I hastily covered Terdeo with the blanket and shouted,
"T-This is just a coincidence...!"
Just as I was about to explain the circumstances, the servants entered in a rush to attend to the morning duties, appearing behind Selphius. Seeing this, Terdeo tried to get up and pulled me down forcefully by the waist. Then, he gently trapped me in his embrace and said,
"Since you sweated a lot last night, you should take a bath first."
With my face buried in Terdeo's chest, I made a horrified expression and waved my hands frantically at Selphius.
'You crazy guy, this isn't something to show a child!'
Selphius stood frozen, his mouth agape at the unfamiliar scene before him.
'It's not like that! Nothing happened!'
I tried hard to convey this with my mouth, but before my message could get through, the butler covered Selphius's eyes with his palm. He then smiled slyly and said,
"Master, come this way. I'll prepare some milk with honey for you."
The butler winked at us and led Selphius out of the bedroom.
"I'll come back when the sun rises, hehe."
Where are you going! Come back! It's not like that! Come back!
*** The breakfast table felt like sitting on a bed of thorns. The only sound filling the table was the clinking of cutlery. After finishing his meal, Terdeo wiped his mouth with a napkin and said to Selphius,
"I'll have the carriage prepared for you to return to your usual place."
"…I'm sorry for entering your bedroom without knocking this morning. I won't do it again."
Selphius quickly apologized as soon as Terdeo mentioned sending him back. It seemed he didn't want to return to the countryside where he lived. However, Terdeo was firm.
"That's not the issue. This is not the place for you to stay."
I glanced at the two of them, sensing the awkward atmosphere.
'I'll pretend to be sick, I'll pretend to be sick.'
Does Terdeo dislike Selphius? Does he find him so unbearable that he wants to send him away? If that's the case, why did he adopt him as a successor? I was curious, but it wasn't my place to interfere.
'Let the Raphaileon family handle their own affairs.'
I'm leaving in a year anyway. I sighed softly and picked at the salad on my plate.
"…Sorry."
Selphius, with his head bowed, muttered softly.
"What?"
"…I don't want to."
Selphius raised his head, his eyes filled with venom.
"Of course. You must hate seeing someone like me while enjoying your honeymoon."
No, we don't have a honeymoon to enjoy. Don't get the wrong idea.
"Especially since His Excellency has never liked me."
"Don't act like a child, Selphius."
At nine years old, you're still a child. I silently countered their words and put down my fork. In this situation, even drinking water would make me feel sick. Enraged by Terdeo's indifferent reaction, Selphius kicked his chair and stood up abruptly.
"If you're going to abandon me, why did you bring me here?"
Selphius's voice was trembling. I noticed his tightly clenched fists were also shaking.
"If you don't like me, you shouldn't have adopted me as a successor."
I saw now that the glint in his eyes was not venom but tears.
"I…"
"…"
"I want to stay here too!"
Selphius shouted and stormed out of the room. Bang! The sound of his bedroom door slamming echoed through the mansion. I stared at the swaying chandelier and then turned to Terdeo, who was rubbing his forehead with a troubled expression. I scolded him,
"You could have talked after breakfast. He didn't even eat properly last night."
"Selphius will be better off going to the cottage as soon as possible."
Terdeo, who had been speaking briefly, stood up.
"I have to go to the royal knight promotion examination today…"
"Why are you in such a hurry to send Selphius away?"
At my question, Terdeo stopped speaking and pressed his lips into a thin line.
"He can stay a little longer. He hasn't seen his family in a long time."
Terdeo ran his hand through his neatly styled hair. He clicked his tongue and said matter-of-factly,
"Selphius has a particularly strong poison among the members of our family. His body is affected a lot depending on his condition, especially since he's still young."
"…What kind of effect?"
"When he's not feeling well, the poison in his body makes him sick and miserable."
Terdeo sighed and stood up from his chair. He then said firmly, as if there was nothing more to discuss,
"Selphius needs the fresh air and isolation of the countryside cottage."
