ITMWG 69

Chapter 69…

It melted away.

His thoughts suddenly snapped like abruptly halting a horse on the verge of a cliff. There had never been a time when he couldn’t find a clear basis for his thoughts and actions. Why was the answer to this simple problem so difficult to find? Altair rubbed his frowning brow and thought.

I may be more possessive than I thought.

In the first place, he thought, no, rather, he firmly believed there would be no such thing… Imagining Nadia smiling broadly at Prince Orca and saying things like ‘I’m an admirer of yours!’ or ‘I like you!’ made his gut twisted. The fact that he did not want his ‘wife’ to be close to anyone else proved that he hadn’t fully understood his heart so far. His excessive desire for possession were feelings that must be avoided. Altair tried to calm his frantic heart. Like when he used his sword, he then took a deep breath and exhaled, clearing his mind. But he could hardly calm his nerves. Perhaps it was because he didn’t have a sword in his hand. Altair got up from his seat. He felt like he had to go to the training ground right away and swing his sword to calm his pounding heart. However, before Altair could get ready to leave, the bedroom door opened. Nadia had returned.

“… Altair?”

As soon as he saw his wife’s calling his name in a voice filled with wonder, the stifling sensation in Altair’s heart melted away.

…

Just a little while ago, the suffocation in his heart, which was thought to return to normal if he radiated heat by swinging something, melted away, like it was all his hallucination…

Huh.

Was it possible for a person’s feelings to change so drastically? Seeing Nadia was all he did though? Altair’s eyebrows twitched in confusion at the sudden change in his emotions.

As soon as Nadia entered the bedroom, she looked at Altair in surprise. The bedroom was filled with a strange atmosphere. It was fierce.

“…Altair?”

When she called his name in shock, his cold gaze touched hers. Altair’s eyes were always cold, but the vibe he gave off at the time was still subtly different from usual. She wondered what the reason was, but soon came up with a sensible one. She must have offended Altair, because she left, leaving only Melissa and Altair behind.

That girl has a knack for getting on people’s nerves, so she would definitely have treated Altair badly.

To ease Altair’s mood, Nadia quickly walked up to him and gently tugged on his sleeve.

“Are you offended?”

She asked, looking up at Altair cautiously, and his eyebrows twitched. As expected, he must be frustrated.

I knew I should have prevented Melissa and Altair from meeting…

Her shoulders slumped as she realieed she had not defended him properly.

“I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”

“…”

At her words, Altair pursed his lips and said nothing. He just stared at her with complicated eyes. Those eyes seemed far from anger, so Nadia became confused. She was even more so because Altair was reticent.

“What fault?”

“Pardon?”

“I’m not angry at all.”

“But…you definitely seemed angry…”

As she mumbled and looked into Altair’s eyes, he smirked.

“I was. True, I was a bit annoyed a little while ago. But…”

Altair trailed off and leaned over. With that, the distance between the two was greatly reduced, and his face came to right in front of her nose. As her eyes widened in surprise, Altair’s face suddenly became distorted for some reason.

“…Why did it disappear as soon as I saw your face?”

Nadia’s eyes darted here and there, not sure if he was talking to himself or asking her. Regardless, her heart was pounding at the abruptly narrowed gap. She felt like she was breaking into a cold sweat as Altair stared at her without saying a word.

“I have always been logical. There was a reason for everything I did. But why… why…”

T/n: PEOPLE CALL IT LOVE DUDE!

As Altair frowned, he reached out his hand and caressed her cheek.

“Nadia.”

Her shoulders shrank unconsciously at his low voice. When she looked back at Altair with much anxiety, he spoke to her clearly this time, seriously.

“There is no reason.”

“Pardon?”

“There is no reason. Even when I was angry or when I cooled down. There was just no reason. If there was, then…you are the reason.”

“I-…I didn’t do anything though…”

“Right. You’re right. You didn’t do anything. So why am I like this?”

Altair sighed deeply, buried his face in her shoulder, simultaneously hugging her tightly. Nadia became even more confused by Altair’s unusual behavior. Then, a hypothesis quickly passed through her mind.

“Altaïr. Are you sick?”

“Sick?”

Altair’s face was still buried in her shoulder and only turned his head to meet her gaze. Altair shook his head, face full of concern.

“Though if anything, I think my heart hurt a little.”

“Pardon? Your heart?!”

Startled, Nadia hastily pulled away from Altair, who was holding her tightly. Though her effort to push him away was not enough, Altair obediently stepped back.

“How did your heart hurt?”

“It’s hard to explain. It felt suffocating as if someone was squeezing it tightly, and it hurt a lot, then it started pounding like crazy…”

As she listened to Altair’s explanation, she felt like her blood was draining.

“Is-isn’t this severe ailment? Heart disease is very serious.”

“Nadia, do I look like someone who would get sick?”

“No one knows that for sure!”

Of course, Altair looked healthy, incredibly healthy at that. However, Nadia had heard many stories of people like that dying suddenly from heart attacks.

“This won’t do.”

It didn’t take her long to make up her mind, as she promptly held Altair’s hand, and walked outside. Altair looked around awkwardly as he let her small figure drag him around.

