Chapter 99:  The Grand Duke’s Daughter’s Care (3)

A dark night.

From one of the guest rooms, only a woman’s urgent voice leaked out.

"Roger, are you really asleep...?"

Echina asked in a trembling voice as she looked at the face of the man sleeping before her.

But with his face flushed and his breath shallow, he gave no answer.

"……."

His breath lightly tickled the tip of Echina’s nose.

Had he eaten fruit before sleeping? It carried a sweet fragrance.

"I don’t know where I should rest my eyes."

The Grand Duke’s daughter debated countless times in her mind whether she should push away his thick arm.

Surely, if it had been another man, she would have looked coldly at him and forcefully shoved it off.

But Roger’s face, seen this closely...

With his eyes softly closed and his breath trembling faintly, he looked pitiable.

Pity.

Honestly, she had never easily felt that emotion in her life.

She had always strived to be the best, never flinching even when revered...

There had never been a time she pitied someone else.

Then why was it now?

When she looked at this sick man, her chest ached for reasons she could not name.

It felt as if she wanted to embrace him.

Because of that, the arm wrapped around her felt even heavier.

So she too held her breath, staring blankly only at the man’s bare body.

"If I move, he’ll wake up...?"

The moment she pushed his arm away, she imagined those long eyes snapping open like a sly fox.

So instead, she chose to quietly observe him as he slept.

She had thought him scrawny, yet his body was surprisingly strong and solid.

She realized then that when he had easily lifted her before, it had not been by chance.

She discovered several scars across his shoulders and collarbone.

"Wounds easily earned from sparring..."

Echina whispered to herself and stretched out her fingers.

Then, like a kitten touching something for the first time with round eyes, she touched his collarbone.

"……."

She suddenly realized what she was doing, and her face flared hot.

Then, forcing her eyes shut, she excused herself inwardly.

This too was a kind of nursing.

She was only checking whether there were more injuries.

As she thought this, her snow-white hand slipped past his collarbone to his back.

It traced along to the beautifully lined spine.

Before she knew it, she had ended up nestled obediently against the man.

"Haaa..."

This was nursing.

There was no selfish desire or curiosity.

‘She was only analyzing the reason why he had once defeated her with strength.’

That was the only thought she allowed herself.

But the more her hand lingered over his damp skin—still moist from the wet towel she had not wrung out properly—

the more she realized her own body was growing hot.

"Refreshing..."

But still, did he feel cold even while asleep?

At some point, even in his sleep, he lifted his leg and draped it over her thigh.

"……!"

And so Echina was perfectly locked in place, unable to move.

Her body was already burning, and now, without realizing it, she began to let out shallow breaths.

"Is he really asleep...?"

She covered her mouth with one hand to stifle the rough breaths escaping her lips.

But even so, she could not muffle the pounding sound rising from her chest.

"Huuuh..."

Their bare skin clung together strangely, slick with sweat.

Echina could not contain the sensation—it was her first time experiencing anything like it.

Then, she began to sort through why her heart was racing so much.

"……."

Perhaps it was because this man somehow reminded her of her father.

Of course, the image was completely different.

The Grand Duke of the North was a cold man who put his own safety first, prioritizing authority over family.

But.

When she was young, there had been that one moment when he had embraced her and told her that she had to grow strong if she wished to survive.

From those words, the young Echina had felt a fleeting warmth.

Thanks to that, even though she and her father had been distant on the surface, she had longed for his recognition.

And now, this man who held her so tightly—

Roger gave off a similar warmth.

True, he did not have the overwhelming aura of the Grand Duke of the North.

But he knew how to sway people in his own way.

And even the feelings within her—cold and tightly shut away—he seemed to stir awake.

Both of them looked like they only focused on their own affairs, and yet...

Inside, it felt as if they cared for her.

"So this is what he meant when he spoke of family."

Thinking that, the Grand Duke’s daughter finally felt a measure of ease.

Being held in his arms did not feel all that bad.

