# 11
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Chloe's voice was hoarse, like a towel that had been squeezed to the last drop.
Eric's eyes twitched.
She looked like she was going to die soon. Is she okay? What? What did she mean by saying she was fine?
“You look like a foolish woman.”
He sighed, wiping his face with one hand.
He was upset.
When he heard that Chloe had collapsed, he lost the initiative in the conversation with the Second Prince.
He didn't know why he was so surprised by the news of her illness, but he was so confused, and in the end he failed to complete the deal with the prince.
That's why he was upset.
Being in Chloe's room instead of the lab and pushing all his work aside, only to be told she was fine… Eric gritted his teeth.
No one asked him to take care of Chloe. She didn't even ask him to come.
He was the one who chose to stay here and take care of her until she regained her health.
It's like this. And that's why he was more - more, even more insanely upset.
Why would he waste his work just to see this woman! What a foolish girl!
“I'm busy. I don't have time to worry about you being sick, wife.”
“...I know you're busy.”
“Then you should have taken better care of yourf!”
Eric raised his voice without realizing it.
"What do you expect me to do when you come here alone and moan like a wet rat like that? We're in the north. Why did you come all the way here just to get sick?!"
Instead of answering, Chloe looked at Eric. He got angry again...
Why?
Because she was sick?
She didn't want that either. She didn't want to get sick.
Even as her temperature increased, she became more determined to hide her illness.
“I'm really fine... Please go home. You don't have to call a doctor.”
No doctor should come. You may develop this disease.
But Eric didn't back down.
“You need to see a doctor.”
“No, I… I have medicine.”
"drug?"
Eric frowned, but Chloe wasn't so sure. Her vision was still very blurry.
She barely raised her hand to point to her bag on the chair.
“This is something I got from the north. If I drink this medicine… I will get better. So please give it to me.”
She struggled to speak clearly, but Eric didn't move an inch. He kept staring at Chloe as he sat down.
"female."
Eric pronounced every word clearly.
“Have you been feeling this way for a while?”
Chloe could hear her heart beating loudly behind her ears.
Her heart was beating very fast. Her face turned red, and her temperature rose even more.
She turned her head slowly.
As she moved, the wet towel fell. No one picked it up.
“I told you...”
She thought she shouldn't say this, but as her body weakened, her mind caught up with her. Her lips moved uncontrollably.
“I've told you many times that I'm sick.”
On that cold day when she ran out without even wearing a shawl, she held his hand and tried to talk to him.
“I've said it many times...”
He didn't even remember.
She thought there was no way she could fall down into the abyss, but she felt as if gravity was pulling her back.
What I felt now was endless misery.
Chloe closed her eyes tightly.
She bit her lips hard and swallowed the words she was about to say.
Expressing your displeasure with him won't solve anything.
“Give me the medicine. I can drink it and rest. Please bring the doctor back. You should come back too.”
Even then, Eric kept staring at Chloe, but he quickly rose to his feet and let out an exhale that he had been holding in.
The discomfort he felt disappeared. Instead of the absence of this feeling, unknown things remained. For some reason, one side of his chest hurt.
Eric took the pill box out of Chloe's bag. The feeling of heaviness he felt did not diminish.
"When did you get this? How? Do you know the name of your illness?"
“…Please give it to me.”
She didn't want to answer. Chloe swallowed the medicine he handed her without water.
When Eric saw how easily she did it, he frowned again. He felt strangely tense as he watched Chloe.
“What is the name of your illness? Tell me. I want to know, so—”
Eric was speaking urgently, but suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
If he knew what it was, what would he do about it?
Eric ruffled his hair violently and bit his lower lip.
“Please consult a doctor, Chloe.”
Chloe looked back in shock when she heard him call her name. She didn't miss it, so she took a deep breath for a while. She thought over and over what she was going to say.
“It's the first time.”
"What?"
“The first time you called my name.”
Eric clenched his hands into fists.
