“Rushia?”
“That hand….”
Aegonite tried to shout but closed his mouth. He wanted to tell her to let go immediately, but it wasn’t Ashika holding him, but Drushia holding her.
“Haa… Damn it….”
Drushia swore under his breath and stirred. He was angry because his body wouldn’t move as he wanted.
“Duke, are you coming to your senses? Are you alright?”
“…Shut up. Lower… your voice.”
Aegonite’s booming voice made his head throb.
“You’re regaining consciousness! Thank goodness, thank goodness!”
Until now, even when he regained consciousness, he couldn’t speak properly. In reality, he would only blink a few times before losing consciousness again.
“I said… shut up.”
“I’ll call the doctor right away. Go get the head physician….”
“Wait!”
Ashika shouted involuntarily. She was desperate, thinking about how complicated things could get if the head physician intervened now.
‘I have to explain, I have to persuade him somehow.’
She couldn’t risk Drushia’s life. As Ashika tried to approach Aegonite, the hand holding her wrist tightened.
“…Explain….”
Drushia, who had been unconscious all this time, was drawn by the familiar voice and regained his senses as if possessed.
At first, he thought it was a dream.
However, the faint scent of wildflowers that flowed in with each breath was not a delusion. The first emotion he felt when he realized the voice belonged to Ashika was relief.
[Wake up. I’m scared because you’re like this.]
To not lose the owner of that voice, Drushia gripped her hand even more tightly.
Ashika couldn’t shake off his hand and said to Aegonite, “I brought the cure. So don’t call the head physician.”
“That’s absurd!”
Aegonite shouted. But Ashika calmly continued, unfazed.
“Isn’t it proof that it’s not absurd since the Duke has woken up?”
The evidence was right before their eyes. Drushia, who hadn’t been able to even speak despite the efforts of the best physicians in the capital and the family’s head physician, was now talking.
Drushia, still holding Ashika, raised his other hand and gestured.
“Aegonite, help me… get up.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Aegonite stepped aside from Ashika and approached Drushia. He carefully helped him up and placed cushions behind him so he could see the room.
“Haa…, my body is a mess.”
“You’ve been lying down for over fifteen days. We need to call a doctor to check your condition.”
“I told you that’s not going to happen.”
At Ashika’s rebuttal, Aegonite glared at her. His eyes were wary and his face was full of things to say. He was holding back only because Drushia was in front of him.
While the two were glaring at each other, hurried footsteps approached from outside the room.
“Commander, we’ve caught a strange guy…. Huh! Your Grace!”
Dorian, who had burst into the room, was astonished to find Drushia sitting up in bed.
“My goodness, how…. Are you alright!”
“Why is everyone… so loud.”
The irritated grumbling was just like his usual self. Aegonite stopped Dorian, who looked like he was about to rush to the bed.
“A strange guy?”
“He doesn’t seem to be an assassin, but we don’t know his identity. He’s been making a fuss demanding to see the Duke. What should we do?”
Come to think of it, it had been noisy downstairs for a while.
‘Nile!’
Ashika’s shoulders flinched in surprise. Drushia immediately noticed that small change.
“Bring him… in.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
As Dorian went outside, Ashika grew anxious. She had intended to come in quietly and leave quietly, but now she had attracted the attention of everyone in the Duke’s residence.
“Let go of my hand….”
“You haven’t explained yet.”
When Ashika tried to pull away, Drushia gripped her hand even tighter. He seemed to have regained more strength, making it difficult to free herself.
“Let’s talk after you let go. There are so many knights here; where would I run away to?”
“You ran away quite well that day.”
“Th-that’s…”
The deep blue eyes looking at Ashika were vivid yet strangely wavering.
He had regained consciousness, but his mind was still foggy, as if in a mist.
However, one thing was clear. It was Ashika who had awakened him from the darkness.
The instinct to not let her go took precedence the moment he found her. The fact that other knights were watching was also unimportant.
Right now, he just couldn’t let go of this hand.
Even though he was pale and sweating, Drushia’s voice was calm as ever.
‘Like a child.’
Ashika sighed, looking troubled. His grip on her wrist was getting sweaty, but he showed no sign of letting go, leaving her no choice but to give up.
Aegonite couldn’t understand the situation. He looked back and forth between the two, his brow furrowing.
‘Something’s strange.’
There was a subtle tension between them. It wasn’t hostility, nor was it favor; there was something else. Amidst the subtle silence, a commotion broke out outside the door.
“It’s him! What did he do after knocking me out!”
“I saved you from being killed by a sword. What’s the big deal about a few punches?”