"When he wakes up... he will have to explain himself for daring to hold me like this..."

She had a habit of speaking awkwardly when flustered.

Muttering like that, she stretched out her arms and wrapped them around his back.

Then, listening to the sound of his heartbeat, she too drifted to sleep.

With her cold hand stroking his heated back.

With her face buried in that strong scent that made her want to depend on him, she indulged herself fully.

"Peach fragrance..."

―――――

The next day.

My hazy mind quickly cleared.

Was it truly the medicine prescribed by the imperial physician?

Just as he had said, during the night I had been unable to stay awake and simply fell asleep.

But come morning, my head felt fresh and clear.

Thanks to that, my eyelids lifted lightly and brightly.

However—

"Huh...?"

That refreshing clarity suddenly turned faint and distant.

I had thought I was lying on my side, sleeping alone in comfort.

But right beside me, of all things...

"Lady Echina, the Grand Duke’s daughter...?"

The Grand Duke’s daughter of the North, with her long black hair undone, was fast asleep.

"This medicine is strong indeed. It even shows me hallucinations."

I let out a hollow laugh at the unbelievable sight.

But as if to question me, Echina, still asleep, breathed shallowly like a young girl.

"……."

And before I knew it, her fragrant, long hair was resting against my cheek.

The fig-like scent I had smelled before now bloomed even stronger, making my mind grow hazy again.

"Mmm..."

Carefully, I lifted a handful of her hair that I had been lying on and placed it back down gently.

As if returning a bird to its nest.

That did not mean I understood the situation.

She was asleep in only a thin white shirt.

Because she was lying on her side, the elegant curves of her body stood out even more.

Perhaps because my arms had wrapped around her in her sleep and made her hot, three buttons of her shirt had come undone.

‘What on earth happened last night...?’

From what I could tell, the powdered medicine had contained no alcohol or any kind of aphrodisiac.

Besides, she had clearly come into the room and gone to sleep quietly.

Even drawing on my memories from my days as Chief Secretary, I could not make sense of this.

Still, there was one thing I was certain of.

The damp towel left at the bedside.

It meant she had nursed me.

Fortunately, seeing as she was fully dressed, nothing else seemed to have happened.

With that thought, I quickly moved away from the bed.

But...

She was always one to button her shirts tightly and properly.

And why was I the one who had slept with my shirt off?

To have made such a grave mistake—one I would never have made as Chief Secretary—scraped at my pride.

"Roger..."

I turned my head at Echina’s murmur.

She muttered in her sleep.

The Grand Duke’s daughter, who always spoke firmly in her cold, decisive tone, now spoke with a nasal lilt that made my head spin.

"Yes, my lady."

I quickly buttoned up my shirt.

Then, with a face as if nothing had happened, I approached Echina.

"Mmm..."

She blinked open her drowsy eyes.

Her fruit-red lips, with strands of hair stuck to them, parted slightly as she slowly lifted herself up.

"Roger, are you awake?"

"Yes. Uncharacteristically, I overslept."

Was it because she had just woken?

The sharpness in her eyes had softened.

She looked her age—barely twenty-one—gentle and languid, like a cat waking from slumber.

"Without washing, you would put on formal clothes?"

"……!"

It was then that I realized my bangs, usually left to cover my forehead, had been swept back neatly.

Was it because I had quit being a secretary...?

To have made such mistakes without noticing.

"Breakfast service will soon end, so I thought to bring it up beforehand."

"Really? Then I suppose it’s quite late already."

Echina cleared her throat, as though trying to regain her usual voice.

At the same time, she secretly pinched the stockings still damp from someone’s sweat.

"Are you feeling any better?"

"Yes, I am. Thanks to your care, I’ve completely recovered."

The Grand Duke’s daughter deliberately turned her gaze away yet still stared at me intently.

Then her expression turned faintly regretful.

"You really don’t show even the slightest change in your expression."

"Excuse me...?"

