Thank You For The Confinement, Grand Duke! - Chapter 29
Translator and Editor: Effe and Nabi
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Chapter 29
“…Grand Duke?”
“Yes.”
“Is it really you, Grand Duke…?”
Was I still dreaming? Or was that earlier a dream?
I didn’t know if I was Suhee or Chaperil.
As I absentmindedly stared at him, I eventually reached out. Normally, there would have been a jingling sound, but today, strangely, I didn’t hear any sound. When I looked at my wrist, there was nothing there.
“…Is this a dream?”
“No.”
Strange.
In lucid dreams, if you asked if it was a dream, everyone usually got serious or pretended not to hear… or they turned into monsters and chased you, or you would wake up. So, what was this? Was it a new pattern for lucid dreams?
“There are no shackles.”
“Because I didn’t tie you again.”
“Why?”
That was important to me.
It was uncomfortable, yes. That was why I wanted something lighter, but I didn’t wish for them to be removed.
Enfrise needed to have them to keep me imprisoned. I had thought vaguely that someday when he could trust me, he would release me. However, I couldn’t believe that this man would have trusted me enough when I almost escaped a moment ago.
Then, maybe it was a dream.
“….”
Tears flowed down silently.
Enfrise… Do you know how cruel you are?
You gave me a taste of a sweetness I had never experienced before. I experienced the feeling of being comfortable in body and mind. Here, for the first time in my life, I was living among people who wanted to give me anything I wanted.
I received an abundance of undeserved happiness that I had never wished for… so much so that I had never even dreamed of it.
“Are you in a lot of pain? Would you like some medicine now…?”
Enfrise, who was at a loss for what to do, handed me a cup. Was it the sweet tea that smelled like flowers?
I quietly accepted it and drank it, but I didn’t know how to stop the tears that were welling up. When I returned to my daily life, I realized that I really wanted to get out of there. When I was inside, I couldn’t see what was invisible, though when I got out and came back in, I could see it.
I really didn’t like being in that place.
“Now, sleep some more.”
“I don’t want to.”
If I closed my eyes again here, would my daily life come back? If that was the case, I didn’t want to sleep forever.
What if Enfrise left?
I grabbed his sleeve at the thought. However, because of the heat, my fingers felt numb, and he could pull them out easily. Still, he was quietly looking at me, who was holding onto his sleeve.
“I will be by your side.”
‘Even if he was by my side, it was useless. A dreamlike existence was powerful only in the dream. When I opened my eyes and returned to my daily life, I had no power.
…I would eventually go back there again.
“Grand Duke.”
“Yes.”
“Promise me you won’t ever let me go…?”
Even though I knew that, I wished for it. I wanted to stay here, my own paradise… a narrow paradise allowed only to me.
I didn’t want to leave here. I was fine with being trapped here for the rest of my life. Just being respected and loved by someone was enough for me to live. I wanted to stay by the side of this person who looked at me like I was light.
“Of course.”
Enfrise placed his hand over mine.
When I touched it before, it felt warm and firm, but now it felt cold. Was it because I was running a fever? Without realizing it, I held that hand to my cheek.
“It’s refreshing…”
I closed my eyes quietly.
‘…I might fall asleep like this.’
Nevertheless, when I thought about it, a sense of fear sent shivers down my spine.
“Grand Duke, are you really not going to leave my side?”
“If that’s what you wish… I will always stay by your side.”
“Wherever I am?”
“Yes.”
Even if I wasn’t Chaperil herself?
I wanted to ask that. However, when I opened my mouth, no words came out. All that emerged was my hot breath. I continued to keep my mouth open for a moment, then fell into darkness. But maybe it was because I didn’t want to sleep, or was it because I prayed not to wake up from this dream?
I heard a sound.
My body didn’t move, but I could feel Enfrise’s hand gently withdrawing from my cheek. Even though I wanted to grab it because I felt disappointed, my fingers didn’t move.
“It will be okay.”
Enfrise’s hand touches my cheek and forehead. After a moment of stillness, he let out a soft sigh.
“Is it not enough?”
What was not enough? The medicine?
His hand, which was silent for a moment, moved to my cheek. He gently stroked my cheek, and he murmured softly.
“I’m sorry, Chaperil. But to make you better, this is the only way for now…”
Something soft touched my lips.
Was he trying to feed me something because he was worried I couldn’t eat due to the fever? Still, I’ve never tasted something like this. It felt slightly dry, yet strangely moist. It was as cold as something stored in the refrigerator, but it was not sticky or watery.
It was smooth and soft, something like that.
I hesitated to open my lips slightly, and something entered as if it were gently nibbling. I wasn’t sure if my tongue moved reflexively or not, though it might have moved reflexively to process what I was given.
My mouth closed reflexively as if to chew, but then the soft thing moved again.
