I Became the Husband of a Sword Demon

The warmth of the faint sunlight seeping through the blinds beyond the windowsill.

The gentle sound of a breeze hinting at the moment the sun begins to rise, barely audible from beyond the windowsill.

The chirping of crickets dominating the garden at dawn, and the flapping of birds’ wings, content with the abundance of food they heard would be plentiful today.

As my consciousness awoke, so did my senses.

For the past few days, due to my core being damaged, it was difficult to accurately perceive the outside world, but now it seemed to come naturally.

Ah, I slept well.

Though I couldn’t express it out loud, I felt much more refreshed than when I woke up yesterday.

After two consecutive nights of sleeping on the bed, my whole body feels invigorated.

Indeed, proper sleep is the first step in maintaining good health.

Thinking that I should properly thank Asulin for forcing me to rest in bed yesterday, the refreshing feeling I felt upon waking up was quite rare, despite everything.

And yet, even as I felt refreshed…

“I was just about to sleep a bit longer, but ended up sleeping until dawn.”

It was a shame to have slept for such a long time, longer than I intended.

Since I had experienced a similar situation yesterday, there was no one here to scold me for oversleeping, so it didn’t matter if I slept more.

Actually, if my body wasn’t so sore and I felt this good, getting up and moving around would be the best way to maintain my condition.

It would have been right to start the day by opening my eyes and getting up immediately.

But… before that, I should check the situation around me.

At that moment, since my condition was restored, I expanded my spiritual sense while controlling mana to increase my control over it during training.

“…”

With my decision made, I extended my spiritual sense without opening my eyes, and the bedroom where Asulin and I were, along with the surrounding conditions, felt as if they were within reach.

Even though I couldn’t see it, the presence of others, clearly existing, revealed themselves to me in the form of colors, far away, even with my eyes closed.

I could see the blueish aura of energy flowing gracefully beyond the bedroom door. It was Katarina. She stood still, her hands clasped, waiting outside the door.

… Even though I saw her jaw being hit properly by that mad Khalid and fainting, she was still standing there.

Thinking that she might have forced herself to stand despite her injured body for loyalty, I expanded my spiritual sense more delicately.

“Amazing.”

Through the expanded spiritual sense, there was not a trace of her working forcefully despite her injured body.

Even with my eyes closed, my mind processed the information received through my spiritual sense. I pondered how Katarina could be so unscathed.

Was it because of her inherently strong body, or because Khalid, who had his body completely hidden under a hood, mistook her for someone unrelated to the assassination attempt and knocked her out?

Either reason was plausible. Perhaps both were true.

Well, the assumption didn’t matter much. What truly mattered was the commendable attitude of the Caladborg family, treating such work as normal unless the injuries were severe enough to cause death or permanent disability.

‘The Caladborg family is no ordinary family.’

After all, they were capable of having a top-ranking knight of a typical count’s household serve as a personal maid to the next head of the house, which was impressive.

There was no need to worry about her; she seemed diligent enough to take care of herself without needing me to look after her.

So, I retracted my spiritual sense from afar and focused it back inside the room. The energy of Asulin, who was still lying beside me, felt clear and distinct, even from a short distance.

The energy I sensed from Asulin had a bluish-green hue, like her hair. It shone brightly with a density that could easily overwhelm several clusters of Katarina’s energy outside the door.

Her appearance, from her hair to every detail, was flawless.

Even the color of the energy I sensed through my closed eyes was beautiful.

I thought to myself, “There’s no need to worry about losing her,” but then immediately erased the thought.

Focus. If I decided to draw my sword, there are hardly any people in the empire who can match Asulin in combat, let alone work together with her.

Why would such a strong person lose their way on the street and require such imagination?

With a bitter smile, I managed to suppress my wandering thoughts and slowly opened my eyes, turning my head to look at her.

“…”

Her breathing was so faint that I could only hear it with great concentration. She looked peaceful, asleep.

She hadn’t turned to face me, but was lying on her side. Clearly, she hadn’t woken up yet.

I didn’t turn my head immediately but observed her quietly. The first thing that caught my eye was the sea of blue that filled my vision.

Her hair, lustrous and elastic, was something I wouldn’t expect from someone who fought on battlefields daily.

… It must feel nice to touch, doesn’t it?

Smack!

As soon as I started imagining something lewd, I slapped myself internally to punish the inappropriate thoughts.

Twitch!

The sudden movement caused by my slap made Asulin’s body tremble slightly, and I felt it through the blanket we shared.

“Ouch, you idiot. You woke her up while she needed rest to recover.”

Since I had already noticed, pretending to sleep again wasn’t an option.

“Cough.”

With a determined cough, I said,

“Good morning.”

I greeted Asulin, who had just woken up.

“…”

When I turned to look at Asulin, there was no real response from her.

I wondered if she hadn’t heard me because she had just woken up.

“Did you sleep… well?”

I cautiously spoke to her again.

“…”

Not even a proper response came from Asulin.

Twitch!

All I felt was a subtle tremor in her body.

… This is strange. Even if she pretended not to hear me, Asulin isn’t that bad of a person. I’ve confirmed over the past two days that she’s kind-hearted.

It wasn’t like she ignored my greeting on purpose, so I tried to think of other reasons.

Just as I was considering different possibilities, I noticed her breathing was irregular.

