CHAPTER 11
I couldn’t bring myself to say it was true.
At Clea’s words, Isaac glanced at her and then poured more tea into his empty cup.
“So, His Majesty is throwing a celebration banquet and wants us to attend… What do you think?”
When Isaac spoke, Clea met his gaze.
She’d have to attend at least once anyway, and she had no real excuse to refuse.
“I’m fine with it, but… you’re not planning to carry me in there too, are you?”
Isaac furrowed his brows at Clea.
Seeing the look that asked what kind of nonsense that was, Clea let out a silent sigh of relief.
‘Well, he wouldn’t go that far in such a formal setting.’
She lifted her teacup, thinking.
“Of course, I’ll carry you in. If you collapse in the middle of the banquet hall from exhaustion, what am I supposed to do?”
Isaac said it with deadly seriousness.
Clatter—
The teacup she was holding slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor.
“I should have them replace the teacups with something lighter,” Isaac muttered like a sigh, staring at her with eyes that seemed to ask how she was even still alive.
[HP 1010/1010]
[It’s been 4 days since you last walked. The lack of physical activity has weakened your body further. Regular exercise improves your health.]
One morning, she opened her eyes to that notification flickering in front of her.
Her already meager stamina, once 1210, had dropped by 200 overnight.
‘…Are you kidding me?’
She thought it was nice not to walk around, but apparently, there was a price to pay.
Of course, logically, she knew that not using one’s body at all led to muscle deterioration.
But when she coughed up blood after taking just 400 steps, going on a “walk for health” wasn’t exactly feasible.
What shocked her the most was:
‘I didn’t know my stamina could drop further…’
She hadn’t even realized it was a variable stat.
Lately, she had been carried to the dining hall, eaten, had tea, and then carried back to roll around in bed…
“I’m basically a shut-in.”
Yeah, this was definitely a problem.
And unlike her, who had nothing to do, Isaac was actually quite busy.
She slowly dragged her hand down her face.
“You’re up early today.”
Isaac stepped out of the bathroom with his hair dripping wet, tossing on a robe.
It resembled a hotel gown from her original world, so it wasn’t revealing, but through the parting fabric, his solid chest was clearly visible.
“I felt my life was in danger.”
“Did something happen? Do you need medicine?”
“No, not exactly…”
Clea hesitated.
She had to explain something, but no appropriate words came to mind.
She couldn’t exactly say that her maximum stamina bar had decreased because it was visible in her status window.
“I haven’t been walking at all, so my body feels sluggish… and standing is getting harder.”
And that was mostly Isaac’s fault.
He hadn’t let her walk anywhere on her own, and she doubted she had taken even ten steps in the past four days.
That’s how serious it had become.
“…True, without exercise, you can’t properly use your muscles.”
“Right?”
“Then from now on, walk 200 steps a day.”
Isaac said this with complete sincerity, though the idea itself was both funny and sad.
Was 200 steps even considered exercise?
She had tried the 10,000-steps-a-day thing before with a pedometer, but never a 200-step-a-day challenge.
‘Still… if I don’t do even that…’
She really would become a walking corpse.
In the end, Clea simply nodded in agreement.
“I’ll go down the stairs myself from now on.”
“Not today.”
“Tomorrow then?”
“Yes.”
“Why not today?”
Hugging a pillow, she asked him. Isaac looked at her with serious eyes but then turned away.
No answer.
His silence only made her more anxious.
“Isaac?”
“I’ll have the carpet changed to one that absorbs shock better.”
“…”
Ah. How mortifying.
This was so humiliating, she might just die from shame.
She could go down stairs just fine.
Unlike going up, which consumed stamina from accumulated fatigue, going down didn’t drain her stamina, especially not one step at a time.
“I appreciate your concern, but my legs aren’t that weak.”
“If something happens to you, I’m the one who suffers for it.”
“I know, but…”
Clea started to argue but decided to hold her tongue.
Actually, even speaking consumed stamina.
It wasn’t noticeable since she wasn’t moving much while talking, and the stamina drained slowly enough to be nearly offset by natural recovery.
“Is the banquet tomorrow?”
“Yes. Are you ready?”
“Yes, I brought dresses from the count’s residence, and I already informed my personal maids.”
“Are they causing any trouble?”
“No. Actually…”
They understood her gestures alone, which was surprising.
Isaac had assigned her clever maids, knowing how tiring it was for her to speak too much—but she had no way of knowing that.
“I’ll probably see the Crown Prince and Princess there, right?”
“If you don’t want to deal with them, stay by my side. I’ll handle it.”
“Really?”
Clea’s eyes sparkled as she asked again.
Isaac nodded, albeit with a reluctant look.
He hadn’t expected her to accept so eagerly.
“Would you like a cup of tea after the meal?”
“That sounds nice.”
“I’ll call the maids. Wash up and come down slowly. They should be preparing breakfast now.”
“Okay.”
As Clea nodded, Isaac, still in his gown, turned to leave the room.
He had been stepping out every morning to change clothes, since they now shared a room.
‘Not that I mind.’
Even if this world was a bit old-fashioned, in the place she came from, people walked around in just their underwear all the time.
Especially at beaches.
“Isaac.”
“What is it?”
“You can change here if you want.”
“…What?”
He turned around, visibly flustered.
She shrugged and pointed at the robe he was wearing.
“I’ll turn around while you change. I feel bad making you leave the room every morning. Besides… we’re married. We can’t keep acting like strangers forever.”
Isaac couldn’t hide his surprise.
He glanced between Clea and his own clothes, frowning.
He held the doorknob hesitantly, then slowly turned to face her.
“Is that… part of this ‘happy married life’ thing?”
“In the end, yeah.”
Married couples eventually get used to changing clothes in front of each other without a second thought.
Isaac stared at her seriously, then finally nodded as if making a grave decision.
“Alright.”
“Then I’ll close my eyes.”
Clea buried her face in a pillow.
Isaac hesitated, then turned around and began to undo his robe.
Cool air brushed over the scars that covered his muscular body.
‘He’s so disciplined.’
She peeked slightly, sneaking a glance at his back.
She was glad he hadn’t been born in the modern world.
A guy with his temperament would have been crushed by that filthy society.
‘He’s all muscle.’
Compared to her soft, slime-like body, he looked incredibly healthy.
If only she could borrow some of that health…
While Clea was lost in gloomy thoughts, Isaac finished putting on his shirt, jacket, and cufflinks.
Then he turned to face her.
“I’ll send up the maids.”
“Okay, thank you.”
Isaac gave her a sidelong glance and left the room.
Outside, the butler Denver and two maids were already waiting.
Isaac gave the maids a look.
“When she’s almost done, come tell me. Don’t let her go anywhere alone.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Go on, then.”
At his gesture, the two maids bowed and entered the room.
Denver straightened Isaac’s slightly disheveled collar and then stepped back.
“Denver.”
“Yes, my lord?”
“Replace the carpet under the stairs with something softer.”
“…Pardon?”
Denver blinked, unable to process the bizarre request.
Isaac gave him a look, and Denver quickly bowed.
‘Softer…’
What exactly was supposed to be soft?
Confusion filled Denver’s mind.
“How soft should it be?”
“Soft enough that someone can fall down and not get hurt.”
“…Ah.”
Denver let out a small gasp.
“Starting tomorrow, she’ll be walking down the stairs on her own. We need to be prepared.”
“Ah… I understand!”
Finally, Denver nodded in comprehension.
He had heard the tragic story from Isaac—that she had a condition limiting her to only 400 steps per day.
Denver hurried off to call a vendor.
Isaac watched him move briskly, looking very satisfied.
