<strong><em>Chapter 19</em></strong>


    “Surely…it seemed so. Mdy must have had a hard time.” Rona murmured.


    “Yeah, I did.” I said as I realized that Rona was still standing beside me. It seemed that I was really lost in the brief shback just now. Recalling that night, my mood turned gloomy.


    “…” Rona suddenly became quiet.


    “What’s wrong?”


    “As expected, Mdy and Master are destined to be together.”


    “What?” ‘Why are you suddenly saying that?’


    “What do you mean by destiny?”


    “Even though both of you are only physically attracted to each other at first, it will certainly turn into true loveter. Like a fairy tale, it’s so beautiful.” Holding her hands tightly together, Rona continued with a thrilled face. “In addition, it was so touching to see a beautiful wife looking after her sick husband with utmost care.”


    Regardless of the disproving look on my face, Rona was once again unraveling her own fairy tale behind my back.


    “Huh?” I turned my face to Rona as I thought I heard something weird in her fairy tale. “What will it beter?”


    “True love.” Rona’s eyes sparkled as though she had embraced a true religion.


    Listening to her embarrassing remark, I unconsciously licked my dry lips with my tongue. ‘Love…True love…’ The more I thought about it, the more I felt that it would be impossible between us. ‘Amoide and me? It won’t ever happen.’


    ‘Love…hmm…’ There was no such thing between us, to begin with. On our first meeting, we didn’t share physical intimacy at all. That night, I was worried about my husband’s health while he just helped me out to survive.


    At that moment, my conscience was pricked. Though I couldn’t tell Rona the truth. Never. Definitely. I couldn’t tell her that I hadn’t spent my first night with my husband yet.


    “Now, I can finally understand what Mdy is trying to do.” Rona nodded with a grim look.


    ‘What is she thinking about?’ Out of curiosity, I was about to ask Rona what she meant by, but she was faster.


    “Mdy is going to be a devoted wife to His Grace, right? It’s the power of true love!”


    “Well, something like that.” I felt that she understood it wrongly, but it didn’t matter anyway. Since ancient times, there was a saying that love can save everything. So, it wouldn’t seem strange that I suddenly care too much about Amoide. It was usible to use “love” as the excuse to get involved with him, like Rona’s imagination. However, the next thing she said was beyond my imagination.


    “Mdy is trying to be more proactive to conceive a baby, right?”


    “…What?” I asked stupidly and immediately blushed when I realized what she meant. ‘Rona, you’ve gone too far!’ I only intended to show an amicable atmosphere between Amoide and me, leading the others to believe that our rtionship had improved. ‘Seems like I overdid it.’


    “Rona!” I tried to cover her mouth while ncing around.


    “It’s all right Mdy. It is not something to be shy about. In fact, the number of nights Mdy shares the bed with Master is too little to conceive a baby…”


    ‘Seriously, there’s no way to stop that small mouth from chattering all the way.’


    “Since both of you are burning with passion, Mdy and Master should do it more often!”


    “You lewd devil!”


    “It’s okay, Mdy. It’s something natural between couples.” Rona was so excited that she just kept on babbling her words.


    Eventually, I decided to give up. ‘Yeah, it’s up to you to believe what you want. It doesn’t really matter. I just need others to believe that I have a good rtionship with Amoide.’


    “Mdy and Master are just like the main characters of the novel I read yesterday.”


    “What kind of novel?” I looked into her dreamy eyes and prodded carefully.


    “The Duchess Who Refuses to Love.”


    “What is it about? Why did she refuse?” It was the first time I heard that kind of title. Somehow, I felt a sense of déjà vu. Anyway, it seemed that the title of novels in this world wasn’t much different from my past world. Provocative and a bit cliché.


    “It’s a heart-warming story! At first, the main characters were bound together by a contract and only shared physical intimacy. However, as time passed, they gradually opened their hearts to each other and…”


    “So, their physical intimacy led them to fall in love with each other?” I asked, suppressing myughter.


    “Yes!” Her eyes sparkled as if there were stars twinkling inside. “Although they bickered quite often, they had good chemistry. On the first night, they even broke the bed…”


    “The bed broke?” As I listened to Rona, a chuckle escaped my mouth. “No way, there’s no such thing.” I lightly pped her arm. “It’s all made up.”


    Iughed till tears formed in my eyes. No matter how strong the male lead was, there was no way he could break a sturdy bed. The author only exaggerated it to make the story more interesting. ‘And that’s why it’s dangerous to learn about things like this only from books.’


    “It’s true, Mdy. The male lead is an outstanding knight, so he is physically fit and has a lot of stamina… So, he didn’t even get tired at night.”


    “Really?”


