I Married a Sick Husband

Chapter 3 : I Married a Sick Husband Translated by TamEdited by Kio On the day of the wedding. Everyone has been busy with preparations since morning. Meredith got out of bed at dawn and waited for a carriage to the Palace. There was nothing important she had to do, as all the tasks she had to complete were to be done in the Palace. At best, it was just to tidy up her old room that she would never visit again. “You don’t have much luggage.” Diane said in a vague voice. “Are you sure you don’t need anything else?” “Yes, I’m fine.” Meredith decided to leave all except some clothes and accessories in the room. It wasn’t very luxurious in the first place, but it was not necessary anymore. She only took Diane, the only maid to her. That’s because she wanted to take as little luggage as possible. ‘Because it’s a new start’ When she was ordered to marry three months ago, she was just embarrassed. However, after the situation became like this, she was looking forward to it a little bit. A forced marriage felt like an escape from a beggarly house. Wherever you are, it’s better than here. “Maryl would have been very happy if she were alive.” Diane muttered in a sad voice. Maryl was the biological mother of Meredith. The maid from this house. The presence of her low birth alone must have touched the heart of the late Duchess of Schwartz. It was something that she could guess without having to go through. ‘But my mother,—’ Meredith became depressed when she recalled her dead mother. But that was only for a short while. “Lady Meredith.” She heard a knock on the door from outside, and a call for Meredith. “It’s time to leave.” Meredith, who dressed only in a plain pearl dress, stood up from her seat and went out the door. As she went down the stairs, she found her family waiting under the railing. This would be the last time they were all together until the wedding. But all of them had no expression on their faces. No, Catarina’s face was almost like a shit. In front of them, Meredith politely said her final greeting. “I’ll be on my way.” “Okay.” The Duke of Schwartz nodded bluntly and patted Meredith’s shoulders. “Beware, you must not cause any trouble to our family.” “….Yes.” “You can go.” And that’s how it ended. There were no emotional words such as “take care of yourself” or telling her to visit her parents whenever she had a hard time. ‘I expected it.’ Meredith gave a bitter smile. ‘This is a relationship we shouldn’t have expected in the first place.’ ‘What do you want from them?’ ‘You thought the father who gave you half his blood would be a little different, didn’t you?’ She must have been so foolish as not to give up her expectations. ‘Tsk, I’m stupid.’ Meredith quickly cleared her mind and turned around. She didn’t turn back as she got onto the carriage. Soon after that, the carriage started to move. Meredith did not look back even after Schwartz’s Mansion slowly moved away and became a speck. ****** When she arrived at the palace, it was Lady Renedi who greeted Meredith. “Welcome, Empress.” With beautiful golden eyes, she bowed politely to Meredith, with her dark green hair gracefully upturned. “Welcome to the Palace, Empress.” She was one of the people in charge of teaching Meredith. “I’m Yulia Rennedi, who will serve you in the future. Please call me Yulia at your convenience.” “Nice to see you again, Yulia.” “You haven’t fixed your tone yet.” Yulia’s forehead creased. “I’ve been emphasizing that until a few days ago.” “Ah…” Meredith had a blank look on her face. It was not easy to completely break down a habit that had been hardened for 20 years with only three months. “Well, that’s all right. It’s still before the wedding.” Knowing that, Yulia nodded generously. “But you can’t talk like that even after you officially become Empress. It doesn’t matter to the other nobles, but be careful to those who keep you company, Your Majesty. It’s a matter of Palace discipline.” “I see what you mean. I’ll keep that in mind.” “Yes, Your Majesty. That’s great.” Only then did the smiling Yulia guide Meredith with graceful gestures. “Please come this way.” Preparations for the wedding began immediately. Meredith turned into an elegant bride with her hair trimmed, a dress full of hemlines, and colorful accessories. By the end of about three hours of preparation, Yulia kindly informed her of the schedule. “Now the wedding is less than two hours away, Your Majesty.” “Yulia.” Then Meredith called Yulia. Yulia looked at Meredith. “What kind of person is His Majesty?” “…..” Yulia couldn’t answer right away. Meredith added a little word. “I’ve never seen him before.” “Ah..” However, even after hearing that, Yulia still had a hard time finding words. Like someone who has heard a difficult question to answer. Meredith waited patiently for Yulia’s answer. “Well, Your Majesty is…” Yulia picked her words quite carefully and opened her mouth. “He’s a great man… And has a good personality..” “And?” “And he’s really handsome.” “Is that so?” Meredith nodded lightly. Rather than asking out of particular concern, she was just asking out of curiosity. Because no one told her about her husband until the wedding day. At that time, Meredith had no way of knowing that Yulia did not say the most important thing. ***** “Your Majesty, the Empress is coming.” The door opened with a loud sound. Meredith, wearing a veil, took a careful step forward. She could feel the aristocrats staring at her from all sides. Meredith, who had never been so focused in her life, felt that the situation was somewhat burdensome and difficult. However, she stepped forward after giving strength to her toes. Finally, the moment came when she faced the Emperor for the first time. ‘…Ah.’ As Yulia said, the Emperor had a very beautiful appearance. His hair was as black as a black belt, and his pupils were darker than that. Looking deep into his eyes, seemed like looking into an abyss. In addition, he was very tall and well-built, so she could feel the Emperor’s dignity. ‘…You look like a statue that will be displayed somewhere in a museum.’ The Emperor’s beauty was beyond imagination. As pale as daylight. Sharp eyes and nose. Lips firmly shut. Although they gave a rather cold impression, the cold atmosphere seemed to make the Emperor’s beautiful appearance stand out. And by the way… ‘You didn’t sleep well last night?’ Dark shadows hung beneath the eyes.  It was funny that even the shadows underneath his eyes complimented his pale complexion. The bags underneath the Emperor’s eyes had no influence on his great beauty. However, a problem arose gradually while listening to the ceremony. “Cough, cough.” At first, she thought it was just a cough coming out of the dry air in the wedding hall. But over time, the intermittent cough showed no signs of stopping. Even at some points his hand was shaking. Only then did Meredith feel that things were unusual. ‘What’s wrong with you?’ But no one openly asked the Emperor, ‘Your Majesty, are you ill?’ Like they can’t hear the cough. “I’ll have to ask Your Majesty, the Empress first.” Then the officiating question came up. “Do you accept our Emperor as your husband, to love and respect him forever as his wife, and pledge to stand by him as his servant at any time?” “…Yes, I will.” “This time, I will ask the Emperor. Do you take the Empress as your wife and pledge her life as her husband to love and respect her, and to keep her house and Empire peaceful?” “I will.” “I hereby declare that you two are officially married.” As soon as the last word was spoken, applause erupted. Meredith held the Emperor’s hand carefully first. ‘…Ah.’ It was as cold as ice. ‘I almost let go because I was so surprised.’ Meredith turned her head and looked at the face of her new husband. He looked as if nothing had happened. At that moment, Meredith realized. ‘—Ah, you’re sick.’ There was a reason why the Duke of Schwartz made her the Empress instead of Catarina. ‘So that’s it.’ ‘It’s a waste to marry a sick Emperor to Catarina, but isn’t the Emperor’s wife position too attractive to give up?’ ‘There’s no way they’ll treat me well.’ There was a bitter smile around Meredith’s mouth, which roughly grasped the situation. Read only at Travis Translations