Chapter 37
“…What?”
Not noticing that the Grand Madam’s cheek had stiffened, Vanessa continued speaking in her innocent voice.
“Belle came with me to visit and brought some cookies she baked herself as a gift. Up until then, no matter what food I saw, I had no appetite. But that day, for some reason, my mouth was watering like crazy.”
“So… you’re saying you got better after eating those?”
“Rather than saying I got better because of them… hmm, I guess you could say that?”
Vanessa tilted her head thoughtfully.
“I was always so weak I could barely eat, right? But ever since that day, I got my appetite back, and now I can eat just about anything easily.”
Eating three full meals a day helped her gain weight and regain her energy.
Thanks to that, even though she couldn’t go far, she could now take walks in the garden—and after walking, she’d get hungry again and enjoy another delicious meal.
Then after another walk, her body would feel tired in a good way, letting her sleep deeply at night.
Before, she was always stuck in bed, only dozing on and off for an hour or two at a time. Sleeping deeply was unheard of.
“When I told her I regained my appetite thanks to those cookies, she started baking and sending them every morning. That’s not something easy to do… Elle really brought home such a sweet girl.”
As her daughter smiled brightly, the Grand Madam was left speechless.
That girl’s not normal—she’s cunning. You’re being tricked right now…
How could she say that?
Her daughter, who had been bedridden nearly all her life, was sitting there now looking so healthy.
The Grand Madam recalled the day when the once-healthy Vanessa suddenly collapsed.
It was 25 years ago. Some scoundrels had infiltrated the duchy to steal the divine beast’s egg.
That day, it was Vanessa who first noticed that the egg hanging from the branch had disappeared.
Despite being so young, Vanessa already understood how important the divine beast’s egg was and reported it to the adults immediately.
Thanks to her, the spies who tried to steal the egg were caught. But the egg itself was already gone.
Everyone—from the duke to the retainers—focused all their efforts on recovering the egg and identifying any remaining infiltrators in the duchy.
The Grand Madam was no different. That’s why she was late in realizing that Vanessa had collapsed and was burning with fever.
The family doctor at the time said it wasn’t anything serious—just a reaction to the stress of the situation.
And the Grand Madam believed him. She considered the missing egg to be the more urgent matter and entrusted Vanessa’s care entirely to the doctor and the servants.
Fortunately, Vanessa recovered without complications. Or so it seemed.
One month later, she suddenly collapsed again. The doctor had no idea why. Vanessa, writhing in pain on her bed, one day just sat up as if nothing happened.
The Grand Madam was relieved—but that was only the beginning.
A month, half a month, a week, a few days…
The intervals between Vanessa’s collapses grew shorter and shorter. No one knew why she collapsed. No one knew why she recovered.
And then, when she turned ten—
Vanessa began living almost entirely in bed. The Grand Madam blamed herself for her daughter’s condition.
“If I had paid more attention when she first collapsed. If I had brought in a renowned physician and better medicine. Wouldn’t things have turned out differently?”
Now, looking at her daughter’s healthy face, that bitterness and regret that had weighed her down for years melted away like snow in spring.
The Grand Madam made a decision.
“Yes, my personal feelings are my own—but gratitude is gratitude.”
The girl’s tricks could be ignored. Just once, she should meet her and say thank you…
“But Mother, when is Elle and Iri’s engagement ceremony?”
“…What?”
“The engagement ceremony. You said Iri is staying at the Iris Residence right now. And she’s already wearing a red beryl ring on her left ring finger.”
Vanessa smiled sweetly, as if the news didn’t bother her one bit.
“Come to think of it, her name’s Iri too. Her parents must’ve had foresight. How did they know she’d become the Lady of the Iris Residence?”
…Foresight, my foot! That girl doesn’t even know who her parents are—she’s an orphan!
The Grand Madam bit back the harsh words boiling inside.
Was that the trigger? Her insides were burning.
She drank the lukewarm tea in front of her like cold water.
“Just wondering, so I’ll ask…”
Vanessa looked at her with hesitant eyes, and the Grand Madam, startled, quickly waved her hands.
“No, no! It’s not that I’m opposed to her because of where she comes from…!”
“Is it because of me that you’ve delayed their engagement?”
They both spoke at the same time.
They looked at each other in surprise, and the Grand Madam was quick to seize the opening.
“Exactly! That’s it! There’s an order to these things—even if Elqueas is now a duke, you’re the elder sibling, so you come first.”
“But…”
“Vanny. My sweet girl.”
The Grand Madam suddenly grabbed her daughter’s hand.
“Think of Sir Adrian. That honest boy never looked at another woman and devoted his entire life to you. You know that, don’t you?”
“…”
“Are you really going to keep him waiting? Hm?”
Vanessa lowered her gaze, a faint blush on her cheeks. She looked unsure, hesitated, then spoke.
“But… I told him to let go of his feelings. I treated Rian so coldly all this time. Maybe he really has let go.”
“Let go? You really think so? What kind of sane man would keep visiting a woman he doesn’t care about, remembering every birthday and anniversary?”
It had started as an excuse, but seeing Vanessa’s worried face made the Grand Madam think they had to move quickly.
What if Adrian’s heart really had changed?
“Maybe it was just sympathy and a sense of duty. That’s the kind of man Adrian is—he’s a Bolani.”
He may have only stayed because his fiancée was sick. Now that she was healthy, he might walk away with a clear conscience.
Vanessa was now twenty-nine. Finding another suitable match at her age was nearly impossible.
More precisely, finding a “flawless” and “respectable” groom was.
“Vanny, just leave it to your mother. I’ll go straight to the Bolani estate and settle things.”
“But they don’t even know I’ve recovered yet. Wouldn’t it startle them if you showed up out of the blue?”
Then Vanessa gently held her mother’s hand and offered a careful suggestion.
“To let them know I’ve recovered… why don’t we hold a ball? We can invite all the retainers of Ludian.”
She smiled brightly, saying how she’d never been able to attend a ball because of her health and was really looking forward to it.
“And during the ball, please officially announce Rian’s and my engagement—no, our wedding.”
So brightly that the Grand Madam couldn’t bring herself to say no.
* * *
Knock knock.
Late at night.
After sending away the doctor and the maids, Vanessa sat in a rocking chair reading a book and replied without lifting her head.
“Come in. The door’s open.”
A moment later, the balcony door quietly opened.
When she looked up and saw no one there, her eyes widened in surprise.
At that moment, Elqueas appeared with his right hand over his left wrist.
“You scared me… What? A magic tool?”
“Yeah. Invisibility artifact.”
As he waved his left wrist, Vanessa gave him a side glance.
“Did you really have to go that far just to visit your sister?”
“Two birds with one stone. I was testing it.”
“Testing?”
“Just making sure it wasn’t broken. But it looks like the tool’s working fine.”
“So if it’s not the artifact…?”
“Well… maybe someone just has really good eyes.”
With a shrug, Elqueas plopped down at the table in the middle of the room.
Vanessa closed the book on her lap and stood up.
“So what’s this important thing you had to say at this hour that made you sneak into your sister’s room?”
“Something quite serious. I’ve kept it secret from everyone else, but I think you should know.”
“Know what?”
“The reason you had to spend your entire life in bed.”
