I Taught You Carefully, So Why Are You Obsessed?

“Y-Your Highness! The Grand Duchess is still…!”

“This way is off-limits…!”

Without even knocking, the door was flung open as the princess burst into the room, followed by servants wearing flustered expressions.

“Move, move, out of my way!”

The princess skillfully dodged them all.

“Grand Duchess, Grand Duchess! Are you okay? Hwaaah!”

As she clung to the bed sheet, tears and snot streaming down her face, I looked at her, then glanced at the servants standing helplessly.

I gave them a wry smile, one that said, ‘You must have a hard time…’. The servants, looking aged by ten years in just that short time, bowed their heads.

“You may leave now.”

“…Yes, Your Grace.”

They quietly closed the door and disappeared.

At the same time, the princess’s sobs grew louder.

“Hwaaah, hwaaah! I-I really thought you were going to die, Grand Duchess! Are you okay now?”

“Yes, Your Highness. As you can see.”

“Sniff, sniff, waaah. This is so upsetting! What is this! I’ll find those guys and kill them all!”

They’re already dead…

Unable to say anything, I just patted her back as she sobbed. That’s when Ian, who had been watching quietly, spoke up.

“His Majesty returned to the capital as scheduled. He wanted to stay until you woke up, but as you know, his duties are numerous.”

“Oh, I see.”

“As for the princess, well… as you can see, she insisted on staying behind to go back with you once you woke up.”

Ian’s gaze at the princess was as conflicted as mine.

That’s how it is, being an older brother saddled with a free-spirited younger sibling.

Whether she noticed that gaze or not, the princess, who had been crying into the bed sheets, suddenly lifted her head.

“This isn’t something we can let slide! Look, it’s even in the newspapers!”

To my surprise, what she held up was not a newspaper but an Aria newsletter.

I glanced at it in confusion as she aggressively unfolded it.

Despite it being half-soaked in her tears, it wasn’t hard to read.

“Ambush at the Resort! Who Are the Evil Forces Targeting the Grand Duke and Duchess?”  

Evil forces, huh…

Well, from our perspective, that’s accurate.

But typically, neutral articles or newsletters wouldn’t use such language, right?

How peculiar…

Setting aside the sensationalist headline, I read through the actual content.

To my surprise, the article was well-written.

It described how the Grand Duke and Duchess were ambushed by unidentified assailants while enjoying their last day at the resort, watching fireworks together.

There was a lot of unnecessary detail about how we had enjoyed a wonderful week-long vacation and how beautiful the night market was on our last day.

‘But there’s no mention of me collapsing.’

That made sense since I’d been immediately transported to Kyle without anyone else seeing me.

As I was reading the second paragraph, I paused.

‘Hmm…?’

Something felt off.

Just as I was about to examine the newsletter more closely, both the princess and the paper disappeared from in front of me.

I looked up to see Ian holding the princess and the newsletter, one in each hand.

“…Duke?”

“Ack, Duke! Let me go! Brother!”

I blinked in confusion at the sight of the princess dangling by the back of her collar.

“I mean, she’s only fourteen, but still… Also, that’s not how you should handle a person.”

Ignoring my comment, Ian placed the princess down away from the bed.

“For now, you should rest. Once you’re fully recovered, we’ll return to the Grand Duchy.”

“Ah, right. Our schedule has been delayed quite a bit.”

Neither of us was in a position to stay in a place like this for long, especially given the circumstances.

“The staff at the Grand Duchy can manage things well, but we still have to catch up on all the paperwork, investigate the forces behind the attack, and report to His Majesty. We’ve got a lot to do.”

I nodded as I counted off each task on my fingers.

I wasn’t sure how Ian had handled such matters before, but now that I was involved, there was no way I could just let it slide.

But to my surprise, Ian had a baffled look on his face.

“…What is it?”

Did I get something wrong?

At my confused question, Ian paused as if buffering, then ran a hand over his face in frustration.

“…I already told you, I’ll handle all of that. You need to rest. Do you even realize you’re a patient right now?”

“Well, no…”

Why are you getting mad?

Sure, I had lost a lot of blood, but it’s just a broken collarbone. It’s not like I lost a limb or something.

I stared at Ian in disbelief, and he sighed deeply as if realizing his mistake.

“Just rest for now.”

Then he gently laid me down and pulled the blanket over me.

After hesitating for a moment, he quietly added,

“…I’m not angry, I’m just worried.”

I took a quiet breath.

❖ ❖ ❖

Ian, having finally laid Eloise to rest and sent the princess away, moved toward the small study on the opposite side of the bedroom. Kyle appeared suddenly, as if he had been waiting.

“How is the Grand Duchess?”

“For now, the doctor says there’s no sign of anything serious, so we’ll monitor her condition. What about the orders I gave?”

“Yes, as you commanded, we attempted immediate pursuit. It seems clear that the Emperor’s faction is behind this, but…”

Kyle trailed off, glancing at Ian for a reaction.

“The dead mage appears to have been quite skilled, belonging to a high-ranking circle. They cast several layers of concealment and silence spells, so it’s difficult to immediately identify who the assassins and mage were in contact with. It will take some time to trace the mastermind behind this.”

Ian coldly surveyed Kyle.

“I’m giving you ten days. Find the mastermind by then.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“And once the Grand Duchess has recovered, cast protective and tracking spells on her. Don’t rely on artifacts—they can be lost. Inscribe the spells directly on her body.”

At the command to inscribe defensive magic directly onto the body, rather than using an artifact, Kyle blinked for a moment but quickly lowered his head, sensing the dangerous atmosphere around his lord.

“Yes, I’ll do that. But… my lord, are you truly alright?”

Ian raised an eyebrow at Kyle’s cautious question.

“What do you mean?”

“You haven’t slept properly for three days, staying by the Grand Duchess’s side…”

“And didn’t you once tell me to be more mindful?”

“That’s not the same thing, is it?”

With a sigh, Kyle spoke as Ian waved him off dismissively, clearly annoyed.

“It’s none of your concern. I’m tired, so leave me.”

“Even though you won’t sleep anyway…”

“Your tongue seems to be rather loose. Are you feeling comfortable?”

“I’ll be going now, my lord.”

Kyle gave a sloppy salute and vanished in a dazzling flash of light.

Ian, feeling fatigue wash over him, leaned back in the study chair, his hand slowing as he rubbed his face.

“Just because you have someone by your side, it doesn’t mean your feelings will hurt them.”

‘That’s the first thing she says after waking up in three days.’

It didn’t even make him want to laugh.

Before Ian became a Grand Duke, during the twenty years he spent living in the Imperial Palace, he had only learned one thing thoroughly: how to isolate himself.

Ian’s world had always been divided into two.

Duty and desire.

The only thing he had ever been allowed was duty, while everything else was mere desire.

His mother, the Empress, had always taught Ian to kill off his personal desires and pursue only his duty. After all, she had hoped to see her own blood ascend to the throne.

Even now, after the Empress had been consumed by her own ambitions and died, and after Ian had taken on the title of Grand Duke, her teachings remained like shackles, constantly guiding his path.

But something strange was happening.

Eloise, as if trying to break Ian’s neatly divided world, kept pushing things he had never experienced before toward him.

Her brightly smiling face did so. Her touch, which drew him in, did so. Her firm tone, insisting none of it was his fault, did so.

At first, Ian had found this strange and unsettling. Now, it was overwhelming.

“……”

Ian quietly closed his eyes.

Thump, thump, thump.

His heart beat irregularly like the sound of a drum.

Now, he could no longer ignore it.

♧♧♧

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