Chapter 64

“······Cough.”

I tried my best to hold it in, but the cough managed to force its way out through my tightly sealed lips.

After enduring several bouts of coughing that seemed desperate to escape into the world, I was reminded once again that my physical condition was far from good.

“Could it be that the two of you…? No, never mind. Whatever you did while I was waiting, it must have led to this state.”

“···.”

Despite the Saint’s probing words, which seemed to carry a hint of disappointment, we remained silent.

Rebecca hadn’t yet reached the point where she could openly say, “We were hugging each other,” to others.

And as for me, who would normally have teased my fiancée by telling the truth, I was in no state to gather my thoughts due to the high fever.

“Why have the two of you suddenly gone silent?”

Unfortunately, there was no one to satisfy Estelle’s curiosity.

“······Sigh, Cure.”

After glaring at me and the princess for a while, Estelle finally gave in and used her Sacred Power, as if admitting defeat.

Her reaction was as if she were avoiding something dirty, which made me feel oddly conflicted.

“Thank you……cough.”

In the end, since she had helped me, I expressed my gratitude despite the raging fever.

“If you’re so grateful, don’t bother with thanks and just rest. The faster you recover, the more you’re helping me.”

“···.”

Though the person who received my thanks didn’t seem pleased at all.

Still, the fact that I had conveyed my gratitude was meaningful.

Probably.

“······Is it really that bad?”

As my headache worsened and I closed my eyes for a moment, Rebecca’s voice came from right beside me.

Her reaction was quite different from when she first encountered the Saint upon entering this room.

Although she had listened to the explanation while clinging to me and cleared up the misunderstanding, it was still natural for her to feel uneasy about another woman visiting her fiancé’s home.

Whether it was because she realized Estelle had truly come for treatment or because her concern for me outweighed her jealousy, it was hard to say.

But one thing was clear: Rebecca had softened her previously cold demeanor and was now genuinely worried about me.

“······I’m not sure either.”

Estelle also seemed slightly taken aback, stumbling over her words as if she hadn’t expected Lady Valencia, who had openly expressed hostility toward her, to ask such a question so humbly.

“For a normal person, receiving this much Sacred Power treatment should be enough to drive away even a severe cold…”

“······But.”

“Yes. The prince’s body is still unable to fight off the cold.”

“···.”

“······I asked earlier, but I’ll ask again. Are you sure there’s no pre-existing illness or condition you’ve been suffering from?”

Estelle’s question came as if there were no other possible explanation.

“Cough, I don’t know of anything.”

But even after hearing Estelle’s question, nothing came to mind.

I couldn’t exactly say, “I think I’m from another world,” to her face.

In the three years I’ve lived in this body, I’ve never felt like it was particularly frail.

Even if she emphasized the question, there was no way I could recall memories I hadn’t experienced.

“In that case…the only remaining possibility is that the prince’s body is naturally weak…”

“···.”

“Are you going to say you don’t know the answer to this too?”

“······Cough.”

“···.”

“Sigh…”

Estelle, seemingly frustrated with the situation, pressed her hand to her head.

Honestly, it wasn’t hard to understand Estelle’s position.

If we assumed Estelle was the doctor and I was the patient in this situation.

When the doctor asks the patient, “How is your usual health condition?” and the patient replies, “I don’t know. I’m not sure about my own health,” it’s no different from this.

In fact, anyone who didn’t feel frustrated in this situation would be abnormal.

I even started to feel like I should fabricate a memory to answer her.

But what could I do?

The memories of this body before I possessed it simply didn’t exist.

It would have been nice if there were even a faint memory of the original work with a character named “Albert Zernias.”

But not only were there no such memories, I hadn’t even seen such a character.

It was truly a frustrating and suffocating situation.

“······Ugh.”

Perhaps it was because I had forced myself to recall the original work’s memories.

My already burning forehead felt even hotter.

“Cure.”

Estelle once again directed her Sacred Power toward me.

“I’ve done all the treatment I can.”

“Thank you……”

As Estelle’s Sacred Power flowed into me, I felt the searing heat in my forehead subside.

Of course, it could have been a psychological effect from receiving the Sacred Power treatment.

But judging by the slight relief visible on Rebecca’s face as she looked at me, it definitely wasn’t an illusion.

If my condition hadn’t improved, there’s no way Rebecca, who was filled with concern for me, would have shown such relief.

“Now we’ll need some time to observe the progress… I’ll be waiting in the reception room, so call me if anything happens.”

Estelle, who seemed to have used a considerable amount of Sacred Power, wiped the sweat from her forehead with her handkerchief as she spoke.

“Understood……cough!”

“Don’t lose your voice from coughing while trying to talk. Lady, please take care of the patient.”

“······Understood.”

With those final words, Estelle entrusted me to Rebecca and left the room without a trace of hesitation.

***

After the Saint left, only the two of us remained in my room once again.

“······Are you okay?”

“I’m……fine.”

“You don’t look fine at all, so just stay quiet.”

“···.”

Even though she was the one who asked if I was okay.

As soon as she heard my answer, she immediately switched her tone, which made me feel a bit hurt.

“······Get well soon.”

“Understood……”

“I told you not to talk.”

At least the concern in Rebecca’s voice was undeniably genuine.

So, for the first time in a while, I obediently followed my fiancée’s orders without any resistance.

“···.”

“···.”

Though we were together in the same room, no communication passed between us.

Only silence flowed between me and Rebecca.

In my case, the constant headache and fever made it difficult to speak.

In Rebecca’s case, she was afraid that if she made me talk, my condition might worsen.

Each of us had our own reasons for not easily breaking the silence, and we were both trying to gauge the other’s state.

“······So, why did you suddenly decide to train?”

And then, Rebecca was the one who broke the silence that I thought would be hard to break.

“Training……you mean……the reason I caught a cold……?”

“······If it’s hard to answer, don’t.”

“I can manage……this much.”

“···.”

Her expression was one of disbelief.

It was one of the expressions I had seen most often on Rebecca’s face.

But the difference this time was that this expression was born purely out of concern for me.

Though I didn’t show it, I was secretly pleased.

“It’s a bit embarrassing to tell others, especially the princess……but I’ll tell you.”

I began to explain why I had decided to train all night.

“It’s just……simple inferiority.”

“······Inferiority…?”

“Yes, after experiencing the last Hunting Competition and witnessing the skills of both the princess and His Highness the Crown Prince, I couldn’t help but feel inferior about my own abilities.”

“···.”

“I wanted to become a fiancé more worthy of the princess. So I decided to put in the effort of training all night.”

The result……well, I can’t even say it was good in jest.

I ended the sentence with a laugh, as if to lighten the mood.

Though it was true that I had felt this way when I decided to train all night, there was a chance it could be interpreted differently by Rebecca or the Crown Prince.

No matter how innocently intended, words can be taken differently depending on the listener.

“······It was a joke. What reason would I have to feel inferior to the princess? You always lose to me in our matches.”

So I added a lighthearted comment about our match results, as if it were all a joke.

For the sake of my fiancée’s feelings, in case she felt uncomfortable. I thought it was enough for me alone to harbor these ugly, uncomfortable emotions.

I didn’t want to share these dark feelings with Rebecca.

However.

“······Are you really an idiot?”

“···.”

“What do you mean by a ‘worthy fiancé’?”

It seemed my fiancée didn’t take it as a joke at all.

Judging by the tears welling up in her eyes—tears I had sworn I never wanted to see again.