The Impact Of The Villainess’ Fake Marriage On The Ending

Chapter 40

“Cough, cough!”
“Shall I bring you some more tea?”
“No, it’s fine. I think I’ll get better if I get some sleep.”

Lying on the bed, Adeline pulled the blanket up to her neck and let out a short sigh.

As soon as Kael’s hand touched her lips and the raging night passed, a terrible cold struck Adeline.
Whether it was because she had spent the whole night soothing her heart, which could hardly regain its usual pace, or whether it was because the heat that rose had turned into a fever, her whole body ached.

“You’re wondering why you suddenly caught a cold, aren’t you?”
“Hm? Ah, yeah. I didn’t feel like I had a cold at all.”
“It’s a necessary hurdle.”
“A necessary hurdle?”

Melissa came closer to Adeline with a light smile.

“It’s something that outsiders experience when they stay in the North. Fighting the sudden cold of the North.”
“Ah…”
“They always get sick like this, and then it passes.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Don’t worry though. Once you go through this, you’ll be able to adapt to the North more quickly. It’s a bit like receiving a medal.”

Adeline laughed a little at the mention of a medal.

“When you get over this, you’ll become a real northerner. You can’t run away now.”

Adeline smiled and nodded.
She felt like her head was bursting due to what happened last night and the cold, but she was able to breathe a little as she exchanged trivial words with Melissa.

“Ah, I was going to tell you right away, His Grace said he went to the western territory because he had something to take care of and still hasn’t returned.”
“He went to the western territory?”
“Yes, Your Grace.”

It was time to take a breather.
The news about Kael she had heard from Melissa filled Adeline’s mind with thoughts about him again.
It wasn’t the first time Kael was patrolling the territory or checking the border, it wasn’t something new at all, but the events from last night kept overlapping with it and adding meaning to it.

‘Perhaps he went out during dawn on purpose because of what happened yesterday.’

Adeline unconsciously brought her fingers to her lips.
Even though the blizzard stopped, and a new day had dawned, Kael’s touch was still vivid.
The gentle heat she felt from his carefully touching fingers once again made Adeline’s face burn up again.

“Your Grace. Do you still have a high fever?”
“Hm? I don’t think so? Why?”
“Your face is very red. I’m worried that you might have a high fever.”
“Aah. No. It’s alright. I took the medicine, so it will come down soon.”

She didn’t have a fever because of the cold. It was a heat that rose from the feeling of him touching her.

Adeline tried to calm her heart and cool down a little.
But it wasn’t easy.

His appearance, approaching her like a possessed man, reaching out and touching her lips, but then being uncharacteristically embarrassed and retreating a little, kept lingering in her mind.
Perhaps because it wasn’t something that was easily seen, but seeing the moment his blue-grey eyes were shaking, the afterimage remained for a long time.
Besides, the atmosphere was different from usual. Although there had been a few tense moments between the two, this was the first time both Kael and Adeline had been visibly shaken.

“Melissa.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“Did you hear from His Grace when he would return?”
“No. I didn’t hear a specific time. But he didn’t go far away, so he will definitely be back today. Should I ask exactly when?”
“No. It’s alright. He will come when he comes. I’m fine now, so you can also go and get some rest. I want to close my eyes for a while.”

After telling her to call her if she needed anything, Melissa left the room.

Left alone in the spacious bedroom, Adeline looked outside to capture the view beyond the large window.
Although her gaze was obviously directed at the garden covered in white snow, what Adeline was seeing was Kael’s face from last night, sitting in front of her.
Whether she opened her eyes, closed her eyes, or looked at the garden or the fireplace, Kael’s image continued to follow Adeline.

“Ah…”

Adeline let out a long sigh and closed her eyes tightly.
In a way, this time was better. She would have to face Kael in person when he returned, and her head was already throbbing from thinking about how to deal with it.

‘Let’s sleep for now. I don’t want to look unsightly from being sick.’

Adeline tried to clear her head as much as she could and tried her best to fall asleep.

***

“I was worried that you might be sick for a few more days because your improvement was slower than I thought, but I’m glad you’re already feeling better, Your Grace.”

After the examination, the doctor smiled broadly in relief.
Adeline also smiled softly and thanked him.

