It Was Me, Not You

At Baron’s words, her hand, which was holding the quilt, trembled.  Because she was stabbed in the corner.

Baron wrinkled his forehead as if in deep thought and turned his head to the duke.

“Your Majesty, she seem to be more unstable in mind than in physical pain right now.”

“Mind?”

The duke’s gaze turned to Baron after seeing Diana.

“Yes,Your Majesty. Her body’s energy will be greatly improved with medicine, but her unstable mind will not be treated with medicine.”

“Why did her mind suddenly become unstable? There wasn’t such a thing earlier?”

“It wasn’t good before, but I didn’t tell you because it wasn’t as severe as it is now. Did anything happen in between? If the unstable state of mind persists, it’s not good for her body to recover… I wish.”

The duke let out a short sigh at the doctor’s words.

He narrowed the gap between the bed and said to the doctor what he was thinking.

“Okay, let’s start with the medicine.” 

“Yes, my lord.”

As Baron replied, the maid walked over to Diana, placing her silver tray on her bedside table.

She held Diana’s torso, who couldn’t move.

The maid, who supported Diana with a cushion on her back, came back with a silver tray.

A small crystal glass was placed on the silver tray.

And inside the glass was a green liquid that you could guess the taste just by looking at it.

“You will use it a lot, but you must eat it all, miss.”

With the help of the maid, Diana took the medicine and squeezed her hand as she gripped the blanket.

‘It’s not like I used a lot.’

Nausea rose in the moment at her disgusting taste, but she couldn’t even frown on her because of the duke looking at her.

I was worried that if I spit out medicine or frowned, the duke would kick me out.

After swallowing all of her pills, Diana exhaled her breath ‘who’.

A foul odor spread from her mouth.

The maiden as well as the duke’s face was wrinkled, as if the smell resembled it.

When I regretted that I was going to breathe out a little late, duke looked at Baron and said,

“Is this the smell of a chitus herb?”

“Yes, my lord.”

The Grand duke’s eyes widened in surprise at Baron’s answer. Soon, his face hardened coldly.

“Isn’t that herb disgusting even for adults, so it’s hard to eat it? She ate it as a child? There must be a Dahlia herb that has the same effect as chitus, so why did you use it?”

Baron’s face was dyed with embarrassment at the cool gaze of the duke.

“That’s… Your Majesty, Daleian herbs are very precious and there are many of them in the Grand Duke.

There is no silver… It’s just… an unusable herb.”

Baron glanced at Diana and spoke carefully to the duke. After Baron’s words were finished, there was silence in the room for a moment.

Everyone understood the meaning of Baron’s words.

He said he couldn’t afford expensive herbs for the illegitimate child, Diana.

The duke’s gaze turned to Diana for a moment. Diana gently lowered her eyes as if they were examining my expression.

It wasn’t just that she had this happen once or twice, it was enough that she could get treatment.

But the duke’s hand caught Diana’s attention.

The duke clenched his fists so tightly that his bones were clearly visible.

It was as if he was struggling to hold back his boiling anger. The moment she was terrified of his incomprehensible behavior, the duke’s low voice rang out.

“It’s okay to use all of Daleia, so don’t think about anything else for Diana’s treatment in the future.”

What?

Diana raised her head, who had been so surprised.

The eyes of the duke and Diana met.

It’s okay to use all the expensive herbs, so don’t waste it.

She wondered if what she had heard was right.

As she looked at the duke with unbelievable surprise, her golden eyes that met him were slightly shaken at this moment.

Soon the duke first avoided Diana’s gaze.

The duke narrowed his eyebrows slightly, looking at Baron, who was still unable to hide his surprised light.

“…Baron, why no answer?” 

“Yes? Oh, yes, I’ll keep that in mind. Your majesty.”

Baron bowed his head to the duke.  It was then that Diana knew that she had heard it right.

She couldn’t understand the duke’s actions, but the first feeling she felt was relief.

At least now she didn’t think he would drive her out of his castle.

Even if Diana could not understand, for now, she decided to just think about not going against the will of the duke.

‘Now I have to survive here somehow.’

Now that she’s not with Leah, it’s no different than being kicked out of the  castle right now.

If she returns to Leah and is immediately kicked out of the castle in this state, the result will be only death.

So, in this mansion, you live like a dead mouse, only breathing.

Most of the maids of the Grand Duke were people who had worked since childhood, and sometimes they would talk about the things they did when they were young.

At that time, there were a few stories that I had listened to. What little children can do.

So let’s stay here until the age of 15.

Diana decided to put aside all incomprehensible questions for the duke and think about only one thing.

