Chapter 59
====
"What exactly is the nature of your illness?"”
“……”
Odelia was momentarily speechless.
It was the first time someone had questioned her about it so directly.
Everyone had simply believed the vague rumors spread by the Cardel Family.
“…My heart often hurts,” Odelia said evasively.
The side effects of Purification often involved chest pains or spitting up blood.
Perhaps it was for the best.
She was fine now, but as time went on, her poor health would become more and more apparent.
Though it should never happen, it might be wise to establish what her illness was, in case she was found out.
While she was having these thoughts…
Castia’s questioning continued.
“In any case, it’s not a hereditary condition, is it? You are the first in the Cardel Family to have such a weak constitution, Princess.”
“…I believe so.”
“That’s one good thing, but other than that, there’s nothing to see.”
Ludville… Odelia could understand why Ludville had confined the former Grand Duke. No, she shouldn’t think like that.
She shouldn’t think that he deserved such treatment just because of his eccentric personality.
Odelia felt her patience wearing thin for the first time in a while, but she forced an awkward smile.
“Still, you must have learned some swordsmanship, right?”
“…No.”
“No?”
Castia looked at her as if she couldn’t believe it, as if to say, how could that be?
She lightly took Odelia’s hand and then frowned, as if she understood.
“Smooth, soft skin… There’s no sign of training. You’d collapse in a snowstorm.”
“It’s not that bad…”
“Have you ever defeated any Monsters? At least a ‘Leasel,’ perhaps?”
“…Is there a need to defeat them?”
“It seems you haven’t even caught a mouse, let alone a Leasel.”
She had never actually caught one, so she had nothing to say.
‘But why would I need to?’
It was the first time since her regression that Odelia had been so speechless.
Was the former Grand Duke’s criterion for his adopted son’s wife ‘high combat ability’?
Could that be why he adopted Ludville?
As Odelia remained silent, Castia stared at her intently before sighing.
“You seem to have a tender heart as well.”
If she kept her mouth shut, she would be seen as a weak-hearted person who could be blown away by a gust of wind.
Odelia had no choice but to interject and explain.
“I’m not as weak as I look.”
“Is that so? Then throw a punch at me.”
“…Excuse me?”
Castia seemed to be serious, not just saying it for the sake of it.
She held out a large, thick hand calloused with hard work in front of her.
As if telling her to throw a punch.
‘Why does she keep testing my combat ability?’
Odelia, under Castia’s fierce gaze and constant unspoken urging, eventually threw a punch.
Thwack.
Quite hard. At her mother-in-law’s hand…
“Are you joking? Do it properly. I want to see your sincerity, Princess.”
It was a sincere punch.
Odelia was feeling utterly powerless when…
Footsteps echoed from the end of the hallway.
The heavy sound of military boots, the measured stride.
A cold sense of oppression and a sharp madness intersected, making the very air feel sharp and cold.
It was Ludville.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he came over, wrapped his arm around Odelia’s waist, and naturally hid her behind him.
As if pulling her into his territory.
She almost showed her surprise, but she belatedly remembered.
‘Come to think of it, we agreed to pretend to be deeply in love and marry.’
But to touch her so freely.
‘He could have warned me.’
Her heart almost dropped.
In any case, Ludville glared at Castia with cold eyes and said,
“I would appreciate it if you refrained from saying unnecessary things to my future wife.”
“……”
Future wife.
The title, which should have felt unfamiliar and uncomfortable, felt like it had finally found its place.
All because of the thousands of regressions she had seen through Ludville’s memories.
Odelia pressed down on her wildly beating heart and pretended not to know her own feelings.
And she recalled what Ludville had said a few days ago.
Or rather, Odelia had asked first.
“If the former Grand Duke comes, how should I treat him?”
Ludville’s response was indifferent.
“Don’t worry about it. They may be adoptive parents, but like the contract you have with me, our relationship with them is only based on mutual need.”
He paused for a moment before adding,
“After the ceremony, you will never have to meet them again, and they will never be deeply involved in my affairs.
There’s no need to worry. What can they do? Since they adopted me and even passed on the title, they have no right to take it back.
…Hmm, well, if it bothers you, I can make it so you don’t have to worry about it at all.”
“……”
“Tell me if you need anything.”
He was once a man she had loved deeply, but she couldn’t help but be at a loss for words whenever he was like this.
What aspect of this man did the Excepcion Family’s former Grand Duke see that made him adopt him?
‘His skill, perhaps?’
Seeing him assess Odelia and constantly say she looked weak, it seemed highly likely.
If skill was the criterion, there would be no one in the world who could surpass Ludville.
When she asked Edwin to investigate, it seemed that he was also known as a genius in this life.
Not only was he skilled in swordsmanship, but he also easily learned the abilities of magicians and sorcerers whenever he encountered them on the battlefield.
‘Because he experienced it all before the regression.’
But when it came to personality, aside from skill…
Odelia rolled her eyes and looked at him.
Ludville stood silently without any particular reaction, and just… seemed uninterested.
‘It’s a blessing that he’s keeping his mouth shut…’
He didn’t seem to have any intention of getting rid of the former Grand Duke yet.
To be precise, it was closer to saying that he didn’t even have the enthusiasm to take on such a troublesome task.
Still, she couldn’t let the former Grand Duke be confined.
Ludville had a hundred years to live, and she couldn’t let him start with the label of a parricide.
In all likelihood, it would be recorded in the Excepcion Family’s genealogy as a disgrace to the family.
And the former Grand Duke too.
It was too bad for him to meet such an end just because he adopted the wrong son.
‘…Let’s give up on trying to please the former Grand Duke.’
If the criteria for pleasing her were strong physique, excellent combat ability, and a practical person who could survive in battles against Monsters…
Odelia was already disqualified.
Well, when she used her Purification ability, Odelia was an unparalleled and unique existence. She also had a record of catching a thief with her bare hands.
But that wasn’t the kind of ability Castia wanted.
‘It’s like she just wants a female Ludville.’
Odelia had no choice but to completely revise her initial goal of trying to please her.
‘Even if she doesn’t like my conditions, let’s aim for a level where she wouldn’t bother kicking me out of the position of Grand Duchess.’
That alone would be a success.
It was then.
Castia quietly frowned as she looked at Ludville, who was hiding Odelia behind him as if protecting her.
And she sighed as if she had a headache.
“I thought you were a wise man who could see reality better than anyone else.”
“……”
“I let you run wild when you suddenly went crazy about blue eyes. I thought that when it was time to settle down, you would return to your rational self and think about a successor to the family.”
She looked down at Odelia.
A frail and pale-faced silver-haired Princess who exuded an aura as if she would disappear at any moment.
“But you’re going to make this weak woman the Grand Duchess of Excepcion?”
