Translator and Editor: Lea and Aki

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Chapter 11

“You can relax, Marquis.”“Is there a problem?”“I remember what happened at the banquet. Your temperature was as high as a fireball back then, but usually, you’re perfectly normal.”“Come to think of it…..I thought your hands were cold that night too, but now they aren’t.”“That was the effect of a spell. It helped in spreading the medicine quickly.”

April recalled his hand, which had touched her hand, was burning hot. His voice, which was sore and his eyelids, which were heavy, vividly revived before her eyes.

“The symptoms are similar to what they were then, right? The same as when you took the potion…..?”“Yeah, it’s like a rut.”

April closed her eyes for a moment, trying to understand what he meant. Then, she remembered the first time she had a conversation with him by the lake, when he had blushed saying, “It’s like a rut”. It came to her mind clearly.

“You knew how painful it would be because you made the potion.”

And yes, she did understand it clearly by looking at him that day. One of the aristocrats had put him in a quandary position because he was not interested in women.

“So, why did you come running to me without any hesitation? You knew that something might go wrong.”“You were suffering because of my potion, Marquis, and I believed I could cure it. Did I do something wrong?”“You managed to jump in to help a man who couldn’t even control his actions.”“Well, the Marquis is rumored to be ascetic.”“That’s when I’m in my right mind. Don’t you already know it?.”

With Ian’s scathing counterargument, April couldn’t find an answer and dropped her gaze.

At that time, she was obsessed with the idea of curing him somehow, but now that she thought about it, it was reckless.

“Why would you want to bring about it here….”

She swallowed the question as she couldn’t throw it directly at him. It bothered her that this was Ian’s bedroom, and the place where she sat was his bed.

“Forgive me. I didn’t mean to blame you. It’s my fault that I couldn’t control it. I just don’t want you to believe such rumors again.”“You’re a strange person, Marquis. Do you not think that those things should be kept secret?”“I just decided it was better for you to know. After all, you are my doctor.”

“Then, can I use my title well?”“As you wish.”

At April’s question, in which she felt like was wielding a club, ready to hit, Ian smiled before he got up and put on his jacket. This was because Klaus told him that his breakfast was ready.

“Let’s go.”

April got up interlocking her hands together and walked half a step behind him, trying to shake off the tension.

‘I really need an office.’

It would be fine if it wasn’t in a separate house. She wanted it to be arranged quickly so that she wouldn’t have to meet him in his room again.

“Please sit this way, Lady April.”

As she entered the dining hall, Klaus guided her. April sat in her seat facing Ian and put a napkin on her lap.

There were many kinds of dishes present on the table, but all of them were light.

‘Does he usually eat cold appetizers? It’s nothing unusual……but he takes good care of his health.’

She carefully checked the type and ingredients of the food and ate a little bit of hot bread. The rye bread was a bit rough, but the more she chewed it, the more savory the taste became.

“Miss Quen, is the food agreeable to your taste?”“Yes, the amount is reasonable and the seasoning isn’t so strong.”“Did you check all of them?”“Eating habits are important as well. I was wondering if there was any food that increased your temperature……”“That’s a relief, then. I was worried that it might not suit your taste because I saw you staring at the dishes.”“No! They are delicious.”

She jumped, answering him, and focused on her eating. He gazed at her with a questioning look. Seeing her the last time when they had a cup of tea and today, he wondered how she was so familiar with aristocratic meals.

‘I have no idea.’

April would not have learned table manners, but she did nothing against it and knew exactly how to eat. It wasn’t like she gained such knowledge from her studies.

‘Seems like she learned it when she was a child.’

His eyes filled with more curiosity about this mysterious woman. Suddenly, he wanted to know more about her, even though he was just simply curious.

“By the way, the Marquis said he works almost all the time, is there anything else he does?”“Not really. Would you like to join me for a cup of tea for about an hour in the afternoon?”“Even if it’s your personal time?”

Having heard of a completely different condition from the contract, she had no choice but to doubt her ears.

“I don’t have anything to do anyway. I wanted to have a place where we could talk about your research and ask if you needed something. Would you be comfortable?”“Ah, I see.”“There are other reasons as well.”

Ian didn’t even give her a second to reply back. Staring at her in silence, he slightly pushed his upper body forward and met her eyes. She gulped.

“Since we know each other’s secrets, it would be better to strengthen our relationship.”

His low voice was powerful, but not much hostile. With a smile on her face, April stared at him with widely opened eyes.

“If that’s what Marquis means, I’ll be fine too. I’m quite talkative, so don’t worry.”

As she answered back, Ian smiled contentedly and got up from his seat.

The two split into opposite directions. He went to the Oval Office and she returned to her lab.

The lab, which she nicely organized last night, was not as friendly-looking as it was in the pharmacy, but it was quite airy.

“I still have no clue.”

She recalled that his attitude from this morning towards her couldn’t be judged yet. It was like walking a tightrope somewhere between trust and boundaries.

However, it seemed as though he had no intention of opening his heart to her, at least not outside of his business.

“Let’s start with the fever reducer I made the last time….”

She took out a small glass case from the cupboard. It contained a red-colored liquid.

She meticulously poured the materials into it while the murky liquid gradually turned into a blue color. And now, she only needed to ask Klaus to supply it to the Marquis whenever he needed it.

“I need to know more about the disease, but he wouldn’t tell me directly.”

She was lost in thought, staring blankly at the flask blurred by the heat. Soon after, she made up her mind and added one more thing to the list of things she needed to do.

《Collecting Data on the Langs》

***

Perhaps because of their different lives, she could hardly meet Ian except for the short tea time after the meal.

It made her more anxious than comfortable. It was difficult to improve her medicine when she was so far from her client.

“Are you comfortable in your place?”

As the quiet dinner was over, Ian asked.

“Ah, yes, Marquis. But I would like to ask you a favor.”“Sure, what is it?”“Would you please ask the servants if they could follow you a bit less?”

She asked, putting down her knife and fork.

Whenever she tried to ask him something, Leonore and the others always came forward to help her, so she could only get very little time to ask him privately. Furthermore, she didn’t want the others to know who she was.

“I know they’ve been trying to help, but I feel both burdened and sorry.”“Forgive me, I didn’t think about it before.”“I wanted to prepare a very satisfying medicine and…..”

She paused and moistened her throat by drinking water. She needed time to calm down because it was a little hard to bring the next word to Ian.

“The people I need to get close to are not them, but you, Marquis.”

Her words were enough to shake Ian, as a moment of silence followed.

He picked up a glass of water and took a sip to buy time to find some answers. He didn’t want to deny her words or make excuses for it.

“Miss Quen, would you mind having a walk with me for a moment?”“No, I wouldn’t, Marquis.”

To calm the awkwardness, he chose to talk with her.

This was because even though he tried to keep the line, he was moved to a certain extent that he tried to break down the wall he had built for a clear reason.

“I heard you liked books. In that case, let me take you to the library in the detached house.”“Is there a library too?!”“That’s the brightest voice I’ve ever heard.”

Leonore had told her that there was a library in the main building, but it was the first time that she heard the detached building had a library too. Her face brightened up at the unexpected proposal.

As he watched her getting excited, Ian chuckled.

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