CH 17

The dripping nosebleed left round, red marks on the ground.

Why, at this time of all times?!

Quickly pulling her hand away from him, Livia hastily squeezed her nose. The tip of her nose felt sore.

She was more embarrassed by her nosebleed in front of the duke than she was by the sudden appearance of him catching her.

“I’m so-sorry. I’ll leave now.”

She rapidly turned on her heel, not bothering to listen to his reply.

Livia worried inwardly about what would happen if he caught her, but by the time she reached her chambers, the duke had neither stopped nor called out to her.

By the time she returned to her room, the nosebleed had thankfully stopped.

Wiping the blood from her nose and hands, she looked down at her blood-stained white blouse and sighed deeply.

“That was my favorite outfit…….”

The day Livia graduated from the academy, her father bought it for her with money he had saved to congratulate her.

It was her first class with Vincent, so she had taken it out with much enthusiasm. And now the white blouse was stained with red blood.

‘Let’s soak it in water before it dries and see if Chelsea can wash it.’

Blood clots quickly when it encounters warm water, so Livia grabbed the cold water and hurriedly took off the stained blouse.

Naturally, she turned to the mirror and suddenly noticed the change on her body.

“What is this?”

Livia stared at her reflection in the mirror with a stiff face. 

Her left shoulder, to be exact. 

Just below her left shoulder, there was a mark she hadn’t seen before. Upon closer inspection, the tiny mole was shaped like a flower. 

She twisted her face into a grimace.

“Magical flower disease…..”

One of the classic symptoms of the disease: spots that resemble flowers appear on the body.

The first of these spots had appeared on her body. 

“…….I definitely didn’t have it yesterday.” 

Livia couldn’t believe that something like this had appeared overnight. She shivered and got goosebumps.

‘Could this mole be the reason I suddenly felt dizzy and had a nosebleed?’

The doctor told her that each mole could cause symptoms in the body. The symptoms would become more intense as the number of moles increased.

The first mole made her dizzy and gave her a nosebleed, but who knew how bad it would be the next time.

But the worst part was that the cycle is unpredictable.

The next mole could happen in a week, or a month could pass without anything happening.

Livia let out a deep sigh.

Her reflection in the mirror felt particularly grim.

“……Now it’s real.”

When she was first diagnosed with a terminal illness, she was shocked, of course, but she hadn’t really realized that she had a strong will to live.

It wasn’t until she started noticing the changes in her body that she began to realize that she had a real illness. She had to face the reality that she had a disease that would kill her.

Again.

‘…. In my previous life, I also died of a disease like this.’

Fear washed over her.

Livia squeezed her eyes shut tight and took a deep breath.

“Whoa.”

‘Let’s not get nervous.’

It was only the first mole.

‘I’m taking my medication, and besides, I know how to cure it.’

Livia slowly opened her eyes.

And silently, she pronounced the name of the man who held her life in his hands out loud.

“Cardien Mercedes.”

She didn’t mean to, but she’d already run into him twice.

Both encounters were badly timed, but either way, he was no longer the same untouchable entity that he used to be.

She was definitely in his territory.

‘I need some time with him alone, in private.’

So that he would not turn away from her, so that he would listen to her fully.

‘I’m giving Vincent’s class reports to Winston.’

He’s also delegated full authority over Vincent’s education to Winston.

Crossing her arms, Livia groaned softly. But then she tilted her head in contemplation.

“By the way…”

She looked at her hands, which had been busy with calculations. She was too surprised to notice at the time.

“In the original story, Cardien clearly has a terrible aversion to physical contact with others.”

So how could he touch someone else’s body first?

‘In the library, I was the one who tried to touch him first, so he had no choice.’

Livia didn’t quite understand this situation where he grabbed her first.

And he did it not for any other reason, but to reach out to catch someone who was about to fall?

That wasn’t the kind of thing you’d expect from Cardien in <Everyone Loves the Saint>.

Only one person in this world could share his feelings.

That would be Saintess Celestina.

Furthermore.

‘You caught a woman who was falling?’

Knowing Cardien, it would have made more sense for the sun to rise in the west.

He even took off the gloves he usually wore when he caught her.

“‘Strange, strange.”

Had she misunderstood Cardien? But in the library, it was definitely the Cardien she knew.

What was the difference?

Mmmh.

