Chapter 28

By the time Iberin came around again, night had settled in.

A raw, scraped feeling at the back of her throat and a fierce thirst pushed her to sit up, but her body wouldn't cooperate. She looked to the side and found Ether dangling off her, clinging tight.

The skin around his eyes was flushed red, as if he'd cried himself to sleep.

He hadn't been able to eat properly the whole time I was out. And after that whole disaster earlier, did he even manage a proper meal?

She stroked his cheek and let out a small worried sigh.

Then she looked the other way and found Lyssel hunched up in a cramped, uncomfortable position beside the bed.

"Huh…"

Has this man genuinely lost his mind?

The instant the thought hit her, Lyssel's eyes snapped open.

He looked startled to find Iberin's eyes already open, and then the first thing out of his mouth was worry.

"Wh-where are you hurting?"

"Your Highness."

"Yes? Are you in pain? The physician—"

There was a clatter from somewhere behind her. She turned and found that the physician had somehow already made it over, blinking at her with a dazed expression.

"Oh—my lady, my lady! You're awake!"

The physician seemed to snap back to himself, his eyes finding her, and cried out in relief.

Did the physician sleep in here too?

From the state of him, he must've been run absolutely ragged the whole time she was out.

"How does your body feel? Anywhere uncomfortable?"

"Mm, my throat hurts a bit, and I'm pretty weak…"

The physician took her pulse and said she had a slight fever, but nothing else seemed off.

"Y-you should have some soup first and then take your medicine, but… I'm not sure if you'll manage…"

The physician trailed off.

He must've been remembering the earlier disaster, the moment she'd swallowed soup and everything had gone to hell.

Iberin hesitated for a beat, but eating was non-negotiable if she wanted to get well faster.

"I have to."

"Th-then I'll go prepare it."

"Wait. Earlier—did Ether and His Highness… eat?"

"Ah, no."

"Bring food for them too."

"Understood."

The physician stepped out, and a silence settled between them.

Iberin kept sneaking glances at Lyssel.

"Your Highness."

"Yes."

"I know this might be out of line, but—what's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

The man had changed, seriously changed.

Iberin couldn't get used to it no matter how hard she tried.

She'd wanted to ask earlier, but everything had been too chaotic.

"……."

Lyssel was silent.

If he'd had ears like a dog's, they'd have flopped flat.

So Iberin tacked on, almost defensively,

"N-no, I'm not saying it's a bad thing. It's just—you nursed me all night, and I was so surprised…"

"Was it too much?"

"What? No, that's not what I—"

She was waving her hands in front of her, and then she suddenly thought, why am I the one panicking?

The man had gone from extra-spicy—well, not extra-spicy, but definitely not mild—to bland as plain water overnight. Of course she was surprised.

He'd softened up, so she'd been hoping he'd get along with Ether—but the two of them still seemed to be stiff strangers with each other.

She'd really wanted them to get close!

"Anyway, what brought on this change of heart?"

"…Yes. A change came over me."

"How?"

Lyssel looked at her and blinked.

Iberin held his gaze and blinked right back.

And silence settled in.

Iberin was the first to break it.

"That's it?"

"What?"

"So how, and why—you're not going to explain?"

"Ah. How… I'm not sure. The way you'd changed felt strange to me, and I kept noticing it."

Lyssel pressed his lips together as if thinking it over, then added,

"Why… I want you not to be sick. You said you wished for Lecashe's happiness, didn't you?"

"What does that have to do with me being sick?"

"I don't think I'd be happy without you."

Iberin's mouth dropped open at the answer she hadn't seen coming.

The fastball from the famously gruff Lyssel had her pretty floored, but apparently he had no awareness whatsoever of his own change.

"Why do you think that?"

In response to that question, he tilted his head.

"That… I don't know."

When she'd first heard that answer it had felt absurd and what is this even, but Lyssel had been brainwashed and hypnotized from childhood, raised to suppress emotion—this was probably the most articulate description of his feelings he was capable of giving.

In other words, what he felt for Iberin wasn't romantic attraction—she was just the first existence he'd ever let in his entire life.

The person who was supposed to provide the answer was clearly in no shape to, so Iberin decided to take it positively.

At any rate, Lyssel was at least feeling something.

{Which meant—he might be capable of feeling something fatherly for Ether too!}(#r2ojkqrgzhx8)

Right on cue, the Ether tucked against her stirred and opened his eyes.

"Mhh. Oh, Mommy! Are you okay?! Phys—physician, where did the doctor go?!"

The moment he opened his eyes, he rubbed at them with a tiny fist and asked after the physician—Iberin let out a laugh.

"Goodness—you say the exact same thing as your father."

"Father…?"

