Rensley slowly rose from the bed. As he leaned against the pillow, the worried face of Lady Samlet immediately came into view.
“Are you okay, Rensley?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
He had fought valiantly. Although he hadn’t wielded the sword and shield properly, a warrior is a warrior. Rensley swallowed his sorrow as Lady Samlet offered him a cup of medicinal tea.
His proposal to try again tomorrow naturally fell through. Perhaps the events of last night took a greater toll on his body than he anticipated. When Rensley woke up in the morning, his lower back was heavy, and his entire body ached.
Although not the most painful, the area just behind where he had forcefully inserted something oversized yesterday was especially uncomfortable. While it seemed fine immediately after, the throbbing pain tormented him upon waking. Unusually warm, his body lacked any strength.
Lady Samlet, unaware of the situation, asked an irrelevant question.
“I wonder how vigorously you enjoyed the banquet to end up with such body aches, Rensley. I thought you were a robust person.”
“I am robust… But, you know, anything for the first time can be challenging…”
“It’s not your first banquet, though.”
Not understanding the circumstances, Lady Samlet asked an unrelated question. In the morning, Rensley, as soon as he opened his eyes, discreetly slipped away from the Duke’s side and got dressed. When he noticed Rensley moving, the Duke asked where he was going. In response, Rensley stated that he should return to his room soon so that people wouldn’t become suspicious and quickly boarded the teleportation device before he could be detained.
With his already unwell condition, riding the transportation device felt almost nauseating. Rensley, now feeble, sprawled on the Duchess’s bed like melted butter. After enduring for a while, feeling that lying down might be better than attempting to stand, he tugged on the cord by the bedside. This led to Lady Samlet bringing up a concoction.
“Don’t mention it to the Duke. He might worry.”
“The Duke should know, even if the fake Duchess is unwell.”
“He’s busy. It’s not that serious anyway.”
“The Duke is currently in a meeting. He might visit you when it’s over.”
“Please say I’m sleeping. He won’t come then.”
It’s embarrassing enough to have made the first move, but to be discovered with a sore body is even more shameful.
“You’ve eaten, and taken the medicine, so have a good nap. The medicine is effective; your fever should subside soon.”
“Don’t worry. Aches like this will be gone after a good sleep and rest.”
Seeing Rensley’s resilience, Lady Samlet remarked, “You seem quite brave, so the pain might not be too severe. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call for help.” With that, she left the room. Rensley pulled the blanket over himself, adjusting the pillow.
Alone again, memories of last night flooded back. A failure in bed was sometimes a topic for banter, but last night’s events were truly beyond the scope of casual conversation. It was too embarrassing to talk about anywhere.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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‘Wasn’t he somewhat proactive for that kind of situation?’
He shook his head, correcting his thoughts. There was no reason for the Duke to act passively. He was a king, burdened with many responsibilities, but in return he wielded the power of the highest authority in the country. Tales of a king not having his way in the bedroom as desired were unheard of. There were even stories of a king bringing a maid to the royal court simply because he liked her appearance. Gezell, too, could actively engage in a night with Rensley based on simple and momentary interest.
‘Well, I’ve just started liking him a bit, right? Anyway, it’s not like I don’t know that it’ll be over when the real Duchess comes.’
Trying to console his wounded pride, Rensley’s eyebrows eventually drooped. Rensley was an ordinary man. The feelings of someone who had never experienced sexual curiosity were hard to understand. Moreover, harboring affection for someone unknown was, frankly, a foolish act.
The sound of crackling flames woke Rensley from his thoughts. The fire in the fireplace seemed to have been replenished, and the flames leaped up. There might be golden particles flying near the fireplace. Rensley, sensing this in his drowsiness, opened his eyes. The room, once bright, was now dark. He had slept longer than expected.
He was awakened again by the sound of footsteps. A wet towel fell onto his forehead as he tried to sit up. “Lady Samlet, it seems the medicine is taking effect. Can you help me change my clothes? I want to change into dry clothes because I’m sweating.”
“Sure.”
Rensley, still groggy, was surprised by the returned voice. A man in a black cloak, who had been standing by the fireplace, approached.
“Your Grace, why are you here?”
“I heard you were sleeping, so I thought I’d come in and wait until you woke up. There are books here, so I can read while waiting.”
He picked up a towel from the water basin on the nightstand and observed Rensley in silence.
“Lady Samlet mentioned that Sir Maelrosen’s health is not good. He seems to have a fever.”
“Oh, yes. I spent too much time in the stables yesterday… I feel like I’ve caught a cold. Didn’t Your Grace express concern about me in the stables yesterday? They say you shouldn’t stay in cold places for too long.”
As Rensley rambled on, trying to justify himself, a cloth soaked in lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, touched his neck. Gezell, without saying a word, wiped Rensley’s body. Ensuring he didn’t catch a chill, Gezell removed Rensley’s clothes, wiped away the sweat on his back and chest, and dressed him in fresh pajamas. Rensley, who had been sitting still like a doll, sighed a moment later.
“Your Grace… you’re quite adept at nursing. There seems to be nothing you can’t do.”
“My father was often unwell. There was a nurse, but sometimes I did it myself.”
Gezell propped up a pillow behind Rensley’s back after changing his clothes and gave him a stern look. Feeling interrogated without any wrongdoing, Rensley bit his lip. Gezell sighed lightly.
“It seems Sir Maelrosen is rather fragile.”
“What?”
Fragile? Really? It was the first time Rensley had heard such a thing. In Cornia, Rensley was known for having a robust body, often being the only one unharmed when others fell ill.
