If You Wish For A Married Couple’s Duties - Chapter 20

Episode 20. How to Treat Insomnia (2)

***

“You mean Sir Nate invited me as well?”

 

“Yes. He wants to serve you both a meal as an apology for not being able to attend your wedding due to poor health.”

 

Dooha tilted her head as she looked at the letter of invitation handed to her by the maid.

 

“What did the Duke say?” 

 

“He said that he would attend, and added that his wife must accompany him as well.”

 

‘Saying that they don’t get along, and yet he still accepted his invitation. What even?’ 

 

As everyone said, it seemed that the position of the person called ‘Sir Nate’ was powerful in the Duke’s castle.  

 

“Alright. We were invited by the highest-ranking elder in the Duke’s family, so of course, we should attend.”

 

Dooha folded the invitation in half and threw it on the table.

 

She still had plenty of time until Friday, so she could slowly prepare for this.

 

The maid looked at the Duchess and slowly opened her mouth.

 

“Madam, did something happen with the Duke last night?”

 

‘What happened with the Duke last night?’

 

She only remembered leaving the room after exchanging a short conversation, which was embarrassing to even be considered a conversation due to how short it was. 

 

“No, nothing happened. What’s wrong?” 

 

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

 

When the maid heard Dooha’s answer, she looked strangely disappointed. 

 

“Just… the Duke’s face seemed brighter than usual.” 

 

“Really?”

 

Dooha recalled the face that she saw at breakfast.

 

She thought that he looked cold and indifferent as per usual.

 

“It seemed so. The Duke usually suffers from insomnia, so he doesn’t look so bright often.” 

 

“If he has insomnia, shouldn’t he take medicine?”

 

“He never puts any medicine into his body. But today, he seemed to be in a good mood.”

 

The maid said she had guessed it was because the Duchess had been looking for the Duke last night.

 

But it was not as she thought.

 

She wished the best for the man, whom she had watched the longest and cherished the most, and the woman in front of her whom she liked quite a bit.

 

For starters, even couples that married for love couldn’t always get along.

 

Therefore, it may have been excessive greed to want married couples without any love to get along well.

 

“The duke’s spring is long and rough.”[1]

 

While Sylvia secretly sighed, Dooha was deeply immersed in her thoughts.

 

‘He has insomnia.’

 

‘Come to think of it, I thought that he had always looked pale.’

 

Perhaps it was because of his unique sharp-edged atmosphere, but it had never occurred to her that perhaps he was tired.

 

‘He’s always called out to fight monsters and stuff in addition to doing paperwork and even training.’

 

Perhaps it wasn’t that he couldn’t sleep because he was suffering from insomnia, but maybe it was because he didn’t have any time to sleep?

 

“Sylvia, are there any herb gardens in the castle?”

 

“If you’re talking about herbal gardens, there is one that is managed by doctors near the pharmacy.”

 

“Is it okay for me to enter?” 

 

“There is no place in this castle where the Duchess cannot enter. But why the herb garden…?”

 

“Come to think of it, simply saying ‘thank you’ isn’t good enough.” 

 

Dooha smiled lightly at the puzzled maid.

 

***

 

“Madam, just be honest with me.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Actually, you have the Duke in mind, don’t you?”

 

Dooha burst into laughter at Layla’s question.

 

“You’ve come to learn how to make a pretty funny joke, Layla.”

 

“Aside from that, there is no reason for a wife to crouch down in the herb garden in broad daylight to look for good herbs to cure insomnia!”

 

Layla hit her chest in frustration.

 

As she said, they were wandering in the herbal garden under the spring sun.

 

From far away, she could see the doctors looking their way and whispering.

 

Even in their eyes, the Duchess, who was plucking herbs, seemed strange.

 

“You could make those doctors do this! Although, of course, Madam knows more about herbs than they do!

 

Dooha was also famous in Bashal for her extensive knowledge of medicinal herbs.

 

It was a skill that she had accumulated from her childhood through her experiences of hunting and eating both medicinal herbs and poisonous herbs.

 

Meanwhile, she smiled and continued to talk as if Layla was acting cute.

 

“Layla, the Duke suffered from insomnia and was not prescribed any medicine. What do you think is the reason for that?” 

 

“Well, I guess it’s not that serious.”

 

“Maybe, but I think it’s because he didn’t want to show his weakness to anyone.”

 

The greater one’s ability and the higher one’s position, the more enemies one would have.

 

And those enemies will do anything to somehow find their opponent’s weaknesses to attack them with it.

 

“Hmph, insomnia is not a weakness.” 

 

“It could be a weakness. You can give me strange medicine for treating insomnia, or you can attack me when I’m confused because I can’t sleep.” 

 

When Layla heard her, she thought for a moment and had a confused look.

 

“People do things like that?”

 

“If such humans are capable of getting a lot of things in their hands, then they would not only not hesitate to be bothered, but also not hesitate to betray their conscience.” 

 

“I didn’t know. I think high-ranking people are very complicated.”

 

“Haha, maybe.” Dooha stood up with a big smile on her face.

 

She put the plucked herbs in the basket that Layla was holding and then covered it with the cotton cloth, using it as a lid.

 

“Now that we’ve got everything we need, let’s go back.”

 

“Yes!”

 

Even though Dooha left the pharmacy hiding the herbs she had collected, the doctors were too busy bending their backs looking at her, let alone catching her.

