Chapter 14
‘I can’t see anything.’
The whole world was pitch black, as if trapped in a dark room without a single ray of light.
Breathing unsteadily due to her suddenly changed condition, Letricia covered her mouth. A wave of nausea had surged up.
“Your vision might suddenly become blurry, and you might feel nauseous.”
“Ha… haha. What is this.”
This isn’t just blurry vision, Piril.
Letricia let out a hollow laugh as she recalled the symptoms Piril had explained.
“Your Highness, are you alright? Hey, are you okay?”
Then, Isis’s footsteps could be heard as he belatedly ran down the stairs.
“Hey, I’m sorry. I, I didn’t mean to…”
“Don’t touch me!”
When Isis tried to support her, Letricia pushed him away forcefully.
“Did you just push me? This is what I get for worrying about you. From your shouting, you must be fine!”
“Worry?”
“What, do we have to take care of your illness now too? How annoying.”
Remembering what Isis had carelessly said earlier, Letricia clenched her fists.
What harsh words would he say this time when he found out about her current condition?
Imagining several examples of what Isis might say, Letricia tightly closed her eyes.
At least, whatever it might be, she didn’t want to hear it right now.
Even without Isis adding cruel words, it was overwhelming enough for Letricia just to accept her suddenly darkened vision.
“Brother, you asked when Petrick started having an affair?”
Trying to keep her voice from trembling, Letricia grabbed the railing and stood up, feeling her way around.
“Probably from the beginning. You knew from the start that Petrick got engaged to me because he needed Esta family’s shipping business to become a duke. Both you and the Count knew.”
“No, that’s just like any other nobles arranging marriages with conditions…”
“Do you know about the spice called Tetrad?”
“Why is that coming up in this conversation?”
Isis’s voice rose at the mention of the new spice they had transported recently, one that could put people in a trance-like state with just a tiny amount.
“Petrick was planning to use it on me. He said once he secured the shipping rights, I would be unnecessary.”
“What? That crazy bastard…!”
“Why… are you getting so angry? It’s not like it would have been bad for you.”
“What?”
“You said you were sick of seeing my face. I thought you’d be happy that Petrick was going to get rid of me…”
“You…!”
Isis seemed at a loss for words, breathing heavily. Having said those things himself, he couldn’t make any rebuttals.
Meanwhile, Letricia dug her nails into the railing as sharp headaches came sporadically.
“I think that’s enough of this sibling conversation. How much longer must I wait, wife?”
At that moment, Killian, who had been quietly observing the situation, approached Letricia and wrapped his arm around her waist.
“I’d like you to pay some attention to me as well.”
Killian placed Letricia’s hand, which he had removed from the railing, onto his forearm.
“Huh?”
All his actions were so natural. Anyone watching would have completely believed Killian’s lie about falling in love with Letricia at first sight.
“It’s… over.”
“Is it? Then we can leave now. I don’t particularly like the imperial palace.”
“Yes. But are you alright, Your Highness? You tumbled down the stairs while holding me…”
“Hmm…”
“Your Highness?”
At the prolonged silence, Letricia’s eyes searched for where Killian’s face should be.
Though it was just for a moment, from what she had glimpsed before her vision blurred, he hadn’t seemed seriously injured on the outside.
Perhaps she hadn’t seen properly because of the chaos. It seemed that wasn’t the case.
Come to think of it, there had been a sound like bones breaking, could it be…
“Your High… ugh!”
Letricia, who had been reaching out to Killian, curled up into a ball while clutching her head.
A severe headache began mercilessly tearing through her head as if someone was striking it with a hammer.
“I’m fine, you should take care of yourself first.”
“I’m also fi… urgh.”
Letricia, who had tried to stand up pretending to be fine, collapsed right back down due to her trembling legs.
Her whole body shook from pain she had never experienced before.
Suddenly, she felt herself being lifted, and her head rested against a firm chest. Killian had picked her up.
She should tell him to put her down since Isis was watching, but the pain prevented her from speaking, and all she could do was squirm.
Even that didn’t last long as her consciousness began to fade.
“Put me… urgh. Put me… down. I can walk… by myself.”
“Just stay in my arms. You can’t walk by yourself.”
“But brother is,”
“Anyway.”
Letricia’s body stiffened at Killian’s words that followed as she was trying to force out words through her fading consciousness.
“You can’t see anything right now.”
“…!”
* * *
“My lord!”
Pel and Pey, who had been wandering outside unable to enter the banquet hall without invitations, and Mark, who had been waiting after leaving the western tower, rushed to Killian at once.
“What happened inside? Your clothes are in disarray!”
