I Married a Sick Husband

“… Can you hold on?”

 

“Just hold on, don’t worry.”

 

Theodore took a long breath and spoke.

 

“I will do my best to endure until the main meal.”

 

“Or shall we go to Sir Jerome?”

 

“Now? If you don’t want to tell the Empress Dowager about our relationship, then stop.”

 

“….”

 

That is correct. Jerome was called only under the pretext of treating insomnia.

 

There was absolutely no reason to call him during the day, especially on the wedding day.

 

“Are you going to attend the reception?”

 

“No. I plan to attend only the main ceremony.”

 

Theodore shook his head and answered.

 

“Well, it’s a good wedding, even a reception.”

 

“The bride will be sad.”

 

“Will she be sad? She probably knows everything when she came here.”

 

Theodore snorted.

 

“She is the second daughter of the Schwartz family.”

 

Of course, Theodore at the time had no idea that Meredith was an illegitimate child.

 

“Blair, that woman decided to isolate me and cause my death.”

 

Although he did not see her face once, it is unlikely that Theodore would have been fond of his bride under such circumstances.

 

“Anyway, considering the delay, you should just go. I will help you.”

 

“Okay.”

 

In the end, Theodore arrived at the wedding hall with Felix’s help.

 

“His Majesty the Emperor is entering.”

 

As he entered the ceremony hall, he saw numerous nobles gathered as guests.

 

Of course, that included Empress Dowager Blair.

 

“….”

 

Theodore walked forward, barely able to support himself on his two feet, with all the strength in his body.

 

However, it took all his strength to walk without falling, and he felt like he was going to faint at any moment.

 

However, he did his best to not show any signs of it, and finally arrived at the officiating table.

 

“Her Majesty the Empress is entering.”

 

After a while, the door opened with a loud voice.

 

Meredith, wearing a veil, carefully took one step forward.

 

Theodore saw Meredith’s face when she arrived right in front of him.

 

‘She is more beautiful than her sister.’

 

That was Theodore’s first thought when he saw Meredith.

 

‘She seems nicer than her older sister.’

 

That was it.

 

Anyway, the likes and dislikes he felt were meaningless.

 

The daughter of the Duke of Schwartz, holding hands with the Empress Dowager, will never be on the same side as him.

 

Sleeping with the enemy under the guise of a couple.

 

‘Maybe that’s what they think.’

 

Moreover, even if Meredith was not the daughter of the Duke of Schwartz, Theodore would not have been too moved by her beauty.

 

He was not interested in external beauty.

 

To be more precise, he did not like to judge others based only on external aspects.

 

This is because he painfully realized throughout his life that outer beauty does not guarantee inner beauty.

 

“

Cough, cough

.”

 

While listening to the officiating ceremony, Theodore coughed nonstop.

 

He tried to hold it in at first.

 

But later he realized it was all meaningless and he just let it go.

 

Not long after he ascended the throne, he was struck by a severe illness of unknown origin.

 

He called all famous doctors to examine him, but none of them could accurately diagnose his condition.

 

Fortunately, Jerome Bowner was able to alleviate his condition a little, and although it was a stopgap measure, he was holding on.

 

“I will ask the Empress.”

 

At some point, the time for wedding vows arrived.

 

“Do you promise to take His Majesty the Emperor as your husband, to love and respect him as his wife for the rest of your life, and to always be by his side and assist him as his subject?”

 

“… yes. I swear.”

 

Hearing the answer coming from next to him, Theodore laughed inwardly.

 

‘The daughter of the Duke of Schwartz who is holding the Empress Dowager’s hand and waiting for when to pull me out of this position? Do you love and will help me?’

 

… Isn’t this an overly pretentious and disgusting lie?

 

“This time I will ask His Majesty the Emperor. Do you take Her Majesty the Empress as your wife and swear to love and respect her as her husband for the rest of her life, and to rule the imperial family and the empire in peace?”

 

“I swear.”

 

Pretense after pretense.

 

Lie after lie.

 

“We hereby declare that the two of you have officially become husband and wife.”

 

Applause erupted from all directions.

 

However, Theodore was not impressed at all when he heard the sound.

 

Anyway, no one is truly happy or celebrating this marriage.

 

An impure marriage filled with greed.

 

That’s how he regarded the once-in-a-lifetime event.

 

Sadly.

 

‘… I have to hurry back to the central palace.’

 

In fact, his condition had deteriorated rapidly since earlier and he was waiting for the main ceremony to be over.

 

It was when he was in a hurry to leave the ceremony hall.

 

“…”

 

An unexpected warmth enveloped his hand.

 

Theodore looked down at his hands with a puzzled face.

 

Meredith carefully took the Emperor’s hand first.

 

He looked at Meredith’s face, surprised but not showing it.

 

She also looked a little surprised.

 

‘… It’s pretentious.’

 

There was no one in the capital who knew about his condition.

 

But why is she looking at me with concern, as if  seeing him for the first time?

 

‘Did Duke Schwartz give this order in advance?’

 

If so, she was a truly cunning and wicked woman.

 

However, pretending to be innocent or unaware of something that everyone was familiar with never looked good in his eyes.

 

“….”

 

Theodore, who was looking at her with a grave face, soon left the wedding hall and went to the central palace.

 

Naturally, the reception, he did not attend.

 

***

 

‘… It was like that back then.’

 

For the first time in a while, he remembered that day.

 

Because of the image of Meredith that appeared before his eyes.

 

Meredith was dressed in a white dress adorned with rose lace and pure, colorless diamonds that felt noble.

 

She was also wearing a tiara studded with aquamarine, pearl earrings decorated with diamond wing-shaped gold frames, and even had a purple rose accessory holding her long hair.

 

These all matched extremely well with the dress she was wearing and made Meredith shine even more.

 

She looked like an angel, as if she had returned to their wedding day.

 

However, if there is a difference from then…

 

‘I think she was just as pretty then and now…’

 

His heart.

 

‘… Why is my heart beating so fast?’

 

He was frozen cold, and his heart, which he thought would never move, was beating rapidly.

 

Embarrassed with the unprecedented heat.

 

‘… ah.’

 

Before long, he realized why he was doing this.

 

Sooner than he thought.

  ***