The Abandoned Duchess Seems to Want a Peaceful Life - Chapter 88

Chapter 88: Midnight Visit

“I will never practice separation in the bedroom again.”

After repeatedly promising to only do it in places where people are present, Marie and Serleine finally left.

Marie even suggested staying nearby at night for a while, and Serleine supported the idea, so persuading them took some effort. In the end, they seemed to agree that it wouldn’t be right to burden the still-recovering Melfina.

It’s clear that both of them genuinely worry about Melfina. I’ll need to apologize again to the others in the mansion who can’t enter the lady’s bedroom for causing them concern.

Anyway, I need to sleep well tonight and properly recover. As I lay down and closed my eyes, sleepiness came over me almost immediately, but I couldn’t seem to fall asleep.

According to Marie and Serleine, Melfina had been unconscious for three days. From Simon’s tone, it seemed that while magic-induced fatigue wasn’t life-threatening, if she had collapsed near the brazier, falling to the floor in the northern night could have posed a risk of freezing to death.

Lying on the bed, gazing at the ceiling with half-closed eyes, I thought:

— What exactly is magic?

In the game, magic was simply the power imbued in magical creatures, a source of energy for casting spells, and an excess of it was toxic to the human body.

Since the characters Serleine and Julius, who are targets in the game, are affected negatively by magic in their lives, it must be one of the significant issues humans face in this world, alongside the threat of magical creatures.

In the aristocracy of this world, the amount of magic and the presence of talent are not particularly emphasized. At least, that’s how it was among the southern noble circles surrounding Melfina, who was raised in the capital.

The further north one goes, the stronger the magic becomes, and because children are harder to conceive between individuals with strong magic, women often marry elsewhere while men take wives from vassals or commoners.

If Julius’s words are correct, then in the northern regions, high-ranking nobles are more likely to be born with greater amounts of magic.

Amidst such customs, I understood the reason why, as a southern noble, I married Alexis.

— Was I really so despised? Father.

I can’t believe that my father, Marquis Crawford, wasn’t aware of the issues facing the northern nobles. He must have known and still ordered Melfina to go to the north.

Though I have no memories of receiving affection from my parents, they never skimped on my education or upbringing as a lady. If I wished, I could have had top-notch tutors, and a proper budget was allocated for attire that would not tarnish the Crawford family’s reputation.

So, I thought that while I might not be liked, I shouldn’t be hated.

I sighed, and what appeared on my face was an unflattering, self-deprecating smile.

— It’s not that I was hated, but rather, I was probably just inconsequential.

If Melfina was an inconvenience, they could have just sent her to a convent with a modest donation. There was no need to marry her off with a dowry.

If Melfina could bear an heir to the Oldrand family and bridge the gap between the southern and northern regions, that would be acceptable.

Even if she couldn’t manage that, if she died, the dowry would be returned to the Crawford family, so there would be no real loss.

If the daughter married off due to northern circumstances passed away early, it might even be seen as a kind of favor.

That must be the extent of it.

Alexis said it from the beginning, didn’t he? This marriage was purely a political maneuver between the Oldrand and Crawford families.

— In the end, those words were all there was to it.

I turned over, curling up with my back rounded and hugging myself with both arms.

I tried to hold back the surge of sadness, frustration, and helplessness.

Even though I was not blessed with family love from the start or love from my husband after marriage, the idea that I could love my children and be loved by them if I bore many was a miserable and ridiculous wish now that I know the truth.

It was a wish that was never meant to come true from the start.

“Hmm…”

“Are you crying, Lady?”

“—!”

Startled by the sudden voice from the darkness, I jolted upright. In the faint light of the brazier, the silhouette of a tall man had appeared without me noticing.

In this world, where even faint light sources from electronic devices don’t exist, it’s customary for everything to be completely dark when the lights are out. As I almost screamed, I was shushed in a childlike manner.

“It’s dangerous to move suddenly. I’ll turn on the lamp, so please wait a moment.”

Meanwhile, the intruder spoke in a laid-back tone, seemingly unconcerned with my panic, and turned on the magic stone lamp that had been placed on the side table.

In the soft glow of the light, Julius’s well-defined face emerged.

“W-what is going on?”

“I apologize for coming in the middle of the night, Lady. It seemed you weren’t asleep yet, so I wanted to have a little chat.”

The real rudeness isn’t the time but the fact that this is a lady’s bedroom.

The only men who are generally allowed into a lady’s bedroom are her husband, and Serleine, being of noble birth, and Simon, being a doctor, are only marginally permitted under Marie’s supervision. Julius being here alone at this hour is a serious problem.

If Cedric found out, it would be grounds for severe reprimand.

