SFO CH 19

Extra Episode: The Young Man is Jealous (Part 2)

I have not seen Al for almost a week.

As is the case every year during the time of the nobles’ council, he comes home later than usual, and I have the feeling that he stays overnight more often than usual.

I thought about waiting until night, but I also have a lot of work to do. Staying up until the next day every day was physically and mentally exhausting, and I couldn’t do it.

“Ma’am, please eat a little more…”

“I know, I know, but… I’m sorry.”

“In that case, I’ll bring you some fresh fruit juice. Please have something nourishing, even if it’s a little.”

Mia and Edna were both concerned for me. I managed to get the juice down my throat, which had a refreshing citrus scent. It was delicious.

I had hardly eaten at all for the past week. The head chef was worried about me and made me bread porridge and added more ingredients to the soup, but most days I am unable to finish my meal. My stomach simply closes itself tightly, and I have no appetite at all.

And since Mia and Edna were really worried about me, they would always serve me tea with some snacks that might be nutritious and some fruit juices.

I’ve managed to take in some of those things, but it’s obvious that something isn’t going well with me. I’ve been desperately asking everyone to keep quiet so that my husband doesn’t find out. The thought of him finding out that his own husband is so jealous of a man like Noah–five years his junior–he cannot even bring himself to eat is too pathetic.

I never thought I could be so weak.

I think Master has been rather doting on me lately, and Ethan has been working with me 24/7, and we’ve been too busy to worry about cheating on each other.

I wonder if he’s ever been worried about me cheating on him.

I know that him not letting Noah go until morning is nothing but a false rumor, and I believe Noah isn’t that kind of person, but even I was shaken when Ethan confessed to me on the frontier…

If not for my intrusion the two of them would have been in love with each other and would be together now.

My husband even went so far as to imprison Noah in an attempt to keep him from being taken away from him.

Even if they can’t get married, they could easily be lovers. They’re the perfect match for each other. Besides, it’s been three years since they last had a proper conversation, so it’s not surprising that they’ve rekindled their feelings for each other and gotten excited. And they’re still young, in their early twenties.

Ah, I’m getting tired. My body is tired, so I fall asleep quickly, but my sleep is shallow. I wake up many times in the middle of the night, and each time I wake up alone in bed, I feel sad. Even when my husband comes home sometimes, he doesn’t hold me in his arms, but instead stays at the edge of the bed.

What if he was alone with Noah in a closed room…?

What if they were communicating their thoughts and feelings to each other…?

What if… he was holding Noah right now?

Such disgusting fantasies go round and round in my head.

I’ve tried to get rid of them, but the doubts just won’t go away.

I can’t find any room for me in this tight bond between childhood friend and ex-lover.

After all this time, would he still prefer Noah’s younger body…?

Does my husband even want to touch the body of such an old man as myself anymore…?

And morning would arrive while I was busy thinking about these things.

Work still came to me even if I was sleep-deprived. The bureaucrats are also busy during the time of the noble’s council. I felt a little dizzy, but I couldn’t take a day off just because of this. Mia, Edna, and even Sebas tried to stop me, but I shook them off and went to work.

“I’m sorry to bother you, Section Chief Graphite.”

“Ah, Oliver-kun. Is this about the budget?”

“Well, I found a small area that could be shaved off, so I wanted to ask for your advice…”

When I turned my body to listen to Oliver-kun, my vision tilted.

“—Finn-san?!!”

I heard Oliver’s impatient voice and collapsed into his arms.

“I’m sorry. It’s nothing…”

“There’s no way this is nothing!! We’re going to the infirmary right now!!!”

Without another word, Oliver-kun, and he held me in his arms and asked a passing officer to inform my department, then started walking toward the infirmary.

“I’m so sorry, I’ve caused you so much trouble…”

“I told you to rely on me! I’m sorry too, I noticed you didn’t look well. I never thought you’d collapse like that…!”

At that moment, the master and Noah walked in from across the hallway.

‘…What are you doing to my wife?”

I heard the Master’s voice crawling over the others. He was angrier than I had ever heard him.

Why…? Since you already have Noah, why do you even care about me…? The two of you were having a pleasant conversation just now, weren’t you?

“He started feeling unwell during our meeting, so I am taking him to the infirmary. But you… you’ve left your wife in this condition while you go have your friendly chats with an old lover? That is unthinkable.”

