# 7
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Evelin smiled brightly, hiding her ulterior motives, but Dyffrin pulled her hand away from his wrist like a huge germ.
“I told you not to touch me without permission.”
Defrin then stood up, apparently intending to go up to his bedroom.
Evelin followed him to the second floor.
When Evelin naturally entered his bedroom after him, Devrin suddenly stopped and grabbed Evelin’s wrist to stop her.
“Why are you coming into my bedroom?”
“What do you mean by ‘why?’ We made a bet before, remember?”
At the mention of the bet, Defrin visibly frowned, remembering that day.
“If it's a massage, I don't need it.”
Devrin pulled Evelyn out of the bedroom by her wrist and tried to close the door.
Bang!
Evelin quickly prevented the door from closing.
“But we made a bet. If you win, you must dutifully receive a massage.”
“Are you going to go back on your word?”
After her firm tone, Devrin finally gave in and loosened his grip on the doorknob. Evelin opened the door wide and entered.
'Gosh, it's not like he's asking for a massage, but he makes it so hard even when I offer it.'
Devrin closed the door after Evelin had fully entered, then stood with his arms crossed, watching her.
“Evelyn.”
"Yes?"
“Why do you care so much about my headache?”
Evelin answered calmly while hiding her true intention of securing future compensation.
“It is normal for a wife to worry about her husband.”
“For something like this...”
Dyffrin looked about to respond but closed his mouth.
Evelin had a good idea of what he wanted to say.
'Maybe he wanted to say that my usual attitude is too indifferent.'
Over the past month, her actions have differed greatly from the original Evelyn.
If she was like the original Evelin, she would have anxiously waited for Devrin to come home and hovered around him when he did, but she didn't.
There was a lot to do in this neglected mansion, and she had a lot to learn in order to avoid Rikal's criticism.
Not to mention that she had to read books seriously to learn about the basic etiquette and culture of this country.
By evening, she was often too exhausted to do more than go to bed early.
Due to her demanding daily routine, she was unable to pay attention to Defrin for a while.
Evelin did not hide this fact and spoke out.
“I've been so busy that I haven't paid attention to you lately. Rikaal has started entrusting me with household affairs, and I've been doing my best to make sure you don't have to worry about other matters.”
When Evelin saw Differin's skeptical expression, she smiled gently.
“What, are you feeling neglected maybe because I didn't care about you that much?”
"…prattle."
Evelin smiled cheerfully and guided Devrin to sit on the same chair as last time.
“So do you understand that I only want to help relieve your headache out of concern for you?”
Devrin didn't answer, but Evelin didn't mind. She knew he didn't seem inclined to say anything else.
As the male hero in this world, he was careful and intelligent. He quickly noticed what was happening around him but preferred not to intervene unless it was absolutely necessary.
Palace accounts were a prime example.
He was aware that things were not well, yet he turned a blind eye, even knowing that Patricia was embezzling the palace's funds.
Unless it was a big issue, he preferred not to get involved.
The conversation seemed tiring, as Evelyn had expected, so Devrin relaxed his posture.
She placed her hands on his shoulders and began to move her slender fingers slowly.
The room fell silent as the massage progressed.
Evelyn broke the silence first.
“By the way, what brought you back early today?”
Defrin answered belatedly.
“Because of the plague.”
"Yes".
The mention of the plague immediately brought to mind a chapter from the original story.
There has been a plague spreading in the empire for some time.
Although it was not fatal or highly contagious, it posed a significant risk to the elderly and young children. The problem was that Evelyn had this plague originally.
Evelyn had gone for a walk and ended up helping a fallen elderly person, who turned out to be suffering from the plague. As a result, Evelyn fell ill herf.
While most adults suffered mild illness such as the common winter cold, Evelyn became severely ill due to her weak physique.
Unable to ignore Evelyn's suffering, Dyffryn searched the Empire for a cure.
But as the plague spread, there was no treatment readily available. When he saw Evelin withering, Devrin went crazy.
Fortunately, when Evelyn was about to die, Dyffryn learned from a foreign merchant that a wild herb called katun was effective against the plague. Caton was a common plant like dandelion, so he was able to easily obtain it and give it to Evelin.
Thanks to Differin's efforts, Evelyn recovered.
'Of course, his behavior didn't change much even after that.'
