Chapter 5

The Grand Duchess of the North, I Can’t Do This Because It’s Too Cold

It felt like only yesterday that I had undergone my first examination.

And before I knew it, the day for my next checkup had arrived.

‘Ugh. What if I’ve developed some fatal illness in the meantime?’

With all sorts of pointless worries weighing on my mind, I went through a series of examinations.

Now all I had to do was hear the results…

But for some reason, the doctor seemed a little strange today.

“G-Good. Very good.”

He seemed even more nervous than I was.

If anything, he was acting a little over the top.

What was wrong with that old man today?

What was even stranger, though, was that Mikhail seemed to be in an even better mood than usual.

Was it just my imagination?

“It seems the medicine is having an effect. Your condition has improved considerably in just a few days. You haven’t fainted anymore, have you?”

“No. I haven’t.”

“Then I believe we can finally lift the strict bed-rest order.”

Oh.

Then… did that mean we couldn’t sleep in separate rooms anymore?

I’d gotten rather comfortable with it, so I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed.

I suppose there was no reason to keep doing it now that we had no excuse.

I let out a small sigh and happened to glance at the doctor.

He was making eye contact with Mikhail, who was standing behind me.

“What are you two doing?”

“Ah, nothing. And! Now I would like to tell you about the most important precautions you should take going forward.”

“Right, that’s the most important part. Please tell me.”

I’d already given up on thoughts of running away or disappearing again.

If I wanted to survive in the North until the heroine, Mabel, appeared, then whether I liked it or not, I needed to take care of my health.

I perked up my ears and focused on what he was saying.

“Hold the Grand Duke’s hand frequently.”

“…What?”

“And if possible, sleep together as well. Your body temperature will drop the most from nighttime until morning, so maintaining your body heat during that period is the most important…”

Before the doctor could finish his sentence, he was dragged out of the room by a group of knights.

His expression as he was hauled away looked strangely peaceful, as though he’d accomplished everything he had set out to do.

An awkward silence settled over the room, where Mikhail and I were now the only ones left.

“There must be another way.”

“There’s no helping it. From now on, I’ll keep the doctor’s instructions in mind.”

Mikhail grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet.

Then he met my eyes and flashed me a satisfied grin.

…

So he was getting pretty good at this all by himself now, huh?

Maybe it was because I’d lived my entire life as a proper, old-fashioned woman, but somehow I felt unfairly disadvantaged.

From that day on, I had to walk around the estate holding Mikhail’s hand every day.

He skipped his training with the flimsiest excuses imaginable, dragged me all the way to his office, and whenever he had a spare moment, he’d take my hand again.

Of course, he also insisted that I sit beside him whenever we ate.

It was quite…

An endless parade of embarrassment.

“Mikhail, this is for medical purposes. You do know that, right?”

“Of course.”

Even after we’d finished eating, as we headed to have tea, Mikhail kept holding my hand.

From every corner of the corridors, I could hear the servants blushing and whispering among themselves.

“They’ve been getting along so well lately. It’s nice to see.”

“Right? It feels like the atmosphere in the whole estate has improved too.”

“I’m actually jealous. Ah, I’m so lonely…”

Normally, Mikhail would have glared at them and silently intimidated them into stopping.

But this time, he didn’t seem to care at all.

What was this?

It was almost as if he didn’t mind hearing it…

He was being surprisingly shameless about it.

I couldn’t even lift my head because I was so embarrassed.

I was doing my best to ignore everything when I suddenly felt a piercing gaze.

I turned my head slightly to check and saw Aaron staring at Mikhail and me with an expression of fascination.

‘He was… one of the servants who was always following Mikhail around, wasn’t he?’

I’d heard that Mikhail particularly favored him.

Aaron usually had such an indifferent expression whenever he looked at other people, so it was almost amusing to see him looking so fascinated.

This was killing me.

“Ah.”

Our eyes suddenly met, and Aaron hurriedly looked away.

Maybe it was because he was still young.

It must have been a little embarrassing for him too.

“Let go of my hand for a moment.”

“That would be difficult. The doctor told us to keep holding hands.”

I don’t remember him saying it quite that strongly.

Whatever the case, Mikhail seemed to be enjoying himself.

He deliberately tightened his grip on my hand.

“Isn’t it uncomfortable walking around like this?”

“Not at all. It actually makes me feel secure.”

Secure…

Come to think of it, thanks to the small amount of body heat being shared between us, sensation was slowly returning to my hand.

Without realizing it, I properly wrapped my fingers around his hand.

“Warm, isn’t it, Aisha?”

Hmm.

Not quite that warm…

I cleared my throat and gave him a vague nod.

‘It’s for medical purposes. Medical purposes! Never forget that.’

I firmly reminded myself of that as I desperately tried to calm the noisy feelings in my chest.