“Is that what you call a few?”
“Everyone, quiet down! This is the Duke’s bedroom. We’ll sort out the rights and wrongs later.”
All the way from the first floor and through the third-floor hallway, Nile was dragged along, causing a ruckus among the knights.
The moment he entered the room, Nile exclaimed in dismay.
“Oh dear. You’ve been caught, my lady?”
Both sides were so shameless. Ashika turned her gaze away in embarrassment.
“It’s you again.”
Drushia’s gaze turned from Ashika to Nile.
‘Why is she with that guy instead of her closest knight?’
Despite his pale face, Drushia’s gaze towards Nile was piercingly sharp.
Of course, Nile didn’t seem to mind.
“My lady, let me tell you in advance, I wasn’t captured. I didn’t run away because I was worried about you.”
Even in this situation, Nile seemed to have his pride hurt by being dragged all the way here.
‘You should have just run away by yourself.’
Ashika looked at Nile with that expression.
As if understanding what she couldn’t say, Nile added an explanation.
“Since I was the one who brought you here, it’s also my responsibility to take you out safely, my lady.”
‘Oh, really.’
He didn’t look like it, but he was quite a stubborn man.
“Anyway, my lady went through quite a lot because of Duke Talion…”
Nile’s casual gaze stopped at Drushia’s lips.
“You’re quite lucky.”
“Nile!”
Even as Ashika panicked, Nile continued nonchalantly.
“I’m just saying you should know how much effort she put into saving you.”
He was caught sneaking into the Duke’s residence, but he was more than a match for anyone with his stubbornness.
Drushia waved his hand, looking tired.
“We’ll talk about the story later. Take him out.”
“Oh, right. If you’re going to lock me up again, give me a decent room. I won’t stand for being thrown into a filthy prison or anything.”
Aegonite clenched his fist and took a rough breath at the incredibly shameless request. Drushia looked at him as if wondering what kind of guy this was.
“Give him a guest room and keep him under guard until the investigation is over.”
He felt like this guy would just keep getting under his skin if he kept looking at him.
As Nile was taken out of the room by the knights, Drushia asked Aegonite.
“Give me the situation report.”
“Since Your Grace collapsed, no one has been able to find the cause. Your condition was severe…. Fortunately, your condition improved thanks to the Marquis’s family physician who came with Lady Maiheller, but you haven’t regained consciousness for over fifteen days.”
“Shafri? Is Shafri here?”
“Yes. She has been staying here with the Marquis’s family physician, watching over the Duke’s treatment.”
Drushia’s face contorted.
His attitude openly expressed his displeasure. Aegonite swallowed his rising questions and continued his report.
“And around dawn today, there was an intrusion on the north side of the garden. While I went to investigate, I ordered a search of the entire residence, and when I returned, the main building’s entrance was blocked. In the meantime, there was a battle near Your Grace’s room.”
Aegonite paused for a moment before continuing.
“That guy from earlier came out and helped. Immediately after, two knights were knocked unconscious by that guy’s attack.”
“Any other damage?”
“Six knights who fought the intruders were either injured or knocked unconscious, and none of the main estate’s servants came out, so there were no civilian casualties. I suspect they were drugged in advance.”
Aegonite glanced subtly at Ashika.
“We believe Lady Igraine stayed here while we were unable to enter. But Your Grace, what should we do with Lady Igraine?”
Drushia was still holding Ashika’s wrist. It was so sweaty it felt damp.
“The first thing we need to do is interrogate her. Don’t you agree, Lady Igraine?”
“If you want to talk to me, let’s do it alone. Send everyone else out.”
It was impossible to have a conversation with Aegonite butting in and getting angry at every word. That loyal knight made Ashika very uncomfortable.
Drushia slowly exhaled and organized the situation.
“There’s a collaborator inside. Maintain the lockdown of the residence and find all the spies.”
Anyone capable of pulling off something this big would have already fled, but he needed to take this opportunity to clear out any outside eyes and ears.
“Aegonite, take the knights and leave. Don’t let anyone approach my room, and keep it a secret that Lady Igraine and her companion are in the residence.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Aegonite obediently followed the instructions and left the room with the other knights.
With a thud, the door closed, and Ashika’s body went limp.
She felt like she had just fought a war.
“Please let go now.”
At her exhausted voice, Drushia quietly gazed at Ashika.
As if he could see into her mind that way.
His vivid eyes were full of life, unlike before.
While it was reassuring, Ashika was also on edge.
“Are you scared after bravely running into my bedroom?”
