"Ah."
As soon as he opened his eyes, tears flowed from his eyes. Randall was shocked by the tears that were flowing out like a burst dam as soon as he came to his senses.
'What is this...'
He felt like he had a dream while he was unconscious, but he couldn't remember a single detail of it. But his subconscious couldn't seem to forget the dream, and tears kept flowing.
Randall panicked and tried to wipe away his tears with his hands. At that moment, he heard a sound and a voice from a little distance away.
“...Randall? Are you crying now?”
Sylvia, who had been sleeping on the sofa on one side of the room, quickly got up and came over to the bedside. She looked shocked at the sight of Randall crying as soon as he came to his senses. The moment she saw that face, something inside her as if the tears she had shed so far had been fake, welled up inside her.
“Ran...”
Sylvia was about to open her mouth to say something, but Randall pulled her into a hug. Sylvia's eyes opened wide in surprise. Her body collapsed over Randall's. Randall buried his face in Sylvia's shoulder and muttered in a choked voice.
“Wait, just a moment.”
“...”
“Just stay like this for a moment...”
Randall shed tears, lost in resentment and longing that even he could not understand. Sylvia, who had been silent for a while, sighed deeply and patted Randall on the shoulder. She asked in a rare, gentle voice.
“Did you have a nightmare?”
"...I do not know."
“But why are you crying like this?”
“That too... I don’t know.”
“What on earth do you know? Do you know who I am and why are you hugging me like this? You didn’t mistake me for another woman, did you?”
“Big.”
Randall stopped crying at the mischievous joke and started laughing. Sylvia tried to comfort him by talking to him softly. It was unusual for her, who was usually not very talkative. Thanks to that, Randall was able to completely calm down and stop crying. The problem was...
'...Shit.'
It was a belated shame. Randall buried his face in Sylvia’s shoulder and rolled his eyes. He should let her go now that he had stopped crying. But he couldn’t raise his head because he felt embarrassed when he saw himself crying like a child in her arms, even though he had already shown her a cool appearance.
While Randall was holding Sylvia and sweating profusely, Sylvia was the first to speak.
“Randall.”
"Yes."
“Randall.”
"Yes."
“If you’re done crying, can you let me go now?”
"...Yes."
It was a voice so cold that it was hard to believe that she had been gently comforting him just a moment ago. Randall quietly let go of Sylvia and raised his upper body. Sylvia also sat down on the bed and brushed back her disheveled hair. She muttered darkly without even looking at Randall.
“You said you had nothing to say.”
“...”
“Yeah, I guess it’s not really something to talk about having blood all over your wrists and ankles and not being able to open your eyes for days with a high fever. I understand.”
“I was wrong.”
“I didn’t realize that I was not used to the northern customs yet and that this kind of thing was not even a big deal. From now on, I will keep this a secret to myself, even if it means risking my life.”
“Madam, please. I was wrong. Please forgive me.”
Randall couldn't overcome his guilt at Sylvia's refreshing words and pleaded. However, Sylvia still had a cold smile on her face and lifted the medicine bowl that was on the table.
“By the way, your doctor told me to give you this medicine when you wake up. He said you have to drink it all at once.”
Sylvia calmly placed the medicine bottle in Randall's hand and told him what had happened while he was unconscious.
“The day you fell, there was a big fire in the forest outside the territory, and that was the base of the dark bugs.”
"...Yes?"
Randall looked at Sylvia in confusion. Sylvia continued speaking in a quiet voice.
“The dark bugs seem to have been involved in the treason of the former Marquis of Glever, and the corpses of the demons who seem to be the masterminds of this incident have also been discovered. I don’t know if it was an internal conflict or an external attack, but they all seem to have been killed and set on fire. The knights collected the bodies.”
Sylvia finished her speech shamelessly, even though she had done it in just ten minutes. Randall, unaware of this fact, furrowed his brows and looked lost in thought.
‘The timing is perfect...’
It just so happens that they all died and disappeared just as he was about to lose consciousness due to the succubus. Doesn't it feel like someone must have helped him?
'Well, I might be mistaken.'
Randall shook his head, thinking it must be a mistake.
