IARMDH - Chapter 59

“The Marquisate of Ferney itself was nothing special.”

The Ferney family began to decline at some point. By the time of the current Marquis, there was almost nothing left except the title of Marquis.

That was until the present Marquis of Ferney, with his fair complexion and eloquence, seduced Caroline Loughrey of the Kingdom of Pencoe, the present Marchioness of Ferney.

“Anyway. So, are you going to go and tell the Marchioness about this?”

“Just be careful. No matter how much I think about it, I can’t figure out who cast the spell. I don’t think the Marquis, whose fate is ruined because of the Marchioness, would want a divorce. Even so, I told you not to interfere in other people’s family affairs.”

Especially, you should not interfere in matters between couples. Even if you intervene with good intentions, you may end up receiving unnecessary resentment.

“In good conscience, with...”

“In good conscience, what?”

“....something, a little.”

After that, Judith's voice became increasingly quiet and her breathing became slower. Her eyelids, which had been closing and opening repeatedly, now seemed stuck together and would not fall off.

"...What?"

“Yeah.”

Judith would not have been able to fall asleep easily in her usual state. Although she was shameless, Judith had never held a man’s hand in her past or this life. No matter how comfortable Erne was, lying in bed next to a man and holding his hand while sleeping would not have been comfortable.

However, Judith had difficulty sleeping for a while due to strange dreams. Her awkwardness could not overcome her sleepiness. Before she knew it, she had fallen into a trance.

“Good night.”

Sleeping side by side with someone else, holding hands. Hearing someone else's breathing and heartbeat from your own bed. It was a first for Erne too.

It was unfamiliar, new, and confusing at the same time, but it wasn't bad.

Erne looked at Judith, who had her eyes closed, and then closed them. Sleep did not come for a long time. Even after the temperature of their hands, which were held together, had mixed to a similar temperature, it took a long time.

***

“...”

It was a stuffy morning.

Erne, who had barely managed to fall asleep at dawn, opened his eyes because he felt a pang in his chest for some reason.

Judith, who had clearly fallen asleep next to him, was lying down with her head on his chest. One of her hands had even reached inside his nightgown and was occupying his firm abs.

Was it the damp steam, or was it Judith's nature? Erne took Judith's hand out of his clothes.

But as soon as Judith's hand was free, she lifted his clothes and crawled back inside.

“...”

I know it's good for sleeping.

The palm that ran over his bare chest felt strangely ticklish. If he left it alone, it seemed like it would run over his entire chest. Erne sighed and pulled her hand away again, and this time she raised her leg.

“Ugh.”

Judith moaned softly, rubbing her face against his shoulder. Her languid breath tickled the nape of Erne's neck. Judith kept trying to climb on top of Erne, perhaps because her position was uncomfortable.

Judith's arms rose to his shoulders, and her legs rose past Erne's knees to his thighs, and then higher.

"...No."

Suddenly, Erne sat up straight.

"Ugh."

The wind sent Judith rolling sideways and hitting her forehead against the wall. If the wall and the bed had not been attached, Judith would have fallen. Erne knew it too, but he had no choice but to jump up.

If Judith had completely climbed onto his body, a rather unpleasant accident would have occurred.

That was a much bigger accident than Judith hitting the wall. Irreversible.

“Get up, the sun has risen.”

Erne got up from the bed and went out of the room. Judith, still half asleep, saw Erne's neck flushed red through her hazy vision.

Thanks to Erne's yang energy, Judith woke up refreshed and without a single dream. She stretched and muttered.

“Why are you angry in the morning? Anyway, you’re having a bad temper.”

***

At that moment, the candles ordered by the Marquis of Ferney were completed. I came to the Marquis of Ferney's residence to deliver them and to check out the atmosphere.

“Erne, didn’t you say you were going to the blacksmith shop today?”

Erne is worried that the remnants of the followers will harm me, so he has recently been taking charge of bringing me back and taking me wherever he goes.

When I entered the mansion, Erne waited for me at the main entrance. Since it took at least 30 minutes for me to enter, Erne sometimes took care of simple tasks during that time.

For example, leaving an old sword found in a Rhineland mansion at the blacksmith shop and then going back to get it.

“I plan to go and come back right after you get in.”

