~Chapter 19~
In the original story, the Grand Duchess barely appeared.
“My mother hated me.”
That was all Dane ever said about her. The novel only mentioned she died giving birth to her second child.
The Grand Duchess looked gloomy and tired.
She looked like she had depression, Camilla thought.
But that couldn’t be, since it had been a long time since she had Dane.
Why did she call me here?
Camilla couldn’t figure out the reason for this meeting, or why she was being asked to do all these things.
“Ain, check if the young lady can spin around.”
Camilla felt like a lab mouse.
“Excuse me, is this part of the medical examination?”
“Yes, yes.”
Camilla didn’t understand, but she quietly spun around three times, as gracefully as she could.
“Hmm, you’re not dizzy?”
“…Of course I’m a little dizzy.”
“Her balance seems fine,” the Duchess said. Then she told the doctor,
“Ain, check her pulse.”
“…Please give me your hand, miss.”
Camilla gave her hand to the doctor—the same doctor who had wrapped her wound before.
“Hmm, as before, her pulse is weak.”
“Is it after-effect from the poison she took for Dane?”
“No, it seems she was born this way.”
“That’s not good.”
This process felt like she was being tested, like a horse.
“Miss, I want someone who can stay by Dane’s side for a long time. This is just to make sure, so please cooperate.”
Then the Duchess asked Camilla to open her eyes wide.
That’s when Camilla realized,
She just wants to make sure there’s a healthy person beside Dane.
She doesn’t want anyone close to death near her son.
In a way, it was a mother’s desperate love.
Suddenly, the door opened with a sharp voice.
“What are you doing, Mother?”
Camilla turned, surprised.
Dane stood at the door, breathing hard, his blue eyes cold as ice.
“Why are you making a sick person do all this?”
He walked over and stood between Camilla and the Duchess, taking Camilla’s hand.
“I’m leaving now with my friend.”
“Duke,” the Duchess said coldly, calling his title instead of his name.
“Isn’t this rude?”
Dane smiled lazily.
“Before that, I want to ask why you were rude to my guest. My friend isn’t a new horse you just bought.”
I thought so too, but… can you really say that? Camilla wondered.
“We’ll have our meal together in my room. Please send my friend up.”
With those words, Dane pulled Camilla away.
He didn’t say anything until they reached his luxurious room. Only then did he let go of her arm.
“…Sorry.”
“…Why are you apologizing?”
It was true the Duchess was rude, but Camilla was just a baron’s illegitimate child, so it wasn’t a big deal.
Dane noticed her expression and sighed.
“I told you, you’re my friend, someone I call by name.”
“…Right.”
“My mother was rude to my friend. You need to recognize that.”
“…You’re right.”
Dane ordered tea, and the two sat together on the sofa.
He took a sip.
“My mother used to be the best doctor in Escalus.”
“The Duchess was?”
This was news to Camilla. She remembered the medical books and papers the baron had given her.
Being a female doctor wasn’t common, especially among noblewomen.
“She thought she could cure my heart disease herself.”
But Dane explained calmly that it didn’t work out. After several failures, his mother’s personality grew harsher, and her mind grew sick.
“She started to obsess over superstitions.”
‘My son must not be close to death.’
Death was normal in this world, but not to the Duchess. She wouldn’t let Dane eat wild meat, and even kicked out a milk boy just because his father died.
“That was not like the kind Grand Duchess I remembered,” Dane said.
He knew his mother was becoming strange, but her student, Doctor Ain, only felt sorry for her. The Grand Duke, her husband, loved her too much to see her change.
Her condition only grew worse. She even said to the Grand Duke:
‘I know, my love. I will die without giving birth to this child.’
She was sure she would die, especially since she had a hard time giving birth to Dane.
‘So I shouldn’t stay near Dane.
Please, dear. Dane needs someone by his side. Someone bright—boy or girl, it doesn’t matter, just someone.’
That’s why they held big birthday parties, always trying to find Dane a companion. Before that, they had been inviting noble sons and daughters constantly.
“It was annoying,” Dane said.
Now Camilla finally understood why the Grand Duke kept trying to find him a companion.
“My mother is wrong. If being close to death is so bad—”
Dane gave a bitter smile that didn’t suit a young boy.
“I’m the most unclean one here.”
Camilla’s heart dropped.
“Dane.”
Without thinking, she took his hand. She gently squeezed his shaking fingers and said,
“If you want to understand something, you need to ask if your first assumption is correct.”
“What?”
“Even the smartest person can make mistakes if their first idea is wrong.”
Camilla looked into Dane’s blue eyes.
“Is death really a bad thing? What about a baby who dies right after being born?”
Dane shook his head.
“What about a soldier who dies for his country?”
He shook his head again.
“Is a sick person really bad?”
If that was true, then maybe she, who had swallowed so much poison and still survived, was the most unclean.
She looked into Dane’s eyes and asked quietly,
“Is my friend really a bad person?”
“…No.”
He might be mature, but he was still a boy.
And I have a responsibility to help this boy, Camilla thought.
Now she knew what she had to do. She smiled, thinking of what the Duchess did and what happened in the carriage earlier.
Not noticing Dane’s wide eyes, she nodded to herself.
A good idea came to me.
“Dane, you asked earlier how you could take responsibility for touching my cheek?”
Dane nodded.
Camilla whispered softly,
“I thought of a way you can take responsibility. Will you take off your shirt?”
“…What?”
Meanwhile, outside—
“A child, Your Grace. The Grand Duke’s new friend,” said Doctor Ain.
“I wish Dane had found a brighter, prettier friend,” said the Grand Duchess, rubbing her pregnant belly.
Doctor Ain felt sad hearing her words.
She was never like this before…
But the Duchess went on, “I’ve traveled all over Escalus, even treated criminals in the slums.”
“Yes, but…”
“And I heard many dark rumors about the famous Baron Mowin from the other nobles, thanks to my charity and medical work.”
After saying this, the Grand Duchess said she was tired and sent Doctor Ain away.
Walking the hall with a heavy heart, Ain thought of the Grand Duke’s son.
Treating his first friend this way… Dane must be hurt.
He slowly walked toward Dane’s room.
Knock, knock.
He heard talking but no answer.
“Grand Duke?”
There was no reply. He was about to turn away when—
CRASH!
A sudden loud sound came from inside. Startled, Ain turned the handle.
The door wasn’t locked. What he saw inside made his jaw drop.
“Stop…! Ain?”
Ain couldn’t believe his eyes. The Grand Duke and the Baron’s daughter were way too close together. And the Baron’s daughter’s hand was—
On the Grand Duke’s chest?!
“W-What are you two doing?!”