 

As rumors spread that the Duke of Esbaden had stood up to the Prince for the Duchess, no one in the castle stood in her way.

 

She was no longer just a duchess in title, which she was considered after the events of the first night, but a true duchess now. 

 

Of course, it was questionable whether it was the intention of the Duke to change it this way.

 

***

 

Knock, knock

 

The Duke, Leonhart, who was enjoying his first break in a long time, flinched at the sound of a knock and raised his head.

 

“My lord, may I come in?” 

 

“Come in.”

 

When his permission was granted, the door slowly opened.

 

The maid, who came in with a tray, smiled at Leonhart sitting on the sofa.

 

“You were resting. It’s been a while since I saw the Duke resting.” 

 

“Because the urgent work is done. What’s going on?”

 

The maid put forward the tray that she was holding.

 

“The duchess sent you a gift.”

 

Leonhart’s forehead was slightly furrowed by the word ‘gift’.

 

He stared at the things on the tray.

 

“It’s a herbal tea that’s good for insomnia and a pillow made by the Duchess herself. In the case of the pillow, she filled the insides with cotton and medicinal herbs to help you sleep well…”

 

“How did my wife know that I have insomnia?” 

 

“I told her.”

 

In response to the maid’s answer, Leonhart sighed before adding what else he had to say.

 

Instead of reprimanding her, the Duke simply asked another question.

 

“Where did she get the herbs?”

 

Leonhard continued speaking without hiding his displeasure.

 

“Maybe, the doctors-” 

 

“No. Don’t worry about that. Madam dealt with it wisely.”

 

Sylvia said that Dooha had not borrowed any doctor’s help and instead had been choosing and picking the herbs herself.

 

“Madam has extensive knowledge of herbs. The doctors know that Madam had brought some medicinal herb.”

 

Leonhart closed his lips tightly at her words.

 

After looking at the gift on the tray for a long time, he quietly turned around.

 

“My lord?”

 

“…Okay, leave it there.”

 

The maid looked slightly surprised before quietly leaving the room with a smile.

 

Leonhart stood still for a long time and turned around again.

 

He approached the tray and picked up the lukewarm teacup.

 

From the golden tea water, the smell of fragrant flowers and grass drifted up.

 

Leonhard paused for a moment at the scent and soon drank all of the tea at once. 

 

It was a quick and unwavering movement as if it didn’t matter even if there were poison in the tea.

 

***

 

“…What brings you here?”

 

“Is it weird for me to be in my bedroom?” 

 

“No, that’s not it.”

 

Seeing the Duke sitting on the bed, leaning against the headboard, Dooha’s face hardened.

 

Perhaps her face hardened because he was exposed. The Duke, Leonhart, was only wearing pants without any top.

 

Dooha struggled to raise her gaze, which was constantly looking down at his collarbone.

 

“You don’t seem to be very happy.”

 

“No, it is not like that.”

 

“What’s wrong with your face?” 

 

“No, that’s…”

 

‘After all, when someone comes into the bedroom naked like that, there’s only one reason why right?’ 

 

Dooha looked at him with a very shaky look.

 

“I wonder if you need a successor…”

 

“…Even if I need a successor, I don’t want to get one while embracing a woman with an expression like that.”

 

“Then that’s a relief.”

 

At the Duke’s answer, Dooha smiled broadly as if he had eased her tension.

 

“…Did you know that you are really funny?”

 

“Wherever I go, I don’t often hear people say I’m not fun.”

 

“Huh.”

 

Leonhart looked at her, stunned. The number of women who had been hiding in his bed before his marriage to Dooha could not be counted.

 

If they could not marry the Duke, they revealed their desire to take the place of the Duchess by at least having his heir.

 

Of course, they all had parts of their bodies cut off in return for their excessive greed.

 

However, looking at Dooha climbing onto the bed with a carefree confidence in front of him somehow hurt his feelings. 

 

Leonhart opened his mouth bluntly as he saw Dooha burrowing into the blanket as far as she could.

 

“I’m going to sleep here from now on, so know that.” 

 

“What?”

 

At the sudden announcement, Dooha unknowingly turned towards the Duke.

 

“Come to think of it, it seems unfair.”

 

Before she knew it, Leonhart’s face, lying back towards her, was less than a handspan away. She instinctively held her breath because of his beauty that shone even in the dark.

 

“This room and this bed are all mine so there’s no reason for me to sleep outside.”

 

“Oh, then I’ll go outside…” 

 

“That sounds funny.”

 

Leonhart pulled Dooha’s body back into the bed, which was trying to get up in a hurry.

 

Thanks to this, Dooha’s small body sank as if it were buried in the blanket.

 

When he saw Dooha’s embarrassed face, which was rarely seen, he raised the corners of his mouth as if he was having fun.

 

“You sent me things that are good for insomnia, but I think this will be more effective than those.”

 

Leonhart turned his head towards the nape of Dooha’s neck and slowly inhaled her scent.

 

She was engulfed in a strange feeling due to feeling the hot breath on her neck.

 

“So please take good care of me, wife.”

 

She felt that something was wrong with Leonhart’s grumpy smile.

***

[1] This referred to the “springtime” of the Duke’s life! Spring normally represents love, new beginnings, and just a very flowery and “blossomy” part of one’s life. However, Sylvia is saying that the Duke’s springtime was “long and rough”, meaning that there seemed to be many obstacles in the way of the Duke’s happiness and love life, essentially.