Chapter 2

Cough.

Clea covered her mouth and her eyes widened in surprise.

She was embarrassed by her sudden heightened view so she reflexively put her hand on his shoulder, trying to push him away.

‘… Wait, isn’t this what Clea Reno would want?’

For whatever reason, the Archduke had personally picked her up. It was disconcerting, but the situation was in her favor.

‘Furthermore, it’s a bit comfortable being held like this…’

Her HP wouldn’t diminish anymore either.

The blood vomiting effect would continue until her HP was high enough. As she wasn’t walking anymore, her HP wouldn’t continue to deplete.

Clea, who had just finished her calculations, relaxed her body.

‘It might be impossible for me to drink…’

But she had asked the Archduke to accompany her for a drink so she should drink one glass at the very least…

Clea was worried; she didn’t know what would happen if she drank. She rubbed her face with her hand.

“If you’re not feeling well, see a doctor.”

“… Haha.”

Clea smiled awkwardly and avoided eye contact.

If it had been a disease that could be cured by medicine, she would have long gone for an examination and treatment. The problem was this body. It was already rotting away and couldn’t be healed.

“It’s not a laughing matter. You seem to vomit blood often. If you continue, you’ll die.”

“…”

She looked away because he had hit the nail on the head.

‘Well, I can only offer him these conditions because this body is about to die.’

“It’s just a chronic disease that I’ve had since childhood. I have a weak heart and when I move around a lot, it can make it difficult to walk like this. Recently, I stopped taking my medication so it got worse… I’m sure I’ll feel better as soon as I start taking it again.”

“Is that so? Even though you vomit blood?”

“Oh this… The doctor said that the blood coming out is bad blood. It’s a chronic disease that I’ve had for 23 years, and I’ve been fine until now,” Clea casually lied through her teeth.

Of course, it didn’t make any sense to her to say that her heart ached and blood was coming out of my respiratory tract.

Clea didn’t realize it until she spoke.

However, there were not many people who were well-versed in medicine in this era.

As expected, the Grand Duke of Detroit nodded his head without expressing any doubt when he heard her.

The chronic disease had supposedly been with her since childhood, so he could do nothing about it as she had been dealing with it for quite a long time.

The Archduke of Detroit lightly accepted her words.

“Let’s get this annoying thing over with. It takes 20 minutes to get to the Grand Duchy.”

“Marry me, please.”

“I should have turned you down. If this is just an extension of the same story, I’ll drop you off at your mansion.”

Archduke Detroit replied with bleak eyes.

Clea shook her head hastily.

‘I barely got the chance to chat. I can’t mess this opportunity up like this.’

“I don’t mean we’re going to be married forever!”

“What?”

“I just want us to live as a happily married couple for the next six months.”

“What do you mean?” the Archduke asked again, bitterly.

Clea took a deep breath. By now, her HP had recovered and she was vomiting blood less frequently.

“I want to propose a six month marriage contract,” Clea said with determination in her eyes.

The Archduke’s mouth twisted.The snort he let out showed how ridiculous and absurd he thought her proposition was.

She felt him thinking that he shouldn’t have come.

“I’ll take you to the Count’s mansion.”

“In six months we will divorce! Please marry me for just half a year.”

“You’re funny. What do I get from marrying you? Are there any benefits from that?” He crossed his arms as he looked at her sharply.

His deadly glare and an almost-tangible aura caused her to feel an intense pressure weigh down on her.

【An overbearing pressure has been detected.You cannot endure this murderous atmosphere. Activity of the organs has been limited to 80%.】

This damned body!

Breathing became difficult and she could only clench her fists tightly.

“I will give you all the properties and fortunes of the Reno family, including the family estate. If you don’t believe me, we can write up a contract,” Clea, who suppressed her voice as much as she could to avoid yelling in pain, grounded out while maintaining eye contact with the Archduke.

The Archduke’s expression became strange.

Apart from the Reno family’s fortune, their land was rich in resources and had various mines.

Count Reno firmly held the mining rights and there were a lot of people who wanted the land solely because of it.

“Are you that desperate to get married to me?”

“Yes.”

“You’re saying you will be giving me all your properties. When we divorce after six months, what will you do?”

“… I have my own plans. Besides, I can’t spend the money anyway.”

To be precise, her body would die by then.

If she could fulfill the original owner’s wish for half a year, she would be able to close her eyes and die somewhere peaceful.

She had no intention of letting anyone know her true objective.

