IFHWPUML Chapter 084

“…Miss. Would it be possible to talk about this later?”

Chase realized that Lizelle was misunderstanding something, but he couldn’t correct it now.

His vision had started to spin.

Something was wrong.

It felt like his desire was boiling over and spreading throughout his entire body, to the point where he thought he might die.

“For now, just get in. It seems faster to head home than to call for a physician.”

Seeing his pale face, Lizelle opened the carriage door for him.

He looked as if he might collapse at any moment.

Though she was overflowing with anger, she didn’t want to argue with someone who was clearly sick.

Chase struggled to climb into the carriage, his breathing heavy.

As he attempted to close the carriage door to be alone, Lizelle unexpectedly followed him inside.

“I want to go alone…”

“Please head to the manor quickly.”

Lizelle cut him off and urged the coachman.

The duke’s carriage set off. Initially moving slowly, it quickly picked up speed.

“Haa…”

Chase sat opposite Lizelle, clutching his head in his hands.

He pressed himself as close to the window as possible, trying to stay as far from her as he could.

He wanted to be alone, fearing he might do something to her…

Instead, they were now together in a small, enclosed space.

This was dangerous. The situation was not good.

Struggling to ignore her presence, he raised his trembling hand to open the window wide.

He needed fresh air.

The heat coursing through him made it feel as if he might lose his mind.

“I’m waiting because you’re unwell.”

Lizelle let out a sigh as she looked at Chase’s complexion.

She wanted to snap at him but couldn’t do that to someone who was sick. She was so frustrated, she was about to get sick as well.

“Do you have a handkerchief?”

She asked while retrieving a water bottle from a small compartment beside the carriage.

He was sweating profusely, and she thought cooling him down might help.

If she wet a towel with water and wiped the sweat off, it might help reduce the fever.

“Your Grace, is the handkerchief inside your jacket?”

Chase didn’t respond. He just sat there blankly, as though he lacked the strength to answer.

Sighing softly, Lizelle moved closer to him.

Upon closer inspection, the problem wasn’t just the fever. His lips were completely dry.

“Drink some water first.”

She unscrewed the cap and offered it to him.

However, he only moved his eyes sluggishly, glancing between the bottle and her, making no attempt to reach for it.

“Here.”

Seeing no other option, Lizelle took his hand and placed the bottle in it herself.

At that moment.

The water bottle fell to the floor with a thud.

Chase grabbed her hand instead.

Water was trickling from the dropped water bottle.

The flowing water soaked the carriage carpet.

“…”

“…”

A heavy silence descended on the carriage, along with a strange atmosphere.

There was only the sound of his breathing, which was so rough that his chest was swelling noticeably, and the sound of Lizelle’s shallow and uneven breathing.

Lizelle looked down at her captured hand, then raised her gaze to meet Chase’s.

Something was strange.

His eyes, usually composed, were darkened, yet they seemed oddly hollow.

“…I clearly warned you.”

Chase couldn’t take it anymore. The limit had long been crossed.

A very dangerous glint burned vividly in his eyes.

“I told you not to come closer.”

He interlocked his fingers with her slender ones.

Even this simple contact sent electric shocks through his body, every nerve ending focused on their joined hands.

“Why…?”

An alarm blared in Lizelle’s mind, along with a sense of unease.

Something was very wrong and dangerous.

But she couldn’t pull away from his grasp.

She didn’t understand why, but his touch and gaze seemed to hold her captive.

They were both too hot—his hands and his stare.

His eyes burned, not with warmth, but with an intensity like flames, rising uncontrollably.

They were filled with deep longing. A desperate desire for something.

The same was true of his hands.

The body temperature from his hand grasping hers was like a branding iron.

“Because it’s dangerous.”

Chase’s voice was low, his lips moving slowly as he stared only at her.

His gaze was unwavering, as though he decided to stop holding himself back.

“What… exactly?”

Lizelle’s green eyes trembled.

She swallowed hard, unable to avoid or escape his piercing gaze.

Chase looked at the confused Lizelle and pulled her hand.

Caught off guard, Lizelle stumbled and ended up pressed against him.

She was so close she could feel his hot breath.

He lowered his lips to her hand and whispered.

“Me. To you.”

A squishy sensation touched the back of Lizelle’s hand.

The unexpected sensation made her eyes widen in shock.

His hot lips were kissing the back of her hand.

Her heart was racing.

She couldn’t process what was happening. Her mind was a mess.

“My Lady.”

Chase lifted his eyes after ending the brief kiss.

His gaze, filled with desire, looked as though it might devour her whole.

His heart pounded so hard it felt like it might burst.

It was so loud he was worried that Lizelle in front of him might hear it.

But something was strange.

After that kiss, he started to feel more and more dizzy.

His vision became blurry, and he felt the blood vessels all over his body dilate and then rapidly contract.

It felt like all the blood was leaving his body.

He tried to ignore his condition and reached out to touch her round cheek.

No, he tried to reach out.

“…Your Grace?”

Lizelle calmed her startled mind and called to him as he suddenly leaned his head on her shoulder.

“Your Grace?”

“…”

But there was no answer. He didn’t even move.

Feeling something was strange, Lizelle shook his shoulders with both hands.

“Your Grace!”

Lizelle screamed in alarm.

His eyes were closed and his face had turned completely white.

In addition, his head was slumped down. He had lost consciousness.

 

* * *

 

“Is it serious?”

Lizelle asked the duke’s physician, staring at Chase, who lay unconscious on the bed.

As soon as they arrived at the manor, Lizelle called the butler Rohan and the knights, and they carried the unconscious Chase to his bedroom.

The physician heard the news and arrived shortly after. He was now examining Chase’s condition thoroughly.

“What the heck is this… He’s never fallen unconscious before.”

Rohan was fidgeting and pacing back and forth anxiously.

The attending physician examined Chase, who was still unconscious, for a long time, then tilted his head.

“I’ll have to run some tests to be certain.”

Rohan and Lizelle felt their hearts sink at the statement.

It sounded like he was saying Chase was seriously ill and needed a thorough examination.

“Peter! Is it serious? Can you save him?!”

Rohan cried anxiously and clung to the attending physician, Peter.

Peter pried him off and took a white object about the length of his finger from his bag and put it in Chase’s mouth.

“…What is that?”

Lizelle was also anxious.

Her hands were trembling, the situation seemed serious.

“It’s a toxicity meter.”

“A toxicity meter? If it’s a toxicity meter…”

Lizelle’s face turned pale.

If it’s a toxicity meter… was he possibly poisoned?

So, was he measuring for the potency now?

Then, the device beeped.

Surprised, Lizelle quickly checked Chase’s condition.

The beeping sound from the device sounded like what you hear in a hospital when a patient stops breathing.

But fortunately, his life was still intact, a faint breath escaping from his lips.

“Thank goodness…”

After confirming that he was alive, Lizelle fell to her knees next to his bedside, legs giving out.

She had been terrified something terrible happened.

“As I suspected.”

Peter muttered as he took the meter out of Chase’s mouth and examined it.

“What is it? What? Peter, is our master seriously ill?”

Rohan urged Peter, wiping away thick tears.

Peter opened his mouth, looking back and forth between Lizelle and Rohan.

“It’s a drug overdose.”