CH 22

“Hello.”

“Oh, my lady. You paid me another visit.”

“It’s nice here.”

As soon as I had opened the door to the infirmary, Avery, who was sitting down, greeted me.

“May I have a cup of that tea from before? I need to put myself at ease.”

“Of course. Please give me just a moment.”

Avery began to search the shelves. I didn’t forget the flavor of the tea I drank when I was brought in after being strangled by the count. I desperately needed it to relax.

“Did my lord bother you again today?”

“…”

“Did you two get into an argument?”

“No, we didn’t fight…” Ugh.

Avery quickly handed me a teacup. His urging for me to drink it so I’d feel better was nice.

“What happened?”

Something happened. Yes, that was the best way to put it.

“Well…”

I sighed, remembering what happened a few days ago.

***

“Do you want to live with me?”

“…”

Huh? I blinked. I didn’t understand what this man was talking about.

Before I knew it, he outstretched his hand to close my mouth which had been agape. However, I succeeded in stopping him from kissing me. This wasn’t the time.

“Can you repeat what you just said?”

“Live with me.”

“Aren’t we already…”

“I wish for us to live together after a year. Until death do us part.”

You know, I used to be worried about the word “kill” coming out of his mouth, yet “please spend the rest of your life with me” somehow ended up being more concerning.

“Why?”

“I want to live with you.”

That did not help. At all. Why? Why did he want to live with me? I wanted to ask him, but I couldn’t. If I got another vague answer, I wouldn’t be able to do anything.

I decided to ignore what he just said. “I could’ve sworn you had a memorandum. Oh wait, I was supposed to write it.”

A month had passed since I said I’d do that, and I just remembered it.

“I never received one.”

Great. Regardless, I couldn’t be angry because it was my mistake not to give him the memorandum. I was so relieved I was alive back then… Ah, it was too late to even have regrets.

In any case.

“No thanks.” I didn’t think it was right to live together longer than a year.

I already established Lukas Havel as a poison. Also, he was a human, and I was a witch. Of course, if our marriage was successful, witches could leave Kartelle and coexist peacefully with humans, but it would take many years. Maybe even a century would pass before the two cultures mixed. I was right in rejecting him. Actually, it was ridiculous to worry about it in the first place. I was sure of it!

“Why not?” He frowned.

Now I had to find and give an answer from the “list” of reasons for rejection. “I have to go back to Kartelle.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s my homeland…?”

He furrowed his brow. “That is not a good enough reason.”

As I expected.

“I don’t understand at all, to be frank.”

I was speechless. I gave him a blank stare; he picked me up and left the kitchen.

“Where are we going?”

“A room.”

Oh, back to confinement, was it? I struggled, remembering the frustration of the past three days, but it was useless. My husband held me more tightly, climbed the stairs, and arrived at his destination. We were in his bedroom, which was more familiar than mine now.

Putting me down on the bed, he stood in front of me. “I shall ask you again out of courtesy.”

“…”

“Are you certain?”

I could tell he was referring to the ridiculous question he asked a while ago.

“Yes, I refuse.”

He nodded. Even if he asked me a hundred times, my answer would be the same. He must have changed his mind… Right?

“You’ll regret it.”

What?

“We still have a year.”

Hold on—

With a smile on his face, he whispered softly in my ear, “We shall see, my dear.”

My heart was pounding wildly because his tone was rather seductive.

This… This wasn’t fair…

***

“…Now he never leaves my side.”

“…”

“He’s driving me insane.”

As I grumbled and pulled at my hair, I looked at Avery. “Please tell me what to do in this situation.”

“Can’t the two of you just live happily ever after?”

No. “I’m serious right now.”

Even if I was a few steps away, my husband would be nearby as if something bad happened. It was to the point that Alan cried and begged me to follow my husband into the office. Were it not for the fact he was working, I would’ve been caught. At this moment, my husband was forced to be in the office, so I finally had the chance to be alone.

“As you can see, my lord has a childish side.”

“He’s not very subtle about it.”

“You must be having a hard time because of my foolish lord.”

Who said I wasn’t?

“However, I do hope you find him endearing.”

“Are you siding with him?”

“I am here to serve you tea.” Avery smiled and refilled my empty cup. Basically, he said I could stay until I was ready to leave. It was nice.

“I feel I can relax when I’m here.” I drank the tea. The fragrance alone slightly decreased the irritation in my heart. “I wonder if it’s because this place reminds me of my room in Kartelle.”

My bedroom there was filled with herbs. Since I had an interest in creating herbal medicine, all the plants that could be grown indoors crowded the windowsill.

