Translator: Nox

Chapter 5

Episode 5

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Cool air and the smell of rain.

I didn't even have the strength to turn my head, so I just listened to the sound of rain falling outside the window.

It was only the third day since we set out for the capital.

I suddenly came down with a fever and became unable to move, so the Young Duke and his party decided to stay at the same inn until I recovered.

My whole body was burning, and I felt as heavy as if I were carrying a shroud.

Ever since I was young, I had never been properly fed, only subjected to abuse and exploitation, so my body couldn't help but break down at the slightest hardship.

Ugh…

As a faint groan escaped my lips, something cold touched my forehead.

With great effort, I lifted my eyelids and saw the Young Duke checking my temperature with his hand on my forehead.

His sharp nose and porcelain-like skin.

And eyes that, despite his sharp demeanor, weren't entirely harsh.

With a few shirt buttons loosened and his sleeves rolled up, I thought he was quite handsome.

To be thinking such things while I was sick.

His mother must have been exceptionally beautiful as well.

The Duke is also handsome, but… the Young Duke is far more so.

“Speaking of which, what kind of person was the Young Duke’s mother?”

I asked him, my voice hoarse, and the Young Duke’s eyes widened for a moment.

It was understandable, as I hadn't asked about his personal life in days.

“…I don’t have a mother. She passed away a long time ago.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I was rude.”

“Not at all. It was so long ago that I barely remember her.”

His words seemed genuine, yet he spoke without any emotion, as if recounting someone else’s story.

As silence fell in the room, the Young Duke spoke first.

“What were Bestia’s adoptive parents like?”

“They were hardly people you could call human. When I was young, they starved me or beat me, and when I got older, they just made me work.”

“……”

“When I was a child, I was so hungry that I once picked up and ate fruit peels someone had thrown away.”

They say that time usually romanticizes memories.

But the memories of those trash-like humans didn't romanticize at all; they only stirred up more anger within me.

“I see.”

The Young Duke turned his head abruptly, his expression unreadable.

His actions were impossible to fathom, only raising more questions.

“…Shall I kill them?”

“Huh? No? If you go around killing people like that, you’ll go to jail.”

“Indeed, that seems too lenient a punishment for such trash. Do you perhaps have any other preferred method of dealing with them…?”

He seemed to be contemplating seriously, his gaze chillingly fixed, his eyes tinged with a strange darkness.

A laugh escaped me at his expression. He looked at me with surprise, but said nothing more.

I’ll have to be careful not to grow too attached over the next year.

\ \ \

“Bestia, you are awake?”

“Yes. Good morning, Young Duke.”

Thanks to the Young Duke’s care, I, who usually suffered for a week with a single cold, was able to return to my daily life quickly.

We were supposed to arrive in about two more days, so this ordeal would soon be over!

“Then let’s go eat.”

It seemed the story about the fruit peels had deeply shocked the Young Duke, as he became unusually attentive to my meals.

If I tried to be picky, he would subtly push more food onto my plate, like a parent scolding a child for refusing to eat.

Being treated like a child by someone only a few years older than me stung my pride.

Just as I was starting to feel annoyed, he placed a dessert in my hand.

He was treating me like a child, no doubt about it.

But I was simple-minded enough to have my mood instantly lifted by sweets.

The Young Duke seemed to be making a considerable effort, as if determined to win me over within the year.

Thanks to him, my complexion had improved significantly since I met him.

Ah, I shouldn’t get too used to this.

On our way back to the inn after eating.

I heard the sounds of a large crowd gathering and murmuring.

“Kyaaaaaaak!”

“H-here, someone’s been crushed!”

I turned my gaze towards the screams and saw a huge hole had opened up in the ground, causing a building to collapse.

Before I could even figure out the cause of the hole, I saw people being carried away, covered in blood.

“Wait a moment. I can at least provide first aid.”

The person was barely clinging to life, their breathing as precarious as if they were about to take their last breath.

Small wounds could be healed with weak magic, but it was a different story for rare diseases or fatal injuries that could kill instantly.

No Healing Magic was a panacea.

Even the most skilled mage had to accept a certain degree of risk when using Healing Magic.

Trying to completely cure someone on the verge of death could lead to the caster’s own death.

But if I left them like this, they would die, so at least first aid…

“Bestia, you only recently got out of bed. Do not overexert yourself.”

Still, how could I just pass by someone who was dying?

