‘Ugh.’

No matter what, this was too… explicit.

It seemed like actions blatantly expressing desire, so I couldn’t even dare to do it like this.

“Isn’t this too, you know, direct?”

“That lady said overcoming a couple’s slump is done with such bold things.”

“······We’re not married yet.”

“You two are worse than that. What slump when you’re not even married yet?”

Alicia closed her mouth regretfully at Jena’s scolding.

Indeed, she shouldn’t have said such things.

It seemed like she made Jena misunderstand in a strange way this time.

“But Jena.”

“Yeah?”

“What if it doesn’t work even if I do everything written here?”

“He’s impotent. Break up.”

Jena was resolute.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Oh my, look at her complexion.”

“Are you really alright?”

The Duke and Duchess laid out various items on the table with worried faces.

“Try drinking this. It’s a medicinal tea said to be good for recovering vitality.”

“Yes, and eat some of this too. I heard it’s good for wounds and got it with difficulty.”

The Duchess offered tea, while the Duke held out something that looked like strangely shaped dried fish.

“Ah, I-.”

“Who are you visiting in the hospital now?”

As Eric asked grumpily, Alicia smiled awkwardly beside him.

“Of course it’s Alicia.”

“Then why are you doing this here?”

“Because she’s here.”

Eric shook his head at his parents who answered as if it was obvious.

“Um, Eric is the one who got hurt though.”

“Didn’t you sprain your ankle too?”

“Ah, I just twisted it a little, Eric is the one who got seriously injured.”

“He’s fine. He’s tough.”

“That’s right. I heard the High Priest healed him, so he looks fine. So don’t worry and just drink this.”

Alicia hesitantly accepted the tea offered by the Duchess and took a sip.

It was so bitter that she tried hard to hold back her frown, and after glancing around, she took another sip.

The Duchess nodded with satisfaction, smiling.

“That’s right, that’s right.”

“Here, this too.”

Alicia received something that looked like dried fish offered by the Duke.

Though she didn’t show it, Alicia looked at whatever she was awkwardly holding with distaste.

It had a strange smell and was food whose identity she couldn’t even guess.

Alicia glanced at the Duke, but seeing his expectant gaze, she closed her eyes tight and shoved it in her mouth.

Feeling an indescribable taste for a moment, she just chewed a few times and then swallowed it whole.

“Thank you for your concern, Father.”

“Yes, yes.”

Alicia smiled awkwardly at the Duke who seemed satisfied, then picked up the teacup again and took another sip, only to taste the bitterness and immediately put it down.

“Actually, I was going to visit Lancaster County. At that time, you weren’t in a state to receive visitors, moreover.”

“Ah. It was a bit chaotic then. I had to give statements several times.”

Alicia, who hadn’t spoken in detail about her situation then so as not to worry Eric, glanced at him and mumbled vaguely.

“What? How bad was it? Wasn’t it just a sprained ankle?”

“Ah, well-.”

“Don’t even mention it. I heard she cried herself to exhaustion, couldn’t eat, it was terrible. We almost had to bury her instead of you.”

“Ack, Mother.”

Alicia tried to stop her urgently, but it was already too late.

“So listen, you damned son. Your body isn’t just your own anymore, so be careful from now on. Stop jumping around like a mudskipper.”

Dealing with monsters, running here and there, nearly dying – yet being called a mudskipper.

Though inwardly dumbfounded, his parents’ words implied quite a lot.

Eric glanced at Alicia, who turned her head away, pretending to ignore his gaze out of embarrassment.

“By the way, Alicia.”

“Yes?”

“You should drink a bit more of this.”

“Ah, yes.”

“It would be good to eat a bit more of this too.”

“Yes. Eric, you should eat some too.”

The tea was too bitter, and the dried fish-like thing tasted too strange.

She tried sending a pleading look to Eric, but he just looked at Alicia with a pitying expression.

“No. You eat it. You had a hard time, they say.”

‘No, that’s not it. Help me, you oblivious man.’

But with the Duke and Duchess watching, Alicia reluctantly took the dried fish-like thing again.

She glared at it for a moment, then looked at Eric with a bright smile.

“Ah, actually. You should eat it, right? You don’t seem to have fully recovered yet.”

“Huh?”

Alicia quickly shoved it into Eric’s mouth.

“Ugh. What is this? Why does it taste like this?”

“Things that are good for you usually taste bad.”

“Why did you give it to him? What a waste.”

Ignoring the Duke and Duchess’s reproach, Eric quickly spat out what was in his mouth.

“What is this?”

“That?”

The Duke subtly averted his gaze.

“It’s better not to know what you’re eating.”

“Did you feed me something unspeakable?”

“Well, you know. Do you know how much trouble I went through to get this?”

“You weren’t scammed, were you?”

“Scammed? This is all verified food. It’s really precious stuff.”

“So what is it exactly?”

The Duke turned his head, seemingly offended by Eric’s pressing questions.

“Tch. Who told you to eat it?”

“Why are you feeding this strange thing to Alicia?”

“I told you it’s extremely precious, didn’t I? You know that Baron Hillian from the collateral branch, right? They say that old man was on his deathbed but regained his vitality after eating this.”

