Lucretius laughed hysterically.
“Hahahaha!!”
He seemed to truly enjoy this situation. As his laughter rang throughout my room, I laid in my bed helplessly. I had no energy and my headache was getting worse.
“Don’t… laugh.”
“But it’s so funny! How could I not laugh?”
I scowled crossly.
“It’s… all… thanks to you!”
He grinned and got close to me. His face was right in front of mine as he whispered, “What do you mean? This all happened because you were being stupid.”
“…”
I had nothing to say because it was true.
It was my silly plan that caused me to get cold like this.
I had a fever, my head ached, and my throat was sore.
By the end of that day I had the ridiculous tea party at the garden, Samantha brought Lowson to me and I was diagnosed with a severe cold. I was given some medication to take for two days.
The worst thing was that the maids and the servants who followed me to the garden all became sick too. I felt so guilty.
I wanted to scream at him.
I know! I know how stupid I was! So stop it!
He opened his mouth and I knew he would make fun of me again. Luckily, he couldn’t because Samantha walked in with my medicine.
Everyone became sick except for Samantha. She was such a strong lady. She deserved my respect.
Samantha bowed to Lucretius lightly and approached me with the medicine.
When she was about to open the medicine bottle, Lucretius stopped her.
“I will feed it to her myself.”
“Yes, your highness.”
Samantha politely stepped back, but I complained quickly, “I can do it myself.”
He goaded me with an annoying reply. “You have no choice.”
“What do you mean? I am telling you I will take it myself.”
He shook his head.
“No, I won’t allow it.”
I was so sick of this ‘allowing’ business!
I screamed at him, “What is there to not allow?! At this rate, it sounds like I can’t even get sick without your permission?!”
My throat was so sore and dry, and I started to cough after my outburst.
Samantha quickly brought me a cup of water and helped me to drink it. She was such a good caretaker.
I glared at Lucretius who grinned at me ominously. This was not good.
He replied to me, “You’re correct. Who gave you permission to get sick?”
I couldn’t believe him.
“… What?”
At my sharp response, he got closer to me and whispered, “Every breath you take belongs to me, so how could you get sick without my permission?”
“…”
I got goosebumps. What was wrong with this man? He was so corny I couldn’t stand him!
I said to him, “My breath is my own, and my cold is mine as well!”
I coughed again. Suddenly, he smiled and…
He did it again!
He kissed me!
This was becoming a bad habit for him.
Normally, I would have pinched him or something, but I was so weak I had no energy. I remained still.
“…”
“…”
He must have remembered that I was a patient. His kiss ended much quicker than usual.
He kissed my forehead and whispered, “So hot.”
Of course, I was hot. I had a fever!
I wanted to scream at him, but then again, I had no energy to do so. When I remained quiet, he continued to talk nonsense.
“I took your hot breath into me, so you must admit it now. You are mine.”
“…”
He continued to annoy me, but I couldn’t think clearly anymore. I was so tired.
I pushed his shoulder away weakly.
“E… enough.”
Lucretius nodded easily for a change.
“Alright. You must be really sick.”
He finally stopped joking, but he still insisted on feeding me the medicine himself. While we argued, Samantha silently brought a silver spoon and handed it to Lucretius.
He opened the bottle, which contained a gross green liquid. It looked sticky as he poured it onto the silver spoon.
He brought the spoon carefully to my lips. I had no choice but to open my mouth. I didn’t want to make an unnecessary scene, especially in front of Samantha.
“Now…”
The taste of the green medicine was bitter and strange.
Lucretius slowly pulled the spoon out from my mouth. I felt even hotter and out of breath. He was sitting too close to me. My heart began to beat faster.
It must have been because of my fever. I feared he might be able to hear my heartbeat. It sounded so loud in my ears.
***
For two days, I was in my bed. It was a bad cold.
The funny thing was, Lucretius got my cold too.
When I was about fully recovered, I noticed I haven’t seen him all morning that day. I had an easy morning and when I still didn’t see him for lunch, I found it odd. By that night, I felt worried. I hadn’t seen him all day. In the last two months, I had always seen him at least once a day.
I knew he was very busy, but he always made time for me.
“…”
Why did I feel upset?
I couldn’t focus on my work.
I even lost my appetite. I barely ate my dinner.
Samantha asked me worriedly, “Your highness, are you already done with your meal?”
“Yes. You can clear the table.”
“… But we prepared your favorite meal. You are still recovering from your cold, so please try to eat a little bit more…”
I usually enjoyed duck dishes, but tonight, I didn’t feel like eating. I shook my head.
“I must be still feeling unwell. If I eat anymore, I might get sick.”
Samantha nodded anxiously.
While I watched everyone work, I finally couldn’t take it anymore. I had to know.
I asked hesitantly, “Uhm, was there… no message from the emperor’s quarters today?”
Samantha’s face became stiff for a second. I persisted.
“Please tell me.”
After a brief reluctance, Samantha finally replied, “His highness ordered us not to tell you…”
***
He was on the bed sleeping. His face was red with fever.
“…”
When I didn’t say anything, Samantha whispered to me, “The doctor said it’s nothing to worry about. He will be up and about in a day or two.”
“…”
“And… He made sure not to let anyone know. He didn’t want the dowager empress to find out.”
That must have been why I wasn’t informed. I smiled to ease Samantha’s worries.
“Alright. You may leave now. I will take care of him tonight.”
Samantha seemed to want to say something, but she bowed and left.
The door closed behind her.
In the dark room, there were only two of us. He was fast asleep. I was told he took his medicine and fell asleep around dinner time.
“Phew…”
I took a deep breath.
The room was dark. Only a few candles were lit so the brightness doesn’t disturb him.
I studied his face quietly.
Was it the lack of light? His face looked dark and different tonight.
He looked very ill, making me feel nervous. I got closer to him to check his breathing. It was rough, but his breathing was still regular.
I felt angry. I didn’t know why, but I wanted payback.
He made me worry for nothing!
I poked his forehead lightly. His skin felt smooth. He was so handsome that he didn’t look human, but he still was only a man.
His lips were…
“Stop it! Stop thinking about it!”
I shook my head vigorously. My body began to feel hot again. I had to stop thinking about it.