“What…? Finn, are you sick? I haven’t heard anything from Sebas…”

My husband reached out his hand to me.

For some reason, I didn’t want to be touched, so I grabbed my hand that was on Oliver’s chest. It was as if I was clinging to Oliver, and both my husband and Oliver gasped.

‘Excuse me. Finn-san doesn’t seem to want to be touched by you anymore.”

“Finn, why…?”

“What do you mean, ‘why’? Why don’t you put your hand on your heart and think about it for a second? Think about how much your thoughtless behavior has hurt your wife Finn. Think about how people around you have been looking at you this past week”

The Master made a hurt face and then gave a dubious look at Oliver-kun’s words.

“Hmph. Looks like you’ve been staying at the royal palace and enjoying yourself with that ex-lover of yours for quite a while, huh? You didn’t even notice your wife has been feeling unwell!”

“What…!!”

“Oliver-kun, that’s enough. Let’s go.”

With eyes of heartfelt contempt, Oliver-kun glared at my angry-looking husband and the frozen and trembling Noah, and then he gallantly left the place and carried me to the infirmary.

‘I’m sorry, I overstepped my bounds.”

‘No, you said that out of concern for me. Thank you. I’m glad you said that.”

According to the witch doctor at the royal infirmary, I’ve been suffering from vertigo due to malnutrition and lack of sleep. I was given two days of bed rest.

“Oh, that was so uncool of me. I should’ve said something myself.”

“No, it’s not like that. You’re always so cool, Finn-san. No matter what is said in the royal palace, you always stand tall with dignity. You’re someone I look up to and have come to like a lot.”

“T-thank you. I’m a little embarrassed.”

“And being as cute as you has to be some kind of crime.”

“Oh, please stop it…”

The fact that the one who is saying such sweet words to me is Oliver, who has a rather cool image, makes me feel extremely shy. He must be very popular, this one. He has the ability to make quick decisions, and he has the guts to dare to speak out against a husband who is a marquess, even if he is younger than him. His methodical way of speaking, which doesn’t allow the other person to argue, is impressive.

I laughed when I recalled it, and Oliver gave me a suspicious look.

“No. I think you’ve said everything you wanted to say earlier.”

“Ah. I’m sure I didn’t say too much to the Marquess…?”

“Nah. Al’s the one at fault here, and if anything happens, I’ll stop it.

“…If there’s anything I can do for you, please, do not hesitate to let me know. If you don’t want to go back home, you are most welcome to come to our house. My brother and Aria will be delighted to see you.”

“Heh. It’s a tempting invitation, but I’ll leave it for another time. I have to talk this over with my husband again. I’m sure he’ll be back today after all that’s been said.”

Saying that he didn’t want to press the matter any further, Oliver-kun decided to end the conversation there and left the doctor’s office with a beautiful bow, as is typical of the Knights of the Order. As he left, he said to me, “Please remember that you can really contact me any time.”

I felt as if a large, kind dog had suddenly become attached to me, and I smiled for the first time in a long time.

I wanted to leave if they wouldn’t let me work too, but since I was too pale, I was put to sleep by the witch doctor’s sleep-inducing magic. I would be nourished while I slept.

When I next woke up, it was already starting to get dark.

The witch doctor immediately noticed that I was awake and examined me. He told me that I was fine to go home and told me to rest, eat well, and get plenty of sleep. Then, after giving me a set of precautions, he surprised me by saying, “Your husband has been waiting outside for a while now.” I was surprised. I had thought he’d be so busy that he didn’t even have time to go home.

“I must beg your pardon, but I have heard some unpleasant rumors about him and have barred him from entering the room. I assume he is to blame for your insomnia and malnutrition? I think it would be best to stay away from sources of stress for the time being.”

The kind witch doctor, who seemed to be in his thirties, asked, “What would you have me do? Shall I turn him away?” When I politely declined that, he said, “Don’t forget to take your sleeping pills and nutritional supplements. Also, the most important thing when dealing with cheating is to start from the beginning! If you don’t hold your ground from day one, they will take advantage of you!” What a mysterious piece of advice… His own husband must be a cheater.

I headed back to Al, smiling again at the unexpected support.

I got a lot of support from unexpected sources today. This made me very happy, since I had been under the impression that there were nothing but enemies in the royal palace because of the rumors.

I feel like I can do my best in my discussion with Al.