I Married a Sick Husband

“Your Majesty. I am fine now.”

 

Meredith hastily removed Theodore’s hands from her cheeks.

 

“I don’t think it’s cold anymore. I guess since I woke up suddenly, I felt cold.”

 

“Oh, that’s possible.”

 

“But since when has Your Majesty been up?”

 

“Not long.”

 

He answered that way, but in fact, it had been quite some time since he woke up.

 

However, because he was spending all that time looking at Meredith who was sleeping, he just couldn’t accurately perceive the length of time.

 

“About 10 minutes?”

 

In reality, it was over 30 minutes.

 

“So I’m still a little dazed.”

 

That’s right, as soon as he woke up he did nothing and just stared at Meredith. It could have been so.

 

Of course, he didn’t realize all this.

 

“Oh, I see.”

 

Meredith barely answered before ending the conversation.

 

“Then I’ll just leave.”

 

“Now? You’re going straight to the empress’ palace?”

 

“Yes. I have to go and say hello to Her Highness the Empress Dowager…”

 

It was a lie. She won’t be going to see Blair from now on.

 

She just needed an excuse to get out of here.

 

‘… I didn’t know that I would live to be grateful to Her Highness the Empress Dowager.’

 

Meredith spoke hastily.

 

“I’m busy. In many ways.”

 

“Then I guess I’ll keep it short.”

 

“Short? What…”

 

“Actually, there was something I wanted to say to you last night.”

 

“Ah.”

 

Is this a story related to the new empress?

 

“Please tell me.”

 

“I fully understand your concerns.”

 

Meredith said she couldn’t understand what this meant from the beginning.

 

“Are you worried about me?”

 

“I was worried that having an illegitimate child from a fallen family holding the position of empress would be a nuisance to me.”

 

… Why, why now?

 

“Actually, there’s no reason for you to think about that, but thankfully you thought about it.”

 

The dream she had earlier was about to play again.

 

It was a normal precognitive dream, but strangely it didn’t feel good.

 

“By the way.”

 

What are you trying to say?

 

Meredith guessed.

 

‘Actually, what you said was right.’

 

‘I guess I was talking nonsense.’

 

‘Don’t worry. The new empress will be well known as she comes from a prestigious family.’

 

Whichever one comes out, she wasn’t very surprised.

 

However… … .

 

“No need to worry.”

 

Why is this answer coming?

 

“I don’t want to have the daughter of someone with excessive power as empress.”

 

“Your Majesty, what do you mean…” 

 

“As you said, there may be some political benefits to me. But I can’t have the maternal relatives gaining power. Because it is the biggest threat to the imperial throne.”

 

Of course, there are self-made cases like Blair.

 

That was a rare case.

 

“So I think you’ll be okay too.”

 

“Your Majesty, rather than me….”

 

“I won’t find a woman smarter or more beautiful than you.”

 

Theodore spoke quickly, as if he did not want to hear any rebuttal.

 

“At least for now.”

 

“… You didn’t even try to look for anyone.”

 

“I know something about the ladies of prestigious families.”

 

Theodore said calmly.

 

“But there isn’t one. I don’t know.”

 

“….”

 

“A woman better than you. Someone better than you?”

 

He spoke in a voice that seemed decisive.

 

“I don’t think there is one.”

 

“….”

 

“It seems like you are the only one who wants my happiness.”

 

“… That’s because they don’t have a chance to get close to Your Majesty.”

 

Meredith tried to calmly retort.

 

“Your Majesty, your choice is the result of your narrow vision.”

 

She never thought she would dare say something like this in front of the emperor.

 

But because of the issue, it was necessary to push a little harder.

 

“Try a little differently.”

 

“I don’t understand you. Even if you don’t like it, I didn’t know you would be so opposed to it.”

 

“… If you find your loved one too late, you will regret it.”

 

“I forgot to mention it, but let’s get that wish out of the way.”

 

Theodore said firmly.

 

“I’m telling you now, but I’m not good at things like love.”

 

“Is there anyone who can’t do that?”

 

“I cannot. I have never received it or given it.”

 

“….”

 

“How can I do something I don’t know?”

 

Theodore spoke calmly, but Meredith felt like she had made a big mistake.

 

There is no one who can say things like that so calmly and whose wounds are minor.

 

She was just like that, and he knew that better than anyone else.

 

“…..”

 

So for a while, Meredith couldn’t open her mouth.

 

She was choosing her words more carefully than ever.

 

Taking advantage of that opportunity, Theodore opened his mouth again.

 

“Of course, you may feel pressured or burdened by the position of the empress. It’s not a free position, so you might feel stuffy.”

 

“…..”

 

“If that’s the case, I don’t have any intention of forcing it.”

 

She had never felt anything like that about this place.

 

Rather, since she had never been given any position or role in her life, Meredith was quite satisfied with her current life, even though it was difficult.

 

Isn’t self-actualization the highest level of human desire?

 

Meredith was finally satisfying her need for self-actualization which had been suppressed for 20 years.

 

However, if Theodore did not give up on his intention to keep her as empress, she planned to make up a false excuse.

 

‘You may say so now, but I am sure His Majesty will meet the woman he loves someday.’

 

It was because she believed so strongly.

 

‘More than anything… I can’t spend my life with someone I don’t even love.’

 

Of course, Meredith was satisfied with her life now.

 

However, she feltl that way because she assumed that this relationship was ‘time-limited’.

 

‘There’s no law saying you can’t date just because you were once married.’

 

Or, it would be better to live single.

 

Meredith was fine alone.

 

‘It would be fun to live alone in a large house with a dog and a cat.’

 

If you really need to live with someone, you can adopt.

 

There were plenty of ways if you looked for them.

 

In any case, for these various reasons, she thought that it would be absurd for her to continue to hold her position as Empress.

 

“We’ll talk about this again later.”

 

“……”

 

“It’s not urgent anyway.”

 

With those words, Meredith came back to her reality.

 

As he said, it was pointless for her to dwell too much on the story now.

 

The Schwartz family has not fallen yet, and Blair and Fabian are still alive and well.

 

“… Yes. We had a meaningless conversation at the moment.”

 

“That’s not true. Because it will definitely happen someday.”

 

“…..”

 

“As you put it, soon.”

 

She was saying it in return for him, but she never thought it would come back to her like this.

 

‘… It feels like I was hit by a boomerang.’

 

“Then are you planning to leave Prince Fabian alone for now?”

 

“Yes. It would be best not to move too hastily.”

 

Theodore said confidently.

 

“I probably won’t see him for a while.”

 

***

 

Fabian returned to his school a few days later.

 

“See you again, brother. Until then, stay healthy.”

 

In his final greeting before leaving, Fabian did not even mention his trip.

 

Well, it was only natural.

 

And for a while, ordinary days continued.

 

“I can’t go out today too?”

 

Of course, this only applied to Meredith and Theodore.

 

“How long are you planning on keeping me locked up?”

 

Catarina was having a pretty difficult time.

Releases will continue to be regular from next week on ^^