Chapter 26
“If your body is weak, then you should be a bit more careful.”
“Okay,” Clea replied with a complicated expression.
She felt unsettled.
The fact that he expressed concern meant that they had grown somewhat closer, hadn’t they?
But at the same time, the feeling that she was using him made her feel a bit guilty.
“Ah, I just want to hurry home and get some rest.”
“Yes, go and rest,” he said, smiling softly at the corners of his lips.
She didn’t know what had made him smile like that, but he seemed in a good mood, and that alone was a relief.
The carriage moved forward at a pace three times slower than usual.
As a result, it took three times longer than usual to arrive at the Duke of Detroit’s mansion.
“You should get out now.”
“Yes, understo—”
Clea froze as she tried to rise from her seat.
She reflexively looked down at her outfit, then turned to Isaac with a shocked face.
“…Was I dressed like this the whole time?”
“This? If you’re asking whether you were wearing that outfit the whole time, then yes.”
“What about my shoes?!”
“How could you have been wearing shoes in bed?”
Isaac looked puzzled as he asked back, while Clea closed her gaping mouth slowly.
Well, he wasn’t wrong.
He was right.
She had come straight from under the blankets, so of course she wasn’t wearing shoes!
And then…
‘And since I came straight out of bed, of course I’d be in my pajamas too!’
Clea suddenly remembered the maid who had looked flustered and blushed when she saw her and Isaac earlier.
Now that she thought about it, it wasn’t just because she was in Isaac’s arms.
She buried her flushed face in her palms.
“You should’ve told me I was in pajamas.”
“Was it a problem? I was going to carry you anyway.”
“What kind of noble walks around outside in pajamas?!”
As Clea raised her voice slightly, Isaac frowned awkwardly.
Then he sighed and took off the uniform jacket he was wearing and draped it over her shoulders.
“Sorry. I’m not good at noticing things like that unless you say something.”
Clea shut her mouth at his sincere apology.
Why was he being so straightforward? Wasn’t this the part where she was supposed to give a sarcastic comeback?
“…No, it’s okay.”
“Then let’s consider it resolved.”
Isaac gave a short reply, wrapped her up in his jacket, and carried her in his arms.
Of course, the flimsy bottom hem made it obvious that she was wearing pajamas, not a dress.
“Let’s go, home.”
Still holding her, Isaac walked into the mansion.
With a long sigh, Clea wrapped her arms around his neck.
Ding—
A notification sound rang out.
Isaac was going up the stairs.
As expected, that strange notification sound wasn’t audible to anyone but her.
When Clea lifted her head, a now-familiar window floated in front of her eyes.
[You have been fasting for 26 hours, 17 minutes, and 54 seconds. Death is approaching. You will begin to lose 50 HP every minute.]
[Unbearable hunger has been blocked. You won’t feel hungry, but HP will still decrease.]
…“Death is approaching”? That’s a little too cheerful for something so grim.
Had the system gotten peppier while she wasn’t looking?
Clea stared at the notification window with an annoyed expression.
Seriously, this is so irritating.
A human can go two days without eating!
Honestly, she hadn’t even noticed because she wasn’t feeling hungry.
“…Isaac.”
“What is it?”
“Sorry, but could we eat something first?”
At her request, Isaac nodded.
“I’ll have food sent up to the room.”
Well, it didn’t really matter where they ate…
Her HP bar was getting dangerously low.
Losing 50 every minute meant she had exactly 24 minutes left.
[1210/1210]
“…Do you think there’s any food that can be ready in 24 minutes?”
At her cautious question, Isaac looked puzzled.
What kind of food could be prepared in exactly 24 minutes?
While staring at her oddly specific number, he opened the door.
[1160/1210]
“No—actually, 23 minutes.”
Her HP had dropped again.
Clea quickly corrected herself.
Isaac set her down on the bed and gave her a curious look, but still nodded.
“I’ll have them bring something, anything.”
“Yes, please.”
Clea nodded, and Isaac turned to leave.
He stopped at the door, hand on the knob, and turned his head to glance back.
“Stay here and don’t move.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t move at all.”
There was distrust in his voice. Clea nodded again.
Looking into his suspicious eyes, she flopped down onto the bed as if to prove her obedience.
“I’m tired, so I don’t feel like moving. I’ll stay right here.”
“…I’ll be right back.”
“Okay~.”
Even after that, Isaac gave her one last look-over before finally leaving the room with a reluctant expression.
