The Devilish Duke Can’t Sleep

Proofreader: somnium

God has reached out

Evelyn realized intuitively. Something different from usual. She found it much easier to open her eyes than at other times. Her blurred vision quickly regained its focus, and the fresh morning air filled her always heavy chest. Having lived with a headache, it felt like her head had cleared for the first time in years.

Evelyn calmed her bewildered consciousness, and first slowly raised her hand to examine it. As if laughing at the days when it was difficult to even raise her hand, she could easily bring her palm to her eyes and look at it.

Her hands were still devoid of its luster and her wrists were still as skinny as a skewer. But it wasn’t the same as usual. Even in midsummer, there was warmth in her hands that used to be like ice cubes. Even when she put it on her head and even when she wiped her neck, it was definitely warm.

‘How did this happen?’

Evelyn blinked her eyes, then plucked up the courage to raise her torso. Her elbows supporting her on her bed trembled through her arms, but after a brief effort Evelyn was able to lift her upper body up on her own. It had been three years since she had raised her body on her own.

‘Oh my ……!’

She got up to herself and sat up and looked around. It had been a long time since she looked around at this eye level. She could see a faint dawn coming through the thick curtains hanging by the window. The handmaiden who had kept her all night was asleep beside her, and the scent of the herbs that was always smoked had already burned out and smoked fine white smoke.

Evelyn moved her legs slowly, silencing the voice so the handmaiden would not wake up. Her legs, which had not even felt a sensation, moved at her will after a long time, and it came out of the blanket, and then placed her feet on the thick carpeted floor.

‘Can I walk?’

She didn’t even know that as soon as she got up she might fall heavily. She was given treatment to move her legs every day, but she couldn’t walk for too long. But if she was as fresh as she is now, she seemed to be able to smile happily even if she fell. Evelyn carefully tightened her leg. She felt the bones and muscles of her legs, which she had long forgotten to exist, start to stretch.

She pressed her soles to the floor and pressed her legs and heel to the floor. And she slowly straightened her back. She stood without losing her leg bones. It wasn’t until later that she recognized that she was standing, Evelyn shuddered her body and she gasped a shallow breath. It wasn’t that she was out of breath. She can’t believe this is happening, She was so moved, she was just amazed…….

She decided to walk while she was at it. The moment she took one step, she might fall down, but now it doesn’t matter. Grabbing the bed post by her side, she slowly lifted one foot away and stepped forward. Then she moved the other feet, which remained behind, back in front of her.

‘I just…… I took one step.’

It was a very short distance, but her two feet moved one step at a time, so it was definitely one step. Dew formed on the corners of Evelyn’s darkened eyes. She took another step. The stride was wider than before. However, the other leg followed the previous leg without much trouble.

 

“Sniff…….”

As her sobs erupted, Evelyn hurriedly covered her mouth. If her handmaiden woke up, she would have held her and tried to lay her on the bed. But she didn’t want to lie down yet. If this is the power she gained from burning the last vitality just before she died, she wanted to die watching the bright morning sun rather than extending her breathing time by one more hour.

Evelyn let go of her hand that was holding the bedpost. Even so, she was still holding up well. The legs moved again. One step, another step…… She didn’t even run out of breath. There was no pain anywhere. Her whole body felt light as if the disease had disappeared overnight.

“Good morning, Your Excellency.”

Doctor Hans, who was dozing outside Evelyn’s room, was startled and greeted him in the morning.

“Well. You worked hard, Hans.”

Damien quietly opened the door to the room where Evelyn was lying, at the same time as usual, hearing the same greeting as usual. It wasn’t Evelyn’s time to wake up, but it was his habit to check her condition.

However, the door to the terrace in the room was open and the cold morning air was pouring in, and the handmaiden who was attached to Evelyn to take good care of her was staring out with a crazy face and only towards her terrace. It was as if she didn’t even know he had come.

Damien didn’t know how this had happened, but one thing he knew for sure was that these cold winds were fatal to Evelyn.

“What are you doing now! The door is open!”

Damien hurried inside and rebuked the handmaiden. However, he grimaced as the handmaiden only pointed her finger at the terrace. Then Damien turned his head and looked outside at the terrace. He saw a woman standing still and watching the rising sun.

Her wheat-colored hair, gently fluttering in the morning breeze, was something he had been accustomed to seeing. But the wheat-colored hair he knew had not been blown away by the wind like that for the past twenty years or so. He could only see it scattered on the bed sheets and pillows…….

“Evelyn……?”

The woman who had stood facing the sun looked back at his blank voice.

“Damien!”

