IBYVS 46

Chapter 46

Cedric returned to the bridal chamber alone and sat on the edge of the bed, lost in thought.

“Of course. If necessary, I…”

“No, it’s fine. I’m used to it.”

The conversation he had shared with her kept echoing in his mind.

“Used… to it…”

Cedric muttered, sweeping his bangs away from his eyes. It did seem that way.

Of course, Elia had initially panicked, but in the blink of an eye, she regained her composure.

“My husband.”

She had said that while looking at him, and it was as if her empty, gem-like eyes began to fill with emotion.

Then she had immediately gone to Calib and embraced him, soothing him.

Even though he was covered in foam and vomit, which would have been off-putting to anyone, she had shown no hesitation.

She handled it calmly, as if she had silently endured such situations alone for a long time.

“Calib, it’s okay.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay.”
“I’m here, it’s okay.”
“I’m here with you, it’s okay.”

She calmed Calib with these words.

“Come to think of it, she said she called him ‘Yoon.’”

It had come up during a conversation with Calib. Elia had shouted that name when she first saw him—it was unique enough to be memorable.

“Yoon… I…”

As he muttered, Elia’s voice floated into his mind.

“It’s just… when I look at Calib, it feels like memories I lost are slowly coming back. Maybe it’s because he resembles someone who was very precious to me… That’s probably why I feel so drawn to him.”

“Could that person be Yoon?”

And did Yoon have seizures like Calib did just now?

“…Has the memory returned?”

But he shook his head. If that were the case, surely she would have invited them to the wedding.

“At least she would have tried to invite that Yoon.”

She would have looked for them, been curious.

“It must be an unconscious action.”

That seemed like the most reasonable explanation.

At that moment, a terrifying thought crossed Cedric’s mind.

“Could it be that Yoon is no longer in this world…?”

What if the memory had returned, yet she hadn’t sought them out or wondered about them?

What if she was pouring her affection into Calib because she was seeking Yoon in him?

“Hmm…”

His head was a mess of thoughts.

Cedric rested his elbows on his thighs and buried his face in his palm as he ran his hand through his hair.

But his palm no longer felt any warmth.

Cedric froze.

He muttered softly:

“Has the curse… worsened?”

It was a frightening thought, but he tried not to dwell on it.

It wasn’t certain, but the curse seemed to worsen whenever he was agitated.

Still, it was disappointing that he could no longer feel the warmth from the arm he had held while supporting Elia.

Cedric lay down alone on the bed.

The bed was spacious, and even lying there, soft enough that he couldn’t sense anyone else’s presence.

“Why does it feel so empty?”

It was just a feeling.

Cedric fell asleep feeling the weight of the arm on his face instead of its warmth.

The next morning, he woke to the cheerful chirping of birds.

“…Mm.”

Calib was still asleep in his arms, and thankfully, had not had a seizure overnight.

Yoon, whenever he had a seizure, would intermittently fall in and out of consciousness all day.

That was fortunate.

Olivia, exhausted from bathing Calib thoroughly late at night, was sprawled asleep on the sofa.

It was natural; she had stayed up worrying about Calib and Cedric.

As Cedric tried to shift his body, he heard a small cry from every part of himself.

Looking at his arms, he noticed deep bruises—some still oozing blood where he had applied ointment.

These were the wounds from Calib kicking and clawing him during yesterday’s seizure.

“Hmm… Calib would worry if he saw this.”

“Careful…”

He carefully got out of bed to hide his injuries, making sure not to wake Calib.

Though all he could do was put on bandages. Still, perhaps it would help to hide the wounds.

He checked the clock; it was eight o’clock.

The day had started, but after last night’s commotion, no one had deliberately woken him.

“Then maybe I’ll sleep a bit more…”

He didn’t want to wake Calib and Olivia while washing up.

He curled back into bed with Calib, who instinctively snuggled into him.

Feeling the warm body in his arms, he fell asleep again.

“Lady Elia has been coughing.”

Upon Edwin’s report, Cedric closed the book he had been reading.

It was 11 a.m.

“You slept in quite late.”

“After what happened yesterday, yes.”