His concern for the ailing Evelyn was fleeting, and he actually ended up emotionally and physically drained from having worked so hard to help her recover.
So this chapter was the first catalyst for Defrin to consider divorcing Evelyn.
Evelyn remembered the events related to the plague from the original novel, and heard Dyffryn's voice.
“I will go home early for a while. The Imperial Palace has issued guidelines to limit going out.”
Evelyn knew from the original story that the cure for this plague was actually very simple, but since others didn't know about it, she had to be careful.
'Well… that's not the important thing now.'
The important thing was that Devrin would come home early from now on, and this was a great opportunity for her.
An opportunity to help reduce his headache. She needed to start actively intervening, as she had to significantly relieve his headaches within two years.
A few gentle massages won't magically cure his headache. Of course, physical contact provided temporary relief, but to obtain a lasting effect, it was necessary to repeatedly provide warmth, such as melting ice.
“Then let's have dinner together every day.”
Evelyn spoke cheerfully. However, Defren's shoulders visibly stiffened.
As she watched him, Evelyn thought to herf,
'I don't like this either, you idiot.'
The reason she suggested having dinner together was just to create a situation where she could massage him, just like now.
Unaware of her ulterior motives, Defrin remained silent.
“It's a promise.”
She spoke arbitrarily, but when she saw that Dyffrin did not explicitly refuse, she concluded that it was okay.
Evelin looked at him discreetly.
She intended to check his expression, but his hair caught her attention first.
Under the light, his blonde hair shone beautifully. Subconsciously, Evelin gently combed his hair.
The short strands glistened gently on her fingers.
“How beautiful.”
Evelin muttered quietly without thinking, but Dyffrin heard her and quickly turned around. His furrowed eyebrows were filled with dissatisfaction.
Evelin hurriedly explained.
“The color of your hair shining under the light is so beautiful.”
Devrin still had a frown on his face.
'Ah, right… this guy hates compliments.'
Evelyn remembered another trait of Dyffryn—he hated compliments as much as physical contact.
Having grown up in a strict environment, he was reluctant to accept praise in some way.
It's not that he felt embarrassed by compliments, he simply hated them inteny.
“But Differin's stern face looks like candy to me.”
Evelyn did not suppress her naughty urge.
Since the massage was over, she suddenly reached out and placed her hand on his cheeks.
“Your beautiful appearance is not limited to just your hair, your face is amazingly beautiful as well.”
Devrin frowned as if he had just been insulted.
Evelin knew that if she continued to hold him, Differin would soon push her hand away, so she gently released her fist to his face.
She expected him to tell her not to touch him so freely or question her actions, but Dyffrin simply watched her in silence.
'...Why is he acting this way?'
When she tilted her head in confusion, Dyffrin muttered softly.
“You're not like usual.”
Evelyn wondered if she had gone too far with her prank.
But she thought it was actually better. She needed to dispel his doubts a little more at this point.
“Differin.”
Evelin called out to him with a somewhat serious expression.
“I'm trying to do my best now.”
“You said you hate seeing me cry, so I try to smile more, and I try to get closer to you through funny actions.”
While Evelin's usually lively expression became a little gloomy, Devrin's eyes widened slightly.
It was a subtle change in his expression, but she felt it immediately.
'Oh...this is unexpected.'
Regardless of everything, he seemed to have some affection for the heroine, his wife.
Since she had already started this, Evelin decided to go a little further.
“But… if you don’t like it, I’ll act like I did before.”
Even as she spoke, she felt very nervous.
You made a bold statement.
She didn't have the confidence to act like the original Evelin, but she threw out those words in hopes of gaining the upper hand later.
'Please, Dyffrin.'
'Just say you love my current f!'
Dyffrin moved his lips slightly.
“I…”
“You...?”
Evelin listened intently to his words.
"I don't care what you are. It's not something I can control anyway."
Although his answer was vague, Evelin found it satisfactory enough.
Devrin looked a little embarrassed by his words, so he cleared his throat.
With a slight smile, Evelin met Devrin's gaze with a calm expression.
“Thank you for saying that.”
Dyffrin, who had been staring at her, looked away.
"There's no need to thank me. Like I said, it's not like I can control your actions."
As he continued to complain, Evelin smiled at him cheerfully.
“Okay, I get it.”