    “He could even do ‘it’ continuously for a few days…”


    “How many days…?” I couldn’t stand it anymore andughed. “Rona, it’s all made up. You shouldn’t believe that it happens in reality. The author exaggerates it too much.”


    “Not really!”


    “How do you know that?” I felt something was off when I saw her affirm it seriously. “Rona, don’t tell me…you and Robert…”


    ‘How can it be?! She’s still a kid!’


    “N-no, not yet.” Looking at me with a straight face, Rona shook her hand wildly. “The male lead in the book is a knight. Master is also a knight. He is the Commander of the Knights of the Sun. They are the best knight order in the Empire.” She suddenly brought up the story about Amoide’s knighthood. “Master is such an amazing man.”


    Somehow, I felt bitter when I heard Rona’s words. Amoide was the youngestmander in the Empire’s history, and he started leading the best knight order when he was just eighteen.


    The sessors of this family had been themanders of the Knights of the Sun for generations. It wasn’t an inherited position. They rose to the position with their own effort since only the strongest knight was qualified to lead the best knight order.


    “Master was already exceptional swordsmanship since he was young. Hence, he rose to themander position quickly.”


    “That’s right.”


    Nevertheless, he had been on a long-term medical leave since he fell ill. In other words, themander position of Knights of the Sun had been vacant for five years. Until now, Marquis Deaz was the one who took over his responsibility.


    “But why are you suddenly talking about this?” I blurted out the question that had been lingering in my mind.


    “The stamina of the knights is beyond normal! Especially the knights with excellent swordsmanship. So, if Master ispletely cured…”


    “Stop.” I hurriedly covered Rona’s mouth.


    “Oh, I’m sorry.” She covered her mouth and looked at my countenance. Though soon, she smiled mischievously. “Currently, Mdy only shares a bed with Master on certain days. But when Master be healthy again, Master will probably-”


    “Stop!” I hurriedly blocked her words. “Where in the world did you hear that?”


    “All the maids I work with were talking about this.”


    Oh my god. I suddenly felt dizzy.


    “Don’t worry, Mdy. Physical intimacy is as important as emotional affection.”


    “…Really?” I asked as I already gave up.


    “Of course! Some noble couples didn’t even get intimate physically during the day, but they won’t evene out when they enter their bedroom at night… And that’s how they got three children!” Rona’s eyes glowed with high hopes.


    I tried to turn away from her. The big picture in Rona’s mind. ‘Rona, I told you it doesn’t work like that in reality…’ Yet her eyes were so hopeful that I couldn’t bear to tell her that. More importantly, it was impossible because we had to look up at the sky in order to pick the star.


    [ T/N: A Korean expression that means achieving a certain result requires effort, preparation, opportunities, or adequate conditions provided. ]


    However, her misunderstanding was not that bad, so I decided not to resolve it. ‘Yeah, from now on, I’ll act like a duchess who is having a hard time because her husband bullies her every night.’


    “Oh no, I must have lost my mind.” Rona suddenly eximed. “Actually, Dr. Raymond said that he would visit Mdy soon. That is why I am looking for Mdy…”


    “And I just talked about useless things.”


    “Oh my God, Mdy’s first night is not a useless thing. Mdy even put your heart into it-”


    “But why is he looking for me?” I quickly cut her words because it seemed that useless things would spout out again.


    “Maybe it is because Mdy copsedst time.”


    “I was just too anxious that day.” ‘It seems that Cami was really concerned about what happenedst time. Well, it’s understandable since this is a precious body that’ll bear this family’s sessor.’


    “If Mdy is tired, should I just ask him toe againter?”


    “No, it turns out well since I also have questions to ask him.” After getting Cami’s permission, I managed to act close with my husband somehow. ‘So, it’s time to proceed to the next step of the n. Investigate the reason behind Amoide’s illness. Since the cause is unknown, I need to dig up information from his doctor as much as possible.’


    *****


    “How is Mdy feeling today?” After greeting me courteously, Raymond took off his hat and sat across from me at the tea table.


    “I’m very healthy, Raymond. Thank you for treating me when I copsedst time.” I answered with a big smile.


    Smiling back, he replied, “I’m d Mdy looks good. May I check Mdy’s condition for a moment?”


    I grinned at his words. “Sure.”


    Raymond took out a stethoscope and began to examine me carefully. In the meantime, I carefully observed him. Raymond was a handsome man with a warm look. Both of his hair and eyes were brown. When he talked, he always made the listeners feelfortable with his moderate voice and calm tone.


    However, his gentle expression always disappearedpletely during emergency treatment. Whenever Amoide copsed, Raymond would stay up all night watching his condition with utmost care.


    Maybe that was why even Cami treated him respectfully. He was one of the people whom the meticulous Cami trusted and relied on.


    ‘And also…the one who is most likely to be closely rted to Amoide’s death.’


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