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nAccording to Sergey, Omerta’s doctor, I had been sick for ten days with fever.

nI was shocked that I spent as much as ten days like that.

nI thought it would only be about three or four days!

n“Your fever has reduced, but moving around is absolutely forbidden. As you know, it’s best to eat well to recover quickly. Do you understand? You should eat even if you don’t have an appetite. Take a light walk in between.”

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nSince recovering was the most important task, I followed his instructions obediently.

nEllenia had no choice but to keep her eyes on me constantly.

nIt was fortunate that it was soup or porridge that didn’t strain my stomach.

nAlthough it would not be an appetizing dish for the northern people, who usually ate biscuits with meaty stew in the morning.

n“Is there anything you’d like to eat?”

n“…I’ll let you know if I want anything.”

nThis sequence of questions and answers went back and forth between Ellenia and me several times a day.

nI was putting it off on the pretext of feeling sick, but I felt I had to explain why I ran away soon.

nAnyway, according to some observations, no one, including Ellenia, seemed to know the truth about it.

nEven my father-in-law, the Duke, seemed to have heard nothing from his son.

nHis daughter-in-law, who was like a hot potato, ran away from home. He should be displeased, but he did not show up.

nMaybe he didn’t ask because I was still sick.

n“My lady, is there a dragon in Romagna?”

n“I heard there’s no such thing in the South.”

n“Why not?”

nPrincess Ari and Leah hovered around like butterflies, chattering and picking flowers while I was walking around the garden.

nI appreciated those two coming to visit me, but I felt strange that the royal family didn’t know about the truth.

nBesides, what made Lord Ivan send his sister to me after seeing everything that day?

nI thought he’d be reluctant for a while.

nHaa, I wonder what everyone was doing? Popo and Griffin…

nNo, let’s not think about it. It’s no use thinking about it. It’s not good to make it so obvious.

n“My lady, do you know how to make a wreath?”

nThe weather was quite nice.

nIt was unbelievably sunny in Elendale.

nWhile Lucille and other maids followed me around with cream-colored parasols, I squatted with the two children and made wreaths.

n“My lady, here’s the refreshment table.”

nAri and Leah’s eyes sparkled.

nWell, refreshment tables weren’t my favourite anymore.

nI used to like them a long time ago.… Haa, I couldn’t help it.

nWhat about this wreath? Should I give it to Ellenia? I don’t know if she’ll like this, but she’s been taking good care of me for the last few days, so, to thank her…

nSo, I took a bribe-but-not-really-bribe to my sister-in-law and headed to the table with the two little girls.

nThe sweet scent wafted into my nose from the wind.

nFresh lemon cheesecake, strawberry mousse, all kinds of cookies, tarts and puddings..

n“Oh! Brother, why are you here?” Leah, who was hopping in excitement, paused and asked blankly.

nI almost dropped the blue flower wreath that I made.

nIt was not that surprising, but I was completely unprepared.

n“Ruby.”

nBeside Ellenia, who calmly turned to me, stood my husband, whom I hadn’t seen for what felt like a long time.

nIn addition, Sir Ivan was with him.

nWhy did these men always pop out of nowhere?

n“Nice to meet you, too, sister. Hello, Princess. Long time no see, my lady. I’m so glad to see you recovering.”

nSir Ivan was as cheerful as ever. His greeting with that friendly smile felt very sincere.

nI tried to smile, but today, my facial muscles were stiff.

nAh, I’m afraid I’ve lost my touch.…!

n“I-I’ve caused you needless worries…”

nI was trying to respond with a smile, but I felt dizzy because I was so nervous for a moment. I staggered uncontrollably, the view in front of my eyes swaying, when a strong arm grabbed my thin forearm hurriedly.

n“Are you alright?”

nI hastily tried to get a hold of myself.

nIzek was looking down at me with strange eyes, holding my body in his arms.

nWhy are you making that weird face again? So confusing…

n“Yes, thank you.”

n“You don’t look good, call Sergey…….”

n“No, it’s really okay! It’s just because I’m so happy.”

nOh, my acting skills. It’s not completely rusty yet! And of course, my ice-cold husband immediately raised his eyes suspiciously.

n“What?”

n“I-I was afraid you wouldn’t wish to see me at all. Everyone has been through so much because of me…”

nIncluding meeting up with the Vigilante guild. Hubby, what are you up to this time? What are you going to do with me?

n“Well, this b*stard deserves to suffer. Isn’t that right, Princess?”

n“That’s right.” Ellenia, who answered quickly, gave me a complex look. She seemed a bit worried.

