BEW 16

 In the end, everyone in the mansion chose indifference.

No, not indifference. They chose to pretend not to care.

They thought it was right to do so if that was what Serpina wanted.

Isn't it more cruel to forcibly dig up the truth she is trying so hard to hide?

Instead of exposing uncomfortable truths and interrogating Serpina, they resolved to protect her happiness.

---

“Wow. It’s been so long since I’ve had a morning without stomach pain…”

The first thing I did when I woke up in the morning was marvel at it.

Since taking the medicine from Hatterson, my stomach didn’t hurt as if it had never happened.

Every morning I had been busy gagging from the bile rising in my throat, but today, I was able to stretch and get up leisurely.

Wow. Is a healthy life this beautiful?

Indeed, people need to be healthy.

To celebrate a healthy and refreshing morning, I had a hearty breakfast for the first time in a while.

Since overeating is not advisable, I skipped the breakfast dessert and returned to my bedroom to read a book.

It was a plant encyclopedia titled Herbs Are My Friends.

I had gotten tired of the book I was reading before, so I had put it in a corner of the desk and switched to this one.

“There’s nothing about the Hosan fruit here either…”

I skimmed through the book but couldn’t find any information about the Hosan fruit.

At this point, it felt like a legendary fruit.

If it weren’t for the original work, I would never have known what kind of tree it was until the day I left this place.

…Maybe I should think more about the original work?

The only source for information about the Hosan tree is the original work.

Perhaps if I think hard enough, something might come to mind.

I closed the book and shut my eyes.

Then, holding my forehead with one hand, I focused intently.

“…Ugh… Ugh…”

I concentrated so hard that groans escaped from between my teeth.

As I squeezed my head, groaning…

“Madam? Madam!”

Mari, who must have entered at some point, rushed towards me.

Startled by the sudden, scream-like call, I opened my eyes.

“What, what is it, Mari? You startled me.”

“More importantly, what was that just now? Are you in pain somewhere? Your head? Is your head hurting? Is that it?”

Pale-faced, Mari flailed her hands in the air, unable to touch me, and asked.

In the meantime, her gaze was busily scanning my whole body.

I shook my head vigorously.

“No. I was just thinking a bit. I didn’t even notice you came in because I was concentrating.”

“…I see.”

There was no sincerity in the awkward answer.

It was as if everyone believed I was lying.

Yeah. I’m used to this kind of situation now.

They view me as just a walking skeleton anyway. Since I’ve been suffering from something akin to esophagitis this time, their belief has only strengthened, not weakened.

Instead of making excuses, I gave a faint smile and gave a thumbs up.

Throughout the room-cleaning, Mari kept glancing at me from the side.

Though she didn’t say anything, I could feel her concern for me through her whole body.

It’s very touching… Well, it’s touching, but…

It might be better if it were a little less touching.

I even swallowed a cough that was trying to come up, as I was conscious of Mari’s eyes.

“Cough, cough.”

But the cough didn’t go down easily.

Feeling Mari’s gaze growing more intense, I smiled faintly again.

Only after Mari left did I feel free to let out the cough I had swallowed earlier.

“Cough! Cough!”

Ugh, my throat must be quite damaged because of the esophagitis.

Seeing the cough coming out.

After wiping away the runny nose with a handkerchief, I continued the thoughts I had been unable to complete earlier.

Thus, after several days of contemplation, I recalled some information from the original work.

“…That fruit had poison.”

In fact, many herbs contain poison as well.

Depending on how they are used, they can become medicine or poison.

Upon reflection, the Hosan fruit was one of those types.

The good news is that it is not a highly toxic type but rather contains mild poison.

The side effects include stomach pain and poor digestion.

The funny thing is that the poison in the Hosan fruit doesn’t affect the body itself.

What kind of fruit is this?

No wonder it’s treated as a mystical fruit.

Anyway, based on various circumstances, it was clear that the cause of my esophagitis-like symptoms was a side effect of the Hosan fruit.

I had ingested it recklessly and had gotten quite ill.

“Phew, I need to be more careful in the future.”

I should probably put a halt to researching the Hosan fruit for a while.

I’ll have to do something about it after my body recovers a bit.

Fortunately, my condition was improving day by day.

The fact that I had figured out the cause and that the medicine I was consistently taking was effective in alleviating the symptoms was a relief.