Ah, so the rumor that you're sending Selphius to the countryside and ignoring him is false. Although his tone was harsh, Terdeo's expression when talking about Selphius seemed softer than usual.
"You care about Selphius, don't you?"
"…Tsk, nonsense."
"You could just tell Selphius that. He seems to think you dislike him."
Terdeo lowered his gaze. Various emotions were visible in his eyes through his lashes.
"Just let him blame me. It's better that way."
"Why?"
"It's better than him blaming himself for being cursed."
Terdeo turned his body. He then headed to the study with the butler, presumably to prepare for his outing. I was left alone in the dining room. I alternated my gaze between the stairs Selphius had gone up and the direction Terdeo had headed.
'If he's the one to be blamed, I should be the one to comfort him.'
He's still a child, after all. Even if the Raphaileon family handles their own affairs, I can't just leave him like this. I stood up and headed upstairs. As soon as I reached the stairs, I heard a series of loud breaking sounds.
'Oh, they're having a big fight. He must have inherited Terdeo's temper.'
I sighed and climbed the stairs. At the door to Selphius's bedroom, I saw trembling maids.
"Did he chase you all out?"
The trembling maids nodded in response to my question.
"Master… threw decorative items from the table and got hurt."
"Master's hands were bleeding a lot… but he suddenly shouted for us to leave."
"We couldn't treat his injuries and had to leave."
Bleeding from his hands? I glared at the tightly closed bedroom door and then spoke to the trembling maid.
"Go get bandages, medicine, and cold water. The rest of you, go back to your duties. I'll handle this."
The maids exchanged glances at my command. But, thinking it was an opportunity, they quietly went down the stairs without a word. A moment later, one maid returned with bandages, medicine, and a glass of water. I took them from her and instructed her to go down. I stood in front of the door. Knock, knock.
"Selphius."
No response.
"If you don't open the door, I'll kick it down like last time."
Still no response.
"Even if it breaks, I won't know? …Of course, my foot will break, but."
Bang.
"Are you crazy? Why would you break an innocent door and your foot?"
As soon as I finished speaking, Selphius, looking bewildered, hurriedly opened the door and came out. How cute.
"My foot is innocent, and so is the door. And it was a joke. I wasn't going to break anything."
After muttering this, I slipped through the open door, and Selphius frowned.
"Go away. I'm not in the mood for jokes."
"Your hand is hurt, they said. It was bleeding a lot."
The bedroom was in a mess. Glass shards were scattered on the floor, and there were streaks of red blood. I frowned and looked at Selphius's hand. Sensing my gaze, Selphius quickly hid his bleeding hand behind his back. Selphius, with his head bowed, bit his lower lip hard.
"Go away."
Seeing the state of the bedroom, he must have been truly upset. I understood Terdeo's position, but I also understood Selphius's. Selphius is only nine years old. It's natural for a nine-year-old to rely on and want to be with a guardian. Even if being apart is for his own good, Terdeo seemed unaware of this. I placed the tray on the table and handed him a glass of cold water.
"Drink."
Selphius, frowning, took the glass of water I offered.
"What is this?"
"Water."
Selphius took a sip and made a face.
"Is it cold?"
"What…!"
"To clear your head. Are you feeling better now?"
I took the glass from Selphius's hand and placed it on the tray.
"No one will know what you're thinking unless you say it. Venting won't change anything."
"…"
"If you want to stay here, say it properly. Then I can also ask His Excellency…"
"Who are you to ask for me?"
Selphius's voice was sharp. The child glared at me with venomous eyes.
"Are you my mother?"
I was momentarily speechless. Since Terdeo adopted Selphius, he was legally his father. And since I married Terdeo, I was legally Selphius's mother. But I couldn't answer Selphius's question. As if he had anticipated my inability to answer, Selphius let out a hollow laugh.
"You don't think of me that way, do you? So why are you concerned about a stranger like me?"
