Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Chloe’s voice was just as raspy as a towel that was squeezed dry until the very last drop.

Eric’s eyes quivered.

She looked like she was going to die soon. She’s alright? What? What did she mean she’s alright?

“You look like a foolish woman.”

He sighed as he swept his face with one hand.

He was annoyed.

When he heard that Chloe collapsed, he lost the lead in the conversation with the Second Prince.

He didn’t know why he was so surprised by the news that she was sick, but he got flustered like that, and he eventually failed to close the deal with the prince.

That’s why he was annoyed.

Being in Chloe’s room instead of the lab and pushing all of his work to the side, only to be told that she was fine… Eric gritted his teeth.

No one asked him to take care of Chloe. She didn’t even ask him to come.

It was him who chose to stay here and nurse her back to health.

It’s like this. That’s why he was more—more, even more annoyed like crazy.

Why on earth was he throwing away his work just to see this woman! This foolish girl!

“I’m busy. I don’t have time to worry about your illness, Wife.”

“…I know that you’re busy.”

“Then you should have taken better care of yourself!”

Eric unknowingly raised his voice.

“What do you expect me to do when you come here on your own and groan like a wet mouse like this? We’re in the north. Why did you come all the way here just to get sick?!”

Instead of answering, Chloe just looked at Eric. He’s angry again…

Why?

Because she was sick?

She didn’t want this either. She didn’t want to be sick.

Even as her fever grew even higher, she became more determined to hide her illness even more.

“I really am fine… Please go back. You don’t have to call a doctor.”

No doctor should come. She might get caught with this illness.

But Eric didn’t back down.

“You need to see a doctor.”

“No, I… I have medicine.”

“Medicine?”

Eric’s brows furrowed, but Chloe wasn’t too sure. Her vision was still very blurry.

She barely raised her hand to point to her bag on the chair.

“It’s just something I got from the north. If I drink that medicine… I’ll get better. So please just give that to me.”

She struggled to speak clearly, but Eric didn’t budge at all. He just stared at Chloe while sitting down.

“You.”

Eric enunciated each word clearly.

“Have you been feeling this way for a while?”

Chloe could hear her heart pounding behind her ears.

It was beating so rapidly. Her face became flushed, and the fever rose further.

She turned her head slowly.

As she moved, the wet towel fell off. Nobody picked it up.

“I told you…”

She thought she shouldn’t say this, but as her body got weaker, her mind followed suit. Her lips moved without her consent.

“I told you several times that I’m sick.”

On that cold day when she ran out without even a shawl on her, she clung onto his hand and tried to talk to him.

“I’ve said it so many times…”

He didn’t even remember.

She thought that there was no way that she could fall lower into the abyss, but it felt like gravity was pulling her once more.

What she felt right now was endless misery.

Chloe closed her eyes tightly.

She bit her lips tightly and swallowed the words that she was about to say.

Lashing out in resentment at him would solve nothing.

“Give me the medicine. I can drink that and rest. Please send the doctor back. You should get back, too.”

Even then, Eric kept staring at Chloe, but he soon rose to his feet and let out a breath that he kept in.

The irritation he felt disappeared. In place of the absence of this emotion, unknown things remained. For some reason, one side of his chest was aching.

Eric took out the medicine case out of Chloe’s bag. The heaviness he felt did not abate.

“When did you get this? How? Do you know the name of your illness?”

“…Please hand it to me.”

She didn’t want to answer. Chloe gulped down the medicine that he handed to her without water.

Seeing how naturally she did this, Eric furrowed his brows once more. He felt a strange nervousness as he watched Chloe.

“What is the name of your illness? Tell me. I need to know, so—”

Eric had been speaking urgently, but he suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

If he knew what it was, then what was he going to do about it?

Eric tousled his hair roughly and bit his lower lip.

“Please consult a doctor, Chloe.”

Chloe looked back blankly as she heard him call her name. She didn’t miss this, so she took in a breath for a while. She thought it over and over again, what it is that she would say.

“It’s the first time.”

“What?”

“The first time you called my name.”

Eric clenched his hands into fists.

