I doubted my ears for a moment.

So, who caught what?

1 second.

2 seconds.

3 seconds.

“Huh?”

I, who had been blankly blinking, suddenly screamed.

“I coughed up blood?”

“…Pardon?”

“You said I coughed up blood? Really?”

“My lady. You can stop acting now. We already know everything.”

“What acting? Did I cough up blood or not?”

“…Y-yes, you did.”

Oh my goodness. Good heavens.

When on earth did I cough up blood? I really didn’t notice it at all.

As I covered my mouth in shock, I could feel Mari discreetly gauging the situation.

“You say I coughed up blood. And didn’t you mention something about an incurable disease earlier?”

“…Yes. You have an incurable disease so severe that you coughed up blood…”

Huh?

I had to cover my mouth tightly with both hands to avoid screaming again.

Only after taking a few deep breaths was I finally ready to speak.

“You’re saying I have an incurable disease?”

“…”

Oh my. Why is there no answer?

If we were to refer a bit to Dante’s way of speaking, isn’t silence affirmation?

I’m not sure if Mari also uses Dante’s way of speaking. Anyway.

I became extremely serious.

Me, having an incurable disease.

I can’t believe it.

There were no precursor symptoms at all until now. Besides, Heterson examined me several times, but he never mentioned anything like this.

Could it be that he deceived me and only reported to Dante or others?

Is this one of those developments where they don’t tell the patient because the disease is hopeless?

“Why! Why do you say I have an incurable disease? Is it true? Do I really have an incurable disease? Is it like a fatal disease? Why is it fatal? Is it a disease without even a name? What kind of disease is it!”

I asked, shaking Mari’s shoulders vigorously, too shocked to contain myself.

I could see Mari’s contorted face gradually becoming perplexed.

Damn. This makes me even more anxious.

Thinking she might be too shocked to speak, I tried to regain my composure and asked again.

“I’ll prepare myself mentally. Well, actually, I don’t think I can. Anyway, tell me, Mari. What disease do I have?”

“…You don’t have a disease?”

What kind of answer is this?

“I don’t know that either. You’re the one who said I was sick.”

“…”

“…”

We stared at each other blankly.

Mari furrowed her brow, then looked into space as if thinking about something, and gradually turned pale as she stared at me.

What’s going on? Why is she like that?

[This is the timeline separator]

Mari, who had turned deathly pale, rushed out of the room.

I didn’t even have time to catch her.

How dare she make me anxious and then just run away?

After a moment of disbelief, Mari returned, leading Siena and Barhan.

The two of them had similar complexions to Mari.

“Um, are you really not sick?”

Barhan was the first to speak up.

“I don’t know. Mari told me I was sick.”

“You’ve never coughed up blood either?”

“If I had coughed up blood, I would have made a fuss and asked for a doctor right away. But Mari told me I coughed up blood.”

“Then, why did you say those meaningful things?”

“…Did I say meaningful things?”

When I asked back, the three of them remained silent with strange expressions.

They seemed to be recalling the recent events.

“Come to think of it, it doesn’t seem like it was that meaningful.”

At Siena’s dejected murmur, the other two nodded with blank faces.

“But at that time, didn’t the doctor say that your body condition was all weird?”

“That’s already been resolved. The problem was the herb I picked up and ate. I’m fine now, aren’t I?”

Hmm. Oh. Ah. Yeah.

Somehow, the atmosphere became awkward.

What’s going on? Why are they all acting like this? I asked again, feeling uncomfortable.

“So, I’m asking, am I sick or not?”

At my question, the three of them sighed simultaneously.

Huh. Am I really dying of some disease?

[This is the timeline separator]

The truth I learned was more anticlimactic than I thought.

“My lady, I’m truly sorry. It seems we may have misunderstood things a bit.”

“Misunderstood?”

“We thought you were sick and hiding it from us…”

“What are you talking about? If I were sick, I’d tell you immediately and look for treatment. I’m aiming for a long, healthy life, you know.”

No, more than that, how on earth did they come to think I was coughing up blood and had an incurable disease?

The three hesitated, then explained the reasons for their assumptions.

“You were coughing a lot in the garden, weren’t you? We saw your handkerchief covered in red liquid then.”

“That was because I choked on some fruit I picked in the garden.”