"Nothing. I just find it a little irritating."

It seemed that while I was sick and asleep, I had tossed and turned a little.

I had never thought of myself as having bad sleeping habits... but from now on, I should be careful.

"By the way, how did you know I was unwell and come here...? I don’t recall ever mentioning it."

"I know everything about what you’re up to."

Echina pulled the white blanket up to cover herself only to her legs.

Then, folding her arms, she leaned against the wall by the bed and spoke.

"If you were sick, you should have said so earlier."

"It came on suddenly with a high fever. Besides, it would have been troublesome if I had accidentally passed it on to you, would it not?"

At my words, Echina gave a small laugh.

Then, lifting her sharp eyes with even more pride, she said:

"Me, catch a cold?"

The Grand Duke’s daughter elegantly laid her hand on her shirt.

"There’s no chance of that, so you needn’t worry."

But at that moment, she realized that several of her buttons had come undone.

Calmly, she turned her body and began fastening them one by one.

Her expression suggested she thought she had undone them herself because of the heat.

Catching on immediately, I let out a sigh of relief inside.

‘So I didn’t make a mistake in my sleep after all.’

"……."

For a moment, an awkward silence filled the room.

"But shouldn’t you be heading back soon? What about your escort guard...?"

"I told them to go ahead without me."

Having finished buttoning her shirt, Echina closed her eyes as if it were nothing.

"Tomorrow, isn’t it the day His Grace the Grand Duke returns to the main estate?"

"And how would you know that?"

"Well, he has a bilateral meeting with the upper kingdom this weekend, doesn’t he? He’ll need to return precisely then to pay his respects."

I lit the mana brazier in the room.

And, with practiced hands, I warmed the tea as I spoke.

"In any case, whether I’m there or not, it never seemed to matter much to him."

"That’s not true. There isn’t a father in the world who wouldn’t worry if his daughter failed to return home as scheduled."

At my old-fashioned smile, Echina made a sulky face, as if feeling something odd again.

"Take care of yourself first. Why is a patient preparing tea?"

"You always insisted on having a cup of tea every morning, did you not?"

At my still-secretary-like words, Echina rose from the bed.

And then, barefoot except for her stockings, she stepped forward and poured the tea herself.

"Sit there quietly."

The Grand Duke’s daughter held a teacup in one hand and walked to the entrance of the guest room.

She pressed a switch flowing with mana and picked up a pen from atop the shoe cabinet.

At once, she quickly scribbled something on a piece of paper.

She slipped it into the crack of the door and returned.

About ten minutes later, the sound of wheels came from the hallway.

Soon after, a clear knocking echoed at my door.

―――――

"I’ll check."

When I opened the door, two hotel maids were waiting outside.

They carried in a trolley stacked with steaming delicacies from land and sea.

"My lady, what is all this...?"

"I ordered it separately. You said it yourself."

The Grand Duke’s daughter still turned her face away from me.

And with a calm voice, she spoke:

"You said breakfast mustn’t be skipped."

"Ha..."

I looked in disbelief at the trolley they had wheeled in.

Ordering something this extravagant in such a grand hotel must have cost at least five hundred thousand gold.

This meal was ten times the cost of what I had spent when serving the Empress.

"I can’t possibly finish all this alone. Please join me."

"No. I’ll rest until noon and then return, so you eat at the table alone."

At last, Echina’s voice had completely returned to its usual coldness.

Seeing her back in her everyday demeanor made me feel relieved as well.

"Understood. Then I’ll eat lightly and head out to greet you at the outer walls of the capital."

"Do as you wish."

Her firm reply only pleased me.

As a celebration of my recovery, I took a large spoonful of the hot soup.

"……."

Meanwhile, the side of the bed where Echina lay remained very quiet.

That reassured me at the time.

But later, I learned the truth—

on the pillow where I had slept, there was a faint red lipstick mark.

As if someone had buried her face there, breathing in the scent.

There had been another reason why she ordered so much food.

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