🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 45.
Ignoring Aletheia’s words as best she could, Mio spoke.
“So you’re going to swallow it again even though you know it’s poison?”
“…That’s—”
“And yet you insist you won’t let a physician see you.”
“I told you it’s useless. A physician wouldn’t have anything to say other than that I’m poisoned.”
He added that he no longer wanted to see the look of shock on their faces when they realized he survived anyway. Hearing that, the last part sounded far too much like something said from an ordinary person’s point of view. Mio took back what she had just said.
“…All right. I won’t tell you to get examined anymore. But you’re not allowed to go out.”
Above all, the destination was Count Duon’s shop. As if she were crazy enough to take him there. Mio hid her true thoughts as she spoke, but the ban on going out wasn’t entirely for her own sake.
Aletheia couldn’t even properly make use of the ability he had been blessed with, and Mio judged that if he was to avoid losing his mind, at least this much restraint was necessary.
“Then call them to the mansion. Do you really have to go out alone? You’re someone who’s going to marry me—now, someone who wants to kill me might want to kill you instead.”
“Hmph. I won’t fall for that. And inviting people of unclear background to the mansion is even more dangerous.”
It wasn’t that she lacked special abilities. Until the original story ended, Mio herself was also someone who couldn’t die. Seen this way, she didn’t seem to be a complete ‘ordinary person’ either. That the world’s strongest being and a villainess had something in common—it was a strange coincidence.
“If I’m by your side, I can tell who’s trying to harm you.”
“You don’t need to tell me that. It all shows—on their faces, in their tone of voice, in their gestures.”
“……”
Perhaps realizing there was no further way to persuade her, he closed his mouth. Still, it was doubtful how long a perfectly able-bodied man would accept the restriction on going out that she had imposed.
Mio planned to lift the ban on his outings after getting a promise from him that he would never recklessly eat just anything again. While she was at it, she would also bring up the matter of the imperial palace invitation.
But then, Aletheia spoke.
“Wait. What’s that on your ankle?”
“Hm? Oh, this?”
You have sharp eyes. She wondered how he even noticed it, but now that it had been seen, there was no choice but to show it openly. Mio slightly lifted one leg and said,
“There was such a pretty accessory that I couldn’t help myself……”
He’s not going to scold me for spending the budget meant for furnishing the house elsewhere, right? Mio’s shoulders, which had been so confident when she mentioned the ban on going out, shrank in an instant. It didn’t help that Aletheia was wearing a serious expression.
After keeping his mouth tightly shut for a while, he finally raked his hair back irritably and asked,
“Did that man put it on you?”
“A man? Who? Count Duon, perhaps?”
“Yes. That weasel-looking bastard.”
Why is he acting like this all of a sudden? Last time, he came back just fine after getting fleeced. Did he realize afterward that he’d been taken advantage of and develop some ill feelings? Mio bit her lip, unable to choose her words.
She was already thoroughly entangled with Count Duon through the mansion’s furnishings and the matter of Tararia. It wasn’t as if she could cancel the work she’d entrusted to him now. What was she supposed to do about this?
As Mio broke into a cold sweat in her predicament, Aletheia spoke again.
“From now on, no matter what you say, I won’t let you go to shops alone. Keep that in mind.”
“Lete, but—”
“Take that anklet off right now.”
Gasp. It won’t come off though…… Even if I want to take it off, I can’t!
Already troubled, Mio was now completely backed into a corner. Unaware of her inner turmoil, Aletheia pressed her for an answer.
“Mio Northam. Why aren’t you answering?”
“Umm……”
“Even if you look at me like that, I can’t hear what you’re thinking.”
Aletheia said with a thoroughly dissatisfied expression. In other words, answer already. Mio desperately racked her brain.
“I-I’ll take it off after we come back from the imperial palace!”
“…The imperial palace?”
“Yes. Come to think of it, I don’t think it’s right to ignore His Majesty’s invitation. I think it’s better to go after all. Ahaha……”
Once I recharge my power at the imperial palace’s temple, Tararia should come off my ankle too. Just hold on until then, Lete!
