Isn’t Being A Wicked Woman Much Better? - Chapter 115

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 115
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I had been bedridden for four days since emerging from that strange space, and I had only just awakened. Despite not having accomplished anything particularly remarkable, the servants treated me with even greater care than before.
‘Something extraordinary did happen inside, though.’
Now that I had returned to reality, everything that had transpired in that place felt impossibly distant.
While gazing blankly out the window, Duke Simour came to visit. He must have heard that I had regained consciousness.
“Father.”
Watching him visibly relax the moment he saw me, I scratched my nose awkwardly.
“Don’t get up—rest more, Deborah. I’ve already spoken with the Academy Headmaster, so don’t worry about your grades. Recover at home for a few more days.”
‘…Did he really go to the Headmaster?’
My father spoke with uncharacteristic tenderness, brazenly revealing his abuse of power, and then placed his hand on my forehead with utmost care.
“Good, no fever.”
“I’m a bit fatigued, but there’s nothing particularly painful. Please don’t worry….”
“What? You’re fatigued? Someone bring restorative food at once!”
Watching the Duke suddenly bark orders at the servants to bring nourishing meals, I was taken aback.
“Really, I’m fine.”
“You suffered without mana inside that strange space—you don’t need to be brave for my sake.”
“I’m truly well.”
“Your beautiful face has become half-ruined.”
The Duke stroked my hair with a pitying expression. His eyes, filled with concern and affection, made me feel oddly self-conscious.
“If you need anything, tell me. I’ll bring you whatever you desire.”
“Well…for now, I’d like some tea.”
Perhaps because of the recent ordeal, I felt unusually parched. I rose from bed and shared tea time with my father.
“What became of Philaf?”
“Why would I soil your ears with talk of such a worthless wretch?”
“Well, I am curious.”
How he was managing the aftermath of touching two prestigious houses.
“As it turned out, he was exiled to some nameless Rural Outskirts. If he ever appears before you, we’ve agreed that I’ll take custody of him and… dispose of him. Handle it, rather.”
Exiled? Despite being the sole heir of a founding noble house, he had fallen as far as Deborah in the novel—I was shocked.
“…I see.”
“By the way, what is this tea? The aroma is quite pleasant.”
As a faint smile played across the Duke’s lips, I found myself smiling back unconsciously.
“It’s delicious, isn’t it? It’s a black tea produced only in minute quantities in the Highland, and Knight Isidore gave it to me….”
Suddenly, my father’s eyebrows twitched sharply.
“Deborah.”
He abruptly set down his tea and called me seriously.
“Yes?”
“I know this is merely the simple worry of an old man, since you’re only interested in devoting yourself to your studies…but Knight Isidore doesn’t seem like a particularly helpful person. There’s no reason to be close to him. Ahem! Wouldn’t you agree?”
Why does Father dislike Knight Isidore so much?
“Actually, considering what happened this time and everything else, I’ve received considerable help from Knight Isidore. More than I could have asked for. He’s someone I have more than enough reason to be close to.”
“….”
“I plan to continue living well going forward.”
It was nothing remarkable, yet Duke Simour sat there as though struck by lightning, his thin lips trembling slightly before he forced an artificial smile.
“I’ve said something unnecessary. Rest more. If you need anything, tell me comfortably. Understood?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
He rose slowly from his seat, his mind clearly elsewhere, muttering something ominous under his breath.
“That yellow fox… I should probably deal with him secretly….”
“The door is in the other direction.”
“I know!”
The Duke, having turned the wrong way, quickly pivoted and hurried out with rapid strides.
‘Why is he suddenly acting like that?’
“Sister!”
As I pondered this strange behavior, Enrique came bounding in. It seemed he had been waiting for Father to leave.
“Sister, I was so worried when you didn’t wake up for 71 hours.”
Enrique’s eyes were swollen and red.
“Oh, you were worried? Look at me—I’m completely fine.”
When I stretched out my arms, the boy immediately nestled into my embrace and hugged me tightly. He used to hesitate and waver, but now he seemed more accustomed to expressing his emotions. As I ruffled the hair of Enrique, who clung to me like a baby koala, he suddenly began sobbing uncontrollably against my chest.
“Enrique. Why are you crying and making me sad?”
“I didn’t get to play with you much, didn’t get to talk with you much, didn’t even get to say thank you, and then you suddenly disappeared, so I regret it and it makes me sad….”
“We have more time ahead of us. Right? So stop crying.”
Even as he wept sorrowfully, Enrique nodded vigorously and stayed glued to my side throughout the morning.
