Living a Scheming Marriage with a Mad Villain - Chapter 65

Right in the middle of talking, I suddenly let out an uncontrollable cough and quickly covered my mouth. Reus immediately climbed the stairs in long strides and came to where I was.

“Didn’t you just cough?”

I shook my head a few times with a shameless expression, despite his sharply disapproving tone. Maybe I looked completely fine because Reus seemed a little confused.

“Why?”

“Never mind.”

Though he still looked displeased, Reus naturally reached out his hand to escort me. I also placed my hand on his as if nothing was wrong. But just a few steps down the stairs

Cough…

The cough I had held back burst out again. The real problem was that it wouldn’t stop. The more I tried to suppress it, the more I ended up with short, dry coughs.

Cough! Cough!

And when I finally managed to stop coughing, a runny nose started acting up.

Sniff…

Reus, who had been silently staring at me, frowned in disbelief.

“Loelle, are you serious right now?”

“No… I just had a little throat tickle, that’s all. Sniff—”

At my poor excuse, Reus’s face changed into an expression that said, “Unbelievable.”

“How am I supposed to look away even for a second?”

“It’s really not serious.”

“I told you evenings still get chilly. I said to wear something light even if it’s not thick.”

“Well… I wasn’t planning on staying out that late.”

I answered with a sulky tone, but Reus didn’t seem ready to let it go. Even as we walked, he kept nagging me with things I couldn’t really argue against.

At first, I just agreed, but soon I couldn’t tell if he was worried or angry. I ended up grumbling under my breath without thinking.

“If you don’t trust me that much, why don’t you just stick with me all day and watch me?”

I regretted it the moment I said it, but Reus’s reply made me forget all about that slip.

“Can I?”

Could he?

His serious gaze made me speak without hiding my disbelief.

“Wouldn’t it be better if you just carried me around the palace like last time?”

Anyone could tell I was being sarcastic. But I had underestimated this man. The moment I finished speaking, Reus picked me up.

“Reus!”

“You’re the one who said it was okay.”

“No, I didn’t mean it like that—cough! I really didn’t—! Cough, cough!”

Because I raised my voice, more coughing followed.

Reus started walking as if he had been waiting for this moment.

Dewin, standing behind us, was frozen with a shocked expression. One look at his face said, “That man’s finally lost it.”

Suddenly, embarrassment washed over me, and my face burned red.

“Anyone could tell I didn’t mean it literally…!”

I protested, but Reus didn’t even consider putting me down.

In the end, just like last time, I was carried all the way to the bedroom. Of course, on the way, we ran into countless servants.

Why were there so many servants walking around the grand duke’s castle today of all days?

Even worse, I kept running into knights I rarely saw, making me even more embarrassed.

I thought about pretending to be asleep, but the constant coughing made that impossible.

At least the servants didn’t look at me like they had seen something they shouldn’t, like last time.

Still, my face ended up bright red.

I really wasn’t feeling well today. I didn’t even have the strength to argue with Reus. I quietly leaned my head against his shoulder, feeling chills come over my body.

Partly because body contact made me feel a little warmer but also because I had basically given up.

But Reus seemed to think I was doing it just because I was sick. His face showed all kinds of emotions, as if he were barely holding back his nagging.

Not wanting to hear his voice again, I held in my cough and looked down.

Does he think everyone has a body like iron like his? Some people eat less than him, and some people are just weaker.

“What a difficult man…”

Soon, we arrived at the bedroom. As Reus tried to place me on the bed, I clung lightly to his neck.

“I want to change clothes first…”

I thought he’d take me to the dressing room. But instead, he placed me directly on the bed. Then he knelt down and took off my shoes.

“You’ll be sick all night anyway.”

“No, I’m fine—sniff. I just feel a little chilly. I’ll be fine after some sleep.”

With a look that said “yeah, right,” Reus lifted both my legs onto the bed.

“I’ve never seen someone catch a cold in the summer.”

“I’m sure it happens a lot. And this isn’t a cold.”

