CHAPTER 21…………………………………………..
I nodded slightly.
“Pain… it hurts so much. I want it to stop.”
Thinking that someone was next to me only made me feel lonelier, and tears streamed down my face. I had never thought I wanted to cry, but that single sentence somehow brought out more tears.
“You’ll be fine soon. I cast a recovery spell just a moment ago.”
My head was fuzzy, and I didn’t quite understand what he said. But there were words I could grasp.
“‘Fine soon’? No way. That’s a lie. Don’t save me. I just want to die. This life is too hard.”
Dark emotions that had built up over a long time surged uncontrollably, like a storm breaking its leash. I felt suffocated.
“Hah! Huh!”
“Miss Eloah, breathe. It’s alright. It’s all over now.”
Someone comforted me and touched my body. Startled, I pushed the hand away even while half-asleep.
“Don’t… touch me. Sniff! You’ll hurt me again, won’t you?”
It was childish whining. But my whole body hurt so much that I was terrified of being hit again. I wanted to cry and beg them to stop.
No, I had definitely felt like this when I was younger. But every time I did, it only made things worse. Even now, gasping, I curled up, afraid the pain would strike harder.
Yet, the pain I feared never came.
Instead, a calm voice settled over me.
“You won’t feel pain anymore.”
The voice was dry and neutral, but strangely reassuring. Slowly, my breathing began to stabilize.
“…Really?”
“Yes. I won’t leave you like that.”
I cautiously opened my eyes. Everything was still dark, and tears blurred my vision, so I couldn’t clearly see the face of the person beside me.
‘Who is it?’
It wasn’t my mother. The hand stroking my hair felt different. Yet somehow…
‘I feel at ease.’
“Why are you smiling? Strange person.”
Perhaps because my heart felt lighter, the pain in my body gradually eased, and sleep began to wash over me.
“…It’s boring lying down. Get up and run around again soon.”
They seemed to be saying something else, but I was too sleepy to understand. I simply sank into a deep sleep for the first time in a long while, comforted as if someone cared for me.
Beep beep. Beep beep.
I woke up to the loud chirping of birds in the morning.
“Yaaawn.”
It was a rare refreshing morning. I didn’t even remember the last time I woke up so peacefully.
“I dreamed of Mom for the first time in a while.”
It had been a long time since I’d had such a dream. Childhood memories of making flower crowns with Mom in the garden under warm sunlight.
“Does it hurt a lot?”
A voice brushed past my mind.
“…Huh?”
Maybe because I’d been in a daze from groaning in pain, the memory was hazy. But the sensation of someone stroking my hair remained vivid. I touched my hair where the unfamiliar hand had rested.
‘Someone stroked my hair…’
Just as I was starting to recall whose voice it was, the sound of a door opening reached me.
“Miss?”
I momentarily wondered who it was, but then remembered that this was the Northdian mansion, and she was the maid assigned to me.
“Hello, Sina.”
I wanted to enjoy her surprised expression, but a moment later she nearly screamed and ran off.
“Wait! I’ll fetch Eldon!”
“Eldon?”
Curious, I asked, but since Sina dashed off immediately, it became a muttered question.
Still, I quickly understood.
“Oh! You’re finally awake!”
Eldon must be the doctor’s name. A short, plump man came running, carrying a doctor’s bag.
But I thought I just heard a strange word…
“Finally…?”
…Exactly how many days have I been asleep?
Perhaps sensing my anxious gaze, Eldon set a chair beside me and smiled warmly. His baker-like smile even calmed my nerves.
He pulled out a stethoscope from his bag.
“You’ve woken up after three days. The master was so worried that had you slept just half a day longer, I’d have to worry about my own neck.”
“Three days?”
I obediently let him check my back, startled at his words. Three days? I had collapsed right after arriving at the mansion and slept that long?
“Oh, please, speak comfortably.”
“But Sina called you Eldon…”
Not a noble?
“I’ve just been called that by everyone because I took care of injured people. I’ve been the resident physician here for a long time, but I’m nothing special—a simple, elderly commoner.”