“Is it because women can’t inherit titles?”

“Oh… well, there’s also that.”

The Archduke’s eyes narrowed at her vague answer.

The woman in front of him didn’t seem to be in love with him to the point she’d do all this.

‘Is there another hidden reason?’

No matter what, she wouldn’t be able to take anything from him anyways.

‘I’ve been having trouble making weapons and armour, so it’s not such a bad deal.’

If he could end up monopolizing the mines, the Archduke’s warehouse would become ample in size. With it, it’d be easier to run the estate even if the tax rate isn’t lowered. No matter how he thought about it, this was an impractical deal in exchange for just six months of marriage. However, he wasn’t too worried.

“Fine, if we can sign a notarized contract written by the Imperial family or someone of the likes, I will marry you.”

“Please make sure to write in the contract that we will have a proper and happy marriage for half a year.”

“I promise.”

“Then, it’s been decided that a contract will be established… thank you very much,” with the Archduke’s confirmation, Clea said with a sigh and could finally let go of her nerves to relax.

“We’ll discuss the conditions in more depth over drinks at my mansion.”

“Yes,” she replied, leaning against the back of the carriage drowsily. She opened the window and looked outside.

‘… I just need to endure for half a year… six months might be too long.’

She only had 5 months and 15 days left after all.

‘If I tell him it’s actually less than six months, he’ll surely be happy.’

Thinking that, Clea, who had been gazing outside the window, slowly closed her eyes.

The carriage carried the two of them down the paved road.

***

“… Hey.”

She felt someone shake her body, dizzying her in the process.

Clea reflexively covered her mouth and opened her eyes wide at the feeling of something rising up her throat.

“Are you finally awake? Do you always sleep so deeply? It’s already been more than twenty minutes since we’ve arrived.”

“Oh… sorry, I must have been really tired,” Clea replied, smiling naturally in an attempt to hide her uneasy expression.

‘The first priority is to leave a good impression. It would be embarrassing and vain to change your mind and turn back now.’

【HP 1208/1210】

When she slept, her HP recovered quickly. Sometimes, however, she fell into very deep sleep beyond her control which caused problems for her.

When she met the Demon King, she thought she knew what he meant when he said that this body was on the ‘verge of breaking down,’ but it wasn’t until the Demon King sent her here that she truly understood what it was really like.

“Can you walk?”

“Yes.”

The carriage had stopped right in front of the mansion and her HP was almost full, so she thought she’d have no problem walking there.

”

”

She jumped out of the carriage… and… oh no…!

‘Kyaaaaa!’

It wasn’t very high, so she had jumped down with no hesitation like she would’ve done if she was still in her original body. However, with this new body, her organs seemed to twist inside her because of the jump.

Clea grabbed her abdomen as an organ-twisting pain flashed through her stomach and quickly raised her head to check her HP.

【HP 808/1210】

Retract, retract, retract everything.

Take everything back!

She couldn’t walk. If she took just two steps, she would start vomiting blood again.

If she drank the wine while she was vomiting blood, she would probably end up vomiting a bloodstream. She would definitely taste the metallic tang of blood in the liquor.

“Countess Reno, are you alright?”

Her head was filled with the worst possible outcomes and Clea paled at her thoughts.

She stiffened, only twisting her hips, and looked ahead.

Then she smiled brightly.

“Carry me, Archduke.”

“… What?”

“It’s something you’ll do often in the future so you might as well get used to it,” she said shamelessly.

With crossed arms the Archduke of Detroit gave her a displeased look for a moment before noticing her trembling figure and sighed briefly.

“When we get married, I think you should start seeing a doctor.”

He picked her up swiftly.

Her eyes widened slightly as she felt his muscular arms. She cuddled into him, and gazed up at his face. His conspicuous silvery-grey hair and red eyes suited him very well and amplified his image as a war fanatic. He had tight muscles, white skin and defined features. His voice was also low and clear and his body wasn’t completely packed with muscles like a lot of other warriors. Though his muscles weren’t too big, the parts she could feel were hard to the touch.

‘Is this what you would call a stuffed fruit?’

Clea closed her eyes and continued with her ridiculous thoughts.

Looking at the woman with closed eyes, resting comfortably in his arms, the Archduke of Detroit smiled faintly.

Her body was weaker than a new born baby’s, and she was also quite shameless.

”

”

The Archduke narrowed his eyes as he watched her cuddle closer into him.