29 - Valentina's Paradise
James, prostrate on the floor, clenched his fists. It seemed things were about to escalate.
“And Lord James of Nebulosa, you are to remember every word I say from this moment on and deliver it to Duke Edgar. In secret.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Duke Edgar, I shall lend you a hand. Once the situation is resolved, Terra Petronia will soon meet its rightful new owner. Perhaps even Regio Florida. So…”
James felt his heart suddenly pound at the unexpected words. Anna Angela, instead of continuing, slowly moved toward the doorway. Anna and her maids passed by in a line right next to James, who was still prostrate on the floor. The rustling of long, flowing skirts dragging on the carpet, hushed whispers, the overpowering scent of musk—James felt dizzy.
“…With that much, Edgar, I can expect a generous gift from you, can’t I?”
Her languid voice lingered from behind. The maids’ giggling laughter faded into the darkness.
“……”
The darkness deepened. The dinner Pepe had brought grew lukewarm, but Edeled remained unconscious. Valentina sat by the bed, lost in thought.
Her mind was a mess. It felt like several voices were shouting and fighting inside her head. Instead of avoiding them, Valentina tried to hear each one clearly.
You will clash head-on with Edgar. You have a duty to support your husband.
No, just because Edgar is your husband doesn’t mean you have to support his actions.
But if he wants to live in Florida, he can’t just ignore the threat of Petronia behind him, can he? No proper ruler would leave their homeland with a knife at their back.
Still, what’s wrong is wrong. Edeled doesn’t have to lose his life.
Then what are you going to do? Persuasion won’t work, will it?
Then should I secretly help him escape before Edgar arrives?
Thinking about it, Valentina bit her lip. As Edeled said, sending him out alone was as good as telling him to die in the streets. But she couldn’t assign him knights either, unless she wanted to advertise that she had helped him escape.
Besides, there was nowhere suitable to send him. To ensure his safety, he would have to entrust himself to a lord of a region equal to Terra Nebulosa. Entrusting himself to a minor lord would likely result in him being sold for money, let alone protected, or killed by Edgar’s pursuers.
Most of all…
- What if you get caught helping him escape? Do you think he won’t know? What about that betrayal? You could lose a lot of trust. Would you tolerate Edgar doing that to you?
Valentina, her head throbbing with thought, sighed and stood up. She was concerned that the patient’s face and neck had turned reddish, as if he had a fever. The night air was quite chilly, and he would probably catch a cold if he lay there without even covering himself properly with the blanket.
“The medicine must be dry by now.”
Valentina hesitated as she reached out to touch the area where she had applied the herbal poultice, careful not to wake him.
“……”
She felt her own cheeks gradually warming up.
Pepe was wrong. It was impossible to look at this body with indifference, as if it were a stone. Edeled’s body, though a little thin, was as straight, harmonious, and beautiful as a statue from the old empire. His skin was clean and smooth, and he was tall with long legs. The large and small muscles on his body were sharp and delicate rather than rough, firm and fresh. It was a body well-honed by long training. She had been watching him as if possessed since earlier, and she felt like she could watch him all night without getting tired of it.
Holding a candlestick in one hand, she carefully examined his body, making sure not to let any wax drip. The part covered by the blanket was tantalizingly close, but she had no intention of lifting it like a child. As Pepe said, that was not something a virtuous lady would do.
Valentina gently placed her fingers on the area where she had applied the herbal poultice to check if it was dry. She felt his body twitch. She stopped her hand and held her breath. Fortunately, Edeled did not wake up. She sighed in relief and then gently touched around the wound to see if she could apply a bandage.
As she stood up to get the bandage, Valentina noticed a part of the thin blanket bulging out. She had a strong urge to press it down with her hand, but she refrained because she thought it might wake Edeled.
Suddenly, she felt a strong gaze from the side.
“…Edeled?”
In the dim twilight at the edge where the yellow light of the candle faded, black eyes were shining. His face was so red that it looked like it would burst at any moment.
“……”
Without a word, he pulled the blanket around himself, turned his back, and covered himself. Valentina noticed that not only his face but also his neck and ears were flushed red. Valentina coughed for a moment and carefully opened her mouth.
“Edeled, are you awake? Do you feel better?”
“……”
“Pepe treated your wound earlier. Does it hurt? Do you have a fever?”
“I’m fine now. I don’t have a fever… You don’t have to touch me, I’m sorry for causing you concern…”
He flinched away from Valentina’s hand, quickly lowered his head, and covered himself.
“Edeled?”
“Damn it… I’m really fine. I’ve been fine since earlier. Ah, really…”
He covered his face with both hands and groaned as if scratching his neck, then covered himself with the blanket and began to tear at his hair. Valentina deliberately averted her gaze and pretended not to notice. She felt like she was about to burst out laughing. This man, who plotted as naturally as breathing and schemed as easily as eating, seemed to get caught in his own traps sometimes.
Finally, a deep sigh and a low voice came from under the blanket.
“…I apologize for unintentionally showing you such an unsightly sight.”
“Unsightly? I didn’t see anything like that, Gongzi.”
Of course, Valentina didn’t have much talent for acting. Edeled’s sigh grew louder.
“I appreciate you saying that.”
He barely poked his face out from under the blanket. Even after a long time, his neck and ears were still flushed red.
Valentina lit each candlestick. As the seven candles were lit at once, his face became clearer. The moon had already risen high outside the window.
He slowly looked around the room. His eyes widened.
“This is Her Highness’s room.”
“That’s right.”
“I’ve heard that the Florida Grand Ducal Family’s boudoir is a forbidden area for men… I don’t know what to do, having broken the rules.”
Valentina laughed lightly and brushed it off as a joke.
“Don’t worry. Since there was a first man who broke the rule, we’ve decided not to punish the second man.”
But seeing Edeled’s shoulders stiffen, she immediately stopped laughing. She could guess what he was thinking. In the midst of all this, she missed the timing to say that the first man was her father. Valentina was disgusted with herself for spouting such nonsense as a joke.
“…I’m just kidding, Edeled.”
The atmosphere became even more awkward. Clearly, Valentina had no talent for jokes or acting.
“A second man, that’s quite an honor.”
He replied calmly. He was at least a better actor than Valentina.
“Dominella, can Valentina's Heaven be seen from that window?”
“Yes, it can. But you mustn’t get up alone now. You might collapse again… I said you mustn’t get up! That’s an order… Can’t you hear me!”
“Then tie my body to the bed.”
…That mouth of his, really.
Valentina desperately wanted to tie up his mouth rather than his body.
“If that’s not to your liking, how about the option of me getting up with your support?”
As she stared at Edeled, who had already raised his upper body halfway, as if she was dumbfounded, he turned his head slightly and glanced at Valentina. His earlobes and cheeks were still flushed red. That must be a physiological reaction that couldn’t be faked. Valentina sighed and said soothingly.
“Instead of that, how about the option of eating something and regaining your strength before getting up, Gongzi?”
“Then how about the option of you feeding me a little and helping me get up, Dominella?”
Ah, really, she had met a very, very persistent negotiator…
Valentina sighed, picked up the tray, and sat next to him. Edeled, wrapped in the blanket, leaned against the headboard and rolled his eyes, then opened his mouth like a baby bird with a very excited face.
