Chap 12

Adelin, who had been wearied from nursing the sick until yesterday, welcomed a pleasantly good morning for the first time in a while. It was like indulging in the luxury of wrapping oneself in a warm blanket with the air conditioning on.

'So cozy.'

As she instinctively sought the warm comfort, she burrowed deeper.

'But why is this pillow so hard…?'

She expected the pillow she buried her face in to be soft and enveloping, but it felt unexpectedly different.

Puzzled, Adelin fumbled with her hands, trying to figure out what it was.

Her contemplation was brief. Just as she was about to surrender herself to comfort, a low voice interrupted.

"Stop…"

But to Adelin, the man's murmuring voice was nothing more than a lullaby, lulling her deeper into sleep.

"Umm…"

"Stop, wake up."

A man's voice? That couldn't be right.

Dismissing the thought and about to fall back asleep, she was startled awake.

"Uh?"

Realization dawned, bringing with it confusion.

Adelin had ended up at the edge of the bed, unable to withstand the Duke's grip during his nightmare last night.

But now, she found herself embracing something large.

Sunlight filtering through the bedroom window began to fill the bed.

Blinking in the light, Adelin quickly bowed her head as her red eyes sparkled in the sun.

Wait, what's this situation?

There was no explaining how they ended up embracing each other.

Frozen in confusion, Adelin was unable to move.

However, her behavior led to a misunderstanding for him. It appeared as if she naturally and rightfully belonged in the Duke's embrace.

"Do we need words? You and I are inseparable."

The Duke gazed at Adelin intently.

Having no recollection of the previous night's nightmare, the situation seemed ripe for misunderstanding.

Sharing a bed could only mean one thing: 'lovers.'

The woman who had always been by his side, caring for him even when he couldn't remember himself.

The Duke felt a sense of guilt and began to regard Adelin as someone special.

"I'm sorry, Del. And thank you."

The Duke's words of thanks and apology were sincere.

But Adelin, clueless about the reason, just stared at him.

That sorry look.

'Why sorry? Could it be because of that?'

Adelin thought he was expressing remorse and gratitude for her having to relinquish the bed.

"It's okay. You're sick."

'He does have a conscience. And now, I wish he'd sleep on the sofa.'

But the Duke, unaware of Adelin's thoughts, interpreted the situation in his own way.

'Have I been monopolizing the bed out of consideration for my injury?'

He resolved to treat Adelin better.

"I'll do better."

It was a perfect case of beautiful misunderstanding.

"Doesn't this outfit seem a bit short?"

There were no clothes in the manor suitable for Mel to wear.

And going around shirtless wasn't an option. Adelin had taken him to the city to buy clothes and check his condition.

Finding ready-made clothes that fit the Duke's larger-than-average build was challenging.

Even the largest clothes were slightly short, but they seemed to suit his physique quite well.

The Duke, conscious of the small size, fiddled with his shirt collar.

'Naturally. A person accustomed to tailored clothes would find even slightly ill-fitting garments uncomfortable.'

His hand, which had been adjusting the shirt, reached for his glasses. Seemingly annoyed by them as well, he asked.

"Do I really need to wear these glasses?"

Adelin quickly grabbed his hand as he attempted to remove them.

"Just keep them on."

Having been negligent due to the small size of the village, Adelin recalled the people in the dress shop who had noticed the Duke's appearance. The Duke's red eyes were too conspicuous to be good.

"Ah! Let's stop by the doctor's office on the way."

Adelin, attempting to change the subject, hurriedly pulled the Duke along.

It was the hospital of the doctor who had been called when the Duke had collapsed, bleeding.

Adelin, seemingly anxious, asked the doctor, "How is it? Why can't he remember?"

"Hmm. It's a post-accident symptom, so it's uncertain when his memory will return."

"Is there a chance it might never come back?"

"Currently, it's impossible to say."

Adelin had hoped showing the Duke to the doctor who treated him when he was injured would reveal something. But gaining nothing, she sank into deep thought.

If his memory returned immediately, he might confront her about her presence in his house and even threaten her with a knife.

And if his memory never returned, that was a problem too. The Duke needed his memory to know who had nearly killed him and to avoid that person. If the Duke died, she couldn't ask him to save her.

Whether his memory returned immediately or not, it was a problem.

What should I do?

Confused by the lack of a clear answer, Adelin was troubled.

However, the Duke, unaware of her complex thoughts, looked at her with concern. It seemed he was deeply troubled about visiting the doctor.

Adelin appeared deep in thought, causing the Duke to worry more, thinking she was disheartened because of his memory loss.