“Didn’t you have a fever last time? Back then, I thought you were just sensitive to medication, but seeing you bedridden like this, it seems your body is naturally weak.”
“No, not at all! Haven’t you seen my valiant performance during the initiation test?”
“Swordsmanship or riding skills and a healthy body are different matters. Even among soldiers and knights, there are those who are prone to illness. It’s better not to attempt something like last night again.”
Rensley cleared his throat a few times, but he couldn’t come up with a satisfactory rebuttal. Eventually, he sighed.
“Understood. I… didn’t want to do it twice anyway, because it hurt too much.”
“I’m relieved to hear that.”
“When you truly meet the real Duchess, you can decide then about such matters.”
His voice unconsciously dropped. Rensley slowly pulled up the blanket that had slipped down to his thighs.
“I apologize, Your Grace. I’m still… too unwell. I need more rest.”
“Just wait a moment.”
Despite the somewhat pointed remark, Gezell didn’t seem bothered at all. He simply touched Rensley’s forehead with his hand and focused on examining his body, running his fingers gently across various areas.
“Your Grace, even though you’re not a physician, do you know how to diagnose by examining the body?”
“I have looked through medical books.”
“The court physician said that it’s probably just a mild cold, so he gave Lady Samlet good medicine.”
“It would be difficult even for Sir Maelrosen to explain yesterday’s events to the court physician.”
Of course. Tell the court physician about what happened yesterday and how he got sick? It’s much better to groan and complain until the fever naturally subsides and the body recovers. After contemplating for a while, Gezell shifted his gaze again.
“May I examine the back of Sir Maelrosen’s body?”
“What? What are you saying now…?”
After saying not to do it twice, what’s this talk about now?
As Rensley stared in confusion at the incomprehensible words of the unknown man, after a while, a rational explanation followed.
“May I check your back? You might have injured it, causing the fever.”
“No! I’m fine. I’m not injured, I checked it myself yesterday. It’s not torn or bruised. It might have been a bit swollen judging by the dull ache, but it will heal on its own over time.”
Similar to not wanting to meet the court physician, Rensley had no desire now to press his buttocks against the dignified face of the grand Duke just because of a pain that time would heal.
“If I rest for a day, it should get better soon. Don’t worry.”
Upon hearing that, Gezell looked directly at Rensley, his expression unchanged. He asked,
“Are you embarrassed?”
“…I only said that there wasn’t a need for treatment.”
Rensley managed to answer calmly. After a short silence, Gezell, who had been sitting beside him, stood up.
“Understood. Rest for now. It seems I’m only making Sir Maelrosen’s mood worse today.”
“That’s not… true.”
He thought he hadn’t been noticed. However, Rensley’s voice quickly lost its strength. It seemed he had gone too far, wanting to grumble a bit. Before Gezell could leave, he quickly added.
“I wasn’t upset. How dare I… If you felt it was impolite, I apologize.”
“Everyone becomes more sensitive when they’re unwell. I know it well. Rest. I need to go to the laboratory for a while, so if you need anything, feel free to call for someone.”
“Yes…”
Now, he could only nod quietly.
However, Gezell didn’t immediately turn away. Even after saying he would leave, he stood there for a moment, then bent down and pulled the blanket up a bit more. The warm blanket covered Rensley’s shoulders thoroughly.
As he straightened up again and walked away, Rensley looked up at the ceiling of the bed, unable to see anything.
Quietly, as he blinked his eyes, the sound of the door closing echoed. Now, with the presence of transportation devices, he could move without using the stairs, but he chose not to use magic openly when visiting the Duchess’ room. Given the circulating rumors of discord between the Duke and Duchess, it was a wise decision, intentional or not.
Rensley closed his eyes and sought sleep. Untroubled by any side effects of the medication, Rensley, who usually fell asleep just by lying down, didn’t have much of a connection with insomnia. Today, with his body tired, he expected to fall asleep more quickly.
“Ah…”
However, today was not such a day. After keeping his eyes closed for a while, Rensley sighed and lifted his eyelids. It would be better to have a physical ailment than to be unable to sleep due to troubling thoughts. Tossing and turning, Rensley eventually sat up.
In retrospect, it was entirely natural for the Duke not to agree to the union with him, and there was nothing to complain or whine about. He had made a wrongful outburst against the lord he had to serve, and to make matters worse, he had received criticism for it. Uncomfortable, he lay down in various positions, feeling as if a thorn had lodged itself in his chest. No matter how he lay, it was uncomfortable. This way, he might not get a wink of sleep all night.
“Let’s apologize properly and put this behind us.”
Rensley got out of bed. Despite claiming to be unwell, it was just a minor cold. The medicine given by Lady Samlet seemed effective; his temperature had gone down considerably compared to the morning, and the pain had eased. There was no significant difficulty in moving.
Standing up, he put on his indoor coat and headed towards the transportation device. He knew where the Duke was going, so there was no need to ask anyone for confirmation.
Poor Rensley….. Hang in there boy !
Few more Attempts and you’ll be successful (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧
Good work team. TYSM for Uploading 😎
ur welcomeee <333
thanks for being supportive as always~ (≧◡≦)
Enjoying the story and your translation. Some of us are lazy bugs, too idle to comment, but rest assured, you give us delight.
yeahhh haha
💛😁😍
hehe~ I understand and am so glad you’re enjoying it😂😍💛
Thank you so much for the update. And Rensley, be patient and keep practicing , because practice makes a man perfect . ; )
ur welcomeee💛💛💛