To survive.

“Miss, you will soon be feeling well. Put away your anxiety and get a good night’s sleep.”

“…Yes.”

At Diana’s answer, Baron blinked at her maid.

She smiled as if like everything’s fine

‘I wish Edwin was always by my side.’

As the corners of Diana’s lips rose slightly at his smile, a low voice echoed through the room.

“Edwin.” 

Startled by the duke’s call, Edwin smiled and bowed his head to the duke.

“Yes, my lord.” 

“It’s been a while, so just go back and take a look.”

Already have to go?

Diana glanced at the wooden wall clock on the other side of the room.

Contrary to Diana’s desire not to let Edwin go, it was past 9 pm as the duke said.

If you go today, when can I see you again?

The castle side was closer to the Knights Templar, but there are a lot of eyes to see here, so you won’t be able to pretend like you know when you’re staying in a hut.

“Then let’s go back. Your Majesty.”

Diana, unable to hide her disappointment, greeted the duke and stared at Edwin’s back as he left the room.

Tak, it was only after the door closed that Diana blinked slowly.

‘I’m really gone.’

When Edwin left, this spacious room felt cold for nothing.

Even though the temperature in the room was kept warm by the thermal magic.

“You look bad.”

In a low voice, Diana said, “Okay,” and grabbed the blanket tightly.

Grand Duke is still in this room.

Thinking only of Edwin, I forgot his existence for a moment.  He is a person who exudes an unforgettable presence.

Diana glanced into her eyes and looked at her duke.

She raised one of his eyebrows sullenly.

It’s like you don’t like something.

Diana forced her lips to open, as she recalled what the duke had just said.

“…I think it’s because I took the drug.”

It was a roundabout word.  

Fortunately, the duke lowered his eyebrows without any doubt.

“Well… that medicine was too strong for a child to take…”

The duke extended his lips and bit his lips as if he was thinking about something.

Diana, who was looking at him like that, felt a languid energy gradually spreading as if words had become seeds.

‘Well…I can’t do this… ‘

When the Grand Duke leaves, she should say hello, so he would think she was a polite child…

Reason shouted, but her young body had no way to stop the poisonous energy.

Her blinking speed slowed down, and her limbs lost strength in a feeling of weary.

“Ugh…”

She took a small breath to shake off her sleep, but with that short breath, Diana completely closed her eyes.

Shrimp, Shrimp.

The regular sound of a child’s breathing echoed through the room.  The duke, who had been immersed in his thoughts alone, was awakened by the sound of his breath.

As he lowered his gaze, Diana, who had already fallen asleep, came into the eyes of theduke.

“When did you fall asleep?”

Obviously, I was looking at her with a dead face just up until recently… Children usually fall asleep so quickly.

“Or is it because the drug is poisonous?”

The duke’s forehead narrowed as he thought of the caithus herb Diana had eaten.

It was partly because of the remnants of the poisonous smell that stimulated his sense of smell, but it was also because he remembered Diana’s face after eating it.

The child’s face became paler than before taking the medicine, probably because she was putting up with the nausea that came up.

The appearance of Diana, who looked at the grown-ups, rather than frowned even after eating herbs that even adults could not eat, made him feel very bad.

“Sigh.”

The duke also let out a short sigh at the intensifying feelings in relation to the child.

“I’ve already swung enough.”

The duke muttered to himself lowly.

He brought the child into the mansion, worried about the child’s health, and even used expensive medicinal herbs for them.

Not for his own children, but for Leah, the child of that disgusting woman.

ven thinking of Seia, he shouldn’t care about Diana any more.

The duke cleared his complicated mind and looked away from Diana.  As he turned to leave the room, a faint sobbing echoed in the room.

“Huh… Black…”

Diana’s sobs.

The foot of the duke who took one step at that small sound just stopped.

The duke looked down at his feet, which he could not possibly fall from, and wrinkled his face mercilessly.

Reason was screaming to get out of the room, but his body and his feet didn’t move as if they had stuck to the floor.

“…I’m really going crazy.”,

The duke took a deep breath and turned hid back to the bed on which Diana was lying.

“Bump…”

And tears flowed down the side of the child’s eyes. And at that moment, as if possessed by something of his, the duke reached out to Diana and wiped away the child’s tears.

“What the hell are you doing…”

A self-helpful voice rang out, but the duke could not withdraw his hand from Diana.

Whatever she was dreaming of, Diana was shedding her tears and letting out her sad sobs.

Suddenly, the words of the doctor came to mind.

-Your Majesty, you seem to be more unstable in mind than in body pain right now.

“Maybe she misses her?”