**Chapter 3**
Harold pulled Kaiden’s hand off me and stood in front of me. His broad back completely blocked out Kaiden, making me feel totally protected.
“Did you really let this woman into the house, Brother?”
“Yes.”
“Heh. My God…”
Kaiden ran a hand through his hair and looked at Harold like he’d lost his mind.
“Then what are you doing in my house? I don’t remember giving you permission to visit today.”
“This isn’t just your house.”
“Right. My house.”
Kaiden furrowed his brow like he’d heard something he couldn’t believe.
But Harold didn’t care. He just raised his chin and smiled in that aristocratic way.
“Go back to your own place. I have no intention of letting you wander around here uninvited.”
“Brother, I am the son of the Visen family.”
“And I am a duke.”
“…”
In this tense sibling standoff, all I could do was roll my eyes. Wow… yeah, these two really hate each other.
It couldn’t be helped, though. The two brothers had been enemies since birth. Harold was the legitimate son of the late Duke, born from his wife, while Kaiden was the son of the Duke’s mistress, who took over after the wife passed away. And, to make things worse, Kaiden had been born while the first wife was still alive. In other words, he was an illegitimate child.
“Kaiden, dear little brother, if you want to be dragged out like a dog, feel free to keep standing there.”
Harold’s tone was soft, but his words were deadly. In the end, it was Kaiden who backed off.
“…My apologies. I’ll make sure to announce my visit properly next time.”
“Hmph. No need. I’ll just throw it away without reading it. Don’t waste the paper.”
As I peeked out from behind Harold, watching the whole exchange, Kaiden shot me a deadly glare.
Ack!
His murderous look made me quickly hide behind Harold again.
‘You know I’m not the reason you came here, so why are you glaring at me?!’
Then again, considering what Diana has done, it’s no wonder he’d be upset…
As Kaiden’s footsteps slowly faded away, I cautiously peeked out again, only to lock eyes with Harold, who had turned to look at me. I froze awkwardly for a moment before quickly straightening up.
‘Oh no… Does he think I was the one who provoked Kaiden?’
Given Diana’s usual behavior, I couldn’t help but feel anxious.
“Duke! I swear I didn’t approach Kaiden first! I was trying to avoid him! Right, Anna?”
I immediately called for backup from the trusty maid standing by.
“Yes, just as the young lady says.”
Nice, Anna.
“I know. I have eyes, you know.”
You could’ve mentioned that earlier. I smiled in relief.
Harold gave me a strange look before he turned to walk away.
“Let’s go eat. Who knows how much of my time I’ve already wasted waiting for you.”
“Yes, let’s go quickly.”
I followed after Harold. The quiet hallway felt like a dream compared to the chaos from just a moment ago.
As I walked, I thought about the earlier situation between Harold and Kaiden.
Honestly, Kaiden couldn’t really stand tall in front of Harold. If only Harold hadn’t fallen deathly ill…
That’s probably why Harold hated Kaiden so much. There’s no way Harold’s sudden decline and his decision to blow through all his wealth, leaving nothing for Kaiden to inherit, was a coincidence. The male lead went through hell cleaning up the mess Harold left after becoming Duke.
‘And to think Diana kept going around declaring Kaiden would be the next Duke in front of a guy like that…’
Was she brave or just blinded by love…?
I thought back to when Diana first fell for Kaiden.
Diana had been a count’s daughter, but her family treated her like an outsider. Her brother, who hated her, once dragged her to a hunting event with the other nobles and then abandoned her in the middle of the forest.
Just as she was wandering around, thinking she was going to die, a bear appeared. She thought it was the end for her, but then an arrow flew from somewhere, killing the bear. Diana ran in the direction the arrow had come from, hoping to meet her savior, but all she found was a handkerchief embroidered with the Visen family’s crest.
Later, at the party held after the hunt, the only member of the Visen family present was Kaiden. So, naturally, Diana became convinced that Kaiden was the one who saved her and began to adore him.
