Translator and Editor: Lea and Aki

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Chapter 12

“There is a separate library in the annex that stores rare books. It was a hobby of my mother to collect rare and ancient books….”“The Marchioness…..”

It was the first time Ian had mentioned something about his family. He slowed down his pace to match his steps with April.

The two headed for the top floor of the detached house across the occasional patronage of the birds in the evening.

“Ah, here we are.”

Unlike the other floors, the top floor only had one room. It was long and had three doors. Ian opened the door close to him, guiding April to the room.

As soon as she entered, she saw a cramped bookcase and a long window. The light of the evening sky came in through the high window, creating a silhouette.

“There are a lot of books about the Langs that you’ve been curious about.”“Yes, I heard from Klaus.”“My signature is required to spend the budget.”“As a matter of fact…..”“I hope it helps you with your research. Feel free to ask me if this isn’t enough.”“Thank you, Marquis.”

April slowly walked around the library, savoring the scent of paper from the books to the fullest. Ian was leaning against the window frame, chasing April’s figure with his eyes.

‘It’s been a long time since I’ve seen anyone here.’

The sound of a woman’s heel clacking on the floor was unusual. The sound, which was lost for some time in this mansion, lingered as an afterimage whenever April stepped on the floor. It was quite a pleasant ringing sound.

‘April Quen, hmm, I doubt that it’s your real name.’

While spending time together, it was Ian who thought a lot about her. He always noticed her short but thick lips whenever she responded to him. He had never felt this way before.

“There is a separate section of books about the Langs.”

Ian, who had lowered his gaze and was lost in thought, suddenly came to his senses by her voice. She stood before him with three books about different races in her arms.

“Oh, when did you get here?”

“A little while ago. The Marquis was engraved in deep thoughts, wasn’t he?”

As his eyes met her smiling ones, it was as if time had stopped.

As if he was captured by those moonlight-infused violet eyes. It felt like he was about to lose his mind, and strangely, it seemed like his heart had stopped beating.

“What’s wrong, Marquis?”“N-Nothing.”

He replied, hurriedly turning his head away from her. His right hand went near his left chest and came back down. April stared at him, who was suddenly avoiding her gaze before carefully changing the subject, in wonder.

“I see….there are a lot of books about plants.”“It’s what my mother used to read. She was trying to find some medicinal herbs to help with this disease of mine.”“So, the Marchioness has been working on it for a long time?”“Yes. For her child, who had inherited the blood of the Reykis family.”

She frowned. The fact that he had to hire her was because the predecessor of Marquis Reykis had ended up closing his eyes without finding a cure.

Ian was the first to be affected by the fatal disease in his family, and it seemed to have been very heavy on his shoulders.

“When I first heard about my illness, I wasn’t afraid nor did I feel anything.”“I see.”

April suddenly recalled the time when he had explained his illness with a flushed face.

“Maybe that’s why I wanted to consult you at any cost.”“Even after hearing such obvious things?”

April asked back, but he just smiled faintly. She didn’t know exactly what the smile meant.

A brief silence filled the room. By the time the dark sky cast over the window, Ian looked down at April. Her loose silver hair shone like a galaxy.

“Will you tell me about yourself now?”“What do you want to know, Marquis?”“I heard that you hate being intertwined with nobility.”“Uh…..yes.”“May I know the reason? I need to know if it’s inconvenient for you to stay here.”

As if his heavy voice had cast a cool light along with his question, when she looked up at him, there was not a single wobble in his eyes.

‘What’s wrong with you?’

It was like her heart was tightening, but she didn’t hate it. Somehow, she felt like she could tell him everything. April took a large breath before slowly opening her mouth.

“The aristocracy destroyed my house. The Langs were among them.”“Well, I’m an aristocrat and a Lang as well…..”“Yes, I was scared when I first met you. That’s why I hesitated when you gave me such a nice proposal, but I finally decided to trust you. Is that presumptuous of me?”“No, it’s an honor to have you here.”“The reason is simple. No one treated me like this before. They were busy using my medicines just because they needed them. But now, I feel reassured since I have a contract. It feels like I have a weapon.”

