Chapter 14

 "Do you need anything? I've never taken care of someone before, so I'm not familiar with this kind of thing."

"Is this your first time taking care of someone?"

"Yes."

"It's my first time too..."  

She mumbled, blinking her heavy eyelids once.  

Millian let out a small, amused scoff. Of course, she wouldn't have had experience taking care of someone. A noble lady raised in luxury would have little connection to tending to the sick.  

"I see."  

Millian responded indifferently, thinking it was just the delirious rambling of a feverish patient.  

Karina nodded at his words, then slowly parted her lips again.  

"It's nice having someone around when you're sick."  

Millian's gaze turned toward Karina.  

"I've always been the one staying by my younger siblings' or my brother's side."  

Watching her whisper in a voice so faint it seemed like it might disappear, Millian furrowed his brows.  

Come to think of it, I heard that the other Leopold lady has a frail body.

Millian quickly grasped the situation.  

A household with a sick member was inherently difficult to manage. If it were a family lacking affection, it might not matter, but in a family bound by love, the balance would inevitably tilt.  

"Your fever isn’t going down easily."  

Millian reached out and placed his hand on Karina’s flushed forehead.  

"My bag…"  

"Bag?"  

"There’s medicine in my bag. I forgot to bring it."  

Karina exhaled a heated breath as she explained.  

"Medicine? Will it help if you take it? Then I’ll fetch it right away."  

Millian was about to get up.  

Karina, however, grasped his hand and shook her head. She needed to take the medicine tomorrow, so there was no need for him to go personally in the middle of the night.  

"Not now. Tomorrow."

"Your fever is severe."  

"I don’t want to."  

"Your stubbornness is tougher than iron."  

Millian scolded Karina, but he obediently sat back down.  

Karina smiled weakly and closed her eyes again. She felt cold, heavy, and surrounded by darkness, yet the warmth of the hand she was holding was oddly comforting.  

"It’s still early morning. Sleep a little longer."  

"Will you leave if I sleep?"  

"No, I’ll stay in this room until you wake up."  

At Millian’s words, Karina nodded.  

She never expected anyone to be by her side when she woke up. It felt like receiving a surprise birthday present.  

A brief glance.  

Millian looked at her, noticing that she had no intention of letting go of his hand. With a small sigh, he clasped her hand in return.  

The unexpected strength in his grip made Karina’s pupils widen.  

"I’ll stay by your side until you fall asleep, so rest."

"Okay."  

Karina’s eyes slowly closed.  

As if she had been waiting for those words, her breathing quickly became steady.  

Millian turned his head and gazed at the letter resting on the table.  

"It would be better to send the telegram after winter has passed."  

He had intended to write to Count Leopold but changed his mind.  

He realized that Karina must have her own struggles.  

For all the times when no one had taken her side, Millian decided he would be the one to stand by her. (T/N: aww 🥺)

It was already November. Just three or four short months until the snow melted.  

Only when Karina had completely stilled, no longer moving even slightly, did Millian finally return to the desk by the window.

***

She was only able to walk on her own after a full week of illness, just as the doctor had predicted.  

Considering she had done whatever she pleased for the past two months, perhaps this was a rather mild consequence.  

What surprised her, however, was that Millian would unexpectedly show up at least once a day to check on her condition.  

Honestly, she hadn’t expected such concern from him.  

Compared to the South, the North was incredibly cold. The winds were sharp, and the cold season arrived much earlier.  

Having lived in the South her entire life, she found the chill to be startling.  

Have I really gotten weaker?

It was only after taking a slow walk around the house that she realized she was out of breath—even though she hadn’t been walking particularly fast.  

Still, aside from that, there were no other major issues.  

“Young Lady?”  

“Oh, Your Grace.”  

“You’ve only just recovered from a fever. What are you doing, wandering around already?”

“Well, I was just feeling a bit restless from lying in bed all day.”

Millian strode over and reached out, placing his hand on Karina’s forehead.  

At first, she had found it bewildering, but she soon realized that every time they met, he would habitually rest his hand on her forehead as if it were a customary greeting.  

After spending a week constantly crossing paths with Millian, she had come to understand that, despite his brusque way of speaking, his personality wasn’t nearly as harsh as she had initially thought.  

