The sunlight pierced my eyes, and I gave up on lying down, raising my upper body.
"Already the sun is up."
In the end, I couldn’t sleep at all, and morning came. I rubbed my stiff eyes and started the day a little earlier than usual. I couldn’t even remember how I got back to my bedroom last night. When I was speechless at Terdeo’s answer that his brother died when he was Terdeo’s age, I couldn’t respond. Seeing my reaction, Terdeo calmly said, “It’s best to wash up and go to bed early today. Ask the butler to take care of the dress. I have a lot to do, so I’ll spend the night in the study,” and then disappeared. After that, I hurriedly washed up, fearing someone might see me covered in blood, and crawled into bed. I thought it would be comfortable without anyone to worry about, but the wide bed was unexpectedly very lonely.
'Since I woke up early, I’ll get ready and go see Selphina.'
Although I hadn’t heard of any other strange occurrences during the night, I felt it would be reassuring to see with my own eyes. I pulled the bell cord next to the bed, and shortly after, a knock came as if they had been waiting.
"Come in."
Turning my stiff neck, I briefly replied, and the thick bedroom door opened. The morning maids and Rebecca entered together. Rebecca, upon seeing me, rushed over with a worried look.
"Her Highness, the Duchess!"
"Ah, Rebecca. I was... yesterday..."
"You were very sick yesterday! Mr. Finneas told me. Are you okay now?"
When I saw Rebecca, I was worried about what excuse to give, but it seemed Finneas had provided a suitable one. Besides, it was a doctor’s opinion, so there was no reason to doubt it.
"I must have been tired."
After mumbling that, I buried my face in the warm towel the maids brought. As the warmth spread, the worries of last night seemed to fade away.
"Was it because of the poison back then?"
Rebecca, fidgeting with a worried face, muttered, "What should we do with our Duchess?" I smiled ambiguously in response, and Rebecca’s eyes widened in shock.
"You really forgot? His Excellency the Duke will be truly disappointed!"
"I was so sick, I couldn’t think straight. He’ll understand."
"The main character of the festival is His Excellency the Duke!"
"I know, I know. I’ll catch up now. When does the festival start?"
"Today! It has already started!"
Ah, it’s already started? I smiled awkwardly, and Rebecca sighed, selecting a necklace that suited me.
"What if His Excellency gets angry? When he’s angry, he’s incredibly scary."
"It’s fine. There’s nothing for him to be angry about."
After all, we are just a contracted couple. There’s no reason for him to be disappointed or angry just because I forgot. My confident answer made Rebecca look at me for a long time with a strange expression. Then, she said in a tone of surprise.
"To be honest, I didn’t expect the two of you to get along so well."
"Get along well?"
Does Rebecca need glasses? Is her vision that bad?
"His Excellency the Duke has a terrible reputation in society. There were even rumors that he has no interest in women... and that he has a hobby of killing people."
Yeah, I heard those rumors too. The rumor about enjoying slaughter. What kind of lunatic spread such a false rumor? If I catch them, I’ll...
"Seeing His Excellency the Duke care for you, I was surprised. When I heard you two share a bedroom, I almost bit my tongue."
"Not that much."
I smiled subtly to keep our relationship from being revealed and changed the subject.
"Rebecca, that’s enough for today. I’m going to see Selphina. If I need anything, I’ll call you. Especially if I have any questions about the festival!"
"Okay, I understand. Thank you."
As Rebecca and the other maids left, I walked alone to Selphina’s bedroom. Stopping in front of the bedroom door, memories from yesterday flooded back, and it felt like I could smell blood from somewhere.
'It’s okay. He’s probably still sleeping.'
I clenched my trembling fists and lightly knocked on the bedroom door. Knock knock. There was no answer. My mouth was dry. Knock knock knock. I knocked a bit harder this time. But it was still quiet inside. My heart felt like it was plummeting to the bottom.
'Did something happen last night?'
As soon as this thought crossed my mind, my body moved on its own. I hastily opened the bedroom door and rushed in, calling out loudly.
"Selphina!"
Even with my shout, the bedroom remained quiet. Then, I heard the soft breathing of a child and the chirping of birds. The peaceful scene made me stare blankly at Selphina’s sleeping bed for a while. Seeing his face, which had regained some color, I relaxed.
'Is he okay?'
I walked slowly toward the bed with a worried expression. Selphina’s breathing was steady and regular, which gave me a sense of calm.
"I’m relieved."
