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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: An Overwhelming Amount of Care
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Yelena deliberately ignored my question and offered me the medicine.
“It’s a fever reducer and something to help with digestion. You’ll have many more medicines to take from now on, but please hang in there. I will definitely make you healthy again, my lady.”
Seeing my face begin to crumple, Kivrin spoke urgently.
“Th-there’s no yummy food in h-heaven. So you can’t go.”
It was incredibly difficult to ignore the pleading attack from Kivrin’s large eyes.
His golden irises, like sunlight brushed with a spoonful of honey, sparkled brightly.
“...I’ll try.”
I felt like I would recover naturally just by eating and sleeping well, yet for some reason, I was being treated like a terminally ill patient with only a few days left to live.
Winter added a comment of her own.
“Could it be that her life is hanging by a thread because she eats like a bird?”
“H-ha...”
I’m pretty sure I eat more than a bird!
Even after the meal was over, Winter continued to watch me.
When I said I wanted to see the garden with Kivrin, Winter consented.
Then she took a seat on the outdoor terrace, which had a clear view of the garden.
Thanks to her, I felt Winter’s persistent gaze with every step I took, but it didn’t particularly bother me.
I knew she was watching over me out of genuine concern.
My own parents had always been busy with work during the day.
Winter, on the other hand, was another master of the ducal household.
Wouldn’t her workload be incomparable to theirs?
And now, with the friction with the Temple, she was likely as busy as the Duke himself.
Despite all that, she was spending her time on me.
The garden showed no signs of last night’s torrential downpour; there were no puddles to be seen.
The only things holding onto the undried raindrops were the fresh flowers.
As I admired the floral spectacle that harmonized with the fountain, I said to Kivrin.
“Your mother seems to be a surprisingly good person.”
It seemed Winter wasn’t the only one paying attention to me, as one of the maids let out a small chuckle.
Maybe I should have left out the ‘surprisingly’ part? But it’s true.
—She’s your wife. Your thing. Play with her until you’re bored.
My first impression of Winter Nectarian had been the absolute worst.
I had judged her to be exactly as she was described in **, nothing more and nothing less.
But the maids who had been behind Winter at that time were affiliated with the Temple.
They hadn’t just been monitoring Kivrin; they had been watching Winter as well.
Considering how much kinder Winter’s attitude had become since I arrived at the duchy, the surveillance from the Temple’s maids must have had some effect on her.
Kivrin’s eyes curved into crescents as he smiled.
“I like Mother, t-too.”
“You do?”
“And you too, of course, Cheria!”
“...”
I told you, I’m not jealous.
Still, a flicker of curiosity made me ask.
“What about the Duke?”
“Umm.”
“...”
Kivrin blatantly avoided my gaze.
He furrowed and unfurrowed his brow adorably before suddenly confessing.
“I-I have good ears.”
All of a sudden?
His intention to change the subject was painfully obvious, but I decided to play along.
“Is that so?”
“So I heard what M-Mother and Yelena were t-talking about.”
The fluffy shawl Yelena had wrapped around me before we left tickled my cheek.
Leaning in close to Kivrin so Winter wouldn't hear, I asked.
“Can you tell me what they said?”
“That your condition is a complete mess, Miss Cheria...”
I didn’t understand why everyone thought my condition was so serious.
Kivrin was just as thin as I was.
“Is there anything wrong with you, Young Lord?”
“I-I may look like this, but I’m h-healthy. But you’re n-not, Cheria.”
“...”
Kivrin’s voice was surprisingly stern.
“You’ve been out for t-too long already. W-we need to go inside and get w-warm.”
The corners of Kivrin’s eyes turned up, but he still looked like a porcelain doll made of honey and sugar.
“It hasn’t even been ten minutes...”
“Q-quickly.”
“...”
It seemed he had been thoroughly influenced by Yelena in that short time.
Kivrin dismissed my timid protest and took my hand.
He had gradually stopped hesitating to touch me, but I had no time to feel moved.
I was dragged back inside the ducal residence by Kivrin.
He led me to his bedroom and covered me with a blanket.
As if that wasn’t enough, he rolled me up in the blanket like a burrito.
