Investing in My Crippled Wife: Every Return Makes Me Stronger

’...Master, that princess is really moving toward Lady Ethea.’

Soren squinted briefly, his senses suddenly widening and landing on Ethea’s room. He could easily ’see’ the figure stealthily making way to the door.

’...She really guessed it correctly.’ Soren replied. ’I guess their relationship was much better than I expected. But...’

’Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on them.’ Malakor reassured Soren. ’You can focus on the competition.’

’Alright, thank you.’ Soren let out a breath and turned back to his station. ’But... what about the ’princess’ sitting there? Is she fake? Some sort of illusion?’

’...I believe it’s a real person using some kind of spell or artifact.’ Malakor replied. ’A pretty powerful one at that.’

’I see.’ Soren recalled the stories and rumors he’d heard. That royalty would often have stand-ins, body doubles to protect themselves from assassinations and whatnot. Guess that was true.

”Huff...”

He took another deep breath and cleared his mind of distracting thoughts and got straight to work.

───────

Ethea watched as the quarterfinals of the competition started. A few minutes passed before the door was knocked on.

’...She’s here.’ Ethea’s lips curled up behind her mask. She only spoke when the door was knocked on again. ”Who is it?”

”...It is me, junior.” A gentle voice echoed.

Ethea kept silent to appear natural before replying. ”...Come in.”

The door opened without making a sound, and a figure dressed in red robes entered the room. Ethea turned the wheelchair toward the entrance at the same time the figure took off their hood, and their eyes met.

”...”

They stared at each other for a long moment.

”...It really is you.” The figure was the first to break the silence. ”Right?”

”Long time no see, Your Highness.” Ethea subtly nodded. ”How have you been?”

’...Not Senior but Your Highness...’ The figure, Princess Roya to be more exact, repeated her words in her mind. Her heart ached a little at the distance in Ethea’s tone. They had never been close friends, but there was a time when they could speak more freely. But now... Status and formality stood between them like a wall.

Not to mention that she hadn’t even visited Ethea after the incident. While she had sent a word, it was only through an attendant, and even then, she had no way of knowing whether it even reached Ethea at all. Because by the time she learned the full extent of what happened, Ethea had already disappeared from the public eye. And she had always regretted not doing more. And... standing here now, face to face with Ethea, the regret felt heavier than ever.

It took her a few minutes to push it down and put on a smile.

”...T-Thank you... I ...I have been great.” But the words barely managed to leave her throat. ”What... about you? Have you been well?”

’...Urgh. I messed up.’

Fortunately, Ethea didn’t seem to mind it. ”I have been great too. And... what brings you here?”

”I... I’m sorry for visiting without notice.” Roya took a small breath and straightened her posture. ”And I’m sorry for not coming to see you after the incident. I wanted to, but by the time I found a way, you were already gone.”

Ethea listened quietly, her expression unreadable.

”I know that’s not a good excuse.” Roya’s hands curled at her sides. ”But now that you’re here... if there’s anything I can do, I want to help.”

Ethea was silent for a moment, then shook her head. ”You don’t need to apologize. Knowing you were worried is more than enough... Senior Sister Roya.”

Roya’s eyes lit up at the familiar address. For the first time since entering the room, a genuine smile broke through her composed mask.

”But I really want to help you.” Her voice softened. ”Please, let me do something. Even if it’s small.” Her gaze flickered toward the wheelchair, then back to Ethea’s face. ”If there’s anything you need, anything at all...”

Ethea studied her for a moment, and the faint curve of her lips returned. ”Then... sit with me and watch the competition for a while.” She gestured to the chair beside her. ”That will be enough.”

”Are you sure?” Roya asked.

Ethea nodded and turned back toward the window, while removing her mask.

Roya took the seat beside her, still unsure what to say, until she noticed where Ethea’s gaze had settled. It was fixed on one person, and only one person. She followed that gaze down to the stage below and landed on that very person.

’...Soren Everly.’

He was focused on his work, his hands moving with practiced precision. There was nothing flashy about him, and yet the way he moved spoke of someone who had spent years perfecting his craft.

’...How did he manage to marry someone like her?’

’...She didn’t get seduced by his looks, right?’

’Or...’

Before she could ponder it further, Soren raised his head and glanced in their direction. For a split second, Roya froze, certain he was looking at her. But then she realized his gaze was aimed past her. She quickly turned her head to the right and froze.

Ethea... was smiling. Her eyes were warm, her expression soft, and she was looking at Soren as if he was the only person in the entire arena, or perhaps in the entire world...

’!’

Roya’s mind went blank.

She had known Ethea for years, had seen her in battle and at classes, and not once had she ever seen that kind of smile on her face. It wasn’t the polite curve of a noblewoman or the composed mask of a warrior. It was... the kind of smile a woman wore when she looked at the person she loved with all her heart. And it suited Ethea more than anything Roya had ever seen before.

’...’

Roya’s gaze shifted back to the man on the stage, then to Ethea, then back again.

’...I think I understand now.’

She felt a little stupid for all the wild theories she had come up with yesterday and even just now. While she might not be as strong as Ethea, she knew enough about the relationship between a man and a woman to recognize this.

’This is... pure love.’

The realization settled over her like a blanket, pressing down on every doubt she had carried into this room.

And for the first time since stepping into this room, she found herself truly at a loss for words. Not because she was nervous or didn’t know what to say, but because she felt like an intruder, watching something that should have been private.

She turned her gaze away from Ethea and looked down at her own hands. ’...I hope he knows how lucky he is.’

Then, after a long pause, she let out a soft breath and spoke. ”So... you got married?”

”...” Ethea’s ’special’ smile vanished as she turned toward Roya. ”That’s right. Sorry for not inviting you.”

Roya froze for a second, realizing how her question had sounded. She hadn’t meant to make it seem like she was upset about not being invited.

”No, I didn’t mean it like that,” she said quickly. ”I was just surprised, that’s all.” She fumbled for the right words. ”I mean... How did it even happen? And why him? Is he truly... I mean, is he worthy of you? He seems... ordinary...”

Before Ethea could respond, Roya added hastily, ”I don’t mean any offense. I can see how much you care for each other. It’s just... the Ethea I knew wouldn’t have settled for just anyone or been interested in such matters...” Her voice trailed off, and she found herself unable to meet Ethea’s eyes.

’...Urgh, just what am I saying?’

It was always like this. Whenever the topic turned to Ethea, Roya’s mind became a tangled mess. She could never tell if it was because of the countless times she had lost to her in spars despite being her senior, or because the admiration she carried was so deep that it made her overthink every single word. Either way, the result was the same. She always ended up sounding like a fool and overthinking things.

Fortunately, Ethea replied in time to save her from further embarrassment.

”I can’t tell you the details right now,” Ethea said, her voice calm but sincere. ”But I can tell you with certainty that Soren is more than I ever deserved. In fact, I believe I’m the one who isn’t worthy of him.”

”Huh?” Roya became dumbfounded. ”W-What do you mean?”

”He...” Ethea’s gaze drifted back toward Soren. ”He gave up so much for me. And... he never once made me feel like a burden, even when I couldn’t do anything for myself...”

She paused, then turned back to Roya, her tone shifting slightly, growing colder. ”Your Highness, while we may have been close in the past, I would appreciate it if you didn’t look down on my husband.”

Roya flinched, opening her mouth to apologize. ”I wasn’t-”

”I know you didn’t mean it that way.” Ethea’s expression softened, though her voice remained indifferent. ”But if you ever speak of him like that again...”