IBWMD 135

~Chapter 135~

“He doesn’t act like a real man at all, and he doesn’t even look solid.”

—Meaning: unlike other men, he doesn’t brag or behave crudely.

“His expression is sharp, and he looks like some fancy gigolo.”

—Meaning: his eyes curve prettily, and his face is too handsome.

“And it seems like the only thing he knows how to do is work.”

—Meaning: he doesn’t drink, smoke, chase women, or gamble—he’s a man of good character.

“That’s really my son-in-law?”

I glared at Father.

“Father, do you have a problem with your son-in-law?”

“He doesn’t look strong enough to be called the Monster Duke.”

Father’s brow furrowed deeply. To him, Karl wasn’t a duke at all—just a weak thief who stole his daughter.

I scolded him right away.

“Why are you picking on someone who’s not doing anything?”

And calling him weak? Ridiculous.

Yes, he sometimes had attacks, but anyone could see his sturdy build and strong muscles.

That kind of body is rare. And his swordsmanship? Outstanding.

“A man whose only pride was being a strong soldier… turns out he’s just a sickly man with little time left…”

“That’s not true!”

My baby—no, my husband—is incredibly strong!

Without thinking, I lifted my hand and covered Karl’s ear. Somehow, I thought I heard a faint voice inside my head:

Don’t listen, my baby dragon. You’re the best dragon ever.

I squeezed his ear gently as if shielding him. Father let out a loud, frustrated cry.

“Huh!”

Karl, on the other hand, stayed surprisingly calm.

I thought he’d get angry or upset at being called weak.

But instead, the more Father insulted him, the more Karl’s smile grew.

“I’m hurt, Elaine.”

“See? He says he’s hurt. Do you really want to treat your only son-in-law like this?”

“Hug me.”

…Is he just using this chance to cling to me?

“Come on, hug me.”

Beth and Reina’s faces twisted strangely at Karl’s whining. If looks could speak, theirs would say, “What a sight to see.”

Even gentle, polite Reina made such a face—I couldn’t believe it.

It was embarrassing, but I didn’t feel like pushing Karl away.

“Come here.”

As I patted him kindly, like an emperor cherishing his favorite consort, Father started gagging.

“U-urp.”

“What’s wrong with you? Don’t be gross.”

“M-my… my youngest daughter…”

“You raised me as your youngest son all those years, and now suddenly I’m your daughter again?”

“My youngest daughter fell for some weak, gigolo-looking man and is doing disgusting things…”

Karl leaned against me more and said softly:

“This weak gigolo needs his strong wife to protect him.”

He was heavy with that big body, but also adorable.

Come here, my baby dragon.

Just as I hugged him tighter, Father shot up from his chair and shouted:

“L-look at that weakling! Even your lower half is bigger than his!”

“…It was never there to begin with.”

“That’s hard to ignore. At least enough to make his wife happy…”

“Hey! Mouth! Close your mouth!”

“…Young lady, I’ll just go back to work.”

“Me too. I suddenly remembered I had embroidery to finish…”

Father’s face was scrunched, I was busy covering Karl’s mouth, Karl kept smiling at me, and Beth and Reina ran away.

It was pure chaos.

But still—this wasn’t such a bad family reunion.

Sadly, a cozy family dinner was impossible.

We had come here only to hide, and except for a few servants, no one even knew we were in the mansion.

“This feels new—eating in hiding like some unwanted guest.”

I muttered, crouched in the corner, tearing bread on my plate.

Maybe Father really wanted to keep up that “unwanted guest” theme. Even the food he gave us was stingy.

Actually, it seemed like only Karl’s portion was strange.

Two plates had been served, and the difference was obvious.

On my plate, bread and vegetables were arranged into the shape of a smiling puppy.

On Karl’s plate? Just a piece of bread with a puppy-shaped hole cut out.

“Father, that’s too much for a son-in-law.”

Of course, it didn’t matter.

I tore my bread into pieces and shared with Karl. I had wanted to shape it like a dragon, but with my poor skills it only looked like a dragon’s corpse.

