Chapter 45

“Hngh.”

Talet rushed over and supported her, concern heavy in his voice.

“Master! Did you not take your medication? I’ll fetch it at once.”

“…Yes. Quickly.”

Asla urged him—she didn’t know how long this divine dream would last, and if the pain continued, she wouldn’t be able to uncover anything.  

Talet, well aware of Enoch’s medications, soon returned with a few pills and a glass of water. Asla swallowed them without hesitation.

“What… medicine was that?”

“Master, are you really unwell? You seem off today.”

“I’m in pain.”

Trying her best to mimic Enoch’s usual brusque demeanor, she avoided his loyal aide’s gaze.

“It’s for your stomach. Dr. Gabriel said your ulcer has worsened.”

Asla narrowed her eyes slightly.

She herself had suffered a stomach ulcer in her youth from poor diet and stress, but Enoch’s seemed to be on an entirely different level.  

Severe—without question.  

Though the medicine hadn’t kicked in yet, just having taken it gave her a sense of calm. The pain eased somewhat.  

She quickly made her way toward the drawing room connected to the office.

“Good to see you, Your Grace.”

Margo greeted her with a bright smile as she entered through the door Talet opened.

“…It’s been a while.”

“A while? You make it sound like I wasn’t just here last week. I came all the way to the capital and couldn’t even see you because you were busy. If I hadn’t found out Dr. Gabriel’s appointment schedule, I’d have missed you again.”

Margot, clearly having made several wasted visits, didn’t seem to mind.  

With a sweet, coquettish air, she fluttered over to Asla.  

Suppressing her irritation, Asla sidestepped and took the seat of honor instead.

Margo, a bit flustered, sat down awkwardly.  

Asla turned her gaze toward the middle-aged doctor waiting quietly to the side.  

He bowed deeply in greeting.

“Your Grace, you don’t look well. Are you in much pain?”

“A little.”

Despite the response, her face contorted sharply, prompting a sigh from the doctor.  

He turned to Margo and said: “I was just saying how we needed a guardian present. This is perfect—Lady Ventus, as the eldest of the household, you’re the ideal guardian for His Grace.”

Asla realized then: this must be Dr. Gabriel, the family physician.

Uncomfortable with the way Margo and Enoch’s names were appearing together, she made no effort to hide her displeasure.

“Why would I need a guardian?”

“Your Grace, please stop being stubborn. Your condition is serious. Since you refused divine healing, we must proceed with medical treatment—but we need signed consent from your legal guardian for that.”

Asla understood.

Some individuals, particularly in the Kingdom of Astra, chose to forgo divine healing in favor of medicine.  

In such cases, a legal waiver was required: a document affirming that even if side effects or death occurred, the physician would bear no legal responsibility.

‘So a guardian’s signature is needed too…’

Her eyes shifted toward Margo—smiling sweetly at her.  

The affection in Margo’s eyes as she looked at “Enoch” seemed genuine.

Was it love? Or just deep familial attachment after years of watching over him?  

Asla no longer knew what to make of it.

She didn’t respond, and Dr. Gabriel pressed impatiently.

“Let’s get the guardian’s signature done quickly and proceed with the treatment I mentioned before. I’ve said this repeatedly—your ulcer and insomnia won’t be cured with pills alone. Psychiatric counseling is absolutely necessary.”

“…”

Asla, knowing nothing about Enoch’s illness, was at a loss for how to respond.  

Then Margo’s sorrowful voice floated over to Dr. Gabriel.

“Doctor… Would you say his emotional suffering worsened after the marriage?”

“…Yes. It did.”

“That’s why I advised you beforehand, Your Grace! If you took someone as fragile as Princess Asla Sherita as your wife, I said you’d be too anxious to live peacefully! Why her, of all people…!”

Asla silently watched Margo, who was openly badmouthing her to Enoch.

“I don’t think that’s true,”

Dr. Gabriel said, fiddling with the papers on his knee as he refuted Margo’s claim.

“The Duke’s trauma and fears were bound to explode eventually. Blaming the Duchess entirely is a dangerous conclusion.”

“Mister Gabriel.”

Margo called his name coldly, clearly displeased, but quickly fell silent, glancing nervously between Asla—as Enoch—and the doctor.

Asla simply observed the entire exchange.

Dr. Gabriel continued, addressing the unusually quiet Duke.

“You collapsed during the last business trip, didn’t you? If this continues, not only your work, but daily life itself will become unmanageable. Please, it’s time to admit the truth and begin treatment.”

“…I…”

Enoch—Asla—opened his mouth, as if to say something, but Gabriel pressed on first.

“Your Grace. The Duchess will not suddenly pass away like your parents or brother did. You must acknowledge your emotional wounds and begin healing, or you’ll never be able to fully embrace your new family or lead a normal life.”

“Asla doesn’t help our Duke at all.”

Margo cut in with a derisive laugh.