 

“Evelyn?”

“Damien…….”

Damien was looking at her with his eyes, but he couldn’t believe it. He seemed to understand now why the handmaiden was so stiff. Evelyn, who he had not seen much of a difference even after taking all the medicine and calling all the priests who were said to be strong, suddenly stood on her own feet, walked, and was smiling brightly like that despite the wind. This was a miracle.

“Is this a dream……?”

“Even if this is a dream, I like it. I don’t mind dying right now.”

Tears streamed down Evelyn’s brightly smiling cheek. Damien ran to Evelyn and hugged her slender body. She was still thin, but she was warm despite her body standing in the cold wind. It was a human temperature.

“Ha, Hans! Hans!”

The handmaiden, awakened by the sound of him calling the doctor, sprinted out and brought the doctor, Hans. And he, too, looked at Evelyn and stiffened his eyes wide open for a while.

“This…… How……!”

“First, check Evelyn’s condition. Evelyn. Can you walk?”

Evelyn moved her feet lightly in response. The person who seemed to have lost all her strength until yesterday was now walking lightly like a fairy. Tears welled up in Damien’s eyes as he watched her sit back down on the bed. He couldn’t fathom how many years it had been last time he saw Evelyn walk, or how long it had been to see her smile so brightly.

Hans took a few deep breaths so as not to get excited by this unusual miracle, then carefully grabbed Evelyn’s wrist and took her pulse. Normally, her pulse was so weak that it took a long time to find her pulse, but today he could feel her pulse right where he touched.

“Pulse, normal. It is incomparably good with the usual condition of the Madam. Could you stick out your tongue for a moment this time?”

Used to it, Evelyn didn’t feel awkward and kept her tongue out. Evelyn couldn’t see it, but not only Hans, but Damien could see at a glance that her tongue had improved greatly. The tongue, which was usually white and almost purple, is now a deep pink color like a normal person.

Hans further checked the movement of her eyes, pupils, body temperature, and muscle condition, and shook his head sharply.

“This…… It is a miracle that cannot be explained by modern medicine. Or maybe, the priests’ blessings come into effect late. It would be a good idea to bring a healing priest and check the energy flowing through the Madam’s body.”

With those words, Damien hurriedly contacted the temple.

And when Hans was convinced that Evelyn had really regained her strength, this miraculous news came to Kahel as well. Upon hearing the news, he immediately ran to his mother’s bedroom.

“Mother!”

“Kahel!”

Evelyn was sitting on the sofa with several cushions. Kahel wondered how long it had been for him to see his mother not helplessly lying on her bed. No, he was sure everyone in this family would think the same.

“Are you in pain anywhere?”

The voice of Duke Luave, who had nothing to fear in this world, trembled softly. Evelyn’s eyes were also moistened by that emotional voice.

“No, there is no pain anywhere. Now, I feel like a human.”

Kahel hurriedly sat on his knees in front of his mother and gently wiped his mother’s eyes with the white handkerchief. He thought he was going to watch his mother die, but he was going to get up from her seat……!

He took his mother’s slender hand. Unlike last night, which was dry and cold, he could feel the warmth of a person and it was not dry. That alone was so thrilling that Kahel kissed the back of his mother’s hand.

The two mother-and-child couldn’t say much and just looked at each other, filled with joy.

After a while, the healing priest, who had been dispatched after receiving urgent news with a hawk, took hold of Evelyn’s hands and closed his eyes in front of Damien, Kahel, Hans, and the handmaidens watching. He honestly thought the news had come to inform that Evelyn was dead. The last time he healed Evelyn, it was as if he had attached only the breath of a person who would not be strange if she died immediately.

But, sensing the energy within her, he widened his eyes with a look similar to the one Damien or Hans had made upon seeing Evelyn for the first time.

“This, this can’t be…….”

“How is it? Is it temporary? Or can I have hope?”

At Damien’s desperate voice, the priest slowly turned his head toward him.

“Obviously, God has reached out. That’s the only way I can explain it. No one in the world can do such a miracle.”

“Tell me more about it!”

“Do you remember our last blessing of healing before the predecessor Duke went to the capital?”

“Of course, I remember.”

“At that time, we put about ten days’ worth of vitality into the Duchess’ body. That was the best we could do. Since vitality is not constant, even if it is 10 days for an average person,

It could all disappear in a week, or maybe even a fortnight if you’re lucky, but we’re guessing the madam…… we thought she couldn’t do more than that. The only thing that blessing from a while ago could do was just a little bit of reinforcement.”

There was nothing in the room except for the sound of a gulp.