‘Count Duon. This is why you shouldn’t go around ripping people off like that……!’
As Mio inwardly cursed the count who’d been blinded by money, Aletheia asked with a dubious look,
“…You’re saying you’ll go there?”
“W-We’re about to be married, so I think it’s right to pay our respects.”
After a long silence, Aletheia started walking ahead again and quietly replied, “That’s true.” Thanks to the hand holding hers, Mio naturally followed behind him, secretly breathing a sigh of relief.
But it didn’t last long. The moment they stepped into the mansion, Aletheia brought up the anklet again.
“So you’re saying you’ll keep wearing it until we go to the imperial palace. Can’t you take it off before then?”
“It’s extremely expensive and rare. It’s basically the same as snatching it away when Count Duon was about to sell it to someone else. So at least until then……”
“I’ll get you something even more expensive and rare.”
Ugh. Free jewels? Tempting, but she had to refuse with tears in her eyes. Mio had to bring up the hard-to-say marriage talk again.
“T-To become a future grand duchess, you need to own at least this much jewelry to keep up appearances. It’s an item that recently set a new record price, so everyone must be wondering who the owner is. It’s not something you can just buy anytime……”
In other words, this is all for your sake. Mio did her utmost to convey that meaning.
“With something like this, His Majesty will acknowledge me too. I’m sure he’ll happily bless our mar—marriage, right?”
“…I don’t need His Majesty’s approval for my marriage.”
Right. Of course you wouldn’t. The image of the insane Lete who suddenly made a public proposal and ran straight to the temple flashed through her mind. Mio’s eyes grew slightly suspicious for a moment. Unaware of this, Aletheia continued speaking.
“I’m just marrying the person I want to be with.”
Hmm. Still, judging by how he was saying such soft things, he really hadn’t gone mad yet. Mio soon withdrew her suspicious gaze. Aletheia, speaking in a somewhat gentler tone, said,
“Then… only until we come back from the imperial palace.”
“I promise.”
Once Tararia has served its purpose, I won’t need it anymore anyway.
‘Once the vault is opened, there’ll be no need to stay in this mansion either……’
Recalling that there wasn’t much time left, Mio looked up at Aletheia’s profile. In just that short while, as if a fever had risen, a reddish tint had spread across his previously fine cheeks.
‘Looks like his fever’s acting up again because of the poison.’
Mio’s hand moved toward Aletheia’s cheek. Feeling her touch, Aletheia naturally stopped and looked at her.
“You’re hurting again, aren’t you?”
“…Yes. It seems so.”
Aletheia answered like that and closed his eyes. Mio slowly stroked the cheek beneath her hand and said,
“I told you not to overdo it. Lete, you’re a patient right now.”
Once the pledge document and the wish stone in the vault were hers, she’d planned to pack up and leave immediately. But the thought of leaving behind someone who was sick made her feel strangely uncomfortable.
‘If I leave like this, even if Aletheia eats poison, no one will worry about him.’
Even if he couldn’t sleep at night or didn’t eat, no one would care. Because Aletheia was the world’s strongest being, and in the end, he would survive without dying.
“Mio. If you hadn’t gone out, I wouldn’t be like this either.”
Speaking so harshly like this—it was all because his body hurt and he’d grown sensitive.
Mio let out a soft breath and lightly tapped Aletheia’s cheek. It was almost a pat.
“Lete. The weather’s nice today—how about a picnic in the garden?”
If she could see him get even a little healthier, maybe she wouldn’t feel this way when she left. Mio decided to devote herself to Aletheia’s health for what little time remained. A sick Aletheia was pitiful, but she couldn’t take responsibility for him for the rest of her life either.
“I’ll ask Simon to make something delicious. Is there anything you want to eat today?”
“…Not really.”
“Think about it. How about that stew we had last time? Ah, or is it not great since it’s getting warmer……?”
“Anything’s fine.”
Looking up at Aletheia as he answered like that, Mio thought,
Yes, Lete. Eat at least a few bites and make sure you get healthy. So that when I leave, I can pack my things without any lingering regrets.
