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17.  I’m Being Cared For, Not Abused 
Letty misunderstood that her sister was flirting with Izekiel.
But obviously Letty had a crush on Izekiel, and there was no way Linzel would be flirting with him, especially since they’re the main protagonists.
The cause of the terrible misunderstanding was Linzel’s damned weak body.
‘I’m such a weakling.’
Linzel pushed Izekiel away with all her might.  She didn’t want to offend Letty any further. 
Letty was the most important person in her life – an essential existence to her who had fallen into this novel like an ugly duckling.
Letty was the reason she was happy being Linzel.
Linzel couldn’t imagine being away from her sister or living without her.  It was an unbelievable bond for someone she’d only spent ten days with. 
Linzel slipped out of Izekiel’s grasp and shouted, “Letty, it’s a misunderstanding!”
The coughing had died down in the aftermath of the panic, which was a good thing.
Izekiel was just as bewildered by the situation as Linzel was, unable to do anything about it.
“…….”
Letty, looking hurt, didn’t answer before storming out of the room.
“Letty!”
Linzel called out her name, but she didn’t answer or come back.
Linzel heaved a deep sigh.
Why did Letty have to come to me at this time?
“Haa…….”
It was then that she heard Izekiel’s voice, who had been observing the situation for a while.
“Why don’t you follow her?”
Of course she wanted to follow Letty! But her helpless body was a problem.
Her body didn’t work the way she wanted it to.  She couldn’t keep up with Letty, who ran off at a brisk pace without a second thought. 
Catching her was next to impossible.
“She’s probably already gone.”
Linzel wished she could send Izekiel away and then go find Letty.
She should meet her and clear up the misunderstanding.  A thoughtful Letty would understand her sister’s situation. 
Maybe she’d even apologize first, saying, “I misunderstood, I’m sorry, Linzel”.
At least, that’s the Letty she knew.
They say that unresolved misunderstandings deepen over time.  Linzel had to see her before her misunderstanding became irreversible. 
“Your Highness Izekiel, are you finished saying what you wanted to tell me?”
If he had nothing more to say, she was about to send him away.
Izekiel turned his head to look at her.  There was no facial expression on his face. 
No expression.  He looked as though he had no clue as to what was going on. 
“I don’t know.  There was more I wanted to say to you…….  But before I do, there’s something I wanted to ask you.”  
“What is it?”
“Lady Letty – can you tell me why she was acting like she was hurt?”
“That’s…….”
Linzel closed her lips.
She had to press her lips together because she couldn’t answer, ‘It’s because she likes you.’
The truth was something Letty kept close to her heart.
Linzel couldn’t just give away her feelings.  Even if she was her twin sister. 
“Perhaps she was shocked because I was with a man other than His Highness Hernan.”
“That’s all? What does it matter to her who you’re with?”
‘……that’s right, but it’s because it’s you, not someone else.’
Linzel still couldn’t tell him the truth, so she sugarcoated it.
“Because I don’t usually have a good relationship with guys?”
“Whether you get along with guys or not, that’s your business, and she doesn’t need to be shocked by it.”
“…….”
Linzel fell silent.
She didn’t know what to say; all of Izekiel’s refutations were true.  It was the limit of her excuses. 
She didn’t understand Izekiel’s insistence on hanging on to her every word.  After all, it shouldn’t have mattered to him what Letty was thinking. 
She decided to end the conversation.
“Anyway, you shouldn’t be concerned about her.  This is between her and me.” 
It was harsh, but Linzel couldn’t help it.  It was their problem. 
An unfamiliar warmth suddenly spread across her cheeks.  Linzel gasped in surprise and averted her gaze. 
The very next moment, she registered that it was Izekiel’s large hand on her cheek.
His eyes were filled with sympathy as he looked at her.
He asked her the same question again.
“You know.  Are you really ……happy?” 
“Huh?”
His gaze drifted from Linzel’s eyes to her shoulder for a moment.
“I see a bruise on your shoulder.”
Linzel wondered where else she’d bumped herself into things.
Since she was wearing her home dress with the shoulders a little bare, the bruise must have been visible to Izekiel.
“You need to practice lying more,” Ezekiel insisted.  “You are not happy here; have you been being abused or something?” 
Abuse……?
The kind of mistreatment that family members inflict on you……?
“Isn’t that the reason why Lady Letty is meddling in your life?”
‘But I’m the one who wants Letty to be attached to me? I wanted her to meddle, please.’
The idea of abuse was completely absurd.
To put it mildly, Linzel wasn’t being abused, she was being taken care of.  To be more accurate, she was being cherished.  
Linzel had no idea the number of portions she was being fed at every meal.  She was honestly just proud of herself for not gaining weight. 
