Instead of My Stepsister, I Have Become Engaged to the Son of a Marquis, Who Is Said to Only Have a Year Left to Live - Chapter 17

Chapter 17
While having breakfast

　At breakfast, Edith brought the steaming, hot herb porridge to Lionel’s mouth, one mouthful at a time. Lionel’s face lit up as he took a bite.

“The herb porridge you made for me with eggs is also very delicious.”
“Thank you; I’m glad that it suits your palate. I’ve also slightly changed the types of herbs I used…. I also added some of the herbs I saw in the courtyard earlier, which I had prepared in a decoction. With this, I think your pain will go away even if you don’t take those pills again.”
“You’re an excellent pharmacist, Edith. It’s reassuring to have you by my side.”

　Lionel’s smile, illuminated by the morning sun, looked so beautiful to Edith that she blushed slightly. When he looked so ill, she hadn’t had time to think about such things, but looking at him up close, she saw that his features were very well-proportioned. His large, narrow eyes were framed by long eyelashes, and together with his high nose and elegant lips, his small face was perfectly balanced. Edith knew that Lionel’s eyes were still sunken and his cheeks were a little hollow, so his face hadn’t completely returned to its original state. But just imagining how handsome he would be once he recovered made Edith feel dizzy.

(Now that I think about it, my stepsister also said that Lionel was very handsome when she saw him a long time ago…)

　As Edith was thinking about this, she gazed intently at Lionel’s face, and he noticed her gaze and blinked.

“What’s the matter, Edith? Is there something on my face?”

　Edith answered him embarrassedly.

“No. I was just thinking that you have a beautiful face, Lionel-sama, when I saw you up close.”

　Lionel stared blankly at Edith, then let out a smile of amusement.

“You’re quite strange, Edith. To say something like that after seeing me like this. But of course, I don’t mind hearing you say that.”

　Lionel’s eyes, a clear purple-blue like tanzanite, sparkled, and Edith felt her heart naturally flutter. Staring at Edith with slightly fevered eyes, Lionel muttered softly.

“Edith, ever since I met you, I’ve wanted to live longer. I want to spend even a little bit of time with you. Before I met you, my whole body hurt, it was painful even to breathe, I couldn’t move my body freely, and I had nothing that could be called hope. But now I have a wonderful woman like you by my side. I don’t want you to be snatched away by anyone else, so I need to get better too.”
“I’m sure you will recover, Lord Lionel. I’ll be by your side as long as you wish, so please rest assured.”
“Yes. Thank you, Edith.”

　Edith narrowed her eyes at Lionel, whose expression relaxed with joy.

“Compared to yesterday, you seem to be in much better health, and I’m sure your father will be very pleased. Yesterday too, he was worried about you, Lord Lionel.”
“…I’ve caused my father a lot of hardship. My mother passed away a few years ago, and he was really depressed, and then I fell ill. That must have been really hard on my father. I hope I can put him at ease as well.”
“Yes, I’m sure you can relax. Don’t push yourself too hard, and let’s slowly but surely get your body back to normal.”

　Edith smiled as she said this, and then suddenly remembered the words she had heard from Lionel’s father the day before.

“Now that I think of it, when I met Father yesterday, he told me that the woman to whom your younger brother Craig is to be engaged will be coming to pay her respects at the Marquis of Granvelle house in the near future.”
“…I see, Eugenie is coming.”

　Lionel’s expression seemed to harden just a moment, and Edith blinked.

“Lord Lionel, you also know about the young lady who is the partner of Lord Craig, don’t you?”
“Yeah, she’s also my childhood friend.”
“Well, I guess so.”

　Lionel looked down thoughtfully for a moment, then looked up at Edith.

“I’m sure that if you stay in this house, you will eventually hear about this, so I’ll go ahead and tell you first so there will be no misunderstanding… Eugenie was originally meant to be engaged to me.”
“…!”

　Edith gasped at what Lionel said, but Lionel continued calmly.

“We had planned to get engaged due to the circumstances of our families, but her partner ended up being Craig, nothing more, nothing less. … I am truly happy that you have become my fiancée. I want you to remember that.”

　Staring intently into Lionel’s eyes, Edith couldn’t think of anything to say in response, so she could only nod silently.