Karl, however, didn’t care about food. He was too busy looking around the room.

“What are you doing?”

Look at that—he didn’t even answer, just ran his hand over my old bed.

“These were your things?”

“That’s what you’re curious about?”

I got up and stood beside him.

“Yeah. This used to be my room.”

It was the room I had used until I left for Saint Portu. I thought it would’ve been emptied and turned into storage by now…

But it was exactly the same as when I left.

Father really…

Knowing he had treasured me more than I thought didn’t feel bad at all.

I had always thought of my family as good, but this made me realize they were even better than my memories.

While I was lost in thought, Karl whispered:

“So even this bed was yours.”

“Yeah. My favorite thing was rolling around on it in nothing but a negligee.”

I almost added that it was the only state-approved drug after unwrapping tight bandages… but shut my mouth when I saw Karl’s sly look.

“What’s with that face? Why are you touching the bed like that?”

“What kind of way am I touching it?”

“Very dangerously, just now.”

“What’s dangerous about it?”

“…Stop it!”

My ears grew hot. I grabbed his hand, and warmth spread faintly from his palm.

“Elaine.”

“…Hey. This is nice, but let’s not do this here.”

“What’s wrong with here?”

“This is my pure childhood room, full of innocent memories.”

“Childhood? More like a boy’s room. And most boys imagine this kind of thing often…”

“That’s prejudice.”

I smacked his lips lightly. Karl seized the chance and kissed my palm.

I didn’t pull away—just stared at him.

“Did you imagine things like this when you were a boy?”

“What things?”

His mischievous look was obvious.

I pouted and teased:

“…Like imagining shy moments with someone you liked?”

“No.”

“See? I told you it’s just prejudice—”

“I was too busy for that.”

“….”

“After my parents died, I had too much to deal with.”

Suddenly, I pictured a little Karl, making a secret hideout in the ducal villa, playing freely with toys. But those carefree days couldn’t have lasted long.

The thought made me ache a little.

I stroked his hand gently and whispered:

“Hey.”

“…Yes?”

“When this is over… if we have some free time—”

“If we do?”

“Want to travel with me? We can call it a Saint Portu inspection, but really it’ll be a trip.”

If he didn’t get those childhood memories, then we could make new ones now.

Karl smiled.

“To me, even now already feels like a journey.”

I was grateful for his words.

Even though the capital isn’t a place he likes…

It was practically enemy territory. And here we were, spending days hiding in an abandoned house with no peace at all.

“Really. Because every moment, I’m learning more about you.”

“…Where do you even learn to say such cheesy things?”

I squeezed his hand tighter and leaned my head on his shoulder. Karl let out a small laugh.

“Then let’s do that. If we have time after Saint Portu, let’s travel often together.”

“…Yeah. Let’s make lots of good memories.”

Saying it made my chest feel ticklish.

Karl smiled too… until—

“Ugh.”

“…Karl?”

“I’m fine.”

But very soon, it became clear he wasn’t fine at all.

“Father, what did he say?”

“Don’t worry. It’s just a bad headache.”

“That’s the problem!”

“You left, and I had no use for my headache medicine, so I gave it all to him. It’ll calm down soon.”

I sat in the reception room, frowning in frustration.

Click.

The door opened, and the physician walked out.

It was our family’s trusted doctor, the one Father had called.

Behind him came Karl, his face calm and unreadable.

“Karl.”

I hurried to him and held his hand. Father’s expression twisted slightly at the sight.

Reina and Beth, watching nearby, wore nothing but worry on their faces.

“There’s nothing wrong with his body.”

“Then…?”

“It must be something else. But I cannot determine what.”

The physician shook his head, admitting he could do no more.

I thought about Eye-boy in my bag, while I gently stroked Karl’s hair at the side of his head.

No matter how I looked at it, this wasn’t a physical problem.

“Still have a bad headache?”

“Right now, I’m fine.”

That damn Eye-boy.
If only he’d tell us clearly what the problem was.

Since we arrived in the capital, Karl’s symptoms had been getting strangely worse.

Stronger each time.
And faster, too.