106. Darius Says

“The first time I went on a territory tour was when I was 12 years old.”

Darius looked at Anette, who was tightly holding his hand, with nostalgic eyes as he spoke.

“For an ordinary child, that’s young enough to just be starting to follow knights as a squire. But I couldn’t avoid touring the territory despite my young age. I had to show the strength of the Inkheart grand ducal family in place of my father who was bedridden……”

Anette nodded her head repeatedly. Her eyes reddened as she imagined the young Darius, with his small body, accompanied by large-bodied knights, traversing the rugged mountains.

“The gazes of people looking at me were colder than the chilly weather. ‘Can that little kid really do well?'”

“Darius……”

“Even when I got hurt, I was too busy hiding it from others rather than getting treatment. Telling myself it was fine, that it would heal on its own. I felt so lonely as I tried to sleep alone in the military camp bed…… Ah, if only you had been by my side then…… Cough, cough.”

“Darius!”

Unable to overcome her sadness, Anette jumped into his arms.

Darius, who had been lying in bed pretending to be a patient, let out a dramatic groan as if the injuries he had suffered in that childhood were flaring up again.

“Ah, that wound from back then…… Because it wasn’t treated properly, it still seems to ache when the weather isn’t good……”

“Oh, oh no! Did I touch it wrong? I’ll call the doctor, I’ll call the doctor!”

“It’s okay. I feel like all my pain goes away just by having you hold my hand……. In that sense, could you hold my hand a little longer?”

“That’s not difficult at all…… Of course I should hold it. But wouldn’t it be better to call the doctor anyway? You have many places that hurt.”

Apple, Anette’s maid, began to wonder if it might be her duty as a maid to slowly reveal the truth to her lady, seeing Anette who had been crying constantly these days out of worry for the Grand Duke.

There was no way that an old ailment could be cured just by Anette holding his hand when she was neither a doctor nor a priest.

Moreover, no matter how unsettled public sentiment might have been, it was unlikely that people would have acted carelessly toward the only heir to the territory who might soon become the master of this land.

Darius was a person who had grown up with more care than he claimed.

At that moment, Darius quietly showed Apple a circle made with his middle finger and thumb. It was a signal for a salary increase.

Apple changed her mind, thinking that it was best after all for the couple to get along well.

She even put aside her intention to inform Anette that she should now go to the office, and instead showed her consideration by quietly disappearing with sharp perception.

Long live money.

Unaware of what was happening behind her, Anette’s eyes welled up with tears.

“You also said you had a headache, as if you’d hit your head somewhere wrong when you were carried down from the mountain on a stretcher.”

Even recently, he had said that his body, which had been cold in the snow, seemed to be getting frostbite belatedly, so Anette had held him tightly until his body completely thawed.

His injuries would flare up whenever Anette tried to leave, especially if she talked to another man for any reason for a long time, they would reveal themselves with “Actually, I’ve been hiding this all along because I didn’t want you to worry……”

“Sigh…… Meeting with a doctor just makes me feel weak…… As the lord of the North, I need to be strong, don’t I?”

“That’s not true at all! If you’re sick, it’s natural to see a doctor. This won’t do, I’ll schedule a doctor’s appointment.”

“I appreciate your concern, Anette. But rather than a doctor……”

Darius changed the subject because he knew exactly what he would hear if he met with a doctor.

“Anette, to recover, one needs to eat well, right?”

“Is there something you want to eat? I’ll tell the kitchen.”

“Pudding. Made by Anette herself.”

“……Pudding?”

Why that again. Why specifically that!

Anette’s face turned pale at the memory of flipping dozens of plump puddings.

“Ah, yes. So I’ll ask the kitchen to make it……”

“No, not made by someone else. Made by Anette.”

“Do I really have to make it……?”

To Anette’s question of why when the ingredients would be the same anyway, so why insist on the maker, Darius answered by clutching his waist.

“Ah…… My waist that I hit wrong when I was carried down from the mountain is acting up again……! For a man, nothing is more important than his waist!”

“Pudding! I know a recipe where you hollow out an orange and pour the contents inside to make it shaped just like an orange? I’ll make that for you! How did you know I wanted to make that when you asked for pudding! Hahaha! I really love making pudding!”

“As expected. A pudding made with a joyful heart, I think pudding made by Anette is delicious.”

“……I don’t think so. ……If my homemade pudding had feelings in it…… it would have asked to be killed by now…… Ah, no, no! Th-that’s right. I also enjoy making pudding for Darius…… Yes……”

Yes, being healthy is the most important thing. Anette comforted herself with this thought.

