CH 61

Who is the Fake Bride? (3)

The Empress;

His companion.

< However, I think that the Empress Dowager’s physical condition is not that good, so I reckon we should pay a lot of attention in the future. >

Kergel’s face eventually darkened. This was because he recalled the facts that the doctor had mentioned just a little while ago.

< What do you mean, she’s not that good? What the hell does that even mean? >

< In other words, should I say that she appeared to have a bone disease? She already looks frail on the outside, but on the inside—it’s even more so… uhh… Why would the body of a person who has been living a precious life become like this? >

The courtier sighed, unable to speak anymore. He looked as if he couldn’t believe himself as well.

“…I don’t understand at all.”

Kergel gazed at Roelin’s sleeping face and muttered in a low voice.

“Erita, you’re… really unpredictable.”

The woman in front of him was cautious and humble enough to be considered as an absurd illusion in account to think that she was arrogant and spoiled. Even now, he sometimes wondered if she was actually the same person—so, what more else did he need to say?

However, she was said to be in bad shape. Beyond the fact of merely catching a brief cold, it was also said that she suffered from a bone disease like a patient who had been sick for a long time or just like a person who had been sick for a long time without receiving any treatment on time.

Did that make any sense at all?

However, the doctor was not in a state to be joking in front of the patient. So, his words must have contained the truth after all.

“It’s not like she was terminally ill and couldn’t afford to be using her hands…”

It was just the fact that she had been weak because she was left untreated. He narrowed his brows once again in doubt.

At that moment, something slipped out of Roelin’s mouth.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry.”

It was a word of apology. Kergel frowned even more when he began to understand her. Then, he reached out to wake her up because she seemed to have suffered from a nightmare. Nevertheless, even before that, her sleep talk had continued.

“…Your Majesty, I’m not real… I’m sorry…”

Kergel’s expression immediately hardened. He proceeded to take his hand up to wake Roelin while still looking at her.

What did she mean, sorry?

‘I’m sorry—not real?’

His eyes narrowed as he looked at her. But after he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, he opened them once again with a rather indifferent look. Then, he tapped on Roelin’s shoulder lightly.

“……!”

Eventually, Roelin’s body lurched as if she had a seizure and began to open her eyes.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“…Your Majesty?”

Roelin stared blankly at the golden eyes that were peering down at her while belatedly recognizing his voice before she tried to get up in a hurry. But Kergel laid her down once again and parted his mouth open.

“Just lie down.”

“But…”

“There’s no need to be so polite between couples. And even more so when you’re this sick.”

Roelin just blushed as she couldn’t afford to sit up because of the gentle touch that was on her shoulder. On reflection, it was also due to her crazy thinking that her appearance might have already become a mess. Come to think of it, it was because she was crazy thinking that her appearance was going to be a mess.

It was still fine when she woke up in the morning. But after leaving the Palace, she caught a cold all of a sudden and couldn’t recover fully. Nevertheless, she could still get along with it since she had taken some medication.

However, after breakfast, she suddenly felt a chill and started to suffer from a fever with the pain of body aches. As a result, Silloa and the other maids who were taking care of her had suffered in many ways as well…

Anyway, for that sole reason, she must have looked disorganized without having been properly dressed too.

She got herself up once more. Then, Kergel no longer forced Roelin to lie down and just let her be instead. Roelinheaved a small sigh of ease while feeling relieved before she smoothed out her disheveled hair as she bowed her head down towards Kergel.

“I greet Your Majesty. But this appearance of mine is what I appeared…”

“It’s okay. Honestly, isn’t it just natural for you and me to see something even worse?”

Roelin’s face immediately reddened from Kergel’s words. Kergel, who was watching the sight, eventually smirked and added.

“And you look much better now anyway.”

“What?”

She stopped blushing and looked at him with a quizzical expression. Her face showed her innermost thoughts which were wondering what kind of nonsense that she just heard. He laughed again at her innocent reaction and opened his mouth in response.

“It means that you look much better in red like you are now, rather than being sick and all lifeless before.”

“……You’re so mean. By the way, what brings you here?”

Roelin felt her face was burning even further at his words and turned around while rubbing down her cheek with her hands. Then, Kergel shrugged and responded.

“I have something to tell you. And I have something to ask as well.”

“……?”

Roelin looked at him with a puzzled look and tilted her head. Kergel glanced briefly at her hair that had fluttered down her neck and continued.

“A delegation from Rakain will arrive in just a few days.”

“…what?”

“Why do you look like that? I thought you’d be so happy to see them. Instead, you’ve turned white like someone who just got informed of such terrible news.”

Kergel was quite shocked by her unexpected reaction. He thought that if she was sick, she would then be thinking of her family and miss her hometown. So, he thought that it would be good news for her, but her reaction was totally unanticipated.