He tightened his fists so strongly that his fingernails dug into his palms, but he stood still without saying anything.

He stood there and only stared at Chloe.

She was lying sick in bed, yet she maintained her dignity even at this moment. Even as she held herself in this way, it just made her look even more pitiful.

Chloe spoke first.

“But… I hate doctors. So please… Please send him back. I want to rest alone.”

He could see her blue eyes tearing up. Unlike her dry face, her eyes were brimming with unshed tears.

“You’re busy. Please go back.”

Busy.

That’s right. He’s terribly busy.

He was so busy that just being here was an incredible waste of time.

It was a waste.

Eric picked up the forgotten towel and placed it back on her forehead.

That’s all.

There was nothing else he could do.

There’s nothing else that he could say.

“…I’ll be back tomorrow.”

So he left the room like that, trying to force himself forward even as his steps were heavy.

“I don’t know what that person is thinking.”

Eric muttered and set down the screwdriver he had in his hand.

He couldn’t concentrate on work at all today. What could it be, it was even like he didn’t feel motivated enough to focus on his tasks.

Chloe’s face kept surfacing in his mind, her struggling with her fever, her crying. It was on a loop in his head, never going away.

What’s wrong with him?

Eric wrinkled his forehead and pressed two fingers over his eyebrows.

“Pardon? Who? His Highness the Prince?”

Daniel asked him, his head tilted to the side.

Eric hesitated for a moment, but he soon nodded slowly.

“Yes. The prince.”

“What, why would you worry about his thoughts? He’s a simple man who’s confident that His Majesty will give the throne to him if he successfully marries the princess with Your Excellency.”

Daniel spoke without a single ounce of respect for the royal family.

“As if everything could be solved that way. How laughable, right? The royal family can’t be saved at this point anyway.”

Only then did Eric nod, a smirk on his lips. Thinking about the desolate situation of the royal family made his mood better again.

He leaned back with his hands behind his head. He looked up at the ceiling.

The downfall of the royal family.

This has been true for a long time.

The incompetent king, who failed to expand his territory and incurred a huge debt due to the war, lost the people’s trust.

The lower nobility were the first to turn away from the king, and half of the upper nobility criticized the king.

During this situation, the bourgeoisie that rose to nobility were those who brought with them innovation, and they were the ones who laid the groundwork.

The bourgeoisie attracted most of the aristocrats to their side due to their enormous capital and amazing inventions, and thanks to this, they grew in power and overwhelmed the parliament.

Everyone thought that the royal family had no chance of lasting any longer because of this.

But the royal family was still standing.

Ironically, this was due to Eric Aslan, the man at the center of the bourgeoisie.

“If Your Excellency had thrown your weight around in parliament, the King would have raised the white flag by now. Then those princes wouldn’t be able to act so carelessly.”

Daniel continued complaining.

And he was right.

If Eric wholeheartedly joined forces with the parliament, the royal family would truly be just a toothless lion.

But Eric couldn’t do that. He had joined hands with the king. He had saved the king and had given him money.

Was it because he was loyal to the king?

No.

A commoner like him, who lived worse lives than a street dog, had no such notion as loyalty.

All Eric wanted was one thing.

“Maybe so, but if I did that, wouldn’t it be impossible for me to hold the King by his neck just as I do now?”

To reign over those on the throne.

All the money that goes into the king’s pocket was something that Eric decided. And Eric was someone who confirmed all the policies that the king decides on before they’re passed.

He, who once lived in the bottom, was now standing high above the person who supposedly held the highest position in this hierarchy.

What else did he need if not this?

Eric had no intention of double-crossing the king.

‘For now.’

“Indeed. The King is the one who’ll rush in the middle of the night if Your Excellency calls him. He has to live a long and healthy life.”

Tsk. Daniel clicked his tongue.

“But I think he’s going to die soon.”

“I know.”

“Do you have a plan when it happens, sire?”

In the first place, it wasn’t a question that was asked to get Eric’s answer. Daniel immediately asked another question.

“What about marrying the princess? You’ll be able to control the royal family completely like that.”