God, these family dynamics.
“Your Highness Izekiel, I think you keep getting it wrong.  I’m not being abused, but rather I’m being cared for.” 
“If they care for you, then why aren’t you gaining weight! You’re too skinny.”
Izekiel…… was an intelligent person and very eloquent.  His arguments were absurd, but sound.  Maybe she needed to start gaining weight, Linzel thought regretfully.   
“And where is this misunderstanding? The fact that you have so many bruises all over your body because you were abused, or the fact that you ended up going to marry Hernan… in place of Lady Letty?”
” ……Huh?”
“I mean, it’s no wonder you don’t want to marry Hernan, who’s rumored to be a war demon.”
What……? What was this man talking about?
Linzel scratched her head.  It was obvious that her expression made her look like an idiot. 
Izekiel seemed to take her silence as an affirmation.  His well-groomed eyebrows furrowed as he spoke. 
He spoke in a tone that suggested he was swallowing his agony.
“You…… were forced into this marriage.”
‘What?? No one forced me to get married.’
Linzel countered him in her brain, but Izekiel was on such a roll that she couldn’t even fit a word in.
“Let me help you.  I’ve developed some sort of sympathy for you.  I shudder at the thought of abuse,” he continued dramatically.  
‘Look, I have no idea what you’re offering to help me with,’ Linzel thought skeptically.
Everything is great right now! And it was this man that gave Letty the wrong idea…… he is not helpful.
She came to her senses, albeit belatedly.
“Now, wait a second.  Stop misunderstanding this, Your Highness.  I’m really fine, and there is nothing you need to do to help me.”  
“What did you mean? I see evidence of you being mistreated, and I believe it.”
“No, it’s a misunderstanding!”
“…… Ha.  I understand that you want to protect your family.” 
This man…… was not believing a word that she was saying.
Izekiel’s hand that had been cupping her cheek dropped down, and he pushed himself up from his seat on the bed.
“This is why I came today.  I came to ask if you were being abused.” 
“I’m not…….”
“If you really aren’t, then bring me proof of what you say.  Because I won’t believe you until you do.” 
“……….”
“I’m calling it a day,” Izekiel said with finality.
Linzel wondered why he wouldn’t listen to me.  Her temples throbbed with pain. 
Izekiel walked to the door and quickly left.  As if he wasn’t going to listen to her excuses anymore. 
She wondered if she should let him go because of his misunderstanding, but…….
“‘Let’s clear up the misunderstanding with Letty first.'”
Linzel wanted to talk to Letty first.
Just then, Mini, who had gone to get tea, returned.
“Miss, is your cough any better?”
Linzel replied loudly, “Mini, my cough isn’t the most important thing right now.  Support me.  I have to go see Letty.”  
The first place Linzel went to look for Letty was her room.  But she wasn’t there, and all that filled her room was a heavy silence. 
It made Linzel uneasy.
She stood in the hallway, wondering where her twin could have gone.
She imagined a place in the large, spacious ducal residence that Letty would use as a hiding place.
It wasn’t long before Linzel remembered the place.
It was a place that had appeared from time to time in 〈Don’t Love Me, Since I’m Dying〉, a place that Letty would go to whenever she felt distressed.
It existed even in Linzel’s memory.
“Mini, let’s go behind the duke’s house!”
I was sure she would be there.
“Yes, Miss!”
Mini replied as if her life depended on it.  Linzel put her arm around her faithful maid’s shoulders and hugged her. 
‘You know, I really don’t know what I would have done without you.’
Mini’s presence was a great support, like a thousand troops.
Linzel began to hobble to “there”.
* * *
There was a small but beautiful flower garden at the back of the duke’s residence.
It was planted with row after row of beautiful red flowers that bloomed all year round.  It was tended by Letty, who loved flowers. 
Since being possessed into the novel, Linzel had only been there once.  She found it while exploring the vast ducal estate, she remembered. 
She hadn’t been back there since then.
Linzel loved flowers, too, but she preferred to stay in bed.
……This is in no way an excuse for the fact that she was lazy.
Anyway, it took her a long time to get there because she was hobbling.  Mini was unfazed and took great care of her. 
Linzel was so proud of her that every now and then she would rub her cheek against Mini’s soft cheek.
Mini would then make a whimpering sound of “Ugh…….  Miss…….”, which sounded funny. 
She didn’t hate it, did she?
That’s just Linzel’s way of showing affection.
As they approached the flower garden, Linzel could smell the scent of the flowers.
She took a deep breath in and out.
Just smelling the scent made her feel better…… She understood why Letty came here whenever she was troubled.
At that moment, Linzel saw a woman squatting in the center of the flower garden.
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