His words were rough, but he was surprisingly attentive.  

“The fever has definitely gone down.”  

“Oh, yes…”  

Startled, she took a quick step back.  

It seemed he had finally finished whatever pressing matters had been keeping him occupied, as he had been going to bed at a reasonable hour over the past few days.  

As a result, the dark circles that had once shadowed his eyes were now gone.  

“Why are you flinching like a frightened rabbit? I’m not going to eat you, so don’t worry.”  

Watching her shrink back and rub her forehead, Millian let out a laugh, his tone lighthearted.  

Karina stared at his unexpected laughter in a daze before slowly nodding.  

“Have you had lunch?”  

“Not yet.”

“I haven’t eaten yet either. How about we eat together?”  

She hesitated before nodding.  

She had tried her best to stay out of sight, thinking she would only be a nuisance. However, aside from his initial sharp words, he had been surprisingly considerate toward her.  

“There’s no need for you to move to the separate annex. Thinking about it, I’ll be away from the estate often for monster subjugations anyway.”  

“I’d just be a hindrance if I followed you on those, wouldn’t I?”  

“Obviously.”  

Millian answered with a sharp gaze.  

At his blunt rejection, Karina let out an awkward laugh. She hadn’t seriously considered going, but she hadn’t expected her thoughts to be cut down so ruthlessly.  

“By the way, your bag was full of art supplies. I take it as you enjoy drawing?”  

At his question, Karina’s eyes widened.  

A bitter smile briefly crossed her lips before fading.  

She had never been asked that by anyone before, and she hadn’t expected to hear it from this man.  

“Yes, I do.”

“I see. In that case, try going up to the roof of this mansion. You’ll get a spectacular view at sunrise or sunset.”  

“I’ll definitely go.”  

“But in return.”  

Millian suddenly turned around.  

Thud.  

Karina’s face accidentally collided with his chest, and she hurriedly stepped back.  

“S-Sorry.”  

“No, I should be the one apologizing.”  

Her face turned red from the unexpected contact with his firm chest. She wasn’t used to physical contact with anyone outside her family.  

Forcing herself to keep her composure, she lifted her gaze.  

“What do you mean, ‘in return’?”  

“Ah.” Millian smirked. “You were bedridden for a whole week. No matter how I look at it, you seem quite frail. So, if you do go up to the roof, be careful.”  

“Oh… Alright.”

“The northern winds are cold in the mornings and evenings, so dress warmly.”  

“Yes.”  

“And before you go, make sure to inform either me or Fang.”  

“Yes, okay.”

“Come down at least once every hour to warm up.”  

“Alright.”  

There sure were a lot of restrictions just to go up to the roof.  

The man looked like the quiet, warrior type. But after experiencing him firsthand, he seemed more of a nagger than expected.  

I doubt his subordinates like this side of him.  

Even as she thought that, Karina nodded. Truthfully, she didn’t dislike this kind of concern.  

In the end, she couldn't hold back her laughter, her lips twitching before she let out a soft chuckle.  

“If you don’t want to turn into dried squid, don’t stay out for too long.”  

“There you go again with the squid talk.”  

She grumbled in dissatisfaction.

"You, do you have any idea how frustrating it was to watch you trailing after the maids with a look that screamed, 'I don't want to be here, but I was forced to come'?"  

"That’s…"  

It was a predetermined arrangement. Her only younger sister was sick.  

How could she have been happy about an engagement that was decided without even asking for her opinion?  

Even on the day of the engagement ceremony, Abelia had a fever, so only Enrich, who attended as the count’s representative, and her younger brother Ferdinand were present.  

She felt sorry for her fiancé, but she had no motivation whatsoever.  

"I'm sorry if it made you uncomfortable."  

"You don’t have to apologize to me. The only reason I went along with it was because my predecessor, who arranged the engagement, passed away, and it was his final will." Millian shrugged.  

"What I mean is, if you don’t like something, say it clearly."  

His tone was casual, but it was exactly what Karina had always longed to hear.  

Saying she disliked something or admitting that she was struggling never made a difference. Talking to people who wouldn't listen felt like having a conversation with a wall.

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Chapter 13

 "What are you doing up at this hour instead of sleeping?"  