It seems he’s fine now. I absentmindedly brushed the hair from Selphina’s forehead. His body temperature seemed normal.
'I’ll let him sleep in today.'
After a sigh of relief, I let go of his hair. I watched the sleeping Selphina for a bit longer before turning to leave. Just as I was about to take a step, a drowsy voice called out.
"...Mom?"
That short word made me stop in my tracks as if my feet were glued to the ground. Turning my head, I saw Selphina looking at me with half-closed eyes. I couldn’t respond, neither with a "yes" nor a "no." I stood there, rooted to the spot, staring at Selphina. After a moment, Selphina, who had just woken up, opened his eyes wide. Then, he suddenly sat up, startled.
"J-Just now, what did I say..."
"Did you sleep well?"
"W-Why is the Duchess here?"
"I was worried about how you slept last night. Selphina, I came to check on your condition."
"My condition? Why... Oh."
The memory of yesterday seemed to come back to Selphina, and he stopped talking. Then, he turned his head away, avoiding my gaze.
"Why are you doing this?"
Surprised by his sudden change in demeanor, I quickly approached Selphina. I placed my hand on his forehead to check his temperature.
"Are you in pain?"
It doesn’t seem like his temperature is rising. Instead of answering, Selphina bit his lip as if trying to endure pain.
'Is he in pain again?'
"I’ll go get Mr. Finneas."
"No!"
As I was about to rush out of the bedroom, Selphina quickly grabbed my fingers. Then, he let go, startled by his own action. He muttered in a small voice.
"...I’m fine. I’m not in pain anymore."
"Really?"
In response to my question, Selphina slowly nodded. Then, he started to scrutinize my reaction.
"Why are you doing this? Did you have a nightmare?"
"You were disgusting yesterday."
"Huh?"
"I’m sorry for dirtying your dress. I tried to hold it in, but on days like yesterday, the blood comes out regardless of my will."
Despite being in so much pain yesterday, he was worried that I might be shocked or find him disgusting. I felt a lump in my throat.
"No, it’s fine. Selphina. A few dresses can be replaced. I have a lot of money, you know."
"Really?"
"More importantly, it’s more important that you’re not in pain."
I squatted down to meet Selphina’s eyes and extended my hand.
"Want to go have breakfast together?"
Selphina looked at my outstretched hand. Then, he frowned, neither smiling nor crying.
"Are you not feeling well, Duchess?"
"I’m perfectly fine. Oh, is your hand hurting now?"
Selphina smiled as if it was inevitable and took my hand.
"Alright. I’ll wash up and go with you."
The warmth of our clasped hands was particularly comforting. ***
"What is it?"
As Selphina and I entered the dining room, everyone’s attention focused on us. Selphina ignored them and pulled out a chair for me to sit, escorting me.
"Goodness, Selphina."
Cerisia clapped her hands in amazement at Selphina.
"Selphina, who was so sick yesterday, has finally become a human being?"
Despite being so worried and on the verge of tears yesterday.
"Are you still in pain?"
Cerisia laughed teasingly and alternately touched Selphina’s forehead and her own. Selphina, looking annoyed, coldly pushed her hand away.
"Get lost."
Cerisia, rubbing her swollen hand, looked at me in surprise.
"...To me, you’re still the same. Shasha, what did you do? How did you tame this stubborn brat?"
"Me? I didn’t do much."
I put down the silver spoon I had picked up to eat soup. Seeing this, Selphina frowned deeply.
"The Duchess needs to eat. Don’t bother her. And why am I a stubborn brat?"
"Because you are one."
"Then Cerisia must be a stubborn drunkard."
"What?"
"You’re always stubborn and drunk on wine."
"That’s because I have to taste wine for my business. Can’t help it, you know?"
"Whatever."
"Want to see what a truly stubborn person looks like, Selphina?"
The two of them bickered like friends for a while. The argument ended when Selphina turned his head away, dismissing Cerisia’s words. As their conversation concluded, Terdeo, who was enjoying brunch, nodded in agreement and asked.
"Seeing Selphina escort someone is a first. Did you find some weakness to exploit?"
At Terdeo’s short remark, Cerisia turned her head sharply and said coldly.
" Theo, watch your words."
"…?"
"Our Shasha isn’t the type to exploit weaknesses. If she were, she would have already exposed our family’s secrets. Don’t you think?"
Terdeo slowly shook his head and muttered.
"...Now that I look, it seems you’ve tamed not only Selphina but Cerisia as well."