ITMWG 57

Chapter 57…

What’s the problem?

“Is your menstrual period still regular?”

“Yes. Sometimes it’s off, but generally…”

“What about pain? It’s not too much, is it?”

“It’s just…normal. I feel less energetic than usual, but it’s not that bad…”

Nadia began to feel worried at the way Leon kept questioning her with a serious face, so she answered cautiously. Leon then stroked his chin in deep thought.

“Is there something wrong?”

“Oh.”

Unable to wait for the diagnosis, she asked, and Leon came back to his senses, shaking his head lightly.

“It is difficult to say anything at the moment. I’m not sure either…”

“That means there’s something wrong, right?”

She obediently agreed to get examined by Leon to show Altair that she had no problem at all, but was there really something wrong with her body as he was concerned? Leon, facing her inevitably shaking pupils, sighed deeply and scratched his head.

“…Is it severe?”

“…”

Leon closed his mouth with an awkward expression. With that, Nadia could guess why he could not open his mouth without certainty. If his guess was true, it probably meant that there was something seriously wrong with her body. Her face quickly froze in worry and fear. Upon seeing that, Leon sighed again.

“Don’t worry too much. You don’t have a life-threatening disease. Even if my guess is correct, still.…”

It’s not a life-threatening disease? Then why the cautious and solemn response? She became even more puzzled and tilted her head at him. But Leon still kept his mouth shut and did not say what was in his head.

“You didn’t mention anything about this when you first treated me. Did I suddenly become ill?”

“Even then, I felt that something was off, but I thought it might just be a temporary symptom from having suffered a serious accident. But seeing how your energy is weakening now… Anyway, I will find some more information and come back to you later.”

The doctor continued to keep silent, so there was no way for the patient to find out. For that, Nadia nodded with a heavy heart, but then a thought flashed through her mind.

“Of course. You need to know your own problems first.”

Leon answered, tilting his head as if confused why she was asking for something so obvious. but…

It isn’t obvious to me.

It wasn’t just her problem. Most women from noble families were unable to take charge of their own problems. As soon as they were born, they were to adhere to their father, and when they got married, they became the property of their husband, and when their husband passed away, they had to entrust themselves to their son*. Although Nadia was of legitimate bloodline, because she was a daughter, she was in a position where she could not inherit her parents’ title and property, so the matter had always been a given.

T/n: fun fact – this is true to history in some Asian countries, and it did not only apply to noble women but all females as a whole. They never had any say in their own life, and had to obey the males of the closest ties to them.

“Anyway, it’s clear that your body has weakened. It’s not something that prevents a healthy marriage life, but it’s better to be careful not to overdo it.”

Her face heated up when she heard the words ‘healthy marriage life’. Seeing her unable to say anything, Leon cleared his throat.

“Well, I guess this is a matter that should be told to the lord, not the madame. I shall ask him to take good care of you.”

“Madame, the prince has sent you tea leaves. He said it’s what he promised you last time.”

“Oh the Prince…”

The notice coming from Marie brought her back to her senses.

Yesterday, I left Prince Orca alone and came to Altair.

Such disrespect was unacceptable. She must treat him properly this time and apologise politely.

The sooner I apologise, the better.

“Marie, please deliver my thanks to his Highness for the tea leaves and tell him I would like to treat him to dinner tonight.”

“Tonight…I shall also relay the word to the kitchen.”

“Um. Since they have the ingredients to make capital food, I think we might as well be able to serve it. His Highness has been traveling around the country for a long time, so he must miss the taste of his hometown.”

“Yes. I think that’s a good idea. However, I will tell them to prepare without the fish.”

“Uh…Marie!”

How could she make fun of someone with such a calm tone of voice! Leon tilted his head in confusion as he watched Nadia squirm with resentment. It looked like he had no idea why she was mentioning dinner without fish. As Nadia looked at him awkwardly, unable to explain it, the connection between him and Prince Orca suddenly came to her mind.

Her bringing Leon to Aylesford had created a different flow from the novel.

Will this have any impact on the original?

Frankly speaking, if that’s what she worried about, it had already been a problem since she and Altair got married.

I feel like I’m constantly involved with the characters in the novel that I’m trying to stay away from…

As Nadia sighed, feeling perturbed, Leon turned to face Marie instead of her, as if something had been on his mind.

“Miss Marie, can we talk for a moment?”

“What are you going to talk about with me?… ”

Marie, who had been replying indifferently, frowned slightly and nodded as she saw Leon’s unyielding gaze.

“All right. But right now, I have to do the madame a favour, so I will finish that and come to the doctor’s office soon.”

“Very well, I’ll wait.”

Although it was prepared somewhat hastily, the dinner was quite excellent. Perhaps because Nadia had ìnformed the kitchen of Prince Orca’s preferred food in advance, he showed satisfaction by clearing his plate throughout the meal. It was a more positive sign than common words. She carefully examined Prince Orca’s expression.

Fortunately, he doesn’t seem to be in a bad mood.

