Chapter 79

Chapter 79

*Thump.*

A sudden crash rang out. I turned my head toward the sound and saw, for some reason, the small cabinet had collapsed. The Duke was already kicking it aside, shoving it into a corner with his foot.

“Why are you breaking the furniture?”

The Young Marquis asked, a hint of amusement in his voice. I just blinked, watching the Duke’s actions with wide eyes.

“I leaned on it. It collapsed. The furniture’s weak.”

The Duke replied curtly. Then he turned his gaze directly to me.

“We should head back now. This kid needs to rest.”

He added. I thought about it—I had spent too much time here already. He was a patient who needed rest, wasn’t he? Besides, soon others would come to visit him. It was only right to clear out and give him some space.

“Then, Young Marquis-nim, I’ll take my leave now. Rest well.”

I bowed my head politely toward the Young Marquis. Then I stepped out of the tent with the Duke. Behind us, I heard a ‘Haha’—the Young Marquis’s laugh. It was a laugh that sounded oddly cheerful.

* * *

After the hunting festival incident, the Duke and I returned to Kubershalden. Then, as usual, I buried myself in the office, working. A mountain of backlogged tasks had piled up in the meantime, so I was set to be quite busy for a while.

“Duke-nim. I’ve finished the urgent request you gave me. I’ll wrap up the rest before leaving.”

I handed the sorted documents to the Duke. He received them with one hand, gave a short ‘Good work.’ and immediately began scanning through the pile.

“……Duke-nim, how is the Young Marquis doing these days?”

I watched him quietly for a moment, then suddenly asked. The Young Marquis, injured during the hunting festival, hadn’t been heard from in a while, and I was starting to worry.

“Don’t worry too much. He’s a tough kid—been quick to recover since he was little.”

The Duke set the papers down as he answered. Then he abruptly lifted his head to look at me.

“Concerned?”

“Well…… a little.”

“Now that I think about it, it has been some time since that day. I suppose I should pay him a visit……”

He continued in his calm tone. I nodded vigorously in response.

“Yes. Then I’ll add the hospital visit to the schedule. Around when……”

“I’m here!”

But right at that moment, the Young Marquis burst into the office.

He made a noisy entrance, his arm wrapped in bandages, with gauze plastered across his forehead. He looked every bit a patient, but without a care, he strode briskly toward us.

“It’s too hot today, but night gets pretty cold, you know?”

He hopped up to sit on the duke’s desk and started grumbling in earnest. The gesture came so naturally that for a moment I nearly forgot he was a guest. Shaking off the daze, I managed to speak to him.

“Good day, young marquis.”

“Hey, Laura. Been a while since the Hunt.”

“Yes. Are you feeling all right?”

“Of course, I’m fine. Not as bad as it looks, see. That’s how I made it here in one piece.”

He gave me a faint smile—but right on cue, the gauze taped to his forehead began to seep red. No matter how I looked at it, that was not fine. A part of me wanted to grab him right then and drag him straight to the ICU.

“Young marquis! You’re not fine—you’re bleeding from your forehead…”

“Ah… guess the wound split open again.”

“Why didn’t you rest instead of coming all the way here?”

“Mm… I suppose this can’t be helped. I’ve always been a person who moves around, so being stuck in bed is suffocating. The doctor did say not to move an inch, but… honestly, I’m not completely immobile. That would be too harsh a treatment, wouldn’t it?”

I could understand what he meant. Yes, it was stifling—I got that. But understanding didn’t mean I accepted it. I narrowed my eyes in silence, fixed my gaze on his forehead, and watched it with a look of deep concern.

“Ah, this… after bursting a few times, it seems my skin has grown weaker. It cracks open now at the slightest movement. So… it’s nothing serious.”

At that, the young marquis covered his forehead with his palm, looking embarrassed. He seemed to be aware now that he was causing me worry, at least.

“By the way, why are you here?”

Then the duke’s voice cut in abruptly, cold and flat. The young marquis didn’t seem to give it a moment’s thought — just kept toying with the gauze plastered to his forehead before glancing back at the duke.

“Why else? It’s most comfortable here. Ah, this is really getting damp. I need to swap it for a fresh one.”

“I see… Well, that’s an answer worthy of you. I’ll have our personal physician come take a look, so get treated before you leave.”