“Still…”
When I hesitated to speak informally, Eldon’s expression turned serious.
“If someone who will become the lady of the house were to speak formally to me, and His Excellency heard it, he’d surely bow in respect. Is that alright?”
“…Okay, got it.”
No matter how uncomfortable I was, that wouldn’t do.
Satisfied with my answer, Eldon smiled gently. He checked my condition with the stethoscope, nodding after a while.
Packing his tools back into his bag, he spoke.
“You’d been exhausted, and I heard you rode the carriage nonstop for a week. Even a healthy man would struggle. Your body just rested by sleeping so long, so there’s no need to worry.”
“Alright.”
For some reason, I felt too embarrassed to lift my head. I wasn’t bragging about the hardships I’d endured.
But then I realized something troubling about what Eldon had said.
‘The terrifying Duke… worried about me?’
No matter how I tried, I couldn’t imagine him worried about me; only his fearsome grin came to mind. My face seemed to blur automatically.
So I dismissed it as just the courtesy of his subordinates.
“Eldon, do you know who attacked me?”
He widened his eyes slightly at my question.
“You don’t know who it was?”
“Hmm. Are they famous?”
Both of them seemed surprised, just gaping.
I scratched my cheek and explained.
“I’ve grown up only in this mansion, so I’ve barely met other nobles. But now that I’ll be the mistress of this house, I need to deal with this properly.”
The world of nobles was survival of the fittest. If I just recovered quietly, I could be looked down upon in society before even debuting.
“His Excellency will handle everything. More importantly, you must rest. Don’t worry about anything else and focus on recovery.”
“I’m fine now… I’ve slept plenty.”
“No, not yet. You see…”
Eldon waved his hands at my words, seeming unsure how to explain. He came closer and whispered softly.
“I’m sorry to say this, but when checking your wounds… I saw…”
“Ah.”
I realized why his reaction was like that.
‘He knows everything about my body.’
I wanted to hide somewhere out of embarrassment. Pulling the blanket over me, I froze, but Eldon sent Sina out first.
“I apologize for touching you without permission. Of course, the chief steward helped with undressing, and I did not touch you at all. Don’t worry.”
“Okay…”
Worry? That wasn’t the issue. Even the old chief steward knew everything. I couldn’t lift my face.
He chuckled and gave me another shocking revelation.
“You don’t feel pain anymore, right? With the recovery magic and even the Tears of God, there should be no traces left. You won’t need to worry about pain.”
“What? I ate… what?”
“Recovery magic and the Tears of God. His Excellency generously used what was in the family’s treasure vault. Truly, you are a bewitching lady to have captivated such a fearsome master.”
‘Recovery magic and Tears of God… that must cost a fortune!’
You could probably buy a decent house with it.
There are many magicians, but healing magic is difficult, and only a few can use it. Those who can are too proud to come when told—they require the patient to visit themselves.
And the Tears of God? The top-tier magic potion that instantly heals mortal wounds or old scars, so rare even the emperor can’t easily use it unless for fatal injuries?
‘He used it on me…’
Suddenly, my vision went blank.
Rolling up my sleeve, I saw my pale, flawless arm for the first time. The bruises and scars were gone, and I was stunned.
Tears pricked my eyes.
Eldon bowed deeply.
“First, I apologize for checking your body without intent or permission.”
“…It was for treatment. It’s fine.”
He looked at me briefly, then sighed.
“I said you should rest because you weren’t okay.”
“Huh?”
I’m healed—so why isn’t it okay?
I stared blankly at Eldon.
“Miss, no one who knows this will blame you. They know it’s not your fault. Don’t just say it’s fine—get angry. You are allowed to.”
“…They aren’t even worth being angry at.”
I’d already severed ties. I no longer called him Father, and the others weren’t worth mentioning. I would only return to that house to retrieve Mom’s belongings.
“Still, doesn’t it feel a little relieving?”
Then, at the door, I heard a familiar voice.