“Anyway, it’s fortunate. It would have been difficult if another terrorist attack had occurred at a time when the new upper echelons were just starting to settle in.”
Because Auston had set up a new barrier on the road between the North and the capital, the number of people losing their lives while coming to the North had decreased significantly. As a result, merchants who had previously avoided going to the North for fear of losing their lives began to set up nests there one by one. As a result, the economy of the territory had become more active than before. Randall was pleased that he should give Auston some extra allowance, but Sylvia looked at him with a bewildered expression.
“...How about thinking about working after you’re better? You haven’t taken your medicine yet.”
"Ah."
Only then did Randall remember the medicine bowl in his hand. He stopped himself as he was lifting the bowl to drink the medicine.
'...Poison?'
The green eyes shook uncontrollably as if there was an earthquake. The liquid in the white bowl was so black that it looked like poison, and it smelled bitter. It was so bitter that even Randall, who could not easily taste bitterness, was reluctant to drink it. Randall slowly put the bowl down and opened his mouth with a serious expression.
“Sylvia.”
"Yes?"
“This... looks like poison, not medicine. Could it be that I used the wrong medicine? Let’s call the doctor.”
“This is a medicine that I made myself by going out and buying herbs.”
“Yes, cool!”
As soon as Sylvia finished speaking, Randall gulped down the medicine in one gulp. Then he covered his mouth with one hand and cried out in pain.
***
Fortunately, Randall recovered in just two days. A normal person would have been sick in bed for at least a week, but his doctor was amazed at his monstrous recovery speed.
“However, you must be especially careful because there may be aftereffects. For the time being, take your medication regularly and be careful about what you eat.”
Randall was reluctant, but the attending physician was firm. And the one who was firmer than the attending physician was Sylvia.
“However, you must be especially careful because there may be aftereffects. For the time being, take your medication regularly and be careful about what you eat.”
Randall was reluctant, but the attending physician was firm. And the one who was firmer than the attending physician was Sylvia.
The couple had breakfast together at a restaurant for the first time in a while. Randall stared blankly at Sylvia, who piled up a mountain of nutritious food, including snails, in front of him as if she was taking revenge.
"...Ma'am."
"Yes?"
“You look so happy, is it just my imagination?”
"Yes."
“..."
"...Ma'am."
"Yes?"
“You look so happy, is it just my imagination?”
"Yes."
“..."
And yet, you’re personally peeling off the snails that you wouldn’t normally even look at...
Randall held back his words and picked up his fork. No matter what, he couldn’t leave any food that Sylvia had personally brought him. He took some medicine to numb his taste buds and then started eating the nutritious food one by one.
Sylvia raised the corners of her mouth in a rather wicked way as she watched him. It was a smile that seemed to say, ‘Do you finally understand how I feel?’ It was the time when the seemingly unpleasant but enjoyable meal continued.
“Master, Madam. Excuse me for a moment.”
There was a knock at the door, and Wilcott came in carrying a silver platter. Normally, he would have waited until the couple had finished their meal and then gone to their room. But since it was a letter from an important person, he decided it would be better to ask the owner what he thought.
Randall and Sylvia put down their utensils. Wilcott bowed politely.
“A letter has arrived for you, Madam. I heard it was sent by the great lady.”
“My mother?”
“Yes. What should I do? If you want, I can bring it to your bedroom.”
“No, I’ll read it now. Give it to me.”
Sylvia wiped her mouth with a napkin and made a gesture. Wilcott left the restaurant again after handing Sylvia the letter from Countess Florette. Sylvia pushed another plate of nutritious food in front of Randall and opened the letter. The letter was as long as usual.
“A letter has arrived for you, Madam. I heard it was sent by the great lady.”
“My mother?”
“Yes. What should I do? If you want, I can bring it to your bedroom.”
“No, I’ll read it now. Give it to me.”
Sylvia wiped her mouth with a napkin and made a gesture. Wilcott left the restaurant again after handing Sylvia the letter from Countess Florette. Sylvia pushed another plate of nutritious food in front of Randall and opened the letter. The letter was as long as usual.