Asla, who had been focusing on Dr. Gabriel’s words, narrowed her eyes and glared at her.  

Startled, Margo flinched and dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief, her expression pitiful.

“Our poor Duke… He lost both his parents and then my husband. He’s suffered so much… And his wife? She hides away in the mansion, scared of him, living her days in peace. She doesn’t even try to help! A wife who hates her husband—how cruel is that?”

“…Hah.”

Asla let out a sharp, incredulous laugh.

Margo’s manipulations had gone much deeper and much earlier than she had realized.

‘So Enoch still thinks I hate and fear him.’

The seeds planted by Lisette had been watered and nurtured by Margo, slowly growing.  

Seeds of distrust. To Enoch’s already unstable mind, those seeds had grown deep, invasive roots of fear.

Asla began to understand.  

How Enoch, unable to trust her, had tried to protect her—had treated her like a fragile child.

Until now, Asla had never done anything out of character when possessing Enoch’s body, but this time, she couldn’t hold back.

She clenched her teeth and asked sharply, “Sister-in-law. Is Asla doing well?”

“Of course. She has no idea how much our Duke is suffering, just living quietly and happily. Poor, poor Duke…”

Margo, again pretending to tear up and dabbing her eyes with her handkerchief, was infuriating to watch.

‘Happy? Me? Who?’

At this time in the past, Asla had grown so weary that she was starting to lose all trust in people.  

She remembered how Margo had made her eat food she personally prepared—Asla had suffered from severe diarrhea and fatigue for over a week after.  

How Margo told her Enoch disliked her so much and that she should exercise if she wanted to be acknowledged even a little, forcing her to walk in the garden for over half a day.

The memory she’d tried so hard to bury resurfaced.  

Asla flinched at the recollection and irritably ran her fingers through her hair.

“Do you know about our parents’ carriage accident as well, sister-in-law?”

“Your Grace… Why are you bringing up Father and Mother now, of all times?”

Margo paled as Asla stared at her without flinching.  

Dr. Gabriel cautiously interjected.

“Your Grace. That’s not a memory to bring up lightly. Please be more cautious.”

“Cautious?”

“Yes. When we begin the more intensive psychological treatment, we can revisit that topic. For now, please have Lady Ventus read over the documents and provide her signature.”

Margo glanced around cautiously before picking up a pen and signing the document Dr. Gabriel handed her.  

As he gathered the paperwork and stood up, saying he would begin treatment preparations right away, Margo suggested having lunch together—but Asla coldly refused.

At this point, she no longer cared what feelings Margo might have had when approaching Enoch.

In the end, Margo had driven a wedge between Enoch and herself, pushing them to grow painfully distant.  

Even the things she had said during her visit to the Ventus Hotel had been far too exaggerated.  

Asla felt foolish for having once again been swayed by her.

‘Although… I still don’t know the full truth about the carriage accident.’

Once Dr. Gabriel and Margo left the office, Asla was engulfed by a different kind of concern.  

She hadn’t realized that Enoch’s condition had deteriorated to the point that psychological therapy was necessary.

He’d been suffering through nightmares so severe that he woke drenched in sweat—experiencing pain so intense it was as though he wanted to tear out his own internal organs.  

All the sleeping pills, tranquilizers, and digestive medications…

Even while possessing Enoch’s body, she could not truly grasp the pain in his heart. That realization was sorrowful and heartbreaking.  

How deep did the shadows in his soul run?

He was constantly anxious, terrified of losing the woman who had become his family.  

To make matters worse, he believed that his wife hated him.

The absurdity of the situation made Asla laugh.  

‘If he knew the truth—that I didn’t hate him, but instead loved him intensely and one-sidedly—what would he even say?’

‘Why isn’t the dream ending yet?’

Restless and unsure of how to leave the divine dream that still held her in the past, Asla wandered around Enoch’s office aimlessly.  

Normally, the dream would have ended around now.

But the quiet office remained undisturbed. Nothing unusual happened.

She paced around his desk, eventually letting her gaze settle on their marriage oath document.

Asla stared at Enoch’s handwriting, her mind firm with resolve.  

Then, she opened one of his drawers, took out a sheet of paper, and wrote a short letter.

Though she was in Enoch’s body, the handwriting was her own.

After folding the letter in half twice, she walked over to the bookshelf, selected a book, and tucked the letter inside.

For when it might one day be needed.

“I hope it won’t be,” she whispered with a faint smile—and only then did the divine wave sound return.

‘Could it be… the god was waiting for me to leave that trace behind?’

⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆

When Asla awoke and opened her eyes, Enoch had already left for the company long ago.  

With May’s support at her bedside, she took a carriage back to the hotel.

Since she had awakened around sunset, by the time she returned, the city was already bathed in soft pink hues.  

Seated in an armchair in the hotel suite’s sitting room, Asla gazed out blankly at the city slowly fading into dusk.

“…Madam. May I be so bold as to make a request?”