“Then you can be the new owner of the infirmary. Think of it as a secret place.”

“What?”

Avery set aside the teacup in his hand. “I guess you haven’t heard. I’ll be leaving soon.” He pointed to the luggage in the corner of the room.

“Why? Is… it because of me?”

Recently, people have been going to me for treatment. It started with makeup for the maids, but now I was making healing potions for the knights. I heard from Betty that all the medicine was effective, so when the knights get hurt, they go to the potion-making room near House 1 first instead of the infirmary.

Avery quickly shook his head. “Not at all. It was decided last year. Everyone except for you already knew.”

“What are you going to do after leaving?”

“I was thinking of returning to my hometown. It’s my lifelong wish to enjoy the rest of my life there.”

“To enjoy the rest of your life…”

“Do you think that’s possible here? There are so many crazy people!” He nodded at his own words.

The people in Havel were insane. I mean, look at their lord.

“My position should be given to someone young. I’m older than I appear. I can’t even walk around anymore.”

Five years ago, Avery had to spend his 80th birthday on the battlefield because of his terrible lord, which made him decide to retire and return to his hometown.

“I heard you’ve been going to the city a lot. It’s for…”

“Yes, I was looking for my replacement. Even if I want to retire, a successor is required. All because of that no good—I mean, my handsome, wonderful lord.”

“Did you find one?”

“No. There aren’t many apothecaries or physicians in Havel. I’ve visited many infirmaries, but no one is interested.” Avery muttered that it was driving him crazy before swiftly drinking his tea. “You’re very talented.”

“Am I?”

“In the field of medicine, humanity can’t even compare to the witches. The art of healing is considered a very sacred discipline, so commoners aren’t allowed to learn it.”

“Who are the people who learn it then?”

“Anyone born into an aristocratic family. The problem is there’s no reason for them to do all this hard work because they prefer to play around.”

“I see.”

“It’s safe to say humans have reached a point of stagnation.” Avery sighed. “There aren’t many physicians, but the best ones are all in the capital.”

Finding a physician was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. There were cases where there wasn’t a physician, or there was one physician who took care of the people in two territories.

“Why don’t you manage the infirmary now?”

“What?”

“Your expertise and experience will help Havel.”

“But…”

“I’ll inform my lord of this matter!”

“There’s no way they’d use the medicine I made.”

“What do you mean? The people in Havel already use it!”

Certainly, how people see me had improved since then, but there are those who avoid making eye contact with me still. Will they actually take the medicine I prepare?

“…Out of curiosity, how come you trust me so much?” Havel had a lot of interesting people, but I didn’t expect the physician to be one of them.

Avery winked. “Well, allow me to tell you a secret that even my lord doesn’t know. I’ve actually met a witch before.”

“…What?”

“Of course, it might be me misinterpreting what happened,” he added, smiling awkwardly. “It was when I was but a young man. One night, I met a dazzlingly beautiful woman. She was so enchanting that I knew she was a witch.”

“Haha, there’s no way she was a witch. We haven’t left Kartelle in the last four hundred years.” After the war, witches hid in Kartelle, which was also known as The Last Repose. The entrance is behind layers upon layers of barriers so humans couldn’t find us.

“There’s a saying in the Edelin Empire that you can meet a witch during a full moon. I thought it was fate.”

“Did you marry her?”

“No, we only had a brief encounter.”

“So, she’s your first love?”

“Yes.” Avery nodded. “I can never forget her face.”

“How come?”

“She was my first love.”

Even though they never became a couple, it wasn’t a painful memory for him. I nodded. I somewhat understood what the feeling was like. “It must be nice.” She was his only love.

“Don’t you have someone like that?”

“Is this something to ask a married woman?”

“You’re right, you’ll be in trouble if you do. Considering my lord’s personality, it’s best if you take the secret to your grave.”

He didn’t forget to ask me not to abandon his lord and live happily with the duke for a long time.

“I should probably get going.” I wanted to continue relaxing, but it was only a matter of time before my husband caught me. He was probably trying to find me as we speak.

“I wasn’t joking with what I said earlier. Think about it.”

“…All right.” I wasn’t sure still, but I’ll give it some thought.

A physician. Physician…

“I’ve been making simple medicines lately. Because of the poisoning incident, I’d like to make an antidote…”

For the purposes of research, it was best to take Avery’s place. Besides, I didn’t know if they were going to try again.

“A witch who works as a physician for humans…”

It didn’t sound too bad. I was passing through a hallway, muttering to myself.

“What sort of deep thoughts are you having?”

“Ah!” I turned my head and saw my husband leaning against the wall.

He wasn’t the least bit happy.