“Where are we going?”

“Of course we’re going to Leon!”

Only then did Altair realise their destination and stopped dead in his tracks, sighing. Now that Altair had refused to budge, Nadia had no other way to keep dragging him around. As she looked at Altair questionably, he let out a deep sigh.

“Nadia. I’m not sick.”

“You said your heart hurt.”

“That…”

“Even if you are not sick, you can still get a checkup. Please…”

Altair was about to refute, but when he heard her plea, he closed his mouth, his hand clutching his chest.

“…it stings again.”

Seeing him mumbling absently, Nadia’s suspicion of Altair having a heart disease almost turned into certainty.

“See! You can’t just let it be!”

Feeling certain, she shouted and grabbed Altair’s arm again. Altair also obediently followed her again. They walked quickly and soon arrived at Leon’s office. Without delay, Nadia knocked on the door.

“Leon, you’re inside, right? Can you have a quick look at a patient right now?”

“A patient…”

Altair protested slightly, but she just focused on knocking on the door. Perhaps surprised at the mention of ‘a patient’, she heard a commotion beyond the door briefly before it clicked open. Leon peeked his head through the slightly open door. It was a gaze that was strangely wary.

“What kind of patient?”

Leon asked, looking at Nadia and Altair. At first glance, he didn’t think any of them was a patient. Without hesitation, Nadia pushed Altair, who she was holding onto, forward.

“He is the patient.”

“… This overly healthy-looking person?”

Leon frowned and looked Altair up and down as if he found it hard to believe. Nadia followed Leon and took a quick scan through Altair…

Hmm. He does look overly healthy…

But it wasn’t a lie that Altair was sick.

“He suddenly felt a pain as if his heart was being squeezed.”

“I beg your pardon?”

Leon’s eyes widened at her explanation. After all, heart disease was not something to be taken lightly.

“How did the pain feel? What about the spacing? Have you ever had a headache or indigestion? Oh, let’s come inside first. I have to hurry and check his condition.”

Leon opened the door wide with a barrage of questions. Then, the hidden interior of the laboratory was revealed, and an unimaginable sight came into view.

“…huh?”

They were about to step inside, but froze in place instead. This was because a completely unexpected guest was sitting there with an awkward smile on her face.

“Marie…?”

When Nadia blinked and absent-mindedly called the person’s name, Leon made an odd noise and placed his hand on his forehead. It looked like he was trying to hide the fact that Marie was in there and forgot because he was so focused on the patient… As Nadia blinked blankly, unable to understand the situation, Marie, who had returned to her usual calm expression, stood up and lowered her head.

“Madame. My lord.”

It was a flawless polite greeting, but Nadia was not in the mood to receive it.

Marie obviously had business outside the castle so she left…

Why was she in Leon’s lab? An awkward silence filled the room. It was Marie who broke the silence first.

“Sir, can I come pick up the medicine tomorrow?”

“Medicine…?”

When Leon asked back dumbfoundedly, Marie strained her eyes. At that, the doctor clapped his hands as if he had belatedly remembered something. The whole thing was weirdly suspicious.

“Miss Marie’s medicine…ah … yes. That medicine, right. You can come pick it up tomorrow.”

His speech was very unnatural and fragmented.

Why is he acting like that all of a sudden?

As Nadia tilted her head at Leon’s strange reaction, Marie quickly came to her side.

“I’ve been having a headache lately, so I asked the doctor to prescribe some medicine, madame.”

“Is your headache severe enough to see a doctor as soon as you return to the castle?”

When a servant returned to the castle, the first thing they usually would do was to inform their master of their return. There was no way that Marie would not know such an unspoken rule, so it must have meant that her condition was bad enough to pass that formality. When Nadia asked Marie with concern, Marie smiled and shook her head as if to reassure her.

“He examined my health and said it wasn’t anything serious. If I take my medicine as prescribed, I’ll get better. Isn’t that right?”

“Oh, yes, something like that.”

When Marie asked for his confirmation, Leon half-heartedly nodded. Worried that Leon might not have treated Marie with more care because she was just a servant, Nadia intended to ask a favour of Leon. However, before she could do so, Leon had offered Altair a seat.

“For now, let me have a look at the lord’s condition. Please sit over here.”

Only then did Nadia realise why she had come here so hurriedly, and quickly sat Altair down. For some reason, Altair couldn’t take his eyes off Marie and Leon even as he settled down. There was seemingly a glint of suspicion in those eyes.

“Ahem.”

Perhaps to shake off that stare, Leon cleared his throat loudly and asked while holding the stethoscope to Altair’s chest.

“Would you like to tell me your symptoms in detail?”

“It’s nothing serious. My heart feels stifling, as if someone is squeezing it tightly, and it hurts, and then it starts pounding like crazy…That’s kind of it.”

The more Altair explained his symptoms, the stranger Leon’s expression became. It was the same for Marie. Leon pursed her lips for a long time, as if he didn’t know what to say. Was it because Altair’s illness was so serious that he couldn’t get the words out easily?

“…by any chance…”

As Nadia watched Leon anxiously, he spoke with a sigh.

“Are you here to rub it in my face (to brag)?”