The theory that the safest relationship in the society was a contract-bound relationship was her belief. And he didn’t hate her confidence.

“You’re very calculative.”“Can I not be?”“No, it’s a good thing. Please feel free to ask me anytime.”

His voice became lighter. It finally relieved some of the remaining tension in her mind. He beckoned her towards the entrance. The two walked side by side again and left the annex. The empty annex, which had been submerged in the light of the sunset until the time of entry, was lit up.

“Then take a good rest, Miss Quen.”“Marquis, could you please just call me ‘April’ ?”

He laughed as she hesitated for a moment.

It was because it would be a sign of friendship if they had to take it lightly.

“I don’t want Marquis to call me by my last name. It’s not even mine.”“I was curious about it. You’re hiding a lot of things than I thought.”“It’s safer this way. But I thought it would be better to tell the Marquis.”

Every time he called her “Quen”, it reminded her of Dalia, whom she had left behind. So she didn’t want to hear it anymore.

“Then you would only be hearing ‘April’ from now on.”“…..Would you not ask me anything else? I thought you’d want to know of everything about me.”“I don’t deserve the position to ask you.”

Ian was adamant. Of course, he didn’t expect her to tell him, but she was grateful to him for stepping down on his own.

The line that he had drawn for some sort of vigilance seemed to have eased their relationship.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Marquis.”“Yes. Have a good rest.”

He bowed politely as always and strode away. She gazed at his figure disappearing into the darkness before returning to her lab.

His voice, which called her name quietly, was somehow stuck in her ears.

***

Because of Ian’s drooping throughout the evening, April couldn’t focus on her food.

For some reason, he had taken a break from his early morning training and had stayed in his room, even when they were having tea together. It was like this all day today.

‘These last few days, his temperature has been going up and down frequently. It was bad, especially this morning.’

She wondered if it was the time for his temperature to rise, but the symptoms were too indefinite to be easily determined. And even though April was his doctor, he didn’t show any signs of his physical symptoms. She was confused.

“Marquis.”“Ah, yeah, what is it?”

By the end of the meal, she eventually put down her fork and knife and called him. Ian, who had been absent-minded all the time, raised his head as if he was surprised. His eyes were slightly more red than usual.

“I’ve prepared a temporary fever reducer. It’s similar to the one you had before. Would you like to have it?”“Yeah, let’s do that.”“Yes, then allow me to get it from the lab.”“I’ll accompany you.”

After the meal, Ian dragged his sick body along with April. She said she could get it herself, but he refused saying that he wanted to get some air.

As he walked slowly, his temperature seemed to be transmitted in the night breeze.

“This is my first time in the lab.”

He looked around the lab. She was embarrassed about her messy lab as she didn’t get the time to clean it up. She tried not to show her face as much as possible.

She hurriedly gathered the scattered papers and writing instruments on one side of the desk and pushed a pile of books towards another.

“Do these round things work? They’re like rabbit droppings….”

He asked, looking at the detox beads April had left by the window. They were left there to dry out in the evening. His ridiculous comparison made April burst out into a laugh.

“They’re not rabbit droppings, they’re detox beads. They increase the quality of the ingredients.”“Wow, there is so much for me to know about.”

He studied the samples of her various medicines placed in transparent test tubes, but he couldn’t tell what they were used for.

“Are these different from the ones that are usually sold at drug stores?”“No, but there are two different results for each medicine here. One is to prevent the entry of the microbes and the other is to prevent the infection. It’s been made to make the effects of expensive drugs with cheap materials.”“Is that what personal research is about?”“Is Marquis disappointed? I’m the one who makes those.”

April snapped back. No one would welcome such research.

The people who had been helped by Dalia or April, who have known themselves since their school days, would certainly point out that they had wasted their skills only after money, without even asking the reason.

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