No matter how hard Livia tried, she couldn’t come up with an answer. How could she, a mere commoner, understand the psychology of a villain like Cardien?

Now, taking care of Anna took precedence over that.

After coming out of the shower, Livia dried her hair lightly and sat down in front of her desk.

Having prepared a pen and paper, she took a deep breath.

Cardien was Cardien, but first things first.

‘You’re the one who touched me first, Anna.’

The pen glided across the paper.

In the past, Livia would have been helpless, but it was different now. Because now she knew things that Anna didn’t know.

Just.

It was hard to imagine the impact that would come from the moment this was released.

At that thought, the movement of the fingertips stopped for a while, but soon the pen tip crossed the paper again.

After she finished writing, Livia looked down at the paper and put it deep in the drawer.

After that, the moon drifted up to the center of the sky before she knew it.

Livia jumped enthusiastically into bed. Her body had been screaming for it all day.

She blinked slowly and looked up at the moonlit ceiling.

The moon, the Duke of Mercedes, his darkness, and Cardien. The moon naturally reminded her of Cardien.

Suddenly, she had another question.

How long had Cardien been behind her?

‘Couldn’t he have overheard the conversation between Vincent and me?’

Suddenly, Livia felt uneasy, but the thought was cut off before it could be continued.

And so, another night passed.

***

‘Why, why, why!’

Anna’s eyes widened as she looked out the window.

After Livia had left, the duke had stood there for a while, looking down at his hands.

‘I don’t understand why she was with the duke!’

Anna was so pleased with herself for having fooled Livia that she decided to take a nighttime stroll to enjoy herself. She was out for a stroll to enjoy the excitement.

But when she casually glanced out the window, she froze in her tracks.

Vincent, who should have run away, was walking with Livia.

What’s more, Vincent was smiling, and it was a smile he’d never shown Anna before. 

She froze in disbelief.

Meanwhile, Winston came and took Vincent away, and the duke appeared. He caught Livia, who was about to fall.

Livia looked puzzled for a moment, then shook her head and scurried away, leaving the duke standing there for a moment, staring down at the hand that held her.

Even to the untrained eye, it was obvious that Livia was close to the duke.

‘I haven’t even spoken to him yet …..!’

Anna’s body shook slightly.

At this rate, she would lose both her position as Vincent’s sole mental support and her position as duchess to Livia.

“Livia, Livia, Livia!”

At this point, Anna had to admit it.

That she couldn’t beat Livia.

When she was young, when she was at the academy, and even now!

And, at this rate, she would have to chase after Livia for the rest of her life.

“…I can’t.”

I have no choice but to use that.

“You brought this on yourself, Livia.”

Anna said coldly, her gaze shifting to Livia’s window.

***

“Tutor Pellington, are you awake….”

“Ah, Chelsea. Good morning.”

Chelsea walked into the room but when she saw Livia, her eyes widened in confusion. She asked, “Are you going out?”

She was right; Livia was currently getting ready to go out.

Straightening the front of her hooded robe, she nodded lightly.

“I have somewhere to go before class.”

“You mean you haven’t eaten yet?”

Ah.

Livia couldn’t hide the disappointment in her voice at those words.

“Yes, unfortunately…”

The meals at the Dukedom of Mercedes were perfect. To miss even one of them would be a great loss.

This was the second meal since yesterday evening …..

Livia didn’t know if it was just her mood, but her stomach was beginning to growl.

She just wanted to eat something simple, but… 

She couldn’t help it; time was running out. She had to get back before Vincent’s class, so she had to move as quickly as possible.

Shaking her head regretfully and trying to get rid of her sad expression, Livia thought of something and exclaimed, “Ah!”

She hurried into the bathroom and came out with the blouse she had soaked in water overnight.

“Hey, do you think you could wash this one? I treasure it but it’s stained.”

“Yes, of course.”

“Thank you.”

“…Would you like me to call you a carriage?”

Livia’s eyes narrowed at her words.

Even if Chelsea was her assigned maid, her duties were minimal.

She shouldn’t have to call for a carriage or anything like that.

‘Good intentions.’

Livia smiled, grateful for the gesture.

But…..

“I appreciate the gesture, but the road is narrow, and the carriage will have a hard time getting in.”

“Okay, I understand,” Chelsea nodded.

‘I’m sorry, Chelsea,’ Livia thought mournfully.

But she couldn’t help it.

The fact that she went there shouldn’t be known to anyone.