Meanwhile, in Moltian, the heart of the South—

Daven was looking out the window of his study at the children playing outside.

Soon, warm sunlight streamed through the window, and he quietly closed his eyes.

A languid warmth began to fill the study.

“What are you thinking about so deeply?”

The brief silence was broken by Baron, a servant of the estate.

Only then did Daven slowly open his eyes.

When he saw Baron’s impassive expression, he smiled.

It was a familiar face to Daven, who had kept him by his side for so long.

“Nothing. I’ve just been overworking myself today, so I was taking a short break.”

“You always push yourself too hard, Your Grace.”

Baron spoke as he gathered up the papers that had fallen after being blown around by the wind.

After returning from the North, Daven had spent an entire week practically living in his study as he worked through the mountain of tasks he’d left behind.

As a result, the study had been buried under piles of papers and had become a complete mess.

“Oh, I went all the way there and didn’t even get to see your twin. I should have checked in on him before I left.”

“It’s all right. I heard you practically had to flee from there.”

“Haha. And who told you that?”

Only now did Daven remember Aaron, Baron’s twin younger brother, who worked at Mikhail’s estate.

But Baron, whose personality was naturally reserved, didn’t seem to mind in the slightest.

Once Baron gathered up the things that needed to be taken away and left, Daven leaned against the windowsill and continued basking in the sunlight.

Then, suddenly, the image of the last time he’d seen Aisha just a week ago surfaced in his mind.

‘Be careful on your way back. It’s cold.’

“That was the first time I’d seen such lively eyes in you. And you were worried about me too…”

Muttering to himself, Daven covered his weary face with both hands.

Then he swallowed a single thought deep inside.

Daven removed his hands from his face and once again wore his usual smile.

He returned to his desk and collapsed into his chair.

He reached toward the pile of documents Baron had neatly organized before leaving, but in the end, he lost to the longing that came rushing over him.

A memory from his very early childhood began to seep into Daven’s mind.

The moment they first met.

A young girl led there by his own nanny.

‘Your Grace, please say hello to Lady Marianne. Her name is Aisha.’

She had always been a child with a shadow over her face.

From time to time, she’d show up with bruises from being beaten by her father, and because there was no money at home, she often went hungry.

At first, Daven had felt sorry for her.

They were the same age and both nobles from the South, yet they lived completely different lives.

The irony of it all had been hard to ignore.

Daven had dutifully extended his hand to Aisha.

He had to become a good Grand Duke, after all.

Aisha was one of the people of the South he would one day rule.

‘Thank you.’

Unlike the other nobles who took his kindness for granted, she always thanked him, even for a few pieces of bread.

Even though they were friends, it never really felt like they were friends.

He was always helping Aisha, while she said things that made him feel good.

Daven would often find a reason to keep living in those words.

And so, he had simply assumed that Aisha would always remain by his side.

But Baron Marianne caused trouble before Daven even had a chance to stop him, putting the entire family on the verge of ruin.

And, as always, Daven naturally began looking for a way to resolve the situation.

‘I decided to marry Grand Duke Mikhail Riterban.’

The moment he saw her say those words so calmly, Daven’s heart sank.

Because of Mikhail’s unexpected actions, all of Daven’s worries and plans had been rendered meaningless.

Even on her wedding day, Aisha appeared with that same shadowed expression.

She had become the most noble woman in the North, yet she looked anything but happy.

She had even secretly approached Daven and asked him for a favor.

‘I need to divorce the Grand Duke. Prepare the documents secretly for me, Daven.’

He’d thought it was an annoying request.

Of course, he understood why she had asked.

After all, he was probably the only person she could call a friend.

Regardless, Aisha was a person of the South.

She was his responsibility.

With that single sense of duty, Daven began preparing the documents one by one.

It took two full months to finish everything.

Those two months without Aisha had left an empty space somewhere inside him.

He had missed her.

‘It’s because I’m selfish. The moment someone who needed me was gone, I even started longing for her. How weak and impure of me.’

Daven relentlessly berated himself.

But when he finally met Aisha again after two months, she looked surprisingly fine.

She must have resigned herself to the situation and decided to accept it.

That was what he thought.

So he deliberately acted more relaxed than usual.

As though he, too, had been completely unaffected during those months.

That was certainly what he’d intended.

‘I just thought Mikhail might get hurt.’

It felt as though he’d been struck over the head.

She wouldn’t come to the South for a reason like that?

And so Daven had left the North as though fleeing from the place.

His thoughts were a tangled mess.

Since when?

‘……No. It doesn’t matter. Aisha will leave that place soon anyway.’

He desperately forced that thought into his mind, telling himself there was no longer any reason to concern himself with the relationship between the two of them.

Don’t keep thinking about it.

I am a Moltian.

I mustn’t forget my duty.

Daven stroked his chest as though trying to calm himself, repeating those words like a mantra.