I’ve Become a S*ave Bride - Chapter 25

“Cough, cough, are you here again today?”

For the third day in a row, Lenette, who had been coming to the old man’s house, bowed her head toward him.

“Hello, sir. I’ll take care of the cleaning today, so please lie down and rest comfortably.”

Through various circumstances, Lenette had diagnosed the old man’s illness as ‘pneumonia.’ In such cases, the only treatment she could ultimately provide was supportive care to create an environment where the old man’s body could heal itself.

That’s why Lenette had been cleaning the old man’s house without fail every day.

“No… I really feel bad about this…”

“It’s okay. This is part of the treatment.”

“Still…”

The old man chuckled, his wrinkled eyes crinkling. Lenette put on a deliberately serious expression toward him.

“If you feel bad, then please eat well and rest well. Recover quickly so you can save my face.”

“Haha, I’m really grateful for you saying that.”

Since he covered his nose and mouth with a handkerchief, Lenette could only smile with her eyes.

“Then I’ll continue cleaning.”

It was quite by chance that Lenette came to find the connection between ‘hygiene’ and ‘disease.’

During the conquest wars of Ecaron, the cannons and artillery produced by Clermont were deployed to the front lines of the battlefield, so naturally, Lenette, one of the responsible parties, was always sent to the war zones.

But who was she? She was a woman engaged to the crown prince, destined to become a queen in the future.

Therefore, for safety reasons, she had to support the injured from the rear rather than being in the middle of the battlefield.

This was precisely why Lenette became proficient in the new medicine.

“Ahhh! My arm…! My arm…!”

“Hold the patient tightly!”

“It hurts…!! Help me…!! I’m begging you to save me!!”

During those days when she treated the injured from the rear, Lenette had to see everything, regardless of whether it was a sight she wanted to see or not.

And the day she saw that ‘unpleasant sight’ particularly intensely, a ‘thorough cleaning’ was inevitably carried out.

“Marin! Are you cleaning again? You don’t have to do this!”

“It’s become a habit, so it’s fine. It’s not hard work.”

“Still… Miss Lenette! Oh dear, why are you cleaning again? Someone stop her! Don’t clean along with them!”

When there was no war, Lenette frequently went to and from the workshop where ‘gunpowder’ was handled, even bringing her research materials into her own room.

Thus, her maids, as well as Lenette herself, were particularly meticulous about ‘cleaning.’ A single grain of gunpowder accidentally smeared somewhere could lead to a large fire and cause a major accident.

That unconscious habit even extended to the temporary treatment tents on the battlefield… leading to an unexpectedly significant discovery.

“Lady Lenette, did you know our treatment center is particularly popular?”

“Really?”

“Yes. There’s a saying among the soldiers that if you go elsewhere, you’ll die, but if you come here, you’ll live.”

“That’s just a superstition.”

“I initially laughed it off, but when I compared it to other treatment centers, our fatality rate is indeed significantly lower, and the recovery speed is faster too.”

“…Tell me more about it.”

Not long after, Lenette and the doctors of new medicine began their research.

Soon, a theory about the correlation between ‘hygiene’ and ‘disease’ was established.

“Cleanliness alone cannot defeat diseases. However, in terms of prevention, it is more effective than any other method.”

“The ability to prevent additional infections in patients creates a tremendous difference in treatment outcomes.”

This discovery changed the very constitution of the Ecaron Kingdom.

The royal family began to actively promote the importance of cleanliness.

As a result, the transmission rate of infectious diseases sharply decreased, and the number of deaths fell. The extent of this change was so significant that there was a marked difference in population compared to the surrounding city-states that needed to be conquered.

Ultimately, the hygiene concepts established by Lenette laid the foundation for overwhelmingly conquering the neighboring kingdoms.

“At that time, I was just happy.”

During the time when the entire population of the Ecaron Kingdom was engulfed in the madness of war, Lenette felt the same way.

But… now, who knows.

While her discovery saved many lives, it is undeniable that those ‘saved lives’ became reapers, slaughtering others. Was that truly the right path?

Lenette bitterly ran her tongue over her mouth.

“…If I think like this, it’s endless.”

In medicine, cannons, and even the portable cannons under development, all the fields she had stepped into were far from ‘humanitarian efforts.’

“Don’t overthink it. Just focus on the choices that will allow you to survive.”

After diligently cleaning for the past two days, there wasn’t much left to tidy up. However, due to the local conditions, sand and dust accumulated easily.

“There should be plenty of water left from yesterday’s boiling.”

She went to the river to fetch clean water, allowed impurities to settle, and boiled it just in case before cooling it down.

