The World Mistakes Me for Terminally Ill - Chapter 27

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The World Thinks I’m Terminally Ill Episode 027

A month of uncomfortable cohabitation.

Back then, I thought he was a man with nothing to do.

‘That’s right. As you said, I’m living for now.’

Why did you say such things back then?

And why are you sitting next to me now with such a gaunt face?

Suddenly, for the first time, I found myself curious about Shubel’s thoughts.

I stared at him intently and discovered one flaw in what looked like a masterpiece painted by a skilled artisan.

‘A wound?’

I frowned when I saw his lips were split and showing red traces of blood.

‘What was he doing to end up like that?’

For some reason, it bothered me and I couldn’t look away, when Kaiseus spoke to me, having noticed I was awake.

[Human! Are you conscious?]

Fortunately, the wedding ring I had changed into a parasol had obediently returned to the ring finger of my left hand.

I looked away from Shubel and asked while fidgeting with the ring.

‘Yeah. Can you explain the situation? I don’t know what happened after I fainted.’

[The Northern Region almost collapsed.]

No, don’t summarize it that much. I barely managed to save it a little, so what do you mean it almost collapsed?

I pressed Kaiseus and heard that after I collapsed, Shubel lost his reason and went on a rampage.

‘Mana rampage… I heard it’s very dangerous, but to that extent? Shubel is an A-rank mage. Couldn’t Father stop him?’

[…A-rank?]

Kaiseus spoke somewhat reluctantly and then added:

[Well, I suppose so. Anyway, when you golden human collapsed, the black human’s eyes completely flipped. He smashed potions with his hands. He even tried to kidnap a priest!]

The brief doubt I had about his subtle tone when mentioning A-rank completely crumbled at ‘black human’ and ‘golden human.’

I know Kaiseus has childish aspects, but every time this happens, I feel disconnected from the fact that he’s ‘that’ dragon Kaiseus.

I held onto my mind that kept trying to wander and organized his words once more.

‘He broke potions? He must have been trying to treat me.’

I hadn’t noticed earlier due to the confusion, but looking again, Shubel’s left hand was wrapped in white bandages.

My symptoms were side effects of possession, not ailments of this world, so it wouldn’t have been effective.

Still, it seemed like a sign that he was desperate in his own way, which made me feel strange.

‘And he tried to kidnap a priest?’

I looked at Shubel with fresh eyes. There’s no way that innocent-looking face would do such a thing.

‘It must have been a misunderstanding due to his urgency.’

[You’re being deceived!]

Kaiseus shrieked and raged, but the handsome man’s gaunt face seemed more sincere than the pathetic baby dragon.

The fact that Shubel had never acted roughly in front of me also added credibility to my thoughts.

‘Besides, he did it to treat me.’

People are naturally cunning – when told someone did something for their sake, their hearts become more generous.

Thinking this way, Shubel’s split lips, which I had barely managed to ignore, came back into view.

…If this is how it’s going to be, it would be better to just get it out of sight quickly. In the end, I took out ointment from the drawer and squeezed it onto my fingertip.

The moment I leaned toward him to secretly apply it while he was sleeping.

“…”

“…!”

Startled.

The man’s eyes slowly opened right in front of me.

A clear face showing no trace of sleepiness.

His face, not wearing its usual smile, was cold and expressionless like the gray-white ridges of a snowy mountain.

I froze like a statue with my index finger placed on Shubel’s lips.

“No, well, it looked like you were hurt.”

“…”

“…You weren’t sleeping?”

I tried to subtly pull my hand back in embarrassment.

Grip.

My wrist was caught. I was pulled toward him with a whoosh!

‘What, what?’

This was my first time being held by someone while fully conscious, so I was too flustered to immediately push him away.

As I stiffened at the overly intimate distance, a puzzled look appeared for the first time in Shubel’s eyes, which had been dead until then.

He moved his lips slightly.

“This hallucination seems particularly real.”

“…Hallucination?”

“Yes.”

He spoke quietly.

“Since you’re still sleeping, madam. There’s no way you’d look at me this long. There’s no way you’d take care of me so kindly like this either.”

In other words, he had been awake from the beginning but stayed still because it couldn’t be real.

I felt a pang of guilt inside when I saw him glance at the ointment at the mention of ‘kindness.’

‘Was I that cold… to him?’

I think I was somewhat like that with Shubel. I kept feeling strangely drawn in, so I stopped myself.

Still, I don’t think I was mean enough for him to think it was a hallucination just because I tried to apply some ointment.

As I felt wronged inside, Shubel blinked slowly as if savoring this moment and whispered.

“It would be fine to stay like this forever…”

No, even so, how long are you going to treat me like a hallucination?

I was so absurd that I smacked the back of his hand that was holding my wrist.

“Snap out of it. It’s rude to treat a perfectly living person like a hallucination, you know?”

At my words, Shubel’s movement stopped completely.

By movement, I don’t mean simply moving arms and legs, but his slowly blinking eyelids, eyelashes, silent exhales and inhales all came to a complete halt.

A faint ripple appeared in his unfocused eyes.

A small light formed on the membrane over his pupils, and the fragments created by the scattered light passed through doubt and wariness to reach certainty, when his pupils dilated so much that I could see my face reflected beyond them.

Those who haven’t seen it directly would never know.

The miraculous moment when eyes that had been close to an opaque black like thickly smeared oil paint regained their original saturation and brightness.

I briefly admired inwardly as I watched beautiful violets bloom in full in his eyes.

He asked in a trembling voice.

“…Madam?”

“Yes.”

“Are you really my lady?”

“Why? If you still can’t believe it, shall I return to dreamland?”

When I spoke mischievously, wondering if I had been so untrustworthy that he’d treat me like a hallucination, I could see Shubel’s Adam’s apple move slowly.

The man who would normally have playfully responded back now had his shoulders tensed with strength.

‘Was it that shocking?’

Well, if someone vomited blood and collapsed right in front of you, it would be shocking regardless of who they were.

I felt embarrassed by our position and thought it might be better to show him I could move properly, so I pushed him away and got up from my seat.

Shubel, who obediently let himself be pushed back, slowly stood up following me and said.

“No.”

He politely lifted my hand.

“Please don’t abandon me.”

And he carefully wiped away the ointment remaining on my fingertips with his handkerchief.

Why does that feel like greed?

I deliberately looked only at his eyes to avoid giving attention to the traces of ointment now transparently remaining only on his lips, and opened my mouth.

“Abandon you how? You keep saying strange things. Do I look like someone who would carelessly break a contract?”

We have a contract marriage, and until Lunein pays off all its debts – by my standards, until I destroy the original story – I won’t leave even if told to.

Shubel finally smiled like usual.

“The Duchess is a fair person.”

“Hmph. Flattery won’t get you anywhere.”

If I kept looking at him, I felt like I’d remember the soft sensation that had touched my fingertips, so I quickly turned around.

I was planning to walk to the sofa like this. But before I could even take one step, my body suddenly floated in the air.

“Eek! What, what are you doing?!”

“You shouldn’t move yet. If there’s somewhere you want to go, I’ll escort you there. Of course, not outside the room.”

“No need… Put me down!”

He’s lifting me up like I’m some piece of luggage!

Even though I was shocked and kept hitting his shoulders, it was useless.

Shubel really seemed determined not to let my feet touch the ground even by 1cm as he moved around in that state.

In the end, I nagged at him until he took me to the window.

‘Ah, I’m exhausted.’

As I slumped tiredly in the hammock chair after wrestling with him, Shubel’s eyes wavered.

“Your health really is quite poor, isn’t it.”

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