Although he displayed a friendly face on the outside, he was a traitor who caused all sorts of tragedies in the novel. Because she knew his true nature, she couldn’t let her guard down.

‘If I do something wrong and incur resentment, Aylesford may become a target for purge later.’

If her name was included in Prince Orca’s purge, her head would be cut off like in the novel…

Ugh. Let’s not think about it!

A terrible scene came to mind, and as she shut her eyes, Prince Orca across from her, with a gentle expression completely different from the terrifying appearance in her imagination, opened up first.

“I never thought I’d be eating capital food in Aylesford.”

“We just happened to have the ingredients ready. I thought it would be good to prepare food that Your Highness would like.”

“Food that I like…”

Prince Orca’s eyes strangely sparkled for some reason.

“I have felt it from the day I came to Aylesford that the Baroness knows my tastes very well.”

“That’s true, but…I thought my preferences were not well known because I had been away from the capital for quite a long time due to recuperation.”

“That can’t be. No matter how long you are away, you are still the prince.”

“I’m not really sure about that.”

Prince Orca smiled awkwardly at the polite reply.

“I stayed at various estates for medical treatment, but for the most part, they treated me according to my brothers’ liking. My two older brothers have quite similar tastes.”

That certainly was the case. If she was not mistaken, Prince Orca’s two older brothers had very similar preferences. This was because it closely resembled the emperor’s.

“They probably just thought of me as another ‘prince’ and treated me so. The truth is completely different. But no one even cares.”

If you think about it, it was natural. Who would care about the tastes of a backroom prince who had been completely pushed out of the power struggle? Everyone was only focused on pleasing the first and second princes. But Nadia, knowing fairly well who would become emperor in the future, was the opposite of them. She had always listened to the news about the third Prince Orca and tried to find out more about him. Thanks to that, she was able to clearly understand his tastes.

“So wouldn’t it be fascinating to see someone like the Baroness? You are treating me as ‘Orca’ rather than a ‘Prince’…Why?”

Oh god! Even when I treat him well, it’s still a problem! Why is dealing with the villain so difficult? 

Nadia felt like she was about to cry when she had tried so hard to treat him well and curry favour from him. But for now, it was more important to avoid the current situation. Nadia smiled at Prince Orca as she quickly racked her brain.

W-what excuse can I use? Wouldn’t it be strange that I know Prince Orca’s tastes this well?

Nadia couldn’t come up with an answer easily, so she felt like she was breaking into cold sweat. At that time, a thought flashed through her head.

“Because I’m an admirer of yours (a fan)…”

“Admirer?”

“Yes, I’m your admirer!”

She clenched her fists, speaking a little more confidently.

“I- I’ve been admiring Your Highness since I was little!”

“… ”

Prince Orca’s mouth fell agape with a slightly dumbfounded expression, as if her words were completely unexpected.

G-good. I think it’s working!

Catching on with the flow, she began pouring out excuses with more enthusiasm.

“That’s why I know about your preferences… I was so excited that I had a chance to serve you, so… Oh! Of course, I don’t see you in the romantic way! Just as an admirer, I want to support Your Highness from afar, and with that feeling…”

She trailed off as she glanced at Orca. In the novel, Prince Orca was the culprit who took the lives of many people, but the reason why he became such a twisted person was also clearly depicted. He was pushed out of the succession for the throne early on and suffered tremendous discrimination within the imperial family. In a situation where no one gave him affection, a distorted mindset was formed.

In a way, he was a lonely and pitiful character.

“So, what I want to say is… I’m cheering for you. P-please stay strong. Fighting!”

Not knowing how to end this, she smiled awkwardly and balled her fists as she cheered. At that, the corners of Orca’s mouth began to tremble slightly. Nadia lowered her gaze in despair, thinking he had realised that this was a ridiculous excuse. It was then that there was a rumbling sound of a chair being pulled. When she raised her head, Prince Orca had stood up from his seat with a stiff expression.

“… Your Highness?”

Uh…Was being an admirer too much as well?! Oh dear…

Nadia held her head, internally criticising herself for only being able to come up with such a lame excuse.

But that’s the only thing I could think of right now…

Nadia felt like hitting her head on the table. While she was sighing at her misfortune, Marie, who had gone away for a moment to prepare dessert, came back and found her blaming herself alone at the table where her guests had left. Puzzled, she tilted her head.

“Madame, I saw His Highness leaving in a hurry. He hasn’t even had dessert yet.”

“Yea… I think I’ve made a mistake. He must have been shocked because I said something so absurd. Hahh…”

“Pardon? A mistake? But His Highness…”

Still tilting her head, Marie opened her mouth as if she didn’t understand. But Nadia didn’t want to continue the gloomy subject, so she waved her hand and changed the topic.

“It’s okay. I’ll take care of it later. What did you talk about with Leon earlier?”

“Ah…”

Marie smiled in embarrassment at the casually asked question and set the dessert down in front of her.

“Yes…”

I don’t think it was a trivial matter though…

The back of her neck chilled with a strange sense of anxiety.