“If you say so.”

He didn’t even pretend to believe me anymore.

No, seriously, it’s not a cold. But still, getting sick in summer like Reus said does sound ridiculous.

Still, it felt nice to have someone worry about me, even if it came out as scolding.

“Why is a sick person smiling?”

“Just because…”

“Just because what?”

Reus placed his large hand on my forehead. It felt a little heavy.

“You said you’d be careful, and now you’ve caught a cold in less than a day.”

Then he pressed gently on my forehead, his voice turning soft.

“I can’t even do anything to help you right now.”

He already went overboard by carrying me here. What more does he want to do?

“I’d at least like to warm your body, but I can’t always use my power.”

“Ah…”

Right. Reus could use magic.

I’d completely forgotten. Since he used it every time during my period, I assumed he could use it whenever but maybe not.

Now that I think about it, when I first arrived and hurt my foot, he didn’t use it then either.

Maybe once he uses it, there’s a cooldown before he can use it again.

“But is it okay to use that power just to ease some pain like this…?”

Regardless, Reus kept touching me gently, unable to hide his concern.

“Even just worrying with words is more than enough…”

His deep blue eyes, softened under his relaxed gaze, looked so serious that I quietly pulled the blanket up to my chin.

Cough, cough!

“I’ve never had a cold in summer before.”

Of course, when I lived at Count Ivelle’s house, I was sick all the time. Mostly from fall through early spring. That was because the storage room I stayed in was always cold, except in midsummer.

So those colds were inevitable. But here, the library and bedroom weren’t cold at all. I thought just a bit of cool air wouldn’t make me sick.

But now, after insisting I wasn’t sick, I was lying in bed with a fever, completely unable to move.

“Am I really that weak?”

At the count’s house, I had endured worse and thought I was pretty tough.

Cough… cough, cough!

When I finally came to, I saw Reus sitting by my bedside. When I couldn’t stop coughing, I heard a short click of his tongue.

Cough, cough, cough!

Unable to watch anymore, Reus gently lifted my slumped body. Then he helped me lean against the headboard and personally gave me water and medicine.

It felt a bit awkward being treated like this as an adult, but I really didn’t have the strength to lift a finger, so I let him do everything.

After that, I had no choice but to lie back down.

As I stared blankly at the ceiling, a cool white towel suddenly came into view. Startled, I looked at Reus. But before I could turn my head back, a cool towel landed gently on my forehead.

“Do your colds usually last long?”

“Um… if it’s bad, it can go for a week, maybe ten days cough! I mean… cough, cough!”

Even without looking, I could guess what kind of face he was making.

“I’m sorry…”

Of all times, I got sick when he was busy. I liked spending time together and wanted to get along, but I didn’t want to be a burden like this.

“Don’t apologize for being sick.”

“Still… cough! I keep bothering you… cough, cough!”

“Did you find it bothersome when you treated my wounds?”

“No! Of course not…”

“Me neither.”

“If you really feel sorry… then don’t get sick anymore. Please be more careful.”

His voice was blunt, but anyone could hear the warmth in his concern.

I knew I shouldn’t misinterpret it Reus had made the boundaries clear. But my heart fluttered anyway at even small signs of care like this.

Of course… everything that followed was nagging.

“I worry especially when I can’t use my power, but what will you do when you’re in another country by yourself?”

“I mean, if I take medicine cough… it’ll be fine.”

Since I couldn’t finish my sentence because of the cough, Reus muttered under his breath:

“Sure, right.”

Hey, you don’t have to put it that way…

“I told you to eat more, didn’t I?”

What does that have to do with my cold?

“I always try to eat as much as I can—cough… every day.”

“You call this getting sick from eating well?”

“I don’t think that’s related—sniff.”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

Then he started a long lecture about eating enough and having a balanced diet, grumbling the whole time.

I tried to argue back, but soon gave up and just listened like a bedtime story.

“And exercise too… actually, maybe that’s not a good idea.”

Excuse me, what exactly do you want me to do?

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