“Get off.”

When we arrived at the townhouse, Diart extended his hand first as he got off the carriage. Since he had been silent throughout the ride, looking like an angry person, I thought he would go into the mansion first. However, it was unexpected. Diart lightly and cautiously helped me get off the carriage when I raised my hand.

“Welcome, my lord, my lady.”

The servants who were standing ready to greet us inside the townhouse bowed their heads and greeted us. Without saying anything, Diart walked between them. Well, so be it… Swallowing a curse under my breath, I nervously exchanged eye contact with the stiffened servants as I followed behind him.

As soon as I entered the mansion, I quickly closed my gaping mouth. I was surprised by the exterior of the townhouse, which was larger than I had expected when we arrived in the carriage, but the interior was just as large. Although townhouses were usually like villas located in the capital, they also served as a measure of the owner’s status and influence.

Of course, it was not as big as the main mansion, where there was a separate village for the servants, but it would not be an exaggeration to say that it was the second largest in the capital, next to the imperial castle.

‘As expected of the Duke of Wheaton.’

The Wheaton family had two dukes at the same time. This was unheard of, as it was customary to pass on a title before the death of an elder, and their influence within the empire was unquestionable, making it easy for them to seize the imperial throne.

As I was walking, thinking about the all-encompassing male lead’s buff, I suddenly turned my head to the side. Even though we had passed through the entrance hall and walked for a while, Diart was still beside me, and the servants carrying his luggage followed behind him.

Although he had been following me lately, seeing him follow me with all this luggage sent a chill down my spine. I asked with a doubtful mind.

“Aren’t you supposed to go to your room?”

“I am going.”

“I think this is the direction to my room.”

House Wheaton’s townhouse was divided into an inner room to the east and an outer room to the west, which were the couple’s living spaces. Since the structure of a townhouse usually followed that of a main house, he should be walking in the opposite direction from where I was.

“Don’t you know?”

“What, what do you mean?”

My words trembled with anxiety.

“Townhouses don’t have separate inner and outer rooms.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that the husband and wife use the same room.”

“…What?”

I wondered if I had misheard it. No, how could he say such a thing with such a calm face? When I stopped walking in confusion, Diart also stopped and looked down at me.

I glanced at the servants who had been following from behind at a distance and lowered my voice.

“I will use the guest room.”

“Why?”

Because. Have you forgotten that we are about to get divorced. That was the reason I came to the townhouse in the first place.

“It’s strange to share the same room while we’re going through a divorce.”

“But we haven’t divorced yet.”

“Yes, not yet. But adding the adverb ‘not yet’ implies that we will soon become strangers.”

“Right now, we’re not strangers either.”

What kind of twisted logic is that. I was dumbfounded by his absurdity. I stuttered in disbelief. As I stood there hesitating, Diart placed his hand on my waist. My waist trembled from the unexpected physical contact. Diart pushed me gently. Overwhelmed by his force, I ended up following him all the way to the room.

The servants opened the intricately carved mahogany door. Perhaps because it was a shared room, it felt even larger than the rooms in the main mansion. I paused on the unnecessarily spacious bed, taking in each piece of furniture bathed in the deep sunlight.

First, my eyes were drawn to the canopy made of silk tied to four pillars, followed by the fluffy-looking blanket and two pillows. My room in the main mansion also had two pillows, but after hearing Diart’s words, it felt incredibly meaningful. Feeling embarrassed for no reason, I turned my head away.

“Rest. I’ll be back.”

Diart, who had received something discreetly from Gordon, patted my shoulder and spoke. I quickly nodded my head, glad to hear that, and told him to go. But Diart looked down at me with a strangely unpleasant expression and turned his back on me.

As he left, I sank into the sofa, completely drained.

‘What is all this.’

Just this morning, I was excitedly thinking that I finally had my freedom. This is not a midsummer night’s dream. I don’t understand what is happening. Why did it end up with us sharing the same room? It was so absurd that I couldn’t even laugh.

Lily, who saw me, sent the servants away and approached. Kneeling in front of the sofa, she asked cautiously.

“Madam, you must be tired from moving. Would you like to take a bath first? Shall I prepare warm water?”

Even though the move was just a short distance of no more than a few hours, the reason I was tired was solely due to the emotional impact caused by Diart. When I shook my head, Lily looked like she was at a loss for words.

“Then shall I bring you a sweet cake? Or would you like to rest in bed?”

Looking at Lily, who couldn’t take her eyes off me like a squirming puppy, I knew it was a good time to ask her.

“Lily.”

“Yes, madam. Tell me.”

“What happened while I was unconscious?”

“Yes, what? N-nothing happened.”

There’s definitely something. I was sure of it as I watched Lily turn her eyes away and shake her shoulders.

“Lately, everyone seems to not know what to do when they see me.”

“I haven’t seen anything like that.”

“Don’t say there’s nothing. I’m not a fool, and I knew that everyone’s attitude had changed towards me. Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”

“…….”

I felt a sudden surge of betrayal when I saw Lily keeping her lips tightly sealed and only glancing at me. She’s the closest thing I’ve had to a sister since I possessed this body, and she’s hiding something from me. I stood up straight and spoke more coldly.

“I don’t want someone who hides things from me to be by my side. Leave.”

“Ma-madam….”

Lily suddenly began to cry uncontrollably, and she stumbled around without saying anything. I gave her a cold look again.

“Why are you still here? What are you doing? Is my command not clear enough?”

“That’s not it, madam.”

Lily grabbed my knees and clung to me. When I saw her tearful face, my heart weakened, so I turned my head away. That appearance made her look even more pitiful. After holding onto my dress for a long time, Lily finally spoke up.

“To tell you the truth….”

I perked up my ears as if she was finally going to speak. Lily hesitated for a long time, unable to speak easily, and looked up at me with a worried expression.

“Don’t be too surprised, madam. It could be bad for your health.”

“What is it?”

“Well…….”

I held my head because it felt like my head was going to explode due to Lily’s long hesitation. Then Lily looked thoughtful and clung to me again.

“Does your head hurt? I’ll call a doctor right away.”

“No, it’s okay.”

I grabbed Lily’s arm and urged her to continue speaking. Lily, who had been examining my complexion, slowly opened her mouth with an expression of helplessness.

“At the party, when you fainted, the doctor was called immediately. But what the doctor said was…….”

“What did the doctor say?”

“That you have…… Puythan disease.”

Lily buried her face in her hands with a painful expression and couldn’t continue speaking. As she sobbed in front of me, I couldn’t help but be dumbfounded.

‘What the hell is Puythan disease?’

After calming down Lily, who had been crying for a long time, I asked her about Puythan disease in detail. And I came to a conclusion. There was no doubt that the misunderstanding arose because the symptoms of Puythan disease, a rare disease in this world, were similar to those of the curse.

Only then could I understand the attitudes of those who had acted strangely around me. It seemed that everyone thought I was a terminal patient.

The first thought that came to mind when I realized this was:

‘Isn’t this a huge gain?’

Diart had also taken care of me in his own way, thinking that I was a terminal patient. The distance between us had become closer, which was burdensome, but if I used this situation well, it would be beneficial to me.

Considering Diart’s cold personality, it was surprising that he had taken care of me because he thought I was a terminal patient with a rare disease. But what a stroke of luck.

I suppressed the laughter that was about to burst out between my lips.