Roselia, who confirmed the lively blood on her palm, stared at Klaus in surprise, her body stiffening.

“L-Lord, blood…!”

Startled, Roselia squirmed in his arms, and Klaus, gritting his teeth, muttered.

“Shh… Please, just relax.”

Come to think of it, beads of cold sweat were forming on his forehead as he embraced her. It seemed he was severely injured while protecting her.

Droplets of sweat from Klaus’s forehead dripped onto Roselia’s cheek.

Worriedly, Roselia observed his expression with tension, fearing he might be in pain.

“Just a little, wait a bit more. I’ll somehow…”

In response to Roselia’s anxious voice, Klaus, breathing heavily, managed to speak.

“If you get hurt, it’ll bother me more. Just stay like this.”

After saying that, Klaus, who had become accustomed to the darkness, quickly scanned the surroundings with his experienced eyes.

There was no visible exit. If, by any chance, they tried to escape, even touching one pillar could result in the collapse of the space barely holding up.

Damn it, curses filled her throat to the brim.

As Klaus frowned deeply, whether he thought she was in pain or not, Roselia wiped away the sweat on his forehead.

Due to this action, Klaus, bewildered by the unexpected touch, shifted his gaze to Roselia.

In the proximity where every inhale and exhale reached, Roselia looked up at him with an awkward expression.

At that moment, her closely pressed body started to draw more attention.

Why is a man’s body so small and soft like this?

The tightly fitted bodies felt every curve distinctly.

Thanks to this, she had long forgotten what pain felt like.

Is it normal for a man with a small build to be this soft and fragile?

He was so different from her own feelings that it was confusing.

Antonio’s breath, blowing steadily, tickled her chin, making her feel even more peculiar.

At this rate, she felt she wouldn’t endure for much longer—an odd thought crossed her mind.

Fortunately, a voice interrupted her strange consciousness.

“Lord! Are you here?!”

Although she called Alejandro with a heavy heart and left first, it seemed that Alejandro had arrived just in time.

“You came quickly.”

Whether Klaus didn’t hear his muttered words or not, Roselia shouted joyfully with a pleased expression.

“Here! Both Lord and I are here!”

“Oh my! Please wait a moment! I’ll call the laborers!”

A sigh, whether of regret or relief, escaped Klaus’s lips.

Misinterpreting Klaus’s reaction, Roselia wiped away the sweat on his cheek with a worried expression.

“It’s okay to ease up a bit if you’re finding it hard.”

At her action of tickling his cheek, Klaus’s shoulders stiffened like a board.

Damn it, to the point where your scent is making me feel dizzy.
At the moment when Klaus was puzzled by the incomprehensible bodily response, a pillar was heard along with a loud noise, and a beam of light streamed in.

“Bring a lever! Temporarily set up pillars around Lord to prevent the collapse of the space!”

It seemed the laborers had arrived.

Finally, Roselia looked at Klaus with a relieved expression.

On the other hand, Klaus was staring intently at her with a deadly serious face.

“Lord… Are you okay?”

As Roselia asked in confusion, a laborer who had temporarily secured the space by driving a pillar entered the collapsed debris.

Fortunately, the rescue proceeded swiftly, and both Roselia and Klaus were able to come out unharmed.

“Are you okay? Fortunately, the injury on your back isn’t too deep.”

Alejandro, who was the first to staunch Klaus’s injury, sighed with relief.

Glancing at Alejandro, who looked at Klaus with a gaze of pity or reassurance, Klaus casually asked while scanning the surroundings for Antonio.

“Where is Antonio?”

“Other than a sprained ankle, he’s fine.”

After saying that, Alejandro hesitated for a moment and then spoke in a subdued tone.

“And, while clearing the debris, we found something…”

Having said that, Alejandro approached Klaus, covered his mouth with his hand, and whispered.

“Wormwood?”

“Yes… It seems like someone hid it under the school grounds. Whether it’s accidental or intentional, we need to investigate further.”

“They probably wanted to frame me and make money with wormwood behind my back. Have you identified the culprit?”

“Well… We only found wormwood, and there weren’t any significant clues.”

Antonio’s words were indeed true.

The face of Antonio, who claimed that there was something illegal hidden under the school grounds, came to mind.

How he came to know this fact couldn’t be determined, but if they were accused of possessing illegal substances like wormwood, they could end up being arrested by the imperial authorities.

Klaus’s gaze, which had unknowingly shifted towards Antonio, giving thanks to the laborers, was fixed on him.

Arriving at the mansion together in the Duke’s carriage, Roselia, with a sore body, entered the entrance limping.

“Antonio!”

Seemingly having already heard the news from Alejandro, Clotilde’s disheveled face appeared as she ran with Melda.