Chapter 6
I woke up from sleep.
Blink, blink. As I opened and closed my eyes repeatedly, my vision gradually cleared. It was the same old, ornate ceiling I had seen before.
As my sight sharpened, the memory from just moments ago became vivid. The fact that the same symptoms as in my previous life had manifested again.
“…I’m doomed.”
A hollow laugh slipped through my teeth.
Why couldn’t I escape the cycle of that accursed illness? Was my plan to start a new life going to end like this?
“What’s doomed?”
“…!”
Damn, something even worse was here.
I shifted my gaze from the ceiling to the side, where a large-framed man was sitting in a chair beside the bed.
He was leaning back, legs crossed, looking down at me at an angle.
Black hair, sharp eyes, and red irises. It was Chiron.
“Why are you here…?”
To my knowledge, Chiron had never once entered Eket’s room.
The combination of Eket’s white-toned room and that large, dark-clad man felt unfamiliar even to me, who had only been possessed for a day.
A man who had never shown the slightest interest in Eket surely wasn’t here waiting out of concern for me.
Then I suddenly recalled the conversation I had vaguely heard when I briefly woke earlier. Could it be… because of Ria’s request?
“Why didn’t you leave?”
“I was just about to.”
Good—he said he was leaving now.
“Oh, I see.”
Unlike when I had been coughing up blood earlier, my condition felt quite fine. In fact, my head felt clearer than ever.
“Please go quickly.”
Chiron stared at me as if he didn’t understand something, then rose from his chair. His movements were slow.
As far as I knew, Chiron was skilled in swordsmanship and excelled in anything related to physical activity—training, fighting, war. He had gathered people with his exceptional sword skills to form a knight order, and after becoming a duke, he had also taken part in several wars and earned merit.
Yet why was someone so physically capable moving so sluggishly, as if reluctant to leave, like someone who still had unfinished business?
While I was secretly watching him with mild dissatisfaction—
He turned back toward me.
“When did you become this thin?”
I almost lost my composure as he returned and stood in front of me.
It would be a disaster to show irritation toward such a terrifying figure.
“Uh… I’ve been like this since I was born.”
“You’ve been weak since birth?”
“No, I’m just naturally thin.”
His gaze slowly scanned over my body.
“W-what are you doing? Why are you looking at me like that!”
I hurriedly crossed my arms in an X to cover myself. Chiron ignored my reaction and continued examining me from top to bottom before speaking again.
“Your body is probably only one-third the size of my torso.”
Well, that’s because you’re just big.
“You don’t seem to have much strength either.”
After scrutinizing me from head to toe, he even let out a small sigh.
“Since when were you so interested in me to go this far?”
I sat up.
“If you’re busy, you should leave quickly.”
Didn’t he say he was leaving today? It seemed like he was already past the time he was supposed to depart.
“…Alright. In any case, your condition doesn’t seem serious, so I’ll be going.”
So if it had been serious, would he have stayed?
Thinking that such a remark didn’t quite suit him, I watched his back as he turned away.
Fortunately, this time Chiron truly left the room.
“Phew!”
I finally got him out.
The way he left with such a troubled expression made me feel like he might say something disastrous at any moment.
For example, that someone as physically weak as me was not suitable to be a duchess…
After Chiron left, I remained alone in the room and got out of bed.
I wasn’t sure how long I had been lying down, but I felt fine. It was as if the earlier coughing up blood had been a lie.
The room had an attached dressing room. I decided to see just how thin I really was.
I stood in front of the mirror inside the dressing room. Only then could I properly see Eket’s face and body through the reflection.
She had a rather pretty face. The combination of golden hair and soft pink eyes gave off a somewhat charming impression. Her skin, however, was pale.
“…Yeah, she is thin.”
Chiron hadn’t been exaggerating.
Her shoulders showed bone structure clearly, and her legs were slender. There was hardly any flesh on her body from top to bottom.
Eket had always been a small eater, so she was naturally petite and thin. But she wasn’t sickly—it was simply her constitution.
I recalled Eket’s past memories. Had she ever coughed up blood and collapsed like this before?
