Chapter 7
Once I fell ill, my condition would return to normal as if nothing had ever happened. That was a defining trait of my illness.
Even from my past life, that was the very point doctors could never understand. Aside from episodes of coughing fits, coughing up blood, and nosebleeds, everything else was completely normal.
“Madam, are you alright?”
“Yes, I’m fine now.”
The maid, Ria, had returned to the room.
“Things downstairs are in chaos right now.”
Ria lowered her voice, shivering as if in disgust.
“Hmm? Why?”
“It seems the master is extremely angry. He summoned all the servants earlier and ordered them to inspect all the food you’ve been eating.”
“Oh, really?”
If there was a problem with the food, it would concern him as well, so he must be conducting a thorough investigation.
“When the master is angry, he’s truly terrifying. I heard the head chef came out with his clothes torn and bleeding from his thigh.”
Kairon was indeed a merciless man. Wasn’t he the one who had brutally killed his own half-brother?
I nodded in agreement at Ria’s words about how frightening he was.
“I’d feel much more at ease if he would leave quickly.”
“Who?”
“Who else? The person you just said was scary.”
Ria blinked her eyes wide, tilting her head.
“But you always seemed happy whenever the master came home, didn’t you?”
That was because Eket had always been alone in the house; of course she would have welcomed even her husband’s presence. Perhaps she had also held a faint hope that they might grow closer.
“Not anymore, Ria. I’m used to being without a husband, and it’s more comfortable that way. I don’t even want to get close to him anymore.”
“R-Really?”
“Yes. Instead, I’ve become interested in something else.”
“What kind of thing?”
What else? A life of enjoying wealth.
“Judging by how I collapsed several times earlier, my body seems to have weakened quite a bit. So it’s important to eat well and gain some weight.”
“That’s true!”
Ria, who had always tried to make Eket eat at least one more bite, brightened up at the idea of eating more.
“Make a list of the finest restaurants in the capital—especially the ones renowned for their excellence. I’d like to visit them one by one.”
“Oh my! That sounds wonderful! I’ll prepare the list right away!”
Seeing me express such a strong desire for food for the first time in a year since marriage, Ria was overjoyed.
“From now on, please eat well and take care of your health, alright?”
“Of course, of course. I understand. So your task today is to find the best restaurants.”
“Yes! Don’t worry! I’ll gather the information properly, so Madam, please just focus on your health!”
Ria and I seemed to work together quite well.
She immediately left to prepare the list.
With this, I would begin my golden spoon life by enjoying the finest restaurants I had never even dreamed of experiencing in my previous life. And it would start tomorrow.
The next day.
I woke up feeling refreshed under the bright sunlight. There were still no signs of coughing or coughing up blood.
The very first thing I did after waking up was ask about Kairon’s schedule.
“When will my husband be leaving?”
Since Ria might not know as much about Kairon’s schedule as those around him, I asked one of the servants assigned to his room. They would know when he left, since they had to clean it.
“The master is scheduled to leave in about an hour.”
Oh, he was leaving early!
At the news that he would depart in the early morning, the corners of my lips slowly lifted.
“Should I also ask the master when he plans to return?”
The servant seemed ready to inform me of his return date as well, but I already knew it would take quite a while. And the exact date hadn’t been decided yet either.
I worried that the servant might get into trouble with that ill-tempered husband by asking unnecessary questions.
“No, the return date isn’t fixed yet. It’s fine, thank you. Please keep up the good work!”
The servant looked like he still had something to say, but I briskly left the front of his room.
An hour passed quickly. It was finally time for Kairon to leave.
It would have been better if he had left yesterday, but due to the unexpected variable of my illness, it couldn’t be helped. Still, he would definitely leave today.
Kairon wasn’t the type to treat plans and promises lightly. Once he set something, he always kept it.
I headed to the entrance to see him off, intending to at least offer a brief farewell.
“Madam, are you here to see him off?”
A servant who spotted me first greeted me.
“Yes. Where is my husband?”
“He has just stepped outside and is about to depart.”
As expected—he was planning to leave without even looking at me. Just like the indifferent husband he was.
It wasn’t surprising; it was very much like him.
I quickly walked out to the entrance. A carriage for Kairon was waiting, and he was speaking with his aide.
There were no visible luggage bags, nor servants carrying them, so it seemed his belongings had already been loaded onto another carriage and sent ahead. Perhaps they had been dispatched yesterday.
His aide appeared to be reporting something while holding a long document. It seemed there were still matters to confirm right before departure. He really had a lot to deal with.
Kairon had never once told his wife his destination.
Eket had always been excluded from his world.
At least, because I had read the original story, I knew he was training a secret organization in the north to locate the hidden sub-male lead who had taken refuge in the temple.
The sub-male lead he was searching for was his second half-brother, Gregto.
Kairon intended to eliminate even his second brother and fully claim the ducal house as his own.
Gregto, the runaway half-brother, had been taken in by the temple thanks to the faint divine power he possessed.
The corrupt temple, blinded by the wealth Gregto brought, accepted him despite his insufficient divine power.
The temple was gradually losing in its long-standing conflict with the imperial family. Moreover, public faith in the temple among imperial citizens was declining, and its influence was steadily weakening.
Even so, Kairon could not simply capture and kill a member of the temple. Imperial law still protected the temple.
Therefore, Kairon was conspiring with the crown prince to bring down the temple itself.
The crown prince, the male lead of this story, joined forces with Kairon to dismantle the temple in order to strengthen imperial authority. That plan also involved his long-standing love for the female lead, the saintess.
The crown prince would dismantle the temple and strip the heroine of her title as saintess, imprisoning her within the imperial palace.
Unable to accept the fall of the temple, the heroine resisted—but she could not overcome the crown prince’s obsession and madness.
While the crown prince and the saintess’s twisted love reached its peak, Kairon killed his second half-brother.
If I hadn’t known this story, how frustrating it would have been.
As I was thinking this, Kairon noticed me and approached.
“Why did you come all the way out here to see me off?”
He frowned, as if displeased that I had come.
Even though I had come this far thinking of him, all I received in return were such cold words.
“You didn’t need to come out when you’re still not fully recovered.”
“You should at least be grateful that I did.”
It’s not like I came because I wanted to. My main purpose was to confirm that he was actually leaving.
And once he was gone, I planned to head straight to the first restaurant on my gourmet list.
“You’ll be late at this rate. Let’s get going.”
The air was quite chilly. Before the wind could seep in, I tightened my cardigan.
Apparently something else bothered him, as a wrinkle formed between Kairon’s brows.
“Go back inside. There’s no need to come out to see me off.”
How cold.
“Alright. I didn’t intend to stay out long anyway.”
Since the air was chilly, I decided to head back in. I had already confirmed the carriage, so his departure was certain.
I waved at him.
“Have a safe trip.”
Preferably, come back very late.
“…Yeah.”
He gave a brief reply, casually waving back before turning away.
At last, the world was mine!
As I walked back to my room, I inwardly rejoiced.
“Did you see the master off and return, Madam?”
“Yes, and now I’m planning to go out as well. Let’s get ready.”
“P-Pardon?”
Ria asked again, as if she couldn’t believe her ears.
“You know that list of restaurants you gave me, right? Now that my husband is gone, shouldn’t we start visiting them one by one?”
“Today? Right now?”
I looked at her, smiled slyly, and nodded in response.
“Are you sure you’ll be alright? Madam’s condition is still—”
“I feel perfectly fine.”
I cut her off sharply, and Ria’s face fell into a tearful expressi
