IBWMD 96

~Chapter 96~

I rose from my seat without thinking.

“Huh? Young Lady, wait just a moment!”

“I’ll be back soon, Beth.”

“Not dressed like tha—!”

I left Beth’s voice behind, hastily throwing on a fur cloak as I made my way toward the training grounds.

Seeing the Grand Duke staggering through the frigid air had compelled my legs to move on their own.

I’ve been working so hard to heal him, and yet…

Why was a patient wandering outside in this cold?

And worse, why did he look so ill, walking alone like that, his posture steeped in misery?

He was the Grand Duke—where was Jeremy, or any other attendant? Why was he wandering so wretchedly, so alone?

Sigh.

I exhaled my confusion and frustration in one long breath as I stepped into the training grounds.

“Your Grace.”

“…”

When I called to him, the masked head turned toward me.

He had even worn that mask out here?

I shook my head and spoke.

“You shouldn’t be out here in your condition—”

“Is that a wedding dress?”

“What? Ah.”

The sudden question made me realize why Beth had tried so hard to stop me.

Right. I was still…

Wearing the fitting gown.

It was one of the wedding dress candidates the manor staff had brought me after the Grand Duke had mentioned the ceremony.

I had kept putting it off, unable to avoid it any longer.

The gown was unfinished, its stitches rough and loose, but…

It was white, with some embellishments. Enough to pass for a wedding dress.

I shrugged once.

“Just for now.”

“…I see.”

The Grand Duke straightened as if the frailty had been an illusion and stared at me—far too long, in fact.

“Your Grace?”

When I called again, he swayed deliberately as he extended a hand toward me.

I hurried over and supported him as he leaned against me with practiced ease.

He was radiating a heat far too intense for a patient…

“….”

What was this? It felt strangely familiar.

My heart pounded.

Elaine, have you lost your mind?

But how could I deny the familiarity—the heat, the solid lines of muscle beneath my hand?

Like Pavlov’s dog, the familiarity of those muscles sparked a flicker of instinctive joy.

Now that I think about it, when I’d placed my hand on the Grand Duke’s chest before…

That had felt oddly familiar too. But why?

I was absently brushing my fingers along the muscles at his side when he tilted his head toward me.

“At this rate, if a man with a better body appears, you might just run off with him.”

“…What?”

“I’m rather worried, considering you already have a history of ‘traveling’ with another man.”

“….”

“Did he have a body as fine as mine?”

No—how was even his sarcasm familiar?

And the way he spoke, utterly certain of his own physique…!

As I faltered, he pressed on, his voice sharper.

“Was it really just ‘traveling’?”

His words dragged back memories—Karl’s hand holding mine, our bodies brushing together…

That fleeting brush of lips.

Honestly.

He had said our marriage would remain valid regardless of what had happened with Karl, and yet…

I hastily buried the flickering memories and looked away as I replied.

“If you’re so suspicious, why not just cast me out?”

“….”

“You wanted to anyway, didn’t you? You said you couldn’t stand me.”

“I never said it quite like that.”

“You practically did. You made it clear you only wanted me gone, not married.”

“That’s a leap in logic.”

Which was basically the same thing. I narrowed my eyes and demanded,

“Then why did you change your mind?”

“…Perhaps I fell for you the moment I saw you.”

Wow.

He had actually said it.

The most ridiculous excuse I had expected.

And it didn’t even suit him!

Knowing exactly what kind of man he had been in the original story makes this worse.

Why had the Grand Duke only ever remained a supporting male lead?

Because he trusted no one, not even the heroine saint, and never deepened their relationship.

Love? Oil your heart first.

He was the archetypal tin man, quicker to swing his sword than to hold someone close.

And now this? Spare me the act.

Still, I held my tongue; I had no right to speak so freely when I wasn’t blameless either.

“You might use your time better by avoiding this sort of thing,” I said curtly.

“This sort of thing?”

“Wandering outside in the cold like this.”

I supported him more firmly.

For such a large, imposing man, he wasn’t as heavy as I’d expected.

All muscle and no substance?

Normally I would have assumed he was controlling how much of his weight leaned on me, but surely a patient couldn’t do that.

I couldn’t help but click my tongue. At least that was one way he differed from Karl.

The Grand Duke looked down at me and spoke.