"Well…"  

Karina pressed her free hand against her chest, trying to calm her pounding heart.  

"A-and what brings Your Grace here?"  

"Ah…"

At Karina’s question, Millian awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. He couldn't quite bring himself to say that he had unconsciously come here because he was concerned about her sudden silence after his unexpected visit.  

"Now that I think about it, I remembered that the temperature regulator in the annex was broken, so I came to check on it while getting some fresh air."  

Millian casually uttered the first reasonable excuse that came to mind.  

"Oh, I see."  

Under normal circumstances, she would have questioned why the duke himself had come to check on such a trivial matter. However, Karina was in no state for rational thinking at the moment.  

Nodding was the best response she could muster.  

Millian’s brows furrowed slightly as he glanced over Karina from a distance. He found it strange that she kept her distance and showed no sign of approaching.

As he took a step forward, Karina instinctively stepped back.  

Millian was now certain that she was hiding something.

He had an eye sharp enough to predict the direction of a beast's escape with the slightest movement. There was no way he would miss her awkward flinching.  

"What are you hiding?"  

At his words, Karina took another step back.  

She desperately wanted to turn around, dash into her room, and lock the door behind her.  

"My Lady."  

"…"  

"If there's a problem, say something."  

Karina pressed her lips together.  

She was the kind of person who could say "I'm fine" without the slightest change in her expression, even when she wasn’t. But when someone asked for her opinion, even opening her mouth to respond felt difficult.

"It's nothing," she finally managed to say.

As soon as Karina finished speaking, Millian closed the distance between them in just two large strides.  

He had immediately noticed that her breathing and voice were not normal.  

Karina gasped and tried to back away, but Millian was faster. His hand firmly grasped her wrist before she could escape.  

The moment he touched her, his expression hardened.  

Without a word, he led Karina toward the window, where the moonlight shone through.  

Under the soft silver glow, his narrowed crimson eyes carefully examined her face.  

"You're running a high fever."  

"I'm fine. I'll be better after some rest."  

"I should have realized when you said you’d been pushing yourself for two months."  

Millian muttered under his breath, his tone laced with self-reproach.  

Tsk. His tongue clicked in frustration.  

Karina looked at him in confusion.  

He had done nothing wrong. If anything, it was her fault for not saying anything.  

At last, Millian's sharp gaze locked onto Karina, intense and unwavering.

"If you're feeling unwell, you should say so instead of stubbornly enduring it. Only a foolish bear would do something like that!"  

"A bear?"  

First, it was a squid, and now a bear. Karina could only gape in shock.  

She stared at Millian with a bewildered expression.  

"If you hide your condition on the battlefield and something goes wrong, your head will be the first to roll! If you didn’t want to make things worse, you should have spoken up earlier."  

"…"  

"Am I wrong?"  

His sharp eyes bore into her, full of reproach.  

Karina opened and closed her mouth like a fish, then hesitantly nodded.  

She hadn't meant to make things worse, and she had even taken medicine from the doctor, but for some reason, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was some kind of criminal.  

"Did you do something wrong or not?"  

"Huh? Ah, I—I"  

Pressured by his overwhelming presence, Karina was about to admit her fault when she suddenly lifted her head in defiance.

Why was she suddenly being interrogated in the middle of the night?  

She was so dumbfounded that, for a brief moment, her previously blurry vision became clear.  

Millian let out a sigh as he observed Karina’s gaze. Then, he held up his fingers in front of her.  

It was the hand of someone hardened by battle, with well-developed muscles.  

And there were six fingers.  

“How many fingers do you see?”  

Karina narrowed her eyes, trying to focus.  

Usually, things appeared doubled to her in this state, so naturally, dividing that number by two should give the correct answer.  

Thinking simply, she opened her mouth.  

“Three.”  

Millian stared at her in silence. Then, lowering his gaze to his own fingers, he glanced back at her.  

Feeling confident that she had answered correctly, Karina straightened her shoulders.  

Millian let out a short, disbelieving chuckle.  

“You need to return to the main estate and get some sleep immediately.”  

“Huh? Why?”  

She lifted her head in protest, only to see three versions of Millian standing before her.

Six pairs of piercing eyes were staring at Karina.  

