Chapter 49
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"…….”
Odelia felt a strange emotion at Ludville's actions.
“……You’re here again.”
She said without opening her eyes.
“…….”
“I’ve taken all my medicine, and the doctor has been. His Highness even changed the towel just now.”
Ludville paused for a moment.
But soon, as if it were nothing, he withdrew his hand and said, “……Your breathing seemed irregular.”
“I don’t think you needed to come and go five times.”
“…….”
Again, he offered no explanation.
A strange silence fell between them.
Ludville picked up the teapot on the table and poured warm herbal tea.
He placed the cup near her hand and said, “Didn’t we agree that I would be in charge of the follow-up treatment?”
That clause, was it being applied from now on?
Odelia recalled the clause that had instantly turned the marriage contract into a waiver of her body.
[Article 11. The Princess is prohibited from performing Purification more than twice a day, and if this is violated, the Grand Duke shall have exclusive rights to subsequent treatment and management.]
Monitoring, protecting, and intervening in her overall physical condition when necessary, he said.
“You’re taking care of me more plainly than I thought.”
She said, as if muttering to herself.
Just checking on her condition from the side and occasionally taking care of her.
‘At this rate…….’
Even if she used her Purification abilities excessively later, she might be able to get away with it to some extent.
Of course, she had no intention of deliberately ruining her body, but there might be unavoidable circumstances.
But Ludville replied as if he had read Odelia's intentions.
“This is the only time I’ll look after you.”
“…….”
“If you collapse and become bedridden again for the same reason…….”
For a moment, an intense emotion seemed to flicker faintly in his violet eyes.
He trailed off, as if swallowing the rest of his words.
“……Well. I’ll leave it to your imagination.”
He didn't raise his voice once, but it was more threatening than any threat.
Odelia suddenly recalled one of the countless regressions.
In that era, Ludville was the Emperor, and after placing Odelia in the position of Empress…….
‘……He confined me.’
The Empress’s Palace had everything.
Golden curtains, fluffy blankets, extravagant jewels and beautiful flowers, sweet desserts.
Doctors came and went morning and evening, and musicians played love songs in the garden every day.
But…….
The door was locked, and knights stood outside the window.
The only spaces she could walk to were the room, the bathroom, and the balcony.
Purification was forbidden.
A barrier suppressing magic power was laid throughout the Empress’s Palace.
“I have provided you with everything you need.”
“Because you must never be exposed to danger again.”
“……I love you, Odelia. My Empress.”
“If this isn’t love, then what is it?”
She recalled the mad words he whispered as he kissed her knee.
A life thoroughly controlled under the guise of simply ‘protecting’ her.
Odelia in that era was no different from a bird in a cage.
‘Back then…… that’s how it was.’
Ludville’s mental state was a little, well, very bad.
Although the contract mentioned management, Ludville, who had lost all his memories and didn't even know the concept of regression, wouldn't act so extreme now.
So that's probably not what he meant.
……Probably.
“Then, rest comfortably.”
He quietly turned away.
The door closed, and silence returned to the room.
Left alone, Odelia thought.
She would not repeat that era.
She would never let it happen again.
* * *
A few days later, Odelia barely recovered her strength.
But as soon as she opened her eyes, many things had changed.
First of all, Odelia was not allowed to return to the old Separate Palace.
“The Princess’s residence will be changed.”
Butler Theodore politely conveyed the Grand Duke’s message.
“From now on, the Princess will reside in the private bedroom that the Grand Duchess has used for generations, a room adjacent to the Grand Duke’s bedroom.”
Odelia blinked her eyes, her mind still hazy from sleep.
For a moment, she thought it was a dream, but it seemed to be reality.
“……Butler, isn’t the room I’m in now that room?”
“That’s right. The place where the Princess is currently located is where you will be staying from now on.”
Odelia was dumbfounded.
She clearly only remembered receiving a diagnosis from the doctor in the Grand Duke’s bedroom and closing her eyes almost fainting.
But when she opened her eyes, the bed had already been changed.
A scale that could not be compared to the existing simple and old guest room.
The ceiling was decorated with gold moldings and colorful murals, and a chandelier carved from crystal hung in the center.
The bed was a four-poster canopy bed.
The pure white canopy fabric subtly let light through and hung over the head of the bed, and a silk duvet embroidered with gold thread covered Odelia's body.
The windows were curved, floor-to-ceiling windows, and layers of pearl-colored lace curtains and purple velvet drapes wrapped around them.
When the maids drew back the curtains, the Ducal Palace garden could be seen beyond the window.
White birch trees, a quiet fountain, and a maze-like fence covered with snow spread out below the stone balcony.
This room was definitely not a simple guest room.
It was ‘the owner’s room’ no matter who looked at it.
“Did you move my room while I was asleep?”
Informing her after already moving the room.
“It was a measure taken in consideration of the Princess’s health.”
Theodore still spoke with a polite and courteous attitude.
“The Separate Palace has a lot of drafts due to its structure.”
“Still, without saying anything…….”
“If the Princess had been under the cold stone walls when she woke up, I would have lived with that heartbreaking scene in my heart for the rest of my life.”
He spat out a subtle joke.
Odelia could feel the sincerity in it.
It wasn't just because of his duties, but he seemed to have grown fond of her while worrying about and taking care of Odelia's health.
“In seasons like these when the sun rises late, the cold air seeping through the walls penetrates to the bone.”
Leona, a maid who had been there since who knows when, approached and smiled brightly.
Her face showed that her wish had come true and she felt refreshed.
“The northern wind in the middle of winter gnaws at people more relentlessly than Monsters.”
Odelia sighed softly.
‘I just fainted for a moment…….’
Her residence had already been changed.
Leona even said with an excited face from the morning.
“Princess, no, should I call you Madam now? Heu-ah, I’m so excited!”
It was true that she was going to be the Grand Duchess, and it wasn't exactly wrong…….
‘It’s a contract marriage, but isn’t it too serious?’
She felt like she was getting caught up in something.
Then Theodore said, as if he had belatedly remembered.
“Of course, there is also a separate room prepared for the two of you to share after you have a formal wedding.”
“…….”
Hmm.
Odelia thought that she should definitely add a clause that they should use separate rooms.