Just to avoid people saying he's not the Raphaileon heir. You really are a carbon copy of him.
"Take care of yourself in this mansion. Don't worry about someone like me."
Selphius, speaking with a doubtful tone, turned his body abruptly.
'Should I give him a good slap on the back?'
I suppressed my rising anger and drank the cold water Selphius had just had. Clear your head with cold water. Calm down, the other party is a child. After a clean one-shot, I grabbed Selphius's bleeding hand without hesitation.
Selphius's body stiffened like a rock.
"What…!"
"Do you have to be something to interfere?"
The shocked Selphius tried to pull his hand away, but I didn't let go.
"Can't I just want to treat your injury?"
I took out a handkerchief and forcibly wiped the blood from Selphius's back of the hand and palm. Fortunately, it didn't seem like any glass had embedded itself.
"I just want to be on your side. Is that not allowed?"
I scooped up a generous amount of medicine with my finger and applied it to Selphius's cuts from the glass. I didn't forget to blow on the wounds to soothe the sting. As my breath touched the wounds, Selphius's struggling magically stopped.
"…So why do you want to be on my side?"
Selphius, with a subdued voice, looked at his medicated hand.
"Even though you're an outsider and shouldn't meddle…"
"…"
"I just want you to be happy in every moment. That's why I'm doing this."
"…!"
I carefully applied the medicine and then bandaged Selphius's hand. Although my skills were a bit clumsy, it was better than doing nothing.
"Don't do this again. You won't gain anything by hurting yourself."
I firmly told Selphius.
"Breaking things when you're angry is a bad habit."
"…Who was it that tried to break the door?"
"You broke things, and I didn't."
The child's face up close was a mix of various emotions, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
"Hey, you're bleeding from your lip. Biting your lip is also a bad habit."
I should tell Terdeo to be careful around the child. I applied medicine with my pinky finger and tapped Selphius's lip.
"Do you not know what my blood is?"
"I already said I know everything."
"Then how can you do that?"
Selphius quietly lowered his gaze.
"How can you not run away when you see my blood?"
I suddenly remembered what Terdeo had said last night. That Cersia likes me because I do nothing. That usually people try to run away, and no one has ever tried to do nothing. It seemed Selphius thought the same.
"Aren't you afraid of this curse?"
"Originally, all wounds are like that. They're not scary, they just look painful."
That's all. I just spoke honestly about what I felt. Selphius's lips trembled.
"And I…"
It's okay because I don't die from drinking blood. Just as I was about to say this,
"…Cough."
I suddenly sensed something wrong with my body. I felt my legs losing strength. I grabbed Selphius's shoulder firmly to keep from falling.
"What, what is it?"
Selphius's panicked voice was barely audible. This sensation. I knew it all too well because I had experienced it twice already! I clutched my heart, which was about to stop, and alternated my gaze between the medicine on Selphius's lip and the glass of water.
'Damn it!'
When Selphius drank the water, a bit of blood from his lip had mixed in. I drank it.
'Why did I stupidly drink the cold water! It's not to clear my head, but to lose consciousness!'
My vision blurred.
'I was just so cool! Dying like this would be embarrassing! No! Don't die! Don't fall!'
I tried to hold on to my consciousness, but my body was already out of my control.
"Why, why is this happening! Hey!"
No, don't be scared. I'll wake up soon, right? I tried to say this, but the pain in my throat prevented me from speaking. Waves of pain surged through my body. My weakened body fell to the floor, passing by Selphius.
"Your Highness, the Duchess!!"
I could feel Selphius, sobbing, shaking my fallen body.
"Don't, don't die! Please, don't die!"
No, I won't die.
"Go… get… Ter… Terdeo…"
Go get Terdeo. I won't die! My mouth opened, but the only sound that came out was a choking noise.
"Your Highness, the Duchess!"
And I, unfortunately, died again. …No, I fainted as if I had died.