She blinked blankly and lowered her gaze to look at the fingers again.  

So, it was actually two.

Her eyes filled with a sense of defeat.  

“You didn’t say two or four, but three, which means you originally saw six.”  

Millian’s voice was sharp.  

Karina pressed her lips together.  

“You really are a handful.”  

She flinched at his words, her gaze darkening further.  

“I’m fine,” she muttered out of habit.  

She didn’t want to be a burden. She just wanted to rest in the farthest, quietest place possible.  

A sigh sounded above her.  

Before she could react, Millian had already slid one arm under her knees and the other around her back, lifting her effortlessly.  

“This place isn’t suitable for someone who’s sick. Rest at the main estate.”  

“But…”  

“I know you don’t particularly like the idea, but at least don’t make me the villain here.”  

At his words, Karina finally closed her mouth.  

As she silently gazed at Millian, he shifted uncomfortably, casting her a sidelong glance as if feeling awkward under her scrutiny.

"I’ll call someone to look after you, so get some rest."  

“No. Don’t call a doctor.”  

“What?”  

“Absolutely no doctor. Do you understand?”  

Karina’s heavy eyelids fluttered open and shut as she cautiously asked.  

Millian opened his mouth to say something but, seeing how exhausted she looked, he closed it again.

“Just rest for now.”  

“You promised.”  

She hadn’t even been properly laid on a bed, yet the moment her body was positioned horizontally, drowsiness took over.  

As she drifted back into a deep sleep, she faintly heard Millian’s low sigh.  

The warmth enveloping her seemed to soothe her shivering body, calming it as if in reassurance.

***

After being sick for quite a while, Karina felt as though her head had cleared up a bit.  

She blinked once. The thick fog that had clouded her mind seemed to have lifted somewhat.  

An unfamiliar ceiling, a soft and cozy blanket, yet her body was still shivering from the cold.  

The bed was damp from the cold sweat she had shed.  

"Are you feeling a bit more aware now?"  

"Your Grace?"  

Her voice came out hoarse and strained.  

She quickly pulled the blanket up to cover her mouth, but there was no taking back the voice that had already escaped.  

As she rolled her eyes around, her gaze landed on Millian, who was leaning against the window, reading documents under the moonlight.  

Startled, she quickly turned her head, causing the damp cloth on her forehead to slip off and fall onto the bed.  

Karina's eyes widened in surprise.  

As she slowly grasped the situation, she hastily tried to sit up.  

Her body, heavy like waterlogged cotton, resisted her efforts.  

With a short sigh, Millian waved a hand dismissively.  

"Your fever hasn’t gone down at all, so just stay lying down."  

"Why are you… here?"

"You insisted on not calling for a doctor, and the timing was too awkward to summon someone else to care for you. So, I decided to stay by your side until morning."  

It seemed she hadn't been able to fall into a proper sleep again.  

As she remained in an awkward position, neither fully lying down nor sitting up, Millian rose from his seat.  

He strode over with firm steps and gently pressed her shoulder, urging her back onto the bed.  

Her eyelids trembled slightly at his touch, not out of fear, but sheer bewilderment.  

Until now, whenever she had woken up sick, the only person who had ever been there to change her water was a maid.  

And from the way he spoke, it almost sounded as if he had been the one caring for her.

"Have you been here the whole time?"  

"Why else would I be here instead of my perfectly fine office?"  

"Why?"  

Karina asked in a drowsy, hoarse voice, pulling the blanket up to her chin as her eyes rolled sluggishly.  

Watching her, Millian dragged a nearby chair over and sat beside the bed.  

"With no doctor around, how could I just leave an ill person unattended?"  

"But isn’t it a hassle for you?"  

"What does hassle have to do with taking care of a sick guest? You’re a guest, and I’m the host. The moment you settled here, the terms of the agreement you proposed were fulfilled, so you’re free to act like a proper guest."  

Karina stared at Millian’s crimson eyes for a moment before breaking into a foolish, sleepy smile.  

Perhaps it was the relaxation of muscles caught between reality and dreams, but more than that, just hearing those words made her feel inexplicably happy.

T/N: from now on i will change the term physician to doctor because i think it’s more suited to call it that > <. Also, please enjoy the story as much as I do hehehe.

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