“Are you feeling okay, Sister?”
“Yes.”
Enrique reached out his small hand to check my forehead for fever, and even nursed me. With his tiny hands, he clumsily ladled porridge and blew on it to cool it down.
‘Why doesn’t this place have a video recording function? Useless mages, the lot of them.’
Moreover, Enrique remembered how I had given him a strawberry from a cake before and mimicked it exactly.
“Sister, say ‘ah’.”
“Oh, you’re feeding me porridge? What do I do. You’re absolutely adorable.”
I couldn’t resist his cuteness and murmured while pressing my temples.
“What does ‘absolutely adorable’ mean?”
“It means the cutest in the world. But Enrique doesn’t like being called cute. You’ll pout, won’t you?”
Enrique, whose lips were pouting like a chick’s, smacked his lips as he ate the porridge filled with precious ingredients.
“I normally hate it a lot, but since it’s you, I only hate it a little. And I think you’re the most amazing and beautiful person in the world, Sister.”
The boy spoke shyly, his plump white cheeks flushing pink as his small ears turned increasingly red, as though making a grand confession.
“And I’m going to live with Sister Deborah for a very long time. Hehe.”
“…Ugh!”
“What’s wrong?”
My heart ached because of Enrique, and I could barely breathe. I collapsed onto the bed, clutching my chest.
“Sister, rest more.”
Thinking my pitiful state required more rest, Enrique pulled the blanket over me, patted my body with both hands, and left the room.
‘Did they all plan this together?’
I was beginning to feel genuinely flustered. Not long after Enrique left, Beleck Simour appeared at the Reception Room. The men of Simour were notoriously difficult and rarely showed their faces, yet three of them had sought me out in a single day.
Moreover, they came at such brief intervals it felt like a relay race.
“What are you doing here?”
I asked Beleck Simour curtly, and he responded even more gruffly, fidgeting absently with his silver-rimmed glasses.
“Visiting the sick.”
“So suddenly?”
“Found it on the way.”
He suddenly tossed a black box at me as though discarding it. It seemed like a gift, but why give it in such a manner? He was truly an odd one, no matter what he did. I opened the box that lay scattered on the floor with mixed feelings.
I picked up the box and opened it with an ambiguous expression.
“You found such a precious bracelet on the street? Older brother, you certainly are fortunate.”
Inside the box was a bracelet set with a high-grade mana stone presumed to be an artifact.
“My laboratory is overflowing with such things. Do you have a complaint?”
“….”
“I’m dying of work, so why are you getting sick and causing a fuss? How bothersome.”
He soon grumbled and rose from his seat, and I watched his angry retreating figure with narrowed eyes.
‘Why is he like that? Who asked him to come?’
As I swallowed my bewilderment, a piece of paper from inside the box fluttered to the floor. I picked it up with curiosity and felt an odd sensation.
It was an instruction manual for the artifact.
“Beleck Simour wrote this himself.”
I remembered his distinctive handwriting from the slave contract, so I found it unexpected. I fastened the bracelet around my wrist. It responded only to Simour bloodline and contained Magic Missile, making it a useful offensive artifact.
‘I never refuse anything good.’
Satisfied at having obtained something precious, I moved toward my room and pressed my lips together firmly. At first, I had only appreciated the pleasant infrastructure of this place, but somehow Simour was beginning to grow on me in a different way.
* * *
‘What is this mysterious atmosphere?’
Rozard’s expression grew serious upon hearing that Duke Simour, Beleck Simour, and even the youngest had all visited Deborah Simour.
‘Honestly, I still haven’t adjusted well.’
What on earth had happened while he was away in the Eastern Region? Family affection that never existed before had emerged, his reckless younger sister had suddenly become a genius, and even Beleck Simour, who had been rigid as a wall, had developed flexibility.
‘That Beleck Simour would hand over an artifact containing guided missiles to Deborah Simour.’
This matter was difficult to interpret at face value. He knew that bracelet was an artifact crafted with considerable effort by the most famous artisan in the Capital.
‘Indeed, Beleck Simour must be after the patent rights that Deborah Simour possesses.’
If he could win Deborah Simour’s favor and obtain the patent rights, he could effectively counter himself as a combat mage. Thinking it was a rather decent move, Rozard went to a jewelry shop.
His worldly wisdom surpassed Beleck Simour’s. Deborah Simour would surely prefer flashy jewels to an artifact with a plain design.
That night.
Deborah Simour received from Rozard the most fashionable ruby brooch in the Capital recently, adorned with rose decorations, and was utterly bewildered.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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