“The traces of red liquid often found in the trash can were…”

“That was the fruit too. I brought some to eat in my room.”

The three looked like they had nothing more to say.

I had nothing to say either.

We avoided each other’s gazes like shy strangers.

At this point, a thought occurred to me.

Could it be that Dante also had this misunderstanding?

“Don’t tell me Dante also thinks I’m dying?”

To my question, thrown out just in case, the answer came back that indeed, he did.

Oh, good grief.

Now I understood why he had been reacting so intensely.

I also understood why the people of the Richter mansion had tried to overprotect me to such an extent.

I see. So that’s what it was.

Without my knowledge, I had become a terminally ill patient.

The three apologized repeatedly as they left the room, saying they had caused me unnecessary worry due to their misunderstanding.

Despite my assurances that it was fine and they shouldn’t worry about it, the expressions of the three remained gloomy.

Right. How embarrassing and disappointing it must be for them.

To comfort them, I gave them a thumbs up and said,

“Thanks to you, though, I feel like I’ve been reborn. It’s a relief that I don’t have an incurable disease, right?”

“That’s… true.”

Whether the comfort was effective or not, some color returned to the faces of the three.

No, more than just color returning, their eyes were even glistening with tears.

“I’m so relieved. It’s such a relief that you’re not sick, my lady.”

“Sob. That’s right. I was so worried something terrible might happen to you.”

“Ho ho. This old man is also incredibly relieved. I’m sorry for causing you concern with this needless misunderstanding, my lady.”

The three expressed their relief in their own ways.

I looked at the three with fondness. In any case, they had been constantly worried that I might die.

That must have come from their affection, right? Although I do find it a bit ridiculous how they came to such an enormous misunderstanding.

Mari and Siena left the room first, sniffling.

Their eyes were full of tears, but their mouths wore broad smiles as they departed.

Barhan was the last to remain.

“I will explain everything to the Duke. That it was all a misunderstanding. And about what the Duke said to you…”

“I pretty much understand now, so it’s okay.”

Barhan bowed his head with a warm smile.

“And I’ll talk to Dante myself.”

“Really? Would you do that for us?”

“Now that we know it was a misunderstanding, we should make up, right?”

After properly informing him of how ridiculous his misunderstanding was, that is.

It was time to go rescue the man who was likely still floundering in his absurd misunderstanding.

[This is the timeline separator]

Dante moved with heavy steps, his expression clearly tense.

Standing before the bedroom, he hesitated for a moment.

Should I just turn back like this?
But I knew it would be futile.
Just as I had hurt Serpina by saying we would have to face it someday, I too had to calmly endure what I would eventually have to face.
He swallowed a sigh and opened the door.
The first thing that caught his eye was Serpina.
She had been sitting at the tea table, looking out the window and swinging her legs, but turned to look this way at the sound of the door opening.
“You came.”
Dante nodded at the voice devoid of laughter and closed the door.
He felt like a cow being dragged to the slaughterhouse.
No words were exchanged between the two until he sat down.
Dante found the silence suffocating.
Only then did he realize how much influence Serpina had been having on him all this time.
For the past few days that he had kept his distance from her, his life had been too quiet.
Although it was clearly the same daily routine as before, he couldn’t understand why it felt so desolate.
But now, even with Serpina by his side, the world was silent.
He gritted his teeth to keep his face from crumbling.
He sat down opposite Serpina, his head bowed like a child being punished.
“…”
“…”
Silently, Serpina poured tea into an empty cup and placed it in front of Dante.
…This is.
“Lavender.”
“That’s right. You remember I said it’s good for calming the mind and body, don’t you?”
Even that question was frightening.
What on earth was she going to say that she first offered tea good for calming the mind and body?
With trembling fingertips, he picked up the teacup and took a sip.
Unfortunately, it didn’t have much effect.
Meanwhile, Serpina quietly looked Dante over.
And she marveled.
Wow. He’s shaking so much.
It was a subtle change that others might not notice, but to Serpina, who had eaten, drunk tea, and slept together with him, his agitation was clearly visible.
Still, it seems he regrets the fight.
Serpina, who had been glaring at Dante with narrowed eyes, let out a sigh of relief.
It’s good that he regrets it.
She had called him to tell the truth and make up, but if the other party showed no signs of remorse at all…
She might have lost all interest in him as the male lead or whatever.

[This is the timeline separator]