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~Chapter 61~
Richard turned his face toward me, maybe because my sudden words of thanks felt strange.
“What are you thankful for?”
“For today, for the Jonagel Jizir incident. Oh, and the gifts you gave me too. Just… I owe you a lot of thanks for many things. For caring about me.”
I listed out the moments sincerely, trying to express my gratitude.
The mood felt a little heavy, but it was something I had always wanted to say.
Richard stared at me blankly, then suddenly narrowed his eyes.
“Don’t tell me you’ve been drinking?”
“What?”
“You’re suddenly pouring out thanks like that.”
Instead of appreciation, he treated me like a drunk.
But soon I realized he said it to lighten the mood.
“Really now. I just said thanks, and you call me drunk? Fine then, I take it back.”
Richard gave a dry laugh, then ended up laughing for real.
His eyes bent under the mask, his lips curved slightly.
My heart thumped loudly, showing itself again.
I pressed down the pain in my chest and deliberately looked far away at the night sky.
‘To Richard, I’m just a friend. That’s why he’s kind to me. Don’t misunderstand.’
Even so, jealousy spread inside me like spilled ink.
I kept replaying Richard and Lyssa moving so perfectly together in the ballroom.
What if my heart keeps spreading like this, without knowing its limits?
What if I end up hating Lyssa like the “original Amelie” did?
‘No. Never.’
Pretending to admire the garden, I stepped slightly away from Richard.
I let my gaze wander over the dark outlines beyond the railing.
The weight of his coat, the warmth left on my shoulders, the chill on my fingertips—
I felt them all sharply, as if to ground myself.
From the night we returned from the masquerade, my body betrayed me.
The cold wind on the terrace had done its work.
Even after soaking in hot water, chills wouldn’t stop. Soon, fever rose.
I collapsed into bed and fell into deep sleep.
When I opened my eyes again, morning sunlight was streaming in.
“How long… was I asleep?”
I gripped the blanket edge, my cracked voice barely coming out.
“Young Lady, are you still sleeping?”
As I tried to move weakly, the door opened slightly.
Sophia’s soft voice slipped in.
“Sophia?”
“My goodness! Young Lady, are you alright?”
I called her name with difficulty, and she rushed to my side in alarm.
“No… I’m too weak to move, Sophia…”
Why does sickness make one feel so pitiful?
I whined softly to her, but it was true.
Even trying to rise felt like sinking into a swamp.
Sophia murmured “Oh dear” and placed her hand on my forehead.
“Good. The fever’s finally gone. You kept running a slight fever until yesterday, and I worried.”
“How many days was I asleep?”
“You suffered from fever and chills for three whole days.”
“Three days?!”
That was longer than I thought.
I had so many strange dreams in that time.
The one I remembered most was scolding Omok as my secretary in some advice office.
Even though it was a dream, I had laughed watching him cry.
“So please don’t push yourself until you’ve recovered. I’ll bring your meal here.”
She soon returned with a small trolley, dishes laid out neatly: chicken soup, soft bread, thin apple slices, tea with honey.
But after only a few spoons, my body grew too tired to eat.
As I put down the spoon, something piled up high caught my eye.
A stack of colorful boxes, bouquets, and cards.
“Sophia, what’s that?”
“Don’t you remember?”
“I don’t.”
My mind really was blank, aside from that one strange dream.
“Lord Medinael visited you every day for the past three days.”
“Lyssa? I don’t remember at all…”
“That’s understandable.”
Sophia stirred the soup and slid it closer to me.
“Your fever was very high. You mostly slept, and even when you woke, you weren’t clear-minded. You refused visitors, so she just left gifts and went.”
I craned my neck toward the table.
Inside a round box was candy popular in the capital and a short card: Don’t be sick!
Seeing proof that Lyssa had visited, my throat went dry.
“Oh no… I feel so sorry. I don’t remember anything.”
“She’ll understand. Oh, she said she’ll come again today.”
“Today too?”
“Yes. This time she said she’ll come with His Highness Richard. She sent word early this morning.”
The spoon froze in midair.
Unaware, Sophia smiled as she arranged the gifts.
“Would you like to see them?”
I hesitated, then shook my head.
‘Not yet…’
Though three days had passed, for me it felt like only one since the ball.
My feelings were still tangled, and guilt lingered about being jealous of Lyssa.
“Not today. I might still pass my cold to them. Please tell them I’ll meet them another time.”
I put the spoon down and leaned back, closing my eyes slowly.
Each time the sword cut through the air, a sharp tension filled the moment, then broke apart quickly.
Richard was in the middle of the training ground, swinging his sword alone.
With no target, he moved only by memory, again and again.
Finally, he stopped, wiping sweat from his brow.
‘…Amelie still hasn’t recovered?’
No matter what he tried to think, his mind always returned there.
Lyssa had said she was better, yet Amelie still refused to see him.
She wouldn’t be avoiding him on purpose, would she?
Or was there another reason?
The more he thought, the heavier his chest felt.
“Richard.”
A familiar voice came from behind.
He turned, meeting Lyssa’s eyes in the shade.
“She still won’t see you?”
“Yeah… she’s better, but says it’s still hard to meet people.”
Richard spoke as if it were routine.
Lyssa handed him a water bottle. He drank, the coolness cutting his thoughts for a moment.
“Has Amelie been acting strange lately?”
Lyssa blinked at the sudden question.
“Strange? Not that I know of.”
“Yeah, nothing unusual.”
But one thing lingered in his mind—Amelie’s words of thanks at the masquerade.
Her expression then kept poking at his heart.
It hadn’t felt like her usual self.
Lyssa nodded quietly.
“Maybe her health is worse than it looks. She was fine, then suddenly fell ill—it must be harder. I’ll go see her again tomorrow.”
“Alright. If you do see her, tell me how she is.”
Silence hung between them.
Richard wiped his sweat, then suddenly remembered something from that night.
“About the ball…”
“Hm?”
“When I returned to the hall with Amelie, I didn’t see my brother or you. Where were you two?”
At his question, Lyssa’s face instantly stiffened.