Surprised, my lips parted.
What was this? Was it a living thing? Was it like a live octopus?
Whatever it was, at first, it was cautious, but gradually, it began to explore my mouth. It seemed as if it thought I might be trying to chew it, so it gently touched my teeth and even delved deeper inside.
At that movement, my tense throat gulped, and I swallowed something. Was it something that came from the soft thing? There was a sweet taste in the swallowed saliva. My mouth, filled with heat just moments ago, gradually felt cooler.
Then, suddenly, I felt a chill down my spine.
The heat disappeared suddenly. As I shivered uncontrollably as the temperature in my body dropped all of a sudden, there was a faint moaning sound coming from my mouth.
“Uh, huuu… Ung.”
However, everything was blocked somewhere. My voice couldn’t escape, and it lingered only in my throat.
A humming sensation and a sudden chill.
Unknowingly, I reached out my hand. I thought I was going to pull the blanket around me, but I touched something solid. Without thinking, I clung tightly to it, and a heavy weight fell onto my body.
“Sleep… Chaperil.”
A soft voice… was it Enfrise?
The thing that entered my mouth earlier disappeared. At the same time, the escaping heat stopped. I exhaled deeply, releasing the gradually rising warmth.
“Chaperil, please let go. Please.”
Hearing his desperate voice, I released my grip. It was much easier to move my body than before. I opened my tightly closed eyes and met eyes with Enfrise, who was trying to lift his upper body.
“…Uht.”
“Grand Duke…?”
What was going on?
My head, which had been suppressed by the fever earlier, began to move slightly.
Was that earlier a dream? Did I return to my original body, to Suhee? Now that I think about it, I didn’t seem to be experiencing the sensations properly when I moved. When roasting seaweed, it should have been hot, but I handled it calmly.
The movements that seemed like cutting jelly also seemed familiar from the dream. Did that mean this side was a reality after all…?
“I need you to hold my hand.”
When I extended my hand, Enfrise, who had been blushing earlier, hesitated but eventually held my hand. It felt hot compared to before.
If I could feel the temperature, maybe this was indeed reality.
‘…Ah, thank goodness.’
“I had a dream.”
“A dream…?”
“It was a terrible dream.”
I muttered that and closed my eyes. Unlike earlier, when I thought I mustn’t fall asleep, I let my guard down and quickly fell asleep.
“Terrible…”
Enfrise’s murmured voice grew distant.
Come to think of it, what was that thing he fed me earlier? Probably medicine. Despite that, it was surprisingly…
Sweet.
I thought that while drifting into sleep.
“Ah, thank goodness. Your fever has almost gone.”
“Really? That’s a relief.”
When I opened my eyes, Tambor was in front of me. She smiled brightly, for some reason, as she looked at the thermometer.
Was she happy that my fever had gone down? It wasn’t like Tambor was sick herself.
That was what I thought.
“I was so worried, Miss. I couldn’t protect you…”
She finished her sentence with a gloomy expression. Wait, was she really reading my thoughts?
What was this timing?
“Yes?”
Moreover, protect me? Who was protecting whom here? Was Tambor protecting me?
Without realizing it, I examined Tambor. Just an ordinary woman between middle-aged and old. Slightly skinny. There was no way someone like her could outdo a man. Even I, who could boast of being young, was unable to resist.
“Don’t think like that, Lady Tambor.”
“But… if I had noticed the intruder a little earlier, His Grace would have arrived sooner, and… you wouldn’t have had to suffer from this fever.”
As she finished her sentence, Tambor’s face turned sulky. No, was she really reading my
Hmm… this was a bit difficult to refute.
Chaperil seemed to have a somewhat weak constitution, perhaps due to an underlying illness. Even in the original story, every time she was caught after trying to escape, she would run a fever. In that condition, she would often engage in, well, that, that, that kind of scenes with Enfrise.
The readers who enjoyed the steamier aspects of the story cheered, while those who preferred romantic scenes furrowed their brows.
As for me…
Ahem. Let’s stop here.
“Still, there wasn’t anything serious, so it’s okay, right?”
“Miss…”
“Besides, it seems the medicine he gave me yesterday worked well.”
“Medicine?”
Tambor raised an eyebrow. I did the same in response.
“The Grand Duke gave me something to eat. It was incredibly soft and squishy.”
“Squishy…?”
Although it was a bit unsettling, wriggling around in my mouth, the taste wasn’t bad. It left a sweet fragrance in my mouth.
“Yes. It made me want to have it again, even though it’s medicine.”
“Is that so? Well, I’ll ask about what it was and prepare it. In the future, if you develop a fever, I’ll have to give you that medicine.”
Tambor said that with a bright smile. However…
“That’s impossible.”
“Excuse me?”
There was an unexpected interruption.
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