Ignoring the Young Duke’s attempts to stop me, I placed my hand on the patient’s wound.

Huh…? Something feels different than usual?

Even though I used magic, I felt no drain on my energy.

And the light… it’s too intense!

A powerful light burst from my fingertips, as if I had brought the sun to my hand.

And a moment later, the patient came into view.

“My, my…”

Not only I, but everyone who witnessed this was speechless.

The patient, who had been on the verge of death, was now blinking with both eyes, as if they had never been injured.

As soon as the Young Duke saw this, he began examining me from head to toe, checking if I was hurt.

Anyone would think we were parent and child.

I had never received such overprotection in my life, and while it was uncomfortable, I didn’t dislike it.

“Bestia, let’s return to the inn for now.”

The Young Duke gently took my wrist and pulled me along.

As he led me away, a subtle flicker of unease crossed his eyes.

\ \ \

“Beth, you must wake up.”

The familiar, gruff low voice.

After several days of traveling to the capital, being carried by the Young Duke due to the coachman’s terrible driving.

During that time, the Young Duke and I had been practically inseparable, moving together towards the capital.

His handsomeness was something I couldn’t quite get used to, but his embrace was quite comfortable, allowing me to sleep more soundly than at home.

It was absurd, but I even felt a little disappointed when it ended…

This is bad. He’s just a handsome sofa!

“Are we arriving at the Duke’s Mansion soon?”

“Yes. However, it is likely that many will question this marriage.”

I would question it too.

A common girl, no different from a commoner, marrying the Young Duke.

I would gain much, but the Duke’s family would gain nothing from this marriage.

Some would be envious and jealous, and I could already see others looking down on me.

“Therefore, I have thought of a plan.”

Oh, so he had a plan all along. He really is the Young Duke.

“Yes? What plan?”

I asked, filled with anticipation, thinking he was quite reliable.

“From now on, I will pretend to have fallen in love with Beth at first sight.”

I’ll take back that thought.

“The Young Duke? Me?”

“Yes. If I say I brought you here because I liked you, everyone will stop doubting.”

“…Then should I also pretend to be in love?”

“No. Beth, just focus on adapting to life at the Duke’s Mansion.”

That’s a relief. Having to pretend to be in love with the Young Duke…

Just imagining it made my hair stand on end from awkwardness.

As the carriage stopped, he paused for a moment and carefully helped me down.

As I stepped out of the carriage, I saw a group of people rushing towards us from the mansion.

“My new daughter-in-law!! I’ve missed you so much!”

“D-Duke?”

Where has the dignity of House of Duke Russell gone?

Before I could even prepare myself, the Duke and the mansion’s servants were practically charging towards the carriage.

The ground trembled from the sheer number of people running.

Is it okay for him to be running like that when he’s unwell?

I looked at the Young Duke with concern, but he seemed indifferent.

“My new daughter-in-law, you’ve decided to marry my son. We must arrange the wedding ceremony immediately…”

“Father, let’s go inside and talk first.”

“Ah, yes. Yes. I got carried away. I will guide you. My new daughter-in-law.”

The Duke extended his hand to me with a welcoming smile.

Guilt washed over me at the Duke’s actions, unaware of the Young Duke’s conditional proposal.

As I reached out to take the Duke’s hand, the Young Duke beside me gently took my hand.

“Beth, did you just offer your hand to another man?”

Ah, so the act started immediately?

But that’s your father, not just ‘another man.’

“Ah, son…”

Look at that, the Duke’s hurt expression!

My mouth fell open at the Young Duke’s outrageous act, which had crossed a line.

I nudged his arm with my elbow, trying to signal him.

“Look at this. Beth wants to hold my hand too, doesn’t she?”

Snap out of it! You’re marrying him because of the Duke!

“Ho ho, I was being insensitive… Fitz, you show her around. Let’s have dinner together later.”

“D-Duke, that’s not what I meant. I!”

“It is not, my new daughter-in-law. We have prepared several rooms, so please use the one you like best.”

He turned and walked away with a weary gait, as if he couldn’t hear anything else.

“…Young Duke, wasn’t that too much?”

“I’m sorry, Beth. It’s just that I wanted to be alone with you…”

As if conscious of the servants behind us, he shamelessly mimicked the mournful tone of someone rejected by their lover.

Something has gone terribly wrong.

To be continued in the next chapter ▶