Clea stretched her arms out wide and stared at the ceiling.
It was unfamiliar.
But it was one she needed to grow accustomed to.
Because this was Isaac’s room—and now hers, too.
‘…Hmm. I wonder if I’ll even have the chance to sleep with him before I die?’
Knowing Isaac, if it ever went that far, he’d probably take responsibility.
If she made things clear now, it would end cleanly.
“Looking at the situation, this is just me indulging in a fantasy.”
Their relationship had only progressed to the point of carrying her around…
Well, not that it counted as progress.
She fainted so often, he probably just started carrying her out of pity.
From the way he still scolded her constantly, they weren’t exactly close.
Click. The door opened again.
“You stayed put.”
Isaac smiled in relief as he saw her still in bed.
Seeing the tension melt from his expression, Clea’s face turned a bit strange.
‘…Seriously? That much?’
Was her trust level that low?
Even someone as stoic as him looked visibly relieved?
Clea’s face soured a bit.
Isaac approached and gently patted her head.
It felt oddly like praising a well-behaved dog.
Still, it was kind of nice to be worried about.
“By the way, you could’ve told me if something like that happened.”
“Something like what?”
“The poison incident.”
“Oh, that. It wasn’t a big deal. You really don’t need to worry about it.”
Clea closed her eyes and mumbled.
He really didn’t need to worry.
That was a matter between her and the demon king.
When she caught the culprit and returned to her original world, she’d get a reward.
That’s how the contract worked.
If Isaac got involved, things could get messy.
“…So you promise to fulfill our marital duties, and then draw a line like this?”
Isaac’s voice grew tense with displeasure.
When had she drawn a line?
Feeling wronged, she looked up at him—only to see a strangely sulky expression.
No, he wouldn’t make a sulky face… would he?
‘…Wait, would he?’
No way. Couldn’t be.
“I am fulfilling our marital duties, though? Did some social event come up? Don’t worry, I can go if it’s—”
“That’s not what I meant. Am I not someone you can rely on?”
His unexpected question made Clea’s eyes widen.
“I just thought… I could handle the poison case myself.”
“And how exactly do you plan to do that in this condition?”
His gaze was once again filled with disbelief as it swept over her body.
Clea pressed her lips together and turned her head.
She could at least attend banquets and tea parties in a carriage.
“For now, I’m planning to attend some social events to make friends.”
“…Friends?”
“Yes. And I probably need to do some image rehabilitation too.”
If she stayed like this, no one would open their heart to her.
To find the culprit, she had to enter the forest where they hid.
The problem was how difficult it was to get inside.
“Why do you need friends?”
“To figure out who the culprit is, I need to get into the social circ—”
She stopped mid-sentence, realizing she had said too much.
Looking up nervously, she saw Isaac’s expression had already gone cold.
And that wasn’t the only problem…
[660/1210]
[Unbearable hunger blocked. HP continues to drop.]
[Due to fasting, HP reduced to one-third. Vision will become blurry soon.]
Ten more minutes had passed.
And just as the notification ended, her vision really began to blur.
It was like a thick fog had rolled in, making even Isaac’s form hard to see.
“So it wasn’t just a maid acting on her own? Someone ordered her to?”
“Yes, yes, but that’s not important right now, it’s just that…”
At this rate, she’d really die within a day of waking up. She just needed food.
Please. Just food.
As Clea responded halfheartedly, Isaac’s expression hardened.
Wasn’t she basically saying she didn’t care who had tried to kill her?
“Why isn’t that important?!”
Isaac finally raised his voice.
She seemed to treat herself too lightly.
So lightly it was almost shocking.
As if she viewed herself as just some disposable object.
“…Huh?”
“You need to value your life more. Poisoning a noble—just who had the nerve to…!”
Clea stared at the angry Isaac with wide eyes.
Sitting awkwardly on the bed, she watched him silently before swallowing hard.
‘…Did Clea Lino fall for this side of Isaac?’
The way he got mad on her behalf, when it wasn’t even his problem, made her heart ache strangely.
She wasn’t sure if it was her feelings or Clea Lino’s.
Her vision was getting worse.
She couldn’t even see her HP bar anymore.
“Clea Lino has a lot of enemies. So it’s fine. But right now, the more urgent thing is—”
“That is not fine.”
Isaac repeated sternly, face still hardened.
Clea was grateful—but also, just a little tempted to clutch the back of her neck in frustration.
“Got it?”