Edwin had been at the scene as well.

“And having stayed with the Grand Duke all night, she must be tired.”

Cedric nodded knowingly.

“Shall we combine lunch schedules?”

“Yes. I also have something to say to Elia.”

Cedric ran his fingers over the rough, embossed cover of his book.

He should have felt the coarse leather, but he felt nothing—just the contours.

Since yesterday, he had not felt any warmth at all.

“It might be good if the Grand Duke joins as well.”

Cedric hesitated briefly at Edwin’s suggestion.

Could he tell Calib, who had a seizure yesterday, that he had even lost his sense of touch?

“He’d be shocked.”

But this was not something they could keep hidden forever.

“Yes. Let him join.”

Cedric agreed.

He judged that Calib would be fine.

He had already accepted losing his senses of smell and taste without much agitation.

“He’ll accept this too.”

Even if he couldn’t, there was nothing that could be done.

Contrary to Cedric’s expectations, it wasn’t Calib who had trouble accepting it.

“You’ve been having nightmares all this time?”

It turned out that Calib’s seizures were caused by nightmares.

“Why didn’t you tell me until now?”

Cedric raised his voice, about to strike the table, but Elia quickly protected Calib.

“Cedric, calm down. Why are you raising your voice in front of him?”

He had had a seizure yesterday, and yet you wanted him to go through another!

Cedric realized his mistake and quickly apologized.

“I’m sorry, Calib.”

“No, I’m really fine now. And I already knew you’d be upset.”

Calib, resting in Elia’s arms, spoke calmly.

At that moment, the food arrived.

But Cedric couldn’t bring himself to eat, even with brunch prepared by Elia in front of him.

“Here, Calib. Ah, here.”

“I-I’ll eat.”

“Go ahead.”

“Mm, okay. Ah…”

When Calib opened his mouth slightly, Elia fed him a bite-sized piece of French toast.

Calib was being utterly pampered by Elia.

Watching this, Cedric asked,

“Since when have you been having these nightmares?”

“Hmm…”

Calib chewed and swallowed.

“For a while now.”

“For… how long?”

“Around the time we returned to the Grand Ducal Palace…”

Elia quickly cut and fed him a piece of sausage.

Unlike before, Calib accepted it quietly.

“At first, I didn’t remember the dreams well. But as I kept having them, the memories slowly came back. And they stayed with me for a long time.”

This time, Elia held a drink to his lips.

It was lemonade, Calib’s favorite.

He sipped with a cute little sound and urged, “Elia, drink too!”

Only then did Elia start eating her own brunch.

Calib said,

“I didn’t want to worry anyone. So…”

“You should have told us!”

Cedric spoke, frustrated, gritting his teeth.

He was angry. It was his fault.

No matter how busy he had been, how could he not have known his younger brother suffered nightmares—especially for so long!

As Cedric let out a frustrated sigh, Elia, about to eat scrambled eggs, set down her fork.

“Don’t blame yourself too much, Cedric. I also didn’t notice Calib’s condition quickly enough.”

“…”

“I’m really sorry, Calib. For leaving you alone every night.”

Elia had already heard the story from Calib, but she apologized again.

“Even if I say I’m okay.”

Calib waved his hands.

“I should be the one feeling sorry. Especially since last night was… our first night together.”

Even though they were a contractual couple, it was still their first night.

Plus, there were matters with the Empress to discuss—they were both exhausted and wanted to sleep deeply.

“And on top of that, I hurt Elia…”

Cedric—after Elia, even Calib felt disheartened.

Edwin and Olivia, watching, found it slightly amusing.

After all, the three of them, heads bowed like guilty puppies, looked exactly like a family.

Yet, their professional composure kept them from laughing.

After a moment, Cedric asked,

“So, what kind of nightmare was it?”

What kind of nightmare could have caused seizures?

“Ah, that is…”

As the nightmare came to mind, Calib’s face darkened.

It was a story Elia had hesitated to ask about, fearing it would frighten him.

But curiosity and concern remained.

So Elia took his hand firmly, encouraging him.

“Elia…”

Calib looked at her, steeling himself with a determined gaze.

Finally, he spoke.