“There’s quite a bit left.”

She scooped water from a large jar made of baked clay. Then she dampened a clean cloth that she had washed and laid out in the sun yesterday, beginning to wipe down every corner of the room.

Suddenly, she spotted Kazen through the open window. He was standing there, idly chatting.

‘He’s doing that again.’

The person he was talking to appeared to be a local resident from outside the palace.

‘Why is he just standing there? Not even helping.’

At first, she thought he wasn’t coming in because he was worried about catching something.

But that wasn’t the case. It seemed he was simply too engaged in conversation with the townsman to come inside.

“What are they talking about like that?”

As she unconsciously peered out the window, Kazen suddenly turned his head sharply and looked at Lenette.

“……!”

Startled by their eyes meeting unexpectedly, she flinched and trembled slightly at her shoulders.

Seeing her like that, he smirked with a teasing smile, as if to say, ‘I caught you sneaking a peek at my face!’

“……”

It felt unjust for no reason.

So, without any context, Lenette shot him a glance and huffed, turning her body to wipe the few pieces of furniture.

Before long, a lazy voice came from above her.

“I told you not to fall for me.”

Leaning against the window, he tilted his head at an angle and said that.

Lenette let out a long sigh intentionally loud enough for him to hear.

“They say there’s no cure for delusion.”

He chuckled softly, letting out a short sound.

Lenette, who had been bending over to clean the furniture, straightened up and looked at him directly.

“I’m not looking at you because I’m infatuated; I’m looking at you because you’re annoying.”

“Annoying? What do you mean?”

“What do you think? It’s annoying that you haven’t helped me carry water for three days.”

At that, Kazen shrugged his shoulders and reacted nonchalantly.

“Just say it. Ask for help.”

“I didn’t know I had to explicitly ask for help. I thought you’d see me struggling with that heavy water jug and offer to help since you have eyes and ears.”

After quietly watching her, he remarked, “You’re not very articulate.”

“Do I have to use honorifics even when I’m talking to myself?”

To be honest, it was true that she was annoyed.

Whether it was carrying the water jug or diligently stomping on all that laundry, you would think at least he would ask, “What are you doing? ” But that guy, lost in his chatter, pretended not to notice her struggling.

At the very least, he could have said something like “You’re working hard,” but he completely ignored her, literally.

So she wasn’t in a good mood—

“Sorry.”

An unexpected word slipped from Kazen’s lips. When Lenette looked up at him in disbelief, he spoke again.

“Sorry. I had some things to take care of, so I wasn’t paying attention. I’m sorry.”

“……”

Why is he apologizing so directly?

“It’s fine. Well… I could have just asked for help… It’s okay.”

As I awkwardly replied, he paused for a moment before disappearing.

Lenette gaped in disbelief at the sudden turn of events.

“What’s that?”

He apologized and then just left to take care of his business?

“What the…”

Where did he learn the etiquette of disappearing without a word?

“Ha….”

With a hollow laugh, she turned her body. But then—

“What do you need to do?”

“Ah!”

He asked from behind her, having approached without making a sound. This time she was genuinely startled, clutching her chest and stepping back.

“What is it, suddenly?”

“Why are you so surprised?”

“Don’t you get surprised when I suddenly appear?”

I sighed and rolled my eyes while calming my racing heart. Kazen looked down at her intently and reached out to press his finger against Lenette’s forehead.

“You have a habit of glaring.”

“……Don’t touch my face without permission.”

“Isn’t it okay since you’re my bride?”

“No. It’s not okay.”

“We’re sleeping in the same bed anyway?”

This guy is something else. Lenette bit her lip and glared at him more fiercely.

At that, Kazen chuckled and lowered his hand.

“Alright. Stop glaring. It just makes me want to tease you more.”

“……You’re really strange.”

Without realizing it, Lenette muttered in her native language and quickly changed the subject, wondering what he would ask next.

“If you’re going to help, can you take those old, rotten pieces of furniture outside?”

She had tried to move them by herself, but they wouldn’t budge at all.

Kazen didn’t ask why they needed to be thrown away. He simply lifted one of the old wooden boxes effortlessly without a word.

“Is this it?”

It seemed ridiculously light to him as he looked at Lenette with a puzzled expression.

“……”

It was something she couldn’t lift even with both hands… but now it seems somewhat empty.

“Yes, that’s it.”

It was incredibly heavy for her. He lifting it so easily is unusual.

She wanted to add that but held back.

“…Please throw it away and come back. There’s a lot more to do.”

“There’s more to do here?”

“Yes.”

Now that a worker had joined, she was planning to seriously renovate the house to suit the patient.