Chapter 17
Because I went out into town, both my morning and afternoon were completely wasted.
So it was only late at night that I managed to sneak past Lisa’s watch and eat some Oclasia fruit.
I slipped out of the room, ate the fruit, washed up in a hurry, and was stretching into a long yawn when Evan came in.
“Evan?”
I rubbed my sleepy eyes and spoke.
“Why are you so late?”
Evan looked at me, hesitated for a moment, then sighed and asked,
“…Were you waiting?”
That wasn’t exactly it, but I couldn’t very well say I stayed up sneaking fruit from a tree. So I forced my drooping eyes open and nodded.
“Of course. How could I sleep by myself when you weren’t back yet?”
If I was going to lie, I might as well do it properly—and even make a show of it.
“Did you have a good time at the knights’ order? Were you still training? All day?”
“Yeah.”
Evan replied while undoing the buttons of his vest, avoiding my gaze.
“Don’t wait for me anymore. Just sleep. I’ll be coming back late.”
Oh? Well then, fine.
“We won’t even be able to have breakfast together anymore. Just so you know.”
“Then you’re leaving at dawn?”
“Yeah.”
Wow… he looked like he was trying to conquer the world with swordsmanship. There wasn’t even a war—did he really need to train like his life depended on it?
Anyway, I quickly crawled into bed. It seemed like from now on he’d be heading to the training grounds before dawn and coming back late every night.
‘Then I won’t even get to see his face properly.’
No wonder in the original story Evan and Laria lived together for years but stayed distant. Liking swords more than your wife—that’s what it meant. I’d wanted us to get along a bit better, so it was slightly disappointing.
“What’s this?”
Just as I was drifting in and out of sleep, I heard Evan’s voice after he finished washing.
Without even opening my eyes, half-asleep, I answered,
“Ah… ganache. I bought it in town for you. You like sweet things— I mean, you eat them well.”
He clearly liked sweets, but whenever I said something like that, he’d retort with comments like “I’m not a child,” so I hurriedly corrected myself.
“So I sent Lisa to ask you to have tea, but she said you refused.”
“…What?”
“After training all day, aren’t you worn out? Eat it and sleep. It’s good. I already had some earlier with Father.”
Of course, I didn’t want to stay long, so I ate quickly and excused myself with a cough—but even eaten in a rush, it had incredible flavor. As expected, there was a reason people lined up to buy it.
“I stood in line for a whole hour to get it…”
Well, not me personally, but still.
My body, which hadn’t fully recovered yet, sagged limply from the strain. This body’s stamina was absurdly weak. Just going out into town had drained me this much.
‘Ah, I should’ve told him there’s a gift on the table too.’
But I was too sleepy to clearly hear what Evan was muttering. I’d even written a card, thinking we might not see each other today, so he’d understand without my explaining.
A moment later, I heard the sound of Evan picking up the book from the table.
[Evan! Did you learn a lot from your sword training today? I won a lot of money at the horse races, you know. So I went into town today because I wanted to buy gifts for the family.]
I am Laria Rose Icard. Though I’m insignificant for now, with an illness I haven’t recovered from and no real background to speak of—
this body is fully equipped with pretense, cuteness, and acting skills.
I even fawn excessively over the duke who’s waiting for my death, so this much for my adorable husband is nothing. Besides, Evan shares similarities that remind me of my own childhood, so I’ve grown rather attached to him.
[You like books, so I went to the bookstore and bought one for you. But you always seem to read difficult books, so I got you an easy one instead. It’s a picture storybook— isn’t it really pretty? I’ll read it to you until you fall asleep later.]
He was probably wearing a deeply moved expression.
[Reading a storybook to you until you fall asleep at night.]
It didn’t look very long, so I really should read it to him later. Duke Icard had also looked very touched earlier—though he’d been glaring suspiciously in the morning. He was probably regretting that now.
I fell back asleep like that, but when I briefly woke up near dawn, Evan wasn’t in bed. Instead, he was sitting at the table, perfectly still, like a painting.
‘What is he doing?’
