CH 30.2

Forced to keep her mouth shut, Isabella laid back on her bed and covered her body with the blanket.

She could only pray with all her heart in earnest, hoping that his thoughts would change after a good night’s sleep.

How can she take responsibility?

Isabella had no idea how to be responsible for other people’s emotions.

She could hardly sleep with one thought after another circling her mind.

Isabella greeted the morning with bloodshot eyes and pale skin.

She looked shabby as she stood in front of the mirror.

It was natural to look like this after she stayed up all night.

She touched her eyebags and sighed as a habit.

Now that she thought about it, it might be better if she looked like this.

Now that  Duke Kyar’s mind had cleared up, the proverbial ‘bean pods’ that made her appear pretty to him no matter what she did should have been peeled off by now.

She just wanted his affection to vanish after witnessing how ugly she could be.

Isabella opened the door with a sigh, but she gasped in surprise upon seeing Duke Kyar standing before her.

She immediately shut the door.

What?

Why did he appear in front of her bedroom door this morning?

Knock.

Knock.

She heard him knock on the other side, and Isabella was forced to open the door due to his persistence.

“What are you doing so early in the morning?”

“You look terrible.” He frowned when he got a good look on her face.

It seemed like the ‘bean pods’ wrapped all over her because of the love potion was utterly peeled off.

Duke Kyar’s response seemed positive, and Isabella gave him a look of anticipation.

“But you’re still pretty.”

His words shattered all of her expectations.

Isabella was surprised that the Duke could say that in his right mind.

“A day had already passed after you drank the antidote. Do you still like me?”

She asked carefully, expecting him to say ‘NO.’

“I think I wouldn’t die if I don’t see you, but I still feel insane.”

What the hell was he talking about?

She just couldn’t understand.

“If I die, I will take all of my burdens to my grave. But if I go mad, many people will suffer from the consequences.” He added, and Isabella looked up at him in embarrassment.

It would be more terrifying for everyone compared to death if Duke Kyar went insane.

Isabella could only wince as she listened to him spit out such brutal words calmly.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness, but I don’t like you.”

Taking courage, Isabella decided to convey her heart to him.

She had difficulty completing the antidote, but she couldn’t stay here.

“But if you ask me to take responsibility even after taking antidote—”

“So…”

He stopped talking and took a step toward her.

Surprised, Isabella instinctively stepped back, but a wall had blocked her.

She had no space to withdraw from him.

“I’m going to do it properly from now on.”

What is he trying to do?

“—so that you will like me.”

Duke Kyar’s unwavering gaze was directed at her.

He stared into her eyes willfully, and she lowered her head in exhaustion.

**

As soon as breakfast with Duke Kyar was over, Marc, the butler, came to her bedroom.

Isabella accepted Mark’s documents with a sigh.

“What’s this?”

“He said that you have the right to acquire something instead of just taking responsibility.”

The right to acquire instead of taking responsibility?

Isabella recalled her conversation with Duke Kyar while eating.

Taking responsibility for the Duke would mean staying at Rubella Castle for another year.

He promised to give her freedom if she didn’t change her mind until then.

She had no other option.

She just wanted to run away from here without warning regardless of responsibility.

Isabella simply gave up.

If she got caught, that one-year timeline might disappear.

Still, she found comfort that it wouldn’t be for the rest of her life.

Isabella opened the document.

At that moment, her blue eyes widened.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a building named after you, my Lady. It is a research institute in Rubella Castle. We promised to provide you as many herbs as you need.”

She could not imagine what she had just heard.

This time, Isabella scanned the documents slowly.

It stated that she would be provided with unlimited medicinal herbs for her research institute to develop treatments further.

Is it true that he’s really out of his mind?

Instead, it felt like the scale of her work got bigger than when he was out of his mind.

“He asked me to tell you that he hoped you would like it.”