nI didn’t know what to do for her. I’ll just give you the wreath, so please…

n“I want to eat cake.” Leah whined. Ari was standing still, a little nervous.

nSending a side-glance at Izek, I still felt stressed.

nEllenia was probably happy, but her cousin was having a hard time. Well, this man was just that scary.

n“Leah, you should be polite in someone else’s house. Ah, such a tomboy…”

n“Brother, you said that you ate something called politeness.”

n“You, you damn…….”

nIzek glanced back once, and suddenly flexed his arm. It wasn’t long before a very familiar feeling came in.

nThis jerk, you think I’m just a chick, don’t you?

nBe it the dragon, him, or Griffin, all of them…

n“Your ruby is well kept.”

nHuh? I looked up at his face blankly, wondering what he was whispering in my ear about, and then, laughed awkwardly.

nAh, he meant the giant jewel. The one the dragon gave me…

n“It’s chocolate pudding!”

nSomehow, everyone ended up seated around the refreshment table.

nIt felt strange to sit comfortably with colorful five-tier dessert trays placed delicately on the table.

nMore like, strange sitting with two monster-like paladins in here.

n“You’re going to eat too?”

n“It’s noisy.”

nEllenia seemed to think they were out of place as well.

nHer thinned eyes, as if she was trying not to squint, looked hilarious.

n“E-Ellen…”

n“What is it?”

n“I’d like to give you this.”

nI thought I wouldn’t have time to give it to her if it wasn’t now, so I just shoved the wreath, I was holding, towards her.

nWhat the hell was I doing? Anyone could tell I was trying to flatter her! That too, with a wreath!

nMy beautiful sister-in-law looked surprised, but fortunately, she didn’t refuse.

nShe seemed a little hesitant, but still took it. It was still a bit embarrassing. I’d have to look for a chance to buy a decent present soon.

nMy husband, who was watching what I was doing, smirked.

n“I think it’ll look good on you. Put it on your head.”

n“…So irritating.”

n“It’s polite to use a gift if you’ve received it.”

n“Why don’t you try it on? I think it would look better on you than on me.”

nWhat? Of course, Ellenia would never put anything like that on her head. Because it wasn’t her thing to do so. It would be worth watching if it was put on Izek’s head, though.

n“You’re the one who received it, so you should use it.”

n“I’m suggesting it because you seem to want it. Aren’t you mad that Ruby only gave it to me?”

nI was starting to worry about the flow of this conversation.

nFor a strange reason that I would never know, Izek only drank the tea in front of him instead of responding to his sister’s taunt.

nThen, he covered his mouth with his hand and frowned.

nI was nervous. Why did I do this without thinking?

nThis b*stard seemed to have become mad after judging that I was not showing my fan-behaviour properly.

nEven though he was a mean guy, who wouldn’t accept anything even if I made it for him.

n“I’ll make yours next time. I didn’t expect to see you today. Besides, I assume you don’t like flowers.….”

n“…I love them,” mumbled Izek.

n(T

/N: he said this in a muffled voice, I didn’t know how to tl it, so just imagine xD)

n“What?”

n“…Cough! It’s not that I hate it.”

nWhat are you talking about?

nI guessed that his brain had temporarily stopped working because of his rapidly rising blood sugar.

nAlright, next time, I’d make sure to put a cute wreath on his head.

n“Hmm, the tea Princess chose has a different flavor.”

n“It’s overrated.”

nIgnoring the tea in front of him, Sir Ivan, who gulped down the cocoa made for the children and let out slurping noises with his mouth.

nNevertheless, our Ellenia acted gracefully as usual.

nI was the only one who couldn’t get used to this atmosphere.

n“It looks like a dragon.”

n“That’s true, but the real dragon doesn’t have horns.”

nThe sounds of Leah and Ari, who didn’t know anything, peering at the cookies and whispering were very helpful.

nThe dragon did look similar to the one I met.….

nAt that moment, Izek, who seemed to be barely biting into anything, spoke up, “Here.”

nI stared at the giant pudding pushed in front of me.

nChocolate pudding topped with cream, beautifully decorated with colorful sugar confectionery.

nWas this him telling me to suffer along with him?

nLeah left the cookie and stretched her arms to the pudding plate, her mouth slightly open.

nShe was clearly aiming for this colorful chocolate pudding for a while.

n“Chocolate…”

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n“Leah, you want some? I can have another pudding.”

n“But then….”

nLeah’s eyes twinkled prettily, as if she had been waiting, but trailed off at the end, averting her gaze for some reason.

nHmm? What’s wrong?…

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