The letter, which began with “To my beloved daughter,” soon went beyond greetings and became rambling, even asking what was for dinner last night. Then, the Countess suddenly remembered something.
“Come to think of it, my dear. Rumors have been going around in the north recently. You two are not on good terms, to the point where you haven’t even had a first night together yet. I can still clearly see you and the Duke when I visited the north last time.
How could I just sit by and watch that as a mother-in-law?
The people in the capital were trying to spread rumors, so I stepped in and made them quiet. When I told them how much the Duke treated me, they all agreed. Even when I was young, I was called the flower of the capital’s society, haha.”
Should I be thankful for this, or embarrassed...?
Sylvia was relieved that the rumor had not spread to the capital. On the other hand, she read the rest of the letter with a subtle expression, wondering if the Countess had distorted the truth too much.
“Oh, that’s right. I didn’t write this letter to tell you this story, but the conversation has gone off on a tangent.
You know that His Majesty’s birthday is coming soon, right? Are you and the Duke coming to the birthday party? Are you coming?
I wish you would come. It would be great if you could come down a little early and enjoy the festival with us but don’t feel burdened for no reason. It’s just wishful thinking. I hope we can meet again and tell you the rest of the story. It’s very hot in the capital right now, so stop by your house and pack some extra clothes to wear while you’re there.
Then, I hope to see you soon under the sunlight of the capital, Myleia Bogen Florette. "
After Sylvia finished reading the letter, she told Randall about its contents. Randall didn't look too pleased with the words 'King's Birthday'. However, he soon sighed and nodded.
“Yes, I must attend. It is my duty as a noble of the kingdom.”
If only he had his way, he would have stayed in the north and worked, regardless of whether the King's birthday came or went. But if he didn't attend the birthday party due to personal inconveniences, it was obvious that useless rumors like "I'm resentful" would spread.
'Come to think of it.'
Randall frowned as a thought suddenly occurred to him.
'Will the Crown Prince attend too?'
The Southern Expedition, in which the Crown Prince had recently participated as the Commander-in-Chief, had ended. Given his greedy nature of trying to grind the other party down to make it his own, there was a high possibility that he would personally conclude the negotiations and come up.
However, since it was his father's birthday and the war was over, it was possible that he would leave the negotiations to his adjutant and come up to the capital.
'I hope the negotiations last a long time.'
It was hoped that the Crown Prince would not be seen in the capital until they had stopped by, enjoyed the festival, attended the banquet, and returned north. Randall unconsciously stared at Sylvia.
"Everything that exists in this kingdom belongs to me."
The Crown Prince had been greedy since he was young. Especially when it came to what Randall had. The fact that he could almost imagine how he would react when he met Sylvia made him anxious.
“Why are you looking at me like that...”
Sylvia tilted her head in confusion as Randall stared at him without saying a word, then suddenly shook her head as if she had realized something.
“You shouldn’t look at it that way.”
“...?”
“You have to eat everything that’s there. You can’t get up until then.”
“...Uhuk.”
Randall was silent for a moment, then lowered his head and began to laugh quietly. The worries and concerns he had been holding onto just a moment ago were now fading away, and he began to laugh again at Sylvia’s words.
'I hope the negotiations last a long time.'
It was hoped that the Crown Prince would not be seen in the capital until they had stopped by, enjoyed the festival, attended the banquet, and returned north. Randall unconsciously stared at Sylvia.
"Everything that exists in this kingdom belongs to me."
The Crown Prince had been greedy since he was young. Especially when it came to what Randall had. The fact that he could almost imagine how he would react when he met Sylvia made him anxious.
“Why are you looking at me like that...”
Sylvia tilted her head in confusion as Randall stared at him without saying a word, then suddenly shook her head as if she had realized something.
“You shouldn’t look at it that way.”
“...?”
“You have to eat everything that’s there. You can’t get up until then.”
“...Uhuk.”
Randall was silent for a moment, then lowered his head and began to laugh quietly. The worries and concerns he had been holding onto just a moment ago were now fading away, and he began to laugh again at Sylvia’s words.
He couldn’t stop laughing until Sylvia slapped him on the back to tell him to stop.
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