The duke’s gaze flickered briefly over the young marquis’s face before he added calmly. With a quick ‘Got it,’ the young marquis swung his legs off the desk. But just as he did, a faint grimace twisted his features. Looked like the pain from his wound was flaring up.

This guy, he said he was fine, but he’s obviously hurting…

He clearly still needed rest. Come to think of it, the physicians who’d treated him had told him not to budge an inch… and yet he’d charged all the way to Cuvershaiden like this. If the doctor who’d patched him up found out, he’d probably be clutching the back of his neck in exasperation.

“…Ben, I get that it’s not life-threatening, but this doesn’t seem like ‘walk-around’ territory, does it? You came all the way here in that state?”

The Duke must have been thinking the same thing, because he asked in a tone of exasperated disbelief. The young marquis seemed to mull it over for a moment, then gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. After that, he slowly opened his mouth.

“Hmm… Actually, maybe it’s because my body’s been feeling heavy lately? I haven’t been sleeping well. Thought a change of scenery might help.”

At that, I found myself studying his face more closely. That’s when I noticed faint shadows settling beneath his eyes. Looking again, he wore a thoroughly exhausted expression.

“So, yeah. I’ll sleep here tonight and head back tomorrow.”

* * *

Having finished my day’s work, I was hurrying back to my room. Then, suddenly, I caught sight of the young marquis through the window. He was sitting on a garden bench, bathed in the afternoon sunlight.

‘What’s he doing out there… I thought after treating his forehead, he’d be asleep by now…’ I thought, watching him quietly.

I stood there for a moment, then turned my steps toward the garden. I approached and stopped before him as he sat with his eyes peacefully closed. Soon, I saw my own shadow fall across his composed features. A short while—the span of a single sigh—passed before he sensed my presence and slowly lifted his eyelids.

“Laura?”

“Yes.”

“Your eyes are incredibly beautiful—that golden color. Who do you take after?”

“I resemble my mother a lot, but the eye color comes from my father.”

Caught off guard by the somewhat random question, I answered him straightforwardly. The young marquis responded with a short ‘Is that so?’ It seemed he hadn’t meant anything too significant by it. So I, in turn, casually posed a question of my own.

“But why are you out here?”

“Couldn’t fall asleep. My head just kept hurting for no reason, so I came down.”

“Are you still unwell?”

“Truth is, I think I’m a little worse. But it feels a bit better being out here.”

His voice was fairly gentle and warm. In contrast, his complexion looked terribly poor. And no wonder—he hadn’t been able to sleep properly even while he was in pain. The shadows beneath his eyes were evidence enough of that. As a natural consequence, a pang of pity welled up in me.

“Is it because you’re tired? They say when your body is too exhausted, even falling asleep becomes difficult.”

“No, that’s not it. …It’s more that lately, whenever I do manage to fall asleep, I’ve been having nightmares.”

“Nightmares? What kind of…?”

“It’s hard to explain… A dream where something is chasing me. I’m running endlessly. And the moment it catches me, I wake up. I’ve never had a dream like this before, so I don’t know what to do.”

“Then, is there something on your mind? They say stress can lead to insomnia.”

I tried another guess this time. The young marquis seemed to think for a moment before slowly speaking.

“Hmm… It’s not like there’s nothing on my mind. What comes to mind right now is… pirates disguised as Krentisians appearing in the North. I’ll probably be dispatched there. Honestly, I don’t really want to go, but since the imperial family is sending me, I have no choice.”

“……”

“Ah, and marriage talks are starting to come in, but none of them are welcome. And…”

“And?”

“……I wanted to officially include my brother, Theo, in our house. I’ve always thought about it. But I don’t think I can.”

“What? ……Why?”

“Because he’s the child of my father’s affair.”

“……”

For a moment, his voice dropped low. I could do nothing but stammer, my mouth opening and closing without a word.

“……That’s why. I can’t bring this up to my mother. I think I was too naive. On the day I met the dead Theo, I got so carried away that I rushed ahead on my own. I’m such a fool.”

He kept talking. His voice was wavering unsteadily. Perhaps that was why. Without realizing it, I found myself scrutinizing the young marquis—his bandaged head and arm, his exhausted face. He looked precarious, as if he might collapse at any moment. It was a ridiculous thought, but I felt a deep pity for him.

“Th-that, young marquis…”

I wanted to comfort him. But no words came to mind. It felt like my mind had gone completely blank.