“But you’re not taking Gold with you?”

There couldn't be a blacksmith's shop near the residence of a high-ranking nobleman. The blacksmith's shop was in a square that was about ten minutes ride away on horseback.

But Erne, who was going there, gave the reins of Gold to me.

“Oh, I’ll run and come back.”

“You’re running?”

No, why are you like this today? I was at a loss for words for a moment.

This morning, Erne ran for a long time in the garden of the Rhineland Mansion before breakfast. Then he did some push-ups and chopped firewood.

And then he says he'll run back to the blacksmith shop. Why on earth did he do that? 

I looked up at the sky without realizing it.

Is it going to rain soon? They say that when it rains, crazy people run around like that. Could that apply to crazy dogs too?

“Why are you suddenly looking up at the sky? Oh, you must have thought it was going to rain when you saw that crazy guy running around?”

At times like this, Erne was a ghost with keen insight.

"No."

“No, it’s written on your face.”

“I didn’t think you were crazy, I thought you were a crazy dog.”

Why do you keep forgetting your own nickname? 

When I answered honestly, Erne frowned and sighed. After washing his face dry and running his hair up, he shook his head at me.

“Whose fault is it all?”

Are you saying this is my fault?

Whether I was flustered or not, Erne handed Gold's reins over to me and ran towards the blacksmith shop.

“If you run, you’ll only make it harder for yourself, right?”

As I stroked Gold's nose and spoke, Gold nodded as if agreeing. I whispered in his ear as she dragged Gold into the Marquis of Ferney's mansion.

“The food they give you here is high-quality food, so eat a lot, okay?”

While Gold was enjoying the finest of the stables, I was keeping an eye on Caroline in her bedroom.

Caroline seemed very sensitive today.

“Once you’ve finished pouring tea, get out.”

“But ma'am, I'd like to order a tea at...”

Besides, Mary, who had always been by Caroline's side, had disappeared, and a sturdy male servant was left holding a teapot and keeping an eye on her.

He was not as handsome as Erne, but he was still a servant with an above-average face. He also had a good body, and when he poured tea, the sleeves of his shirt were bulging so much that they looked like they would burst.

“Enough with the tea. Don’t make me ask twice. If I tell you to go, go.”

“Yes, I’ll be at the door, so please call me whenever you need me.”

Caroline frowned as if she didn't want to hear anymore. She looked quite annoyed. It was probably not because of the servant.

Her usually glowing skin had become dull, the area under her eyes was hollow, and her nervous expression suggested that she was lacking sleep.

“Madam, are you still having trouble sleeping these days because of strange dreams?”

“Yes. I sold my dream to Miss Harrington last time and slept well for two days, but I’ve been having the same dream again since then.”

Caroline, who had been mumbling while holding her teacup, tilted her head.

“Now that I think about it, it’s strange. The two days I sold my dreams were really fine. Did Miss Harrington really dream my dreams for me?”

“Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, Ma’am. It was my fault for giving you back what you paid for.”

When I pretended not to know anything and made a gesture to take a coin out of my pocket, Caroline waved her hand. The tips of her nails were split as she waved them in the air.

Now that I think about it, Caroline seems unusually sensitive. Her fingernails, which are usually clean, have traces of having been bitten, her hair is roughly combed, and above all, she looks quite anxious.

Even though she couldn't sleep properly because of the dancing dwarf, her condition was very bad. I also had four days of sleepless nights because of the dream, but not as much as Caroline.

It had been only a week since I had bought Caroline's dream, and only four days since Caroline had her dream again. But her condition seemed much worse than mine.

'I should quickly tell you the story about the wooden doll under the bed.'

Of course, I didn't intend to tell the story of the wooden doll outright. I intended to beat around the bush and just drop some clues so that Caroline could figure out who had cast the spell on her own.

Even though this was someone else's family affair, I couldn't just ignore the food and drinks I had been receiving. I also felt sorry for Caroline's face, her bones sticking out.

Since I was called into the bedroom at that moment, this was my chance. I was going to drop the object naturally and pretend to pick it up, only to tell her that there was something under the bed.

“Miss Harrington.”

"Yes?"

As I was wondering what I should drop to make it look natural, Caroline bent down towards me.

“I have a favor to ask.”

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