It was such a strong first love that even when she was kicked out of her own house, she made sure to take that handkerchief with her, along with her mother’s keepsakes. Honestly, she should’ve grabbed some jewels instead of the handkerchief.
“Oof!”
Lost in thought, I ended up smacking my forehead against Harold’s back when he suddenly stopped. His back was like a brick wall. I was the one who got hurt, but Harold gave me a look like he was the one annoyed.
“Maybe you should watch where you’re going instead of just staring at my back.”
“Yes, sir. Sorry…”
Considering all the stunts Diana had pulled, I quickly apologized and lowered my head.
* * *
The meal was absolutely luxurious.
I immediately started eating as if I hadn’t seen food in days.
“…I called you here to discuss business, but it seems dismissing the servants was pointless.”
“Huh? What?”
“Never mind. Just keep eating. I’m not going to take it away from you, so stop eating like a wild animal and slow down a bit.”
I glanced around, realizing I probably looked a bit wild. Guess I was going too hard on the food.
“It’s just… it’s so good… I’ve been surviving off the nasty bread they hand out at the temple. I had been surviving on that for several days.”
“…I see you managed to survive.”
“Right? Even I’m amazed. I almost had my bread stolen by beggars, and I was nearly kidnapped by traffickers, but I held out.”
Now that the hard times were over, I could laugh as I talked about it.
But while I laughed, Harold’s face remained dark.
…Wait, could he be upset that Diana didn’t die? Or maybe he’s just annoyed that I’m talking too much. Either way, I decided to shut up and focus on my food.
“You’ve been eating like a bird, just nibbling on bread, but now you’re scarfing down rich food?”
“Yup. I’ve got special abilities, after all.”
“Is that so… lucky you…”
His voice trailed off as he suddenly placed a hand on the table. His fingers clenched tightly, making his nails turn white. Then he grabbed his chest and hunched over like he was about to collapse.
“Ugh…”
A painful groan escaped his lips.
“Your Grace!?”
A doctor—wait, no! I’ve got my powers!
Taking a deep breath, I rushed to his side. I tried to pull off his gloves, but his fists were clenched so tightly it was impossible.
“You need to take off the gloves. I can’t help unless you do.”
“Just… get a doctor… hurry… ugh.”
He was in too much pain but he preferred a doctor over someone he wasn’t sure about. Frustrated, I gave up on the gloves and rolled up my sleeves instead.
“I’m really sorry! This is all for your own good, so please don’t get mad at me later!”
I blurted out quickly, lifting his shirt to get as much skin contact as possible. Then I pulled him into a hug, pressing my face close to his.
Fortunately, using my holy powers wasn’t hard. The moment we touched, I felt the energy flow automatically.
I’d only ever healed myself before, so I was a bit nervous, but thankfully, it worked.
As I wrapped my arms around him, Harold grabbed my shoulders like he was going to push me away. But as the holy energy flowed into him, the strength in his hands started fading.
Closing my eyes, I focused on healing him.
At one point, Harold buried his face into the crook of my neck, surprising me, but I kept my concentration.
The erratic beating of his heart slowly stabilized.
‘Phew… that should do it.’
I exhaled deeply, licking my dry lips. Now that the tension had lifted, I became very aware of the fact that my body was pressed up against his.
I glanced down and immediately blushed when I saw his solid abs.
Whoa… that’s… impressive.
As someone who’s easily swayed by visuals, this was really… Ahem. I probably shouldn’t be thinking like this when he’s sick. I quickly forced myself to stop.
Feeling embarrassed, I pulled away from Harold, letting go of him. But just as I started backing up…
“…!”
Harold grabbed my arm and pulled me back into his embrace, pulling me into his broad chest. It was like he didn’t want to let go of the only lifeline he had. His strong arms wrapped tightly around me, holding me firmly in place.
