How strange.

Isn’t esophagitis usually a disease of modern people in the 21st century?

I’m not even a modern person from the 21st century, so should I be getting something like this?

Lately, I feel like I’ve been living quite regularly.

Eat breakfast! Eat dessert.

Eat lunch! Eat dessert.

Eat dinner! Eat dessert…

…I see.

“I’ve been regularly overeating…”

To be honest, I don’t want to admit it, but my body is bound to be a little… just a tiny bit weaker than others.

Living in the Count’s house without eating properly while growing up, and then after marriage, repeating the cycle of eating and burying myself in blankets, or not eating and burying myself in blankets during my seclusion.

“Well. My stomach must have been confused too.”

Huh. This is all my karmic retribution!

I decided to humbly accept the state of my body.

So, that evening.

As I was having dinner alone with Dante, I discreetly watched for the right timing.

The timing to ask for a doctor to be called.

And, as the meal was coming to an end.

“Um…”

“Are you…”

Just as I thought it was the right moment and opened my mouth, it seemed Dante had the same idea.

We both spoke at the same time, and then simultaneously closed our mouths.

An awkward silence fell as our eyes met.

I was the one who broke the silence.

“You go first, Duke.”

“No, please, you first, my lady.”

“No, you go ahead. I want to prepare myself a bit more.”

“…Prepare yourself?”

Yes, prepare myself to endure the embarrassment.

I shrugged my shoulders at him as he muttered softly.

He stared at me silently.

Hm? Why is he looking at me like that?

For some reason, the emotion in his blue eyes seemed complex and subtle.

As I tilted my head and looked at him, his tightly closed lips parted.

“I know you don’t like it when I say things like this.”

“…?”

What are you talking about?

That explanation is quite lacking, sir.

“But I think I need to say it now.”

His way of speaking is quite puzzling. This is why he always builds up misunderstandings with the female lead.

“Whatever it is, feel free to speak your mind.”

“We need to call a doctor.”

“Huh?”

A doctor? Could it be…

“Are you feeling unwell, Duke?”

Bang.

I jumped up from the table and rushed straight to Dante. I held his handsome face with both hands… Oh, it’s soft.

Anyway, I turned his face this way and that, checking his condition.

Oh my goodness. Gracious.

He’s handsome. He’s extremely handsome today too. As expected of a male lead’s appearance.

“This is strange. Your face is not just fine, it’s perfect… Where are you feeling unwell? Could it be…”

Has the curse worsened?

I couldn’t bring myself to say those words out loud, so I kept my mouth shut tight.

The curse is like life itself to Dante, isn’t it?

To be more precise, it’s closer to death than life. It was too sensitive a topic to bring up carelessly.

As I scrutinized his face with concern, I felt like his cheeks were redder than usual.

Ah, I get it.

“You have a fever, right? It’s a fever!”

Despite my confident exclamation, he shook his head.

Huh. That’s strange. His face seemed redder and hotter than usual.

“…Then what is it?”

“I’m not ill. It’s not for me, but for you that I want to call a doctor.”

“For me?”

“Yes. You haven’t seemed well lately. But I heard you don’t like calling for doctors.”

Only then did the situation become clear.

I see. It’s because of me?

Come to think of it, I have been visibly showing signs of illness lately.

Constantly retching, not eating well, and even losing some weight, it must have been hard not to notice.

Meanwhile, I’ve been grumbling every time a doctor is called, so he seems to have been hesitant…

I squeezed Dante’s face once more, then let go. I trudged back to my seat and plopped down.

“Heh, heheh.”

For some reason, I felt like laughing.

It just happened.

The reason I’ve been refusing doctors until now was because I was genuinely fine.

It felt inconvenient to bother calling a doctor when I was healthy.

It’s troublesome for me, for the doctor, and for everyone else, isn’t it?

Why spend money and time to examine a perfectly healthy body?

No. To be even more honest, I was slightly annoyed at being treated like a patient when I was fine… tsk.

But.

When you’re really not feeling well, and someone notices and cares about you without you having to say anything…

“Alright. Please call a doctor.”

It’s quite a nice feeling.

As I said this with a grin, Dante looked at me with an incomprehensible expression.

Regardless, I couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

How long has it been since someone paid attention to me and worried about me?

…It was something I couldn’t even dream of when living at the Count’s house.

There, pain was something to be endured alone.

If I showed any signs of being sick, the Countess would unleash her fury.

I was a sinner who wasn’t even allowed to be sick.

However, there were days when I couldn’t hide the pain.