Evan was holding my card, unmoving, rereading it over and over.
‘What’s wrong with him?’
I blinked, then drifted back to sleep, thinking—
Something had happened to Evan. Otherwise, there was no way a thirteen-year-old would be unable to sleep, sitting there like that.
I tried to ignore it, but seeing him clutch my card so carefully made my heart soften.
‘Did something happen during sword training today?’
The only change from yesterday was that he’d started training. I had a bad feeling. I’d need to keep a close eye on him.
Maybe because I diligently ate the Oclasia fruit, my illness improved quickly.
When I first possessed this body, I was constantly dizzy, couldn’t eat properly, and my vision kept spinning—but these days, it wasn’t like that anymore.
Medical science on the Eastern Continent had to be incredibly advanced. How could the Imperial Medical Academy not know such a simple remedy? They seriously needed to wake up.
Even the coughing up of blood had noticeably decreased, though I staged a few forced coughing fits in the bathroom just in case Lisa noticed.
As I was worrying about what might have happened to Evan, there was a knock, and the door opened.
“Lisa? What is it?”
Lisa entered with several maids.
Their resolute expressions felt ominous, and I froze for a moment.
“The duke said to purchase everything the young madam showed interest in yesterday.”
“…What?”
“Clothes and accessories need to be fitted to the body, so before going into town to place orders, we came to take the young madam’s measurements.”
What was this supposed to mean?
While I stood there dumbfounded, the maids swarmed me and began taking my measurements.
“Why would Father do that?”
“He said that picking things up and putting them back reflects poorly on the reputation of House Icard.”
I sighed inwardly. I should’ve gone to more expensive shops and touched even pricier items.
At the same time, I realized Lisa really was my watchdog. Otherwise, how would Duke Icard know I’d been browsing various things?
“Oh my.”
Instead of a small ruby necklace for a child, I should’ve handled a massive diamond necklace.
“Father is so kind…”
Make sure you pass that along, Lisa.
“It’s so touching. When the items arrive, I’ll wear the one that suits me best and go thank him properly.”
I’d give some polite lip service, then if things got awkward or the jokes became too much to handle, I’d cough and excuse myself.
“Actually, I told him that when you went into town, you didn’t buy anything for yourself—only gifts for the family. He seemed very moved by that.”
Why on earth would Lisa say something like that so bluntly? How unnecessary.
“I see…”
I didn’t let my guard down, but it was true—I was a little touched. Even frozen hearts soften in front of expensive gifts.
‘I might be way too easy when it comes to money…’
But maybe, just maybe, my wholehearted acting had made the duke open his heart to me a little?
He was a capable mastermind—couldn’t he take control of the imperial family some other way? If so, maybe we really could live together as a harmonious family for the rest of our lives.
I didn’t know why Duke Icard was so intent on controlling the imperial family, but if he somehow resolved what I wanted…
‘Plan B, then? Could that work?’
As I was thinking that, Lisa smiled sweetly.
“Oh, and young madam.”
“Yes?”
“Because he’s worried about your illness, the duke plans to assign you a personal physician.”
My mind snapped to attention.
‘I almost sold my life for a few gifts.’
Duke Icard was moving exactly as he had in the original story.
Maybe he didn’t want to feel indebted over my gifts, so he was repaying me this excessively? Or perhaps he pitied me, knowing I’d die eventually—like feeding a prized cow premium fodder before slaughtering it…
“Hmm… I’m really grateful. But if possible, could you choose a woman?”
I asked with a fragile expression.
“A male physician would be a bit difficult… I’d be embarrassed even talking about my symptoms.”
“I’ll pass on your request.”
“Please do. Aside from Father, adult men are a bit scary to deal with.”
“Oh my, usually it’s the opposite.”
Lisa laughed as if amused.
“Children who aren’t afraid of other adults are usually scared of the duke. Aren’t you afraid of his sharp expression, Lady Laria?”
“He’s handsome, so it’s fine.”
Make sure to tell him that exactly.
I smiled brightly at Lisa.