In the end, Darius only let Anette go after receiving a promise that she would feed him plenty of homemade pudding this evening.

“Come back early.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t talk to other men.”

“Everyone here is from our castle.”

“Don’t have long conversations, don’t smile at them.”

“I’m telling you I’m going to work?”

“Communicate in writing.”

“Ah, what is this really. Are you going to keep saying silly things?”

Anette laughed. Her footsteps leaving the sickroom are light. Darius couldn’t let go of his attachment even to the sound of her departing footsteps.

“I wish she would look only at me a little more.”

Perhaps intending to take a short walk before starting her official duties, Anette’s small head could be seen outside the window. And also the red-haired man clinging to Anette.

Whatever they were talking about couldn’t be heard from above, but Barbarossa seemed quite pleased to see Anette after a long time.

Twitch, Darius’s eyebrow moved as if dissatisfied. His hand reflexively searched for something to throw.

‘If I throw something from here, could I hit only Barbarossa without Anette noticing?’

He could hit him, but it seemed impossible not to be detected.

Unaware that someone above was contemplating whether to take a shot at him, Barbarossa was still standing shoulder to shoulder with Anette. Obliviously.

“Let’s see…… When Anette returns, what should I say hurts this time.”

Barbarossa wouldn’t know that today was his lucky day.

* * *

“Well then, Lady Anette. Work hard! There’s also the mercenary group’s income status among the agenda items, so make sure to approve it!”

Barbarossa waved his hand cheerfully as he pushed me, who was just going out for a short walk, into the office. Thud, the sound of the door closing was resolute.

A pile of documents was stacked on the office desk.

Seeing the tower of papers, I reflexively clung to the closed door.

“What is all this!”

Through the thick door, Barbarossa answered in a muffled voice.

“Documents that my lady needs to approve today.”

“I won’t do it! I can’t do it! I hate it! Open up!”

“My lady, running away doesn’t finish the work. Let’s be adult-like and take responsibility for our own tasks.”

“This isn’t my work. It’s Darius’s work!”

“In the lord’s absence, the lord’s wife is the next responsible person. All this time, these were things my lady should have approved, but you didn’t pay any attention because you were nursing the lord?”

“Ugh, that’s true but! Even so! I’m not going to call Darius, who’s lying in bed, to approve things instead of me! But still, I hate working! Who in the world likes to work!”

Woong woong woong, through the thick wooden door, Barbarossa replied.

“My lady, I get paid when those documents are approved. My lady, I have a lot of dating partners I need to support.”

There’s no one in the world who likes to work, but among workers, there’s no one who dislikes payday even more……!

Defeated by the driving force that moved Barbarossa, I sat down obediently at the office desk to fulfill my duty as an employer.

My civilian self hurt too much to become an evil employer who delayed wages.

With a final grudge, I grumbled.

“Why do you naturally talk about having ‘many’ dating partners? You playboy. Usually it’s just one, right? Cut down a bit. Consider your financial situation.”

But I’m also me for saying ‘cut down’ rather than ‘just have one dating partner.’

No matter how I thought about it, it seemed impossible to expect Barbarossa to change his ways and live diligently in this life.

Even while grumbling, when I showed the attitude of working properly, Barbarossa left the office door snickering, and after a while, the next visitor came to the office.

It was Arshama. True to his chatty personality, Arshama made a fuss as soon as he opened the office door.

“Wooow, lord’s wife! Lady Anette, long time no see!”

“Oh.”

Frivolous yet affable, Arshama was dressed in typical northern attire today. I think before, his clothes were closer to those of a foreigner, or rather, a mountain tribesman.

“You managed to survive well in that chaos. As expected, I knew you would do well.”

“Hey. You only just remembered my existence? You didn’t even think of me until I showed my face?”

“No way. What kind of relationship do we have.”

Of course, I had completely forgotten about him. My husband is important, why would a foreigner I met not long ago be important…… I couldn’t tell the truth.

He also has the sin of dragging me to the past without telling me. Let’s just say we’re the kind of relationship where we tell shameless lies whenever we see each other’s faces.

Feeling sorry for not taking care of him during this time, I greeted him shamelessly.

When the northern army arrived at the scene where Darius had killed Count Alexei and collapsed, there were also me, who was horrified, and the injured Arshama.

If I had been in my right mind, I would have explained the situation to the latecomers that all this was plotted by Count Alexei, and that Arshama was on our side.

However, at that time, I was out of my mind after seeing Darius collapse.