The time she spent rolling her head over how to face him when he returned was for nothing.
Kael did not look for Adeline that day.
She let it go calmly, thinking that the inspection of the territory must have been delayed, and took a breather, feeling rather relieved. But as time went by, she had a lot of thoughts.

It had been four days since Kael had disappeared from Adeline’s sight.
During that time, Adeline shook off her cold, and almost all the snow that had piled up during the fierce blizzard had melted.

“Just in case, please make sure to take your medication until tonight. You can easily get worse because of the cold weather.”
“Alright.”
“You have to do as I say, Your Grace. If you’re still ill when His Grace returns, I will probably lose my neck by his hands.”

The white-haired doctor smiled softly and left the room.
Melissa and Isabel, who were smiling equally playfully, and Adeline, who was the only one with a complicated mind, looked at each other.

“Isabel. When exactly did you say His Grace will return?”
“I heard it will be in three days, Your Grace.”

Adeline, who thought it was weird that Kael wasn’t appearing, finally asked his whereabouts yesterday.
She heard he had taken care of things in the western territory and moved to the northern border, and that it took quite a while to return because he was busy examining the traces of the Corrupted that were there.

‘Exactly one week.’

After calculating the time, Adeline gave a small nod.

“You seem to be missing him a lot, Your Grace.”
“What? N-No. It’s not like that!”

Adeline was unconsciously flustered by Isabel’s mischief and denied it, but Isabel and Melissa were already excited to tease the newlywed bride.

Adeline let out a shallow sigh.
The ticklish feeling of wanting to see each other didn’t exist between the two of them. She was confident that she didn’t feel like that at all.

‘But why am I strangely upset?’

She was a little disappointed.
Kael left the castle before he knew Adeline was sick, and even if he had been informed later, he had to take care of the situation in the territory first, so it was natural to check the traces of the Corrupted.

And on top of that, their relationship wasn’t one that involved those kinds of feelings.
And yet, she was somewhat disappointed.
Even when she urged herself, asking why she was upset, and tried to pull herself together, she kept feeling slightly disappointed.

‘Did my heart become softer because of my weakened condition? I really don’t understand.’

Adeline shook her head in disagreement and got out of bed.

“Your Grace. Are you getting up? It’s still…”
“You heard the doctor say I was all better. I’ve been lying there for days; my body is hurting. I’m going to take a small walk alone.”

She needed to get some fresh air.
Adeline wanted to somehow release this emotion that even she could hardly understand.

“… I should have just agreed when Isabel said she would come with me.”

Whether it was because she was excited to take a walk after a long time or because Kael rarely let Adeline go, when she came to her senses, she found herself standing in a strange space.
The northern castle was too huge, so it was easy to get lost if you took the wrong turn.
Since she had been with Isabel all this time, she didn’t get confused. But today, Adeline was alone.

“I have no idea where I am.”

Looking around, everything looked extremely unfamiliar. It was clear that it was a place she had never been before during her stay in the castle.

With a sigh, Adeline pressed her forehead and looked around to find her way, then quickly walked towards a staircase in front of her.
It seemed better to go down and just get out of the building.

‘Does this place lead outside? It’s very dark.’

As if to make fun of her simple thought of whether it was only going to go down, the atmosphere became dreary with each step she took.
It didn’t feel like she was going outside. She felt like she was going down deep underground.

‘Should I go back up now?’

By the time she thought about turning around, the stairs ended.
Taking out a lamp that was hanging on the wall, Adeline crossed the hallway with a lot of nervousness.

“Huh?”

However, there was a small window on the wall in the middle of the hallway that had no end in sight.
It was so dark inside that she couldn’t see any space beyond the window, but it was definitely a structure that allowed someone to observe a deeper place.

‘What on earth is going on with this castle’s structure for there to be a place like this?’

When she tilted her head, not knowing what it was used for or why there was such a space, something unimaginable happened.

“!!”

Adeline covered her mouth with one hand and held her breath without realizing it.
Suddenly, she saw a pair of red eyes coming from beyond the small window.

There was someone in the pitch darkness.
It was too dark to recognize the figure, but she could clearly see bright red eyes burning sharply.

“Your Grace!”

When Adeline froze in place due to the energy emitted by the red eyes whose identity she did not know, Zion approached her with an appalled face.

“You have to get out of here quickly. Quickly!”

——