"Yeah. The Grand Duke was looking for the physician the second he saw Mommy awake too. He just stepped out to fetch the medicine. He'll be back."

"…Oh."

Ether snuck a glance up at Lyssel and immediately buried his face back against her chest.

It made sense that Lyssel was still hard for him to approach.

The man was always stone-faced and never let anyone close.

She'd thought, since Lyssel had opened his heart to her, that warming up to Ether would happen in no time.

The first crack was always the hardest, after all.

But watching them now, looking like awkward strangers, she wasn't sure it would be as easy as she'd hoped.

"Lyssel, while I was sick, did you look after Ether?"

He was just a child, and his son—surely he wouldn't have left him entirely on his own, was the small hope behind her look.

But Lyssel, who had been staring blankly at her, slid his eyes away.

"You didn't? Come on—you didn't, did you."

"……."

The boy had been crying nonstop and refusing meals out of worry for his mother.

A dangerous pressure was rolling off Iberin without her noticing.

"You really didn't even pay attention to him?"

"…Mommy, why are you angry all of a sudden? Is it 'cause of Ether?"

Lyssel sensed instinctively that answering wrong here would be a disaster.

"No, it's not because of Ether. Ether, while Mommy was sick, did the Grand Duke take good care of you?"

"The Grand Duke…?"

Ether's eyes rolled around for a moment before he nodded.

It was obviously a lie.

Iberin was clearly upset, and the boy was reading the room, worried the heat would land on him too.

Just then, the door opened and the physician came back, the butler in tow.

A bowl of plain soup, predictably.

The butler had come in carrying a mix of worry and joy at the news that Iberin had woken up again, and he flinched at the strange atmosphere.

"Oh—what's going on in here?"

"…My lady, are you hurting somewhere again?"

"No. Not that."

If she'd been hurting, there's no way Ether and Lyssel would be sitting this still.

Looking more carefully, Iberin clearly seemed angry, and Lyssel and Ether were both reading the room.

"Did the Grand Duke not even pay any attention to Ether while I was sick?"

"…Ah."

So that's it.

The butler felt it instinctively.

He knew how Iberin doted on Ether, how she cherished him. He'd anticipated something would blow up when she woke.

He'd reported on Ether's condition to Lyssel several times, but Lyssel had been sharp-edged with worry about Iberin not waking and hadn't paid the boy any mind.

"Your Highness."

"Yes…"

"You know how much I love Ether. How could you do that. And Ether is our son."

"Ours?"

"Did I bring home some random child from outside?!"

"N-no, that's not what I meant!"

"Forget it!"

Iberin pulled Ether tight to her chest and yanked the blanket up over her head.

A clear I don't even want to look at you gesture.

It was a small thing, but it seemed to land hard—Lyssel froze on the spot, visibly shaken.

---

A little later,

She had to eat regardless, so Iberin let the butler and the physician help her sit up.

That brief flare of anger had spiked her fever again, and her head felt foggy.

Half-lidded, she breathed in shallow, raspy pulls.

If that little argument was enough to put her body in this state, she was clearly weaker than a sheet of paper.

She didn't even have the strength to lift her hand, so the butler had to feed her.

"Let me…"

Lyssel offered to take over, only to get cut off cleanly.

"No."

"…Then Mommy, I'll do it."

"Ether. You have to eat your own food."

"Can't I do it after I finish mine?"

"Mommy's going to eat slowly, so eat yours slowly too, then you can help."

"Hehe, yes!"

The warmth she showed Ether was a sharp contrast to the chill she was directing at Lyssel.

Lyssel stood there like a stone statue, watching the cozy mother and son with the face of a man whose country had just been conquered.

Iberin paid him no mind and ate her soup.

She was careful, in case the coughing started up again.

Mercifully, no cough came, even by the time Ether finished his own bowl and started helping with hers.

Once she'd put down a full bowl of warm soup and taken her medicine, her body started loosening up and drowsiness rolled in.

She'd supposedly been unconscious for days, and the fact that she could sleep that long and still be drowsy meant her body was in rough shape.

"Sleepy."

"The medicine's a bit strong. I added more because of your fever. Lie down—when you've had a good sleep and woken up, I'll see how you're doing and prescribe again."

"…What about Ether?"

"Can I stay next to Mommy?"

"Are you sleepy?"

"Mhm. Sleepy."

He'd been crying nonstop and barely sleeping for days—of course he was tired.

He'd had a fever and taken something for it too, so it made sense.

"Lie down next to Mommy, then."

Ether broke into a wide grin and promptly claimed the spot beside her.

Iberin gave his cheek a quick kiss, and as if every last bit of energy had drained out of her, her eyes slid shut.