When my fever was raging, and I couldn’t tell if I was walking, dancing, or crawling.

When I wasn’t sure if I was alive or dead, all consciousness unclear.

I collapsed and was moved to my room.

A dark, narrow attic room full of dust.

There, I endured the fever alone.

I was sick to the point of death, but somehow I didn’t die. Even I thought it was miraculous.

After returning from the brink of death like that.

The words the Countess said when she found me are still vivid in my mind.

An expression of contempt mixed with disgust, anger, and irritation.

How could I forget such tremendous hatred?

That was my life.

Written as ‘life’, read as ‘survival’.

In a place where I lived day by day just barely hanging on, someone’s worry and attention was a luxury.

No. What I wanted was indifference.

I focused on living quietly, so that a knife wouldn’t come to my throat at any moment.

The result of that was ultimately marriage to the monster Duke, but.

Yeah, that’s how it was.

And yet, the people in this place, where I haven’t even lived that long, are beside themselves with worry for me.

Pfft.

I let out a light laugh as I leaned back in my chair.

As I tilted my head back, it felt like my airways cleared up.

“My lady?”

Haha.

Another laugh escaped at Dante’s call.

It’s really funny.

I thought it was hell, but it turned out to be heaven.

I thought he was a monster, but he was a pitiful man, tough on the outside but soft on the inside. And handsome to boot.

So.

“Duke.”

“Yes?”

“I’ll do my best for you.”

I had no choice but to make another resolution.

While I stay here, I’ll live earnestly.

So that I can live on in the future with these happy memories.

So that Dante can live on like that too.

“Just trust me.”

I was confident.

“…It’s good to see you again, madam.”

Two days later, the doctor who arrived greeted me with a gloomy face.

It seemed he was perplexed at having to make house calls without knowing the reason each time.

“Yes. At this rate, we might become friends soon.”

“Pardon? No matter what, becoming friends with the Duchess is a bit…”

“It was a joke, so don’t refuse so seriously. It hurts my feelings.”

This person is taking my joke seriously?

I didn’t think so before, but he’s quite a scary person, isn’t he?

I pouted my lips and held out my arm as usual.

It’s another repetition of the examination. But this time, I had something to say.

I have esophagitis. It feels like the stomach acid is slowly melting my throat.

“Huff, huff.”

The doctor started the examination with a deep breath.

Somehow, he seemed much more nervous than before. Just as I was wondering why, I could sense him glancing around at the surroundings.

…Come to think of it.

“Why is everyone staring like that…?”

Once again, all the people who had gathered as if there was something to watch were staring this way with sharp eyes.

They might as well shoot laser beams from their eyes.

Especially Dante… it was frightening. Even I, who knew he was tough on the outside but soft on the inside, was momentarily startled.

“W-well… It seems your stomach is a bit upset. It’s not a big problem, if you avoid acidic foods for a while and take digestives regularly…”

The trembling voice that sounded like a goat’s bleat gradually faded away.

As he trembled under the fierce gazes, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

Although he had hurt my feelings by responding seriously to my joke…

…Wait a minute. It also feels a bit like karma?

I was in the middle of pondering when.

“Something seems strange.”

The doctor who had been speaking closed his mouth and tilted his head with round eyes.

“What seems strange?”

“Well. It seems you are indeed unwell, but this is a bit peculiar…”

“Peculiar in a bad way?”

Dante, who had been silent, suddenly interjected.

Hiccup.

The startled doctor shook his head vigorously.

“No! That’s not it! It’s just…”

Shhp. The doctor took a breath and carefully asked me.

“Are you really feeling unwell?”

“Good heavens! Accusing our madam of feigning illness!”

This time it was Siena who interjected.

Shouting in disbelief, she quickly covered her own mouth in shock.

But she couldn’t hide her huffing breaths.

Mari patted her back to calm her down.

“Siena, calm down. Let’s listen quietly first. No matter how angry, dumbfounded, or irritated you feel, let’s listen calmly first.”

Somehow, it feels like there are hidden barbs in those words, or is it just my imagination?

Just as I was starting to feel dizzy from the confusion, Dante spoke up again.

“Whatever it is.”

He approached with large strides and put his hand, as big as a pot lid, on the doctor’s shoulder and murmured.

“It would be best to examine properly.”

Oh my. That must be terrifying.

Sure enough, the doctor looked like he was about to cry.

Sigh. I can’t live like this.

I shook my head and suddenly stood up.

The sharp gazes that had been directed at the doctor all turned to me at once.

I smiled brightly at them and said.

“Everyone, out.”