There were memories of catching a bad cold in childhood, and of feeling exhausted after overexertion for several days, but those were things anyone could experience. She had not been particularly frail.
No matter how much I thought it over, the conclusion remained the same… I had brought my illness from my previous life into this one.
“This goes against the rules of romance fantasy novels.”
I muttered, glaring at my pink eyes in the mirror.
Aren’t all the pains and illnesses from a previous life supposed to disappear when you possess a new body?!
It felt unfair. Not only had I suffered from an unexplained illness in my previous life, but now I couldn’t even start fresh with a new body like everyone else. And as a duchess, no less!
I couldn’t let this second life slip away so meaninglessly.
I clenched both fists tightly and spoke as if making a firm vow to the blonde woman in the mirror.
“…If that’s how it is, then I’ll enjoy everything I can, even if I’m sick.”
The servants had already gathered in one place under Chiron’s orders. Except for a small number assigned to care for Eket, everyone else had assembled.
None of the servants looked cheerful. In the dark room connected even to the underground dungeon, a tense atmosphere lingered.
In particular, the kitchen staff and the servants who worked in the dining room were trembling uncontrollably with fear.
“If anyone shows abnormal reactions after eating this food, this knife will be driven into your thigh immediately.”
The tip of Chiron’s blade was hovering dangerously close to the cook’s thigh.
It wouldn’t be fatal, but it was enough to instill fear.
At the realization that he could be stabbed at any moment, the cook’s legs shook violently—so much so that even the servants standing at a distance could see it trembling.
“One abnormal reaction equals one stab.”
All escape routes had already been sealed. No one would be allowed to leave until it was confirmed that all the food prepared today—and all previously used ingredients—were safe.
There were two purposes for today’s gathering.
To verify the food, and to discipline the servants.
Even if the food turned out to be fine, their mistress had fainted, so a warning was necessary.
Chiron used fear as a means of controlling his subordinates. It was a method he had learned to survive since childhood.
Each time the candle hanging from the ceiling swayed, faint light flickered across the dim, damp room. Every face it touched was filled with fear.
“Now, let’s begin.”
The servants had to eat the food placed in front of them one by one in order.
On each table were piled ingredients that had been used in cooking—onions, potatoes, meat, bread, spices, sauces…
Each type of ingredient was placed in separate heaps in front of each person. The quantities were large, as their physical reactions needed to be checked.
“Ah, I almost forgot one thing. Those who leave food behind won’t be leaving here unscathed either.”
Everyone understood what that meant. It implied being stabbed in the thigh or abdomen by the master’s blade and thrown into the underground dungeon.
Normally, such a large quantity of food would have been welcomed as a rare opportunity, but this was not the case now.
No one could be sure what might be in the food. They hesitated, fearing they might collapse coughing up blood like their mistress.
“What are you waiting for? Eat.”
Chiron watched them leisurely and brought his blade closer to the cook’s thigh. Then, with a swift motion, he sliced it.
The fabric of the cook’s pants tore, and a thin line of blood trickled out. The cook froze, holding his breath.
“Oh, I made it easier to stab in advance. No need to panic already.”
It was only natural for Chiron to handle the matter with such intensity. After all, it could involve the lives of the duke and duchess.
The servants began reluctantly stuffing the food into their mouths.
No sound could be heard except for chewing and swallowing.
Everyone knew that any wrong move could land them bleeding and thrown into the dungeon.
While Chiron kept watch, his aide approached him.
“The mana stone inspection results show no harmful substances in any of the food. We also thoroughly checked for any hidden drugs in the body and within the kitchen, but found nothing.”
There were no servants showing abnormal reactions, and the mana stone tests also ruled out the presence of drugs. The doctor’s opinion was consistent as well.
In the end, the food had not been laced with any poison.
Although it was reassuring that this did not appear to be a scheme targeting the duke and duchess, it still left an uneasy feeling.
If that was the case, then Eket must have fallen ill.
Was there any reason for someone living comfortably in a duke’s estate, surrounded by abundance, to suddenly become ill?