“He passed away, didn’t he? We even attended the funeral.”

“······For a moment before he died.”

“Don’t eat it, don’t eat this. Alicia.”

Flustered, Alicia gently put down what she was holding onto the plate.

While watching the father and son bicker, the Duchess picked up a cookie without any change in expression.

“Aren’t you going to stop them?”

“Stop what? Just leave them be. That’s how conversations with sons usually are. More importantly, Alicia.”

“Yes.”

“I’m worried about whether you’ll be able to endure well in the future.”

“What do you mean?”

“Him getting injured like this, it will happen again in the future. It’s unavoidable due to his profession.”

Alicia also became serious at the Duchess’s earnest words.

“In the past, I thought Eric would be more careful, more cautious if he had a family to protect, but…”

So that’s why you urged Eric to get married. Not just for the simple issue of succession.

Even if they criticize him every time they meet and don’t say warm words, this is what a parent-child relationship is like after all.

“But I didn’t think about how much you would suffer.”

The Duchess looked at Alicia with worried eyes.

She was shocked when her son was seriously injured, but it was something she had been prepared for since he said he would become a knight.

In fact, there were several times when he came back seriously injured, and each time she learned ways to endure and wait in her own way.

But that doesn’t mean she got used to it.

It wasn’t something to get used to.

Although it was the first time, would Alicia be able to endure in the future, having collapsed to the point where it was hard to watch from the side?

If it’s like this every time, neither Alicia nor the people around her will be able to endure.

“So Alicia. Think carefully about this marriage again. For your own sake.”

“I can do it.”

But Alicia spoke firmly.

Both her voice and her eyes were quite steady.

“I, I can do it.”

“······I see.”

The Duchess nodded, patting Alicia’s hand.

‘As expected, I judged this person well. Talking to this child that time in the dress shop was probably the best thing I’ve done in my life.’

Thinking so, the Duchess picked up her teacup.

But before she could drink the tea, she put it down again with a sigh.

“That’s enough now. It’s so noisy I could die.”

“No, you saw it too, didn’t you? This guy disrespected my sincerity.”

“Honestly, even I found that dubious. The smell was strange too.”

“Why are you like this too? Do you know how much trouble I went through to get this?”

“Alright, let’s go now.”

“Why, already?”

“Already? We’ve been here for hours now. These kids need to rest too.”

At those words, the Duke looked at Alicia and nodded.

“That’s right. They need to rest.”

As expected, he didn’t care about his son at all.

Eric spoke grumpily to the Duke, who was getting up reluctantly.

“Take all of that with you.”

“This brat.”

“Oh my, stop it now. Let’s just go already.”

The Duchess moved, soothing the Duke who was getting worked up.

“Alicia. Don’t come out. We’ll see ourselves out.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Then we’re going.”

“Alright. Take care of yourself.”

As soon as the Duke and Duchess left and the door closed, Eric said to Alicia.

“Let’s throw it away.”

Actually, Alicia was hesitant because the Duke had brought it with care, but she really didn’t want to eat it either.

So she just nodded reluctantly and stood up holding the plate.

[This is the timeline separator]

After cleaning up and returning to Eric’s room, Alicia found Eric standing in front of the balcony window and approached him.

“Why did you get up?”

“I feel fine, but it’s stuffy just lying in bed.”

“But didn’t the High Priest say you should still be careful?”

“His idea of being careful is probably different from what you’re thinking.”

Eric naturally put his arm around Alicia’s shoulders as she came close.

“I’m sorry for making you worry.”

“You scolded me so much about hiding when I’m hurt because it could lead to bigger problems, but now you’re doing the same thing?”

“Ah, that’s right. I’m sorry.”

Alicia put her arms around Eric’s waist and looked up at him.

“You don’t need to act strong in front of me.”

“But I want to be even more so because it’s in front of you.”

“You’re terrible.”

Eric’s gaze was drawn to Alicia’s red lips as she pouted.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Alicia blinked her round eyes and parted her lips slightly.

Eric unconsciously gulped.

“Alicia.”

“Yes.”

“Now get out.”

[This is the timeline separator]

“······.”

Alicia sat in the carriage with a sullen expression.

He told her to get out, so she left. Since it was annoying to just leave the room, she ran out of the Count’s residence altogether.

‘The mood was definitely right.’

Thinking so, she had tried to follow the contents of the book Jena gave her, but it didn’t work at all.

Alicia consoled herself by thinking that fiction and reality are indeed different.

It hurt her pride to think that her charms didn’t work.

‘I wonder if he’s at the High Priest’s Hall.’

She had left, but with nowhere particular to go, she was on her way to the High Priest’s Hall to meet Noah, the divine arts user.

She had been trying to find opportunities to meet him before, but Noah was constantly busy with work so she couldn’t make an appointment. Since she had time anyway, she decided to go without notice.

She thought it would be okay even if she went home empty-handed since she was going without an appointment, but surprisingly, Noah was at the High Priest’s Hall.

Noah, who had received the call, hurriedly entered the meeting room and approached Alicia, who was sitting there.