“… Could it be?”

A chill ran down my spine. At first, I thought it was just her sleeping breath, but it was too faint.

And then.

Thump-thump-

Only now did I realize the sound of her heartbeat, much louder and faster than her breath, was making me uneasy.

I regretted wasting time earlier, lazily expanding my spiritual sense.

“What a fool.”

Quickly reflecting on my careless behavior, I hurriedly got out of bed and went to Asulin’s side.

The bed was large enough for five adults, so it took some time to reach the other side, but my urgency matched my steps, and I arrived despite the size.

—

My eyes widened at the sight of Asulin, whose face was visibly feverish.

I needed to check her condition, so my hand instinctively reached for her forehead.

“… Insane.”

The heat on her forehead, which I initially felt as moderate, grew unbearably hot over time, radiating through my fingertips.

“Why is this happening?”

I hadn’t experienced such intense heat even when caring for someone with a high fever who couldn’t move.

Today, Asulin gave me a new experience.

There was no time to hesitate.

In these rooms, I usually used formal means to call servants.

Jingle-jingle-

This was the perfect size for calling a servant by shaking it.

“Someone called… Not the lady…”

“Right now is not the time for that. Quickly get a doctor or healer!”

Katarina, who entered the bedroom, was surprised by the call and confused, but I cut her off with an urgent request to bring a doctor or healer for Asulin.

She nodded silently and quickly left the room.

Despite the awkwardness, I appreciated her quick response to the situation, putting aside personal feelings.

Before that, I had one more thing to do.

“Can you leave a basin filled with cold water and a cloth suitable for placing on the forehead?”

Before Katarina left the room, I requested simple items to tend to Asulin until the doctor arrived.

Katarina responded with a flick of her fingers towards the open door and then left.

Even though her presence was weaker than Katarina’s, I felt the presence of other servants and wondered if simply flicking her fingers would suffice.

“There it is.”

Servants carrying exactly what I asked for arrived promptly, dispelling my doubts.

It was impressive. They seemed to have prepared everything necessary for Asulin’s care immediately, anticipating her condition.

Feeling grateful, I carefully placed the basin of cold water on the bedside drawer and soaked a cloth in the water, wringing it out before placing it on Asulin’s forehead.

The servants watching me showed subtle surprise, but I ignored them.

Typically, even someone from a declining noble family like a count’s child would find it unusual to see someone squeeze a cloth with their own hands and place it on an ill person’s forehead.

“But they don’t know how things were in the alleys.”

My experiences living among those in similar circumstances in the empire’s alleys allowed me to act without hesitation, placing the cold cloth on Asulin’s forehead.

Immediately, the pain caused by the fever eased, and Asulin’s expression softened.

Soon, the physician arrived, and the chaos that disturbed the calm morning of the Caladborg household began to settle.

—

Asulin, the beloved of the Caladborg ducal family and the future head, currently faced a very troubling situation.

Experiencing marauding demons suddenly from behind on the battlefield was an extremely troublesome situation, even more so than being unable to wake up.

Even though my eyes weren’t open, I could feel the concern of all the servants in the ducal residence through my spiritual sense, as if they were reaching out to me.

Next to me, my husband, whom I had married through a strategic marriage, was gently placing a cold cloth on my forehead with his own hands.

“Miss, please get better soon.”

The heartfelt concern from my lifelong maid, who had served me since childhood, made the current situation overwhelming.

If I were truly sick, I would be moved by the utmost care from those around me. But…

“I’m not sick…”

The genuine concern from those around me was the main reason for my current predicament.

I wasn’t sick. This situation arose from Andyminon’s presence, whom I had shared a bed with last night due to my stubbornness.

His presence affected me more than I expected, causing me to stay awake all night, resulting in these side effects.

The intense heartbeats that could make anyone misunderstand were caused by the steady presence of my husband, who lay quietly beside me.

The fever on my forehead, which startled him, was also a result of my heart racing uncontrollably.

Due to my racing heart, my metabolism increased, causing my body temperature to rise. When Andyminon’s hand touched my forehead unexpectedly, it startled me, and my body reacted like a runaway horse.

‘Big… rough… but caring hands…’

Although I was startled, I expressed satisfaction with the touch of his hands on mine.

‘No, this isn’t the time…’

To avoid being discovered that I was awake, I intentionally slowed down my metabolism.

Even though my metabolism was usually difficult to control when Andyminon was right beside me, once I maintained an appropriate distance, it became easier.

‘But I shouldn’t blame anyone…’

I calmed myself, pushing away any negative thoughts, knowing that I was the one who caused this inconvenience for everyone.

After clearing my thoughts, realizing that I was the one who brought this problem upon myself, the attention from the servants, my husband, and the physician was uncomfortable and heartbreaking.

‘Understandably, they might have misunderstood…’

I understood that anyone in my position would have been misunderstood, so I didn’t feel angry at their misunderstanding.

‘…Should I go out?’

…Unfortunately, it wasn’t as easy as I hoped, and the urge to cry was already welling up inside me.

For a moment, I considered getting up despite the embarrassment, hoping to clarify the misunderstanding.

Even though the night was long and I stayed awake, the slow passage of time in the morning felt even slower to Asulin, whose heart was burning with worry.

While those watching over her anxiously had their concerns, Asulin’s heart was burning in a different direction.

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