Chapter 48
* * *
The Ducal Palace became noisy.
Because the Princess was in the arms of her lord, who had returned after several days.
"I can walk by myself..."
Odelia protested softly.
"Be still."
Ludville hugged her even closer with an indifferent face.
An order was immediately given to summon the physician.
The retainers and servants, who had been anxiously waiting for the two while going back and forth between the Ducal Palace and the detached palace, were literally frozen.
'…What on earth happened?'
No one opened their mouths, simply stepping aside so as not to hinder Ludville's steps.
Thanks to this, he didn't stop even once, holding Odelia in his arms and turning straight into the inner corridor—
—heading to the Grand Duke's bedroom.
"…!"
One of the maids covered her mouth, and the chief aide, Lian, dropped the documents he was holding.
Even the head butler, Theodore, who rarely showed agitation, couldn't close his mouth.
"He, he must be going to the guest room… right?"
"No, it was definitely… His Highness's bedroom."
A quiet ripple spread among the retainers.
The captain of the royal guard, Gares, merely crossed his arms in the midst of the confusion and quietly sighed.
"…Looks like I'll be busy from today."
He muttered lowly and said to the soldier next to him.
"Summon the physician first. As quickly as possible."
* * *
"She was on the verge of fainting?"
The physician checked the heat on her forehead with the back of his hand, confirmed the pupillary response, and muttered with a constant sigh.
Odelia was catching her breath with a pale face.
A subtle tremor remained in her fingertips, and light bruises bloomed on her body as traces of excessive mana flow.
Although she was still lying quietly without any outward disarray.
"With this level of internal injury, it would have been difficult to even walk properly. How did you endure it, Princess?"
The physician pressed his forehead with a troubled look, as if another difficult patient had been added.
"So what about it?"
Ludville's unique, cold tone cut across the room.
The physician startled, raised his head, and quickly straightened his posture.
"Ah, yes. General exhaustion due to excessive mana consumption, and signs of minor blood vessel rupture and muscle stiffness are visible. It has subsided now, but absolute rest is needed for several days."
He carefully added.
"Even minor movements are forbidden. Especially using mana again… I mean, you must absolutely avoid using that 'Purification' power."
Ludville stared silently at Odelia with an expressionless face.
Odelia closed her eyes, as if avoiding his gaze, which seemed to have so much to say.
'He's only mentioning mana consumption, as expected.'
What the physician mentioned was merely the outwardly visible symptoms.
The physician didn't know that the internal damage caused by Purification was accumulating and gnawing away at her lifespan little by little.
Purification was a special ability that only Odelia possessed.
'I didn't know that Cardel thoroughly hiding the existence of the Purifier would be this helpful.'
Currently, Cardel was the only one who knew that the Purifier's life was consumed as the price of Purification.
'It's a relief. At least I won't be caught by the physician's diagnosis.'
Suppressing the creeping chills, Odelia felt relieved.
But…
"How much mana was used for the Purification?"
Ludville's question was sharp.
He was asking the physician, but his gaze was constantly piercing through Odelia.
"I don't know anything about the Princess's abilities, but… repeating Purification more than twice a day could have a fatal impact on her life."
Odelia inwardly flinched at the physician's answer.
'…Was I found out?'
But she was relieved by the physician's following words.
"Because the 'Purification ability' seems to consume much more mana than ordinary magic."
Fortunately, it was only a medical judgment about 'mana consumption.'
He didn't seem to know that Purification was related to lifespan.
'Still, it might be just as troublesome.'
It was a bit difficult that he had noticed that much.
Because it would restrict Odelia's use of Purification abilities in the future.
As expected…
Glancing back, Ludville's violet eyes had darkened to the point of appearing black.
He took out the contract and resolutely wrote down a new clause.
[Article 11. The Princess is prohibited from performing Purification more than twice a day, and if this is violated, the rights to subsequent treatment and management shall be entirely vested in the Grand Duke.]
"What does 'management rights' mean?"
"Well. Wouldn't it mean monitoring, protecting, and intervening in your overall physical condition when necessary?"
His tone was calm, but it felt somehow dangerous.
"…How are you going to monitor, protect, and intervene?"
"I'll leave that to your imagination."
"…"
If you say it like that, isn't this no different from a consent form to abandon my body?
As Odelia looked at him with a sullen gaze, he briefly added.
"It's a measure to protect you."
He approached her side and straightened the disheveled blanket.
His fingertips were careful, and suppressed emotions were evident in every movement.
"Don't do this again."
"…"
"…There's no reason to trade it for your life, whatever it is."
Odelia didn't say anything, swallowed a sigh, and closed her eyes again.
It was to hide the wavering in her eyes.
It was a word she had heard countless times from Ludville.
Thousands, or perhaps tens of thousands of times…
'…He should have lost his memories, so why is he so similar?'
She was the one who drew the line first, saying to exclude emotions.
But she couldn't stop his words from seeping into her heart.
They were things that shouldn't be revealed now.
* * *
A faint scent of medicinal herbs lingered in the room.
Double curtains were drawn on the window, and the embers in the fireplace faintly emitted warmth.
A day had passed since Odelia regained consciousness.
Her body had stabilized to some extent, but she was still recovering while lying down.
The bedroom was quiet.
"Your forehead is still a bit hot, Princess."
She whispered, carefully wiping her forehead.
"I'll go change the water."
"Okay…"
Odelia quietly closed her eyes and caught her breath inside the blanket.
She heard Leona leaving the room, and soon after, the door carefully opened.
Heavy and measured footsteps slowly approached the bed.
Odelia could guess who it was without opening her eyes.
'He came again…'
The senses engraved on her whole body remembered him.
A hot body temperature that didn't cool down even in the cold north wind.
Regular and deep breathing that didn't waver on any battlefield.
And a thick, long-lasting scent mixed with leather and wood.
It was Ludville.
He carefully placed the wet towel he was holding on Odelia's forehead.
His fingertips were excessively cautious.
As if handling very fragile glass.
He probably met Leona outside, said he would do it, and snatched the towel and bowl away.
The image of him doing such a thing with that stern face was vividly drawn in her mind.
He grabbed Odelia's wrist and quietly checked her pulse with his fingertips.
As if confirming that she was alive.
Even though he knew very well that a person couldn't suddenly die overnight.