I felt like I could start living my life like before, and the sunshine today was perfect.

“Ah. Today.”

After finishing breakfast, I put down my fork and got ready to go outside.

Ah, the mix of earthy and herbal scents in this clear, refreshing air.

As I took deep breaths, Marcombs came running from afar, waving his hand.

“Madam!”

“Oh, Marcombs.”

“Ah, are you feeling better now? Is it okay for you to come out like this?”

“Of course. It’s wonderful.”

“Phew. I’m really glad. Just in case, I only did the minimum necessary maintenance on your garden. I thought you might be disappointed if I made it too neat.”

As Marcombs said, the garden was roughly tidied up, but there were many things to thin out.

Herbs, flower buds, leaves, all growing too close together.

The sight, which looked like it would be fun to work on, made me give a thumbs up.

“Perfect, Marcombs.”

“Hehe. Even though I’m just a mere gardener of the Duke, I’m the only one! The gardener! Haha.”

Laughing, Marcombs seemed to be keeping an eye out for any potential interference from Siena.

He really hasn’t changed.

After giving a light laugh, I squatted down in the vegetable garden.

Marcombs said his goodbyes and returned to his workplace.

Ah, it’s even more fun to do it after such a long time.

While I was engrossed in working in the garden…

“Hmm?”

At some point, a long shadow stretched over my head.

Realizing this only after a while, I looked up and glanced around.

Then, under the sun, my eyes met a dark, shadowed face.

“When did you arrive, Duke?”

“Just now.”

“I see. By the way, it seems like this is almost the first time we’re meeting like this here… isn’t it?”

Many people have come to give me advice while I was working in the garden, but the Duke had never come.

Indeed, since he is so busy, spending most of the day in his office and also practicing swordsmanship in between.

Seeing him unexpectedly in this place made me feel strangely pleased.

“What brings you here? Do you have something to tell me?”

“…No. Just checking on your condition.”

Ah. I see.

I barely managed to suppress a reflexive chuckle.

It wasn’t because I disliked it, but because I had become so accustomed to being excessively protected by those around me that it was a reflexive response.

But it seems Dante was quicker to read my expression.

“Am I interrupting?”

“No. Not at all. You’re just concerned, after all. I’m just worried that I’ve become too much of a concern for everyone.”

“That’s not the case.”

“Then that’s a relief.”

Phew, I managed to cover it up well enough.

However, there was a brief, awkward silence after that.

“Duke?”

“…Please don’t overexert yourself.”

With that, Dante turned and walked away.

…Did he really just come to check on me out of concern?

Indeed. Skin-deep.

I marveled and continued working.

And, his visits continued for several days. Whether he had noticed that I was uncomfortable with him asking about my condition or not, he didn’t speak and only wandered around the area…

That was more concerning.

“Ah. I picked the wrong flower.”

Conscious of Dante nearby, I ended up picking a flower bud I shouldn’t have.

Oh dear. My poor baby.

I carefully put the flower bud back and stood up from my spot.

I couldn’t live like this any longer.

For the sake of our precious flowers!

With a seedling shovel in hand, I approached Dante with big strides.

“Excuse me, Duke.”

Seeing me approach in a straight line, Dante hesitated.

“Madam?”

“Here.”

I seized the moment to hand Dante the seedling shovel.

“Suddenly…”

“I figured you’d like to join in as well. Instead of lingering around here, let’s just do it together. What do you say?”

If I gave him a hint like this, he’d probably refuse, right?

I felt a bit guilty about giving him hints, but I also had the right to enjoy a wonderful hobby.

But the answer I got was unexpected.

He stared blankly at the seedling shovel in his hand and then looked at me and asked.

“What should I do first?”

"...Huh?" Before I knew it, we were squatting side by side in front of the vegetable garden. I glanced over, and Dante, holding a trowel in his hand, had such a determined expression that he almost looked resolute. Pfft. Ahem. I nearly burst out laughing but quickly covered it up with a cough. He didn’t hear that, right? I stole a glance at him, but his gaze, which had been fixed on the garden, was now suddenly on me. Caught off guard by the unexpected eye contact, I blinked, and his lips moved slightly. "A cough..." "Sorry? What did you say? I didn’t catch that." "No, it’s nothing." Weird. I could've sworn he mumbled something.