.
Click.
The door clicked shut, and after everyone left, there was only the two of us there, a blanket of silence falling over the room.
Amoide’s blue eyes were fixed on , but I didn’t avert my gaze.
I brazenly made eye contact with him.
…But how long has this staring contest been going?
My eyes were a bit sore now.
“Um, Amoide…?”
I was blinking rapidly, but even so, I could see a very slight smile on his lips. The iciness that he exuded lted just because of that small smile.
As I rubbed the tears from my eyes, I said, “You’ll be sleepy soon because of the dicine you drank. Lean back now.”
Wordlessly, he closed his eyes just as I asked and after a while, the steady rhythm of his breathing echoed quietly through the room.
I changed the towel over his forehead and admired his face as much as I could.
Sohow, I didn’t want other people to see his sleeping face.
But though his beauty was otherworldly, it was of the poisonous kind. His illness made it impossible to openly praise him.
It was ironic, but his precarious physical well-being, which made him face the dangers of collapsing at any given ti, enhanced his beauty.
I once heard a conversation between the maids in the garden.
[ That delicate beauty just makes it so that His Grace is not like any other man in this world! ]
One of the maids had burst into admiration then, and the others responded readily with ‘You’re right, you’re right.’
[ You have to enjoy it when you can. We don’t know when he’ll be gone for good, so we’ll really have to admire him now while there’s ti—OUCH! ]
The babbling maid imdiately stopped talking when the maid next to her, whose face turned white the mont she saw watching them, pinched her side.
And just like that, they fell into a hush, as if they weren’t talking about an ominous thing just then.
“…”
Everyone’s fated to die soday. Especially when they’ve been poisoned.
“No. Never.”
I shook my head.
“I’ll save it for sure.”
Your life and my life.
“Don’t die, Amoide. I’ll save you.”
I clasped his hand over the duvet.
Even though he was asleep, it felt like his hand had moved slightly.
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