The Terminally-Ill Duke Clings to Me Every Night - Chapter 60

“What? There’s only one room available?”

“That’s what I’m telling you.”

The two people had entered the inn that was visible as soon as they arrived in the village.

However, Leah couldn’t hide her embarrassment at the innkeeper’s words that there was only one room left.

They had been told this was the only inn in the village.

“There’s a merchant group passing through our village this time, so all the rooms are taken. The only room left is a double room. Hey, you two look like a couple, why don’t you just take it?”

“A couple? We’re not…”

Leah was about to deny it to the innkeeper when suddenly.

“We’ll take that room.”

Akkia answered before Leah could even open her mouth.

“Are you really going to share a room?”

Leah asked Akkia with a bewildered face. Judging by his utterly calm expression, he seemed to really intend to do so.

“What, do you want to sleep on the street? I don’t.”

“But…”

“Why are you making such a fuss? It’s not like we haven’t shared a bed before.”

‘No, what if someone hears that!’

Leah’s mouth gaped at his answer, which was perfect for others to misunderstand. Unlike the flustered Leah, a mischievous smile played on the duke’s lips.

“That was…!”

Leah could only move her lips, unable to refute the duke’s words.

And when she turned to look at the innkeeper, he was handing the key to the duke with an expression that said ‘I knew it’.

“There’s warm water prepared in the room too. Well then, have a good night!”

He added with a teasing remark, as if mocking young lovers.

Eventually, the two climbed the stairs and stood in front of the room at the end of the corridor.

– Click.

As they opened the door to their assigned room, they felt a warmly heated atmosphere.

“That’s a relief. At least it’s warm in here.”

But contrary to her words, Leah’s body was trembling slightly. After all, they had waited for the carriage to be fixed in the pouring rain.

Moreover, her wet dress was chillingly cold.

“You go wash up first, Your Grace.”

Leah said, pointing to the bathroom for the duke. Akkia let out a laugh of disbelief.

“You can say that after looking at yourself?”

The duke pointed with his chin to the mirror on the dresser next to Leah. Her reflection in the mirror looked no different from a drowned rat.

Her red hair, tangled from the rain, was scattered over her snow-white dress.

‘I do look terrible.’

As Leah turned her gaze, she saw the duke’s appearance, not much different from her own. This man had even given her his jacket, so how cold must he be.

“But you’re just as wet, Your Grace.”

The duke let out a small sigh and grabbed Leah’s wrist, leading her to the bathroom.

“Worry about yourself. If you don’t want to catch a cold like last time, wash up first.”

The duke pushed Leah into the bathroom and closed the door.

‘I guess I have no choice.’

Leah took off the jacket draped over her shoulders and the clothes she was wearing, neatly placing them on the shelf.

Then she sank into the bathtub filled with warm water.

“I feel alive…”

As warmth seeped into her cold body, her shivering subsided. She leaned back in the tub and looked at the duke’s jacket she had just taken off.

“His Grace must have been cold too.”

Yet he even gave up his jacket.

It felt ticklish in her heart to see the duke acting like a lover, just as the innkeeper had said.

As she blankly stared into space, she thought of the duke waiting outside.

“I should get out quickly.”

Thinking of the duke shivering in the cold, though he didn’t show it, she couldn’t sit in the tub any longer.

With that thought, Leah hurriedly stood up.

“Oh?”

Perhaps because she rose too hastily, her body tilted the moment her feet touched the floor.

– Splash!

With a loud noise, Leah’s body slipped onto the bathroom floor. For a moment, she felt the cold of the bathroom floor against her spine.

“Ugh…”

Leah could only let out a painful groan, unable to find the strength to get up from the sudden incident. Before she could gather her wits.

– Bang bang!

Startled by the sudden noise, the duke began pounding on the door.

– What happened?!

“I’m fine… ugh.”

She clearly meant to say she was fine, but only a painful groan came out. Leah’s words, blocked by the bathroom door, didn’t reach the duke.

– Leah!

When she gave no answer, an anxious Akkia mercilessly turned the doorknob. As the rattling sound of the doorknob reached her ears, Leah hurriedly looked down.

She saw her own body, without a thread of clothing, and the clothes placed on the shelf far away.

‘What should I do…’

As if her muscles were shocked by the impact of the fall, Leah could barely move a finger.

‘If he opens the door…’

The thought of the duke entering the bathroom made her head spin. Just as she was swallowing hard.

– Bang.

What she had feared finally happened.

“Leah! What on earth…”

With the half-broken door behind him, the duke with a serious expression entered the bathroom. And soon, his eyes met with Leah lying on the floor.

‘Ah. It’s over.’