“I must recover quickly.”

“Which is why you should be resting in bed longer.”

“Lying down all the time makes me restless.”

“I don’t think you’re at the stage to recover by walking.”

Of course, walking would become important eventually—but not yet.

Suppressing a sigh, I asked,

“Why push yourself this hard?”

“I need to be able to receive the Holy Knights.”

“Now that I think about it…”

“Yes?”

“They’ll assume you’re on the frontlines anyway.”

Couldn’t he just avoid appearing?

But the Grand Duke answered calmly,

“If the Grand Duke refuses to greet the Holy Knights arriving after so many years, and they decide to make an issue of it, we’ll have a problem.”

“….”

It was entirely plausible.

Especially with the temple these days.

“It would be better to claim I returned secretly as soon as we heard news of the dispatch.”

But…

My eyes drifted over his upper body again.

It was hidden now beneath heavy clothing, but I knew what injuries lay beneath.

He still couldn’t even show his face.

Surely he’s not in any condition to appear before others.

“…Wouldn’t it be better to send them away with an excuse?”

The temple was suspicious enough as it was; the Holy Knights couldn’t be much different.

I asked the question with a heaviness in my chest.

“Even if, as you said, the temple is suspicious,” the Grand Duke replied with a wry smile,

“San Portu needs the Holy Knights. The monsters have only grown in number.”

“….”

“If possible, we should accept their presence and use them to bolster the frontlines.”

He wasn’t wrong. I had seen the monsters with my own eyes.

If left unchecked, the people of the Grand Duchy would suffer greatly.

The reality of San Portu was that they sometimes had no choice but to accept help, even from potential enemies.

How difficult it must be, to live like this.

To have to clasp even an enemy’s hand at times.

That thought stirred a flicker of sympathy for him.

I finally said,

“Then… should I step in as your proxy?”

As Beth had suggested, even if it was burdensome.

It would be better than pushing the patient forward.

But the Grand Duke was resolute.

“I have no intention of using you as a shield.”

The hand that encircled me as he spoke felt strangely tender.

It left me with another unsettling pang.

Wait.

If the Grand Duke was going to personally receive the Holy Knights,

didn’t that mean there was no longer any need to rush the wedding to present me in his place?

“The ceremony will not be postponed,” he said, as though reading my mind.

I couldn’t hide my astonishment.

“…Did I say that out loud just now?”

“Your face makes everything obvious.”

Thud. My heart dropped again.

A wave of déjà vu crashed over me.

‘I can read everything on your face.’

Was I really that transparent?

No—beyond that.

Why do you keep reminding me of him?

How many times was he going to make my heart stumble like this?

And why was my heart still racing, so shamelessly?

Finding traces of the man who could have been my lover in the man who was to be my husband—what kind of affair was this?

And yet, I couldn’t completely stop thinking of Karl.

Lost in confusion, I heard the Grand Duke’s voice, decisive and unyielding.

“I’ve already said it.”

“….”

“Our marriage is valid.”

The words were final, unshakable.

“…No matter what happens?”

“No matter what happens.”

As though the possibility of not marrying me had never crossed his mind.

As though my own wishes didn’t matter at all.

An irrational swell of defiance rose up in me.

“What if I love another man?”

The words burst out before I could stop them.

“…Another man?”

Oh no.

I hadn’t meant to say that in front of a patient.

Both of us stiffened at the confession.

After a long, piercing gaze, the Grand Duke spoke slowly.

“…Are you speaking of the monster hunter you mentioned before?”

His voice trembled faintly. He was angry.

“Answer me, Elaine. Do you love him?”

“….”

“Answer.”

“…Yes.”

His hand, still holding mine, trembled ever so slightly.

To be honest, my own nerves were frayed to the breaking point.

He must truly be furious now.

Perhaps the wedding would finally be called off.

A small part of me even felt relieved at the thought.

But it was still a mistake.

If I were in his position, I’d be repulsed by a fiancée who said such things!

How could I fix this?

Maybe I should just be honest and find some sort of compromise we could both accept…

“…I see.”

“What?”

“It’s all right.”

Had he lost his mind?

I was the one who was shocked now.

“Did you actually hear what I just said? Are you sure you understand?”

“…Will you say it again?”

What?

Why did he sound as though he wanted to hear it once more?