The knights were shocked to discover Killian’s disheveled appearance from tumbling down the stairs, Letricia breathing heavily in his arms, and one of Killian’s arms bent at an unnatural angle. In such a condition, just enduring should be painful enough to make one faint. Yet the monstrous leader of the Silvano Knights showed no concern for his broken arm as he continued holding Letricia without letting go.
Mark’s face filled with shock. Despite serving his lord for years, there were times like this when he wondered if Killian was even human.
“My lord! Are you injured? But using your arm like that…!”
“Don’t make a fuss.”
Killian walked forward steadily, his face expressionless as if he felt no pain.
“We’re returning to the townhouse immediately.”
“With the lady as well?”
“Yes, prepare the horses, no.”
Then Killian stopped abruptly.
He realized his condition wasn’t suitable for riding horseback while carrying a patient. Though he could entrust Letricia to his dark-clad subordinates if he absolutely had to ride… such an option didn’t exist for Killian.
Just from his fierce expression that looked ready to cut someone down at any moment, it was clear that Killian had not the slightest intention of handing Letricia over to anyone else.
“Mark.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Can a carriage make it to the townhouse?”
“Since we don’t need to go through the forest to reach the townhouse, it should be possible.”
At his bear-like subordinate’s answer, Killian looked down at Letricia’s gaunt face.
Beads of cold sweat had formed on her forehead, and she seemed barely conscious.
‘In this state, it should be fine.’
“Then have a carriage ready immediately. And Pel.”
“Yes?”
As Mark left to rent a carriage to replace the one they had abandoned in the forest, Killian called for Pel.
“Go to Count Esta’s mansion right now and bring their physician.”
“What? The Count’s physician? Me, a mere knight?”
Pel, who had been expecting to watch his master openly snub the Empress Dowager, had been following Killian in a daze.
He was curious about what had happened inside during that short time to result in this situation.
And now being ordered to bring another household’s physician…
It was quite a bewildering situation for Pel.
“Will the physician even follow me? I don’t think I can even get into the mansion first. Ah.”
Pel, muttering seriously, skillfully caught what was thrown at him.
It was a bookmark from a medical book with an unusual title that Killian had thrown to Pel.
“My lord, what is this?”
“Show that to the Count’s physician. Tell them the person who sent that book is calling. And…”
“Wait, wait a moment, Your Highness! Why are you taking Letricia?”
Killian gestured toward Isis, who had just crossed the palace threshold following him.
“Follow that fool to enter the mansion.”
“Ah~ the fool. I understand. But you’ll tell me what this is about when I return?”
As Pel shrugged his shoulders watching Isis approach Killian with large strides, he immediately walked toward Isis.
Watching Isis wave his arms frantically after being blocked by Pel, Killian boarded the carriage that Mark had quickly procured.
“Let’s depart.”
And after closing the door and sitting in the carriage, a groan escaped Letricia’s lips.
“Urgh…”
After wiping away the sweat running across her round forehead, Killian gazed intently at Letricia’s face.
Seeing her face contorted in pain, he recalled her pale expression from inside the banquet hall.
“You can’t see… how did you…”
Those lips, considerably shocked that Killian knew she couldn’t see. And those large eyes with their misaligned focus swaying chaotically.
Then her action of burying her face in his chest, unable to bear the pain.
Killian’s jaw muscles tensed as he recalled all of this.
Then with skilled hands, he searched through Letricia’s dress sleeve and pulled out a medicine bottle.
“You didn’t bring any painkillers.”
Staring at the bottle of sedatives left alone in his hand, Killian put it in his pocket.
“Well. You probably hadn’t needed to carry them around yet.”
Instead of the sedatives he had taken, Killian held a small pouch.
Inside were pills identical to what Letricia had received from Piril.
“Letricia. Open your mouth.”
“Ugh… who…”
Letricia’s eyelids fluttered at the touch tapping her lips.
But her revealed eyes were unfocused somewhere.
Seeing this clear sign that she still couldn’t see, Killian clenched his jaw until the muscles stood out.
“Who else would it be?”
“Ah… Your Highness…?”
“Ha. That tiresome title remains unchanged, now as then. Even at a moment like this.”
Killian let out a fierce laugh and contorted his face.
“Yes, Letricia. It’s me.”
Glaring at the ring that fit perfectly on Letricia’s hand as if it had found its owner, Killian took slow, deep breaths.
“The man who just became your husband.”
And.
The man who was also your former husband, whom you abandoned and left in your past life.
Athena67
OMG THE ML WHO REGRESSED INSTEAD THE FL?? LETS GOO