“I’m glad to see you’ve recovered. Magic poisoning is very painful, and I was worried about you! Cedric said you’d be out of your room tomorrow, but I couldn’t wait.”

Though his voice didn’t carry any strange intentions or malice, the mere presence of an opposite sex, especially Julius sneaking in at this hour, was inherently frightening. The fear still clung to my back, and I was sweating nervously.

Moreover, this is Julius, who might do anything.

“When I heard you collapsed from magic poisoning, I was puzzled. If you had just been repeating separation as I instructed that day, you would have felt sick before collapsing and couldn’t have continued. Even if you were trying to expand the layers, it’s not something that can be suddenly enlarged, and even though you have exceptional talent, fainting from separation is unusual. So I thought you might have been doing something different based on separation. I’ve been itching to ask until you woke up. So, what did you do?”

In the light of the magic stone lamp, Julius’s eyes were clearly glowing with curiosity. While I initially felt that I was safe, my irritation was growing.

Despite Julius’s reckless personality, he is certainly not foolish. He must have waited until the mansion was asleep because he knew that attempting to approach Melfina while people were still awake would lead to interference.

He must also be aware that sneaking into a lady’s bedroom is inappropriate. But on top of that, his curiosity got the better of him, which is the worst possible outcome.

“Lord Julius, before we continue, I have something to discuss.”

“Yes, Lady.”

“You should not enter a lady’s bedroom without permission. If I were to report this to Cedric, he would have to remove you as my bodyguard. That would be the end of our friendship.”

“But, Lady, you will keep this a secret, won’t you?”

“Why do you think so?”

“Because, I haven’t done anything wrong. I just wanted to talk. Also, even in a short time, I can tell that my friend strongly trusts you, and I believe you feel the same way about him. I don’t think you would want us to fall out over this.”

— He truly is troublesome.

Julius is not indifferent to others’ feelings, though he is not ignorant. Even if he is childishly innocent, he understands how the world works.

Yet he prioritizes his curiosity and has the means to pursue it, like a car with no brakes continually accelerating. An accident is inevitable, and the victims might not be limited to just Julius.

“Then, understand that if this matter is exposed, Cedric will be put in a difficult position, yes? If a knight serving the head of the family allows an intrusion into the lady’s bedroom, it is a disgrace to the knight. And you, being a long-time friend of the serious Cedric, should understand how he would feel about this. Furthermore, it’s not just about whether it gets exposed or not. There’s also the possibility that I might come to dislike you.”

Julius looked surprised and puzzled.

“No woman wants even a close friend to see her sleeping face, and most would feel a strong sense of fear from a man sneaking into her bedroom. Lord Julius, rules are established because they are necessary. People do not trust those who easily break such rules and tend to come to dislike them.”

“That… that’s troubling. I don’t want to be disliked by friends or by you, Lady.”

Though it was an awkward situation, I felt a bit relieved to see that Julius valued his friendship enough to be concerned about Cedric disliking him if this became public.

“Then, you must never do something like this again. Leave the room and wait in the kitchen, pretending you came to look for some tea. I’ll sneak down to the kitchen myself because I’m thirsty in the middle of the night, and we’ll run into each other by chance.”

“You will talk to me then!”

“Since you won’t give up, Lord Julius? Although it’s not ideal for a man and a woman to be alone together in the middle of the night, it’s still better than sneaking around and talking here.”

“Understood!”

He said happily, and after a moment of hesitating, he turned to leave. Then, Julius suddenly turned back.

“Um, Lady, I’m sorry for breaking the rules.”

“…I accept your apology. And once you leave the room, let’s consider this matter as if it never happened.”

“Yes!”

With a bright, relieved expression, Julius finally exited the room.

The absence of any sound of the door opening or closing was probably due to some sort of tampering he had done.

I was immediately overcome with exhaustion, my shoulders slumped as I sighed.

— I was scared.

Julius is like a cat with an insatiable curiosity. He can be as innocent as a kitten but just as cruel if his curiosity leads him that way, and once his interest wanes, he’s likely to forget about it altogether.

He’s a huge cat with claws and teeth that are only somewhat tamed by his affection for Cedric. But in the face of his curiosity, that friendship is not a strong deterrent.

— Of course it’s terrifying!

The real challenge with this innocent beast is just beginning.

Though I wished to be left in peace to rest a little longer after my illness, simply getting him out of the bedroom was a small blessing.

The kitchen, where Cedric’s room is also located on the first floor, is definitely a better place than sneaking around in the bedroom.

Pulling on a hand-knit cardigan over my nightdress, I sighed.

Julius’s impulsive and frightening actions, while unsettling, had the unexpected benefit of helping me momentarily forget the gloomy thoughts about family and marriage that I had been falling into for the first time in a while.