He clenched his fists so hard that his nails dug into his palms, but he remained standing without saying a word.
He stood there and only stared at Chloe.
She was bedridden due to her illness, yet she maintained her dignity even at that moment. Even though she stood like this, she looked even more pitiful.
Chloe spoke first.
“But… I hate doctors. So please… please bring him back. I want to rest alone.”
He could see her blue eyes welling up with tears. In contrast to her dry face, her eyes were brimming with tears that had not yet fallen.
“You are busy. Please come back.”
busy.
This is correct. He's very busy.
He was so busy that even being here was an incredibly waste of time.
That was a waste of time.
Eric picked up the forgotten towel and placed it back on her forehead.
That's it.
There was nothing else he could do.
He has nothing else to say.
“…I will be back tomorrow.”
So he left the room like this, trying to push himf forward despite the heavy steps.
* * *
“I don't know what that person is thinking.”
Eric muttered and put down the screwdriver he had in his hand.
He couldn't focus on work at all today. What is the reason, I wonder? He didn't even seem motivated enough to focus on his tasks.
Chloe's face kept playing in his mind, as she fought a fever and cried. Her image was running through his head repeatedly, never leaving him.
What's wrong with him?
Eric frowned and pressed two fingers to his eyebrows.
"Excuse me? Who? His Highness the Prince?"
Daniel asked, tilting his head to the side.
Eric hesitated for a moment, but quickly nodded slowly.
“Yes. Prince.”
“What, why do you worry about his thoughts? He is a simple man and is confident that His Majesty will grant him the throne if he succeeds in marrying the princess to His Excellency.”
Daniel spoke without the slightest respect for the royal family.
“As if everything could be solved this way. Ironic, isn’t it? The royal family can’t be saved at this point anyway.”
Only then did Eric nod, a wry smile appearing on his lips. Thinking about the miserable situation of the royal family made his mood better again.
He leaned back and put his hands behind his head. Then he looked at the ceiling.
Fall of the royal family.
This has been true for a long time.
The incompetent king, who had failed to expand his territory and incurred huge war debts, lost the trust of the people.
The lower class of the nobility were the first to turn away from the king, and the upper half of the nobility criticized the king.
During these circumstances, it was the bourgeoisie that had risen to the nobility that brought innovation with it, that laid the foundation.
The bourgeois class attracted most of the aristocrats to its side due to its enormous capital and amazing inventions, and thanks to this, its influence increased and it controlled parliament.
Everyone thought that the royal family no longer had any chance to continue because of this.
But the royal family is still standing.
Ironically, this was because of Erik Aslan, the man who was at the heart of the bourgeoisie.
“If Your Excellency had used his influence in Parliament, the King would have raised the white flag by now. Then these princes would not be able to act in such a reckless manner.”
Daniel continued to complain.
And he was right.
If Eric wholeheartedly joined Parliament, the royal family would truly be just a lion without teeth.
But Eric couldn't do that. He allied himf with the king. He saved the king and gave him money.
Was it because of his loyalty to the king?
no.
An ordinary person like him, living a life worse than that of a street dog, had no concept of loyalty.
All Eric wanted was one thing.
“Perhaps, but if I did that, wouldn’t it be impossible for me to grab the king by the throat as I do now?”
To judge those who sit on the throne.
Eric was the one who decided all the money that went into the king's pocket. Eric was the person who approved all policies decided by the king before they were approved.
He who had been living at the bottom now stood high above the person who supposedly held the highest position in this hierarchy.
What else did he need?
Eric had no intention of betraying the king.
'For now.'
"Absolutely. The King is the one who would rush out in the middle of the night if His Highness called him. He should live a long and healthy life."
Daniel sighed heavily.
“But I think he will die soon.”
"I know."
“Do you have a plan for when that happens, sir?”
At first, the question wasn't meant to get an answer from Eric. Daniel immediately asked another question.
“How about marrying the princess? You will be able to completely control the royal family that way.”