“...D-don’t get sick.”
“...”
I wiggled my hands inside the blanket, but I couldn’t get free.
Kivrin paid no mind to my squirming and continued speaking.
“I used to be able to h-heal wounds, but now I c-can’t do anything.”
“...”
“I... I want to be h-helpful to you too, Cheria.”
Kivrin looked like he was about to cry.
I felt as if a needle was pricking my conscience.
Oh, whatever. The strong and dependable Cheria is taking the day off.
I relaxed my body, still wrapped tightly in the blanket.
“I’ll do as you say, Young Lord. See? I’m resting quietly.”
“I s-see.”
Kivrin lay down next to me.
Since I had taken the entire blanket, there was nothing for him to cover himself with.
“We can share.”
“It’s o-okay.”
“...”
Fearing I might misunderstand, Kivrin quickly added.
“I mean, it’s really okay.”
“Alright.”
The first minute was bearable.
I managed to endure for five minutes by staring at the ceiling.
But the sun was still high in the sky.
Though I felt a little drowsy from the medicine, I didn’t want to fall asleep.
When another five minutes or so had passed, I called out to Kivrin.
“Young Lord.”
“...”
...Huh?
I turned my head and saw Kivrin, who had fallen fast asleep.
His small, fern-like hand was tightly clutching the hem of my dress, which peeked out from the bundle of blankets.
I turned on my side to observe him.
A handful of sunlight, streaming through the window, was caught in his long eyelashes.
His white skin was as flawless as a carefully painted canvas.
The scales near his eyes didn’t seem ominous at all; rather, they shone with a clear, sacred light.
“Don’t like... Cheria being sick...” Kivrin mumbled in his sleep.
He was so cute that I couldn’t help but chuckle.
I hope Winter and Kivrin’s relationship recovers soon.
I watched Kivrin for a while longer before closing my eyes.
I had hated the silence of the Snake Pit, but the quiet of this moment felt incredibly sweet.
* * *
I was in a daze, half-asleep.
As I tried to burrow deeper into the blankets, Mera gently shook me awake.
“Miss Cheria, it’s time for lunch.”
“I’ve prepared a fish dish.”
“You must have some tea as well.”
I could hear the voices of other maids, too.
I forced my heavy eyelids open.
An array of dishes was laid out before me.
What is all this...
Even after rubbing my eyes, reality didn’t set in.
I was still lying in bed, and Kivrin was gone.
In his place was a feast as grand as the one from breakfast.
It seemed Mera had decided it was better to slightly change the purpose of the bedroom than to take me to the dining hall.
Mera and the maids held out dishes to me one by one.
“If you don’t have an appetite, would you like to try a fruit drink? We also have some soft bread and a poached egg here.”
“I prepared some spicy stew and smoked dishes, just in case you might like them.”
“Please try this chicken dish, too.”
“And you can’t forget the medicines Yelena prescribed!”
...Th-this is terrifying.
There was so much food that I was completely overwhelmed.
I carefully pushed the plates away and climbed out of the blankets.
“I’ll eat later.”
“You must have at least a little. Here, just eat this much.”
Mera offered me a plate piled with food like a three-tiered cake.
It looked delicious, having been made by the ducal chef, but unfortunately, I had no appetite at all right now.
“This isn’t a little...”
This was just a case of, ‘I didn’t know what you’d like, so I prepared everything.’
As I slowly backed away, Mera approached me.
“Children your age always eat this much, miss. Your mind will change after just one bite. Here, say ‘ah.’”
Mera gave me a pleading look.
It seemed she, too, had learned about my condition.
“How is it, miss? Delicious, right?”
“Mmm.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and forced the food into my mouth.
But one bite became two, and by the third, my stomach was rejecting it.
My stomach, which had rarely been full, had already reached its limit.
Ugh, what do I do? Mera will be so disappointed if I gag.
In the end, there was only one option.
“I’m sorry, my angel—no, Mera!”
“Ah, miss!”
Mera cried out as I scurried away.
I rushed down the stairs in a panic.
I had planned to go back to Mera after my stomach had settled a bit, but I ended up colliding with someone coming from the opposite direction.