Leah desperately wanted to turn back time. To before entering the bathroom. No, if not that, then at least to before getting out of the tub.

A heavy silence fell between the two.

What could the duke be thinking? Seeing her lying on the bathroom floor without a stitch of clothing.

Leah raised her eyes to the man looking down at her with an unreadable expression. For a moment, their gazes intertwined in midair.

The duke’s gaze, fixed on her face, gradually moved downward. And the ensuing silence seemed to express his bewilderment.

“…”

“…”

It had only been a fleeting moment. But her face flushed red with shame, as if she had shown parts of herself she didn’t want to show to others.

But even worse was the duke’s exclamation that followed.

“Leah…!”

Leah’s lips trembled at the sight of the duke treating her like a patient, as if she had suffered a serious injury.

“To be hurt so badly you can’t move. I’ll go out right now and get a doctor…!”

Having seemingly assessed the situation, he covered Leah’s body with a large towel that had been placed on the shelf. Then he lifted Leah’s body, which was stuck to the floor unable to move a finger.

“…Your Grace.”

Ignoring the duke’s urgent words, Leah managed to speak with a groan.

“Yes. Where are you uncomfortable?”

Was he even aware that Leah was naked? He was just examining every inch of Leah’s body while holding her.

For Leah, the pain surging through her entire body wasn’t important right now. Embarrassment came before pain.

“Do…”

“Water? Are you asking for water?”

As if he was really about to fetch water, he hurriedly looked around. Seeing him like this, Leah, feeling even more frustrated, used all her strength to speak.

“…door.”

“What?”

The duke, unable to hear Leah’s words clearly, lowered his head. Leah’s faint voice rang in the duke’s ear as it approached her lips.

“Close the door and leave…”

– Rattle.

“Ugh…”

Leah involuntarily let out a low groan at the rattling carriage.

Last night, ignoring Leah’s request to close the door and leave, the duke had carried her and laid her on the bed.

Then he immediately called a doctor to examine her.

[Fortunately, it seems her muscles were just momentarily shocked.]

[Can one be unable to move like this just from shocked muscles?]

[It’s entirely possible. However, it would be best to avoid intense exercise and get rest for the time being.]

After the doctor left, Leah’s thoughts raced as she looked at Akkia sitting by the bed.

Though it was said to be just a light abrasion. At the time, her body had stiffened up, and without Akkia, she would have had to stay fallen in the bathroom.

‘It’s fortunate it wasn’t a serious injury, but…’

Leah looked at the man leaning against the carriage with his eyes closed.

The problem was that after that incident, it became difficult to make eye contact with the duke.

‘How embarrassing!’

It wasn’t the first time he had seen her naked, but it was still awkward. As if sensing Leah’s fleeting glance, the duke spoke softly.

“Bear with it a little longer. We’ll arrive at the Bellarus ducal residence soon.”

The two had planned to rest for two days at the residence of the Duke of Bellarus, the lord of the northern region, before departing for Bialitzcal.

Bialitzcal was the most barren land among the territories owned by the Bellarus family.

Except for the salt mines, it was nearly a wasteland, so they had planned to prepare necessary supplies at the ducal residence.

“If you’re too uncomfortable, you can stay at the ducal residence. I can go to Bialitzcal alone.”

“No. I’ve come this far, how could I stay behind alone?”

As she expressed her determination to go along, the duke opened his closed eyelids. His crimson eyes fell on her.

He sighed silently.

“A patient following along is a burden. There’s no proper lodging there. We’ll have to stay in tents on the ground.”

“That’s fine.”

Seeing Leah not budging an inch, the duke reluctantly nodded.

“Then when we get to the Bellarus ducal residence, have a doctor examine you.”

“What? It’s just shocked muscles.”

However, at the duke’s sharp gaze that followed, Leah reluctantly agreed.

“I’ll do that.”

Seemingly satisfied, the duke turned his head abruptly. In the carriage heading to the territory, Leah fixed her gaze on the window to avoid facing the duke.

Then she thought about the Bellarus ducal family. The Bellarus ducal family boasted a long history as one of the founding noble families of the Croatian Empire.

‘Of course, that’s an old story…’

Although they were the representative ducal family of the northern region, they were now at risk of their lineage ending. The Duke of Bellarus had only one daughter, but she had died at a young age.

After losing his only daughter, it was said that the Duke of Bellarus had given up on everything.

Both his duties as a lord managing the territory. And all the businesses that had been passed down for generations.

As Leah was recalling information about the Bellarus ducal family.

The carriage’s speed gradually decreased, perhaps having arrived at their destination. Then the carriage door opened and the coachman’s voice was heard.

“We have arrived.”