As if drawn by a magnet, he sat on the bed and gazed endlessly at the sleeping Antonio, leaning on his hand.

His navy blue eyes, watching Antonio’s defenseless expression and slightly parted lips, deepened unknowingly.

Seeing a sleeping person in pain and thinking… especially when the person harbors no such emotions toward someone of the same gender…

He felt a sense of self-loathing, thinking that he was no different from Denver, whom he had driven away with his own hands.

However, contrary to such feelings, his gaze kept scanning everything about Antonio.

He wanted to swallow Antonio’s sleeping lips and envelop himself above them.

He wanted to endlessly covet and taste, trapping Antonio within himself so he couldn’t escape.

Claude gritted his teeth at the sudden rush of desire and frustration.

It was all Antonio’s fault for sleeping so defenselessly. It was because of his crazy scent.

If he could possess him, it felt like he could conquer the world easily.

Claude’s entire body of tense muscles, holding on with all its might, became rigid. Soon, as his patience reached its limit, he released a rough breath.

Desire flickered in Claude’s intense gaze as he stared at the defenseless Antonio.

If he could explore him, it seemed like he could have everything.

Yet, on the opposite side of that desire, thoughts of whether Antonio might find him repulsive kept clashing with his desires.

Claude’s large hand, trembling, gently swept across her cheek.

Hot breath escaped from him as she lowered her head as if enchanted.

And, just like with Claude, Antonio’s breath against his palm was warm.

Hot? Up close, beads of sweat were forming on flushed cheeks and forehead.

Only then did Claude realize that Antonio’s breath wasn’t steady.

“Is there anyone outside? Call the doctor!” Claude’s urgent call woke up all the servants of the Closets, including the butler, Melda, Alejandro, and the others.

And, in the early morning, the doctor who was urgently summoned had to examine the boiling-hot Roselia.

When Claude, giving him a threatening look as if to say he’d kill him if he couldn’t fix it right away, looked at him, the sweating doctor made an awkward expression.

“I don’t know the cause. Except for the high fever, everything else seems normal.”

Claude’s forehead wrinkled heavily at the cautious words of the doctor.

“How can you say it’s normal when there’s a high fever?”

“Well… you mentioned that you’ve been mentally stressed lately, right?”

“That’s correct.”

“Perhaps it could be a mental ailment.”

At the doctor’s words, Claude’s expression darkened.

With Berenas Viscount’s fainting and now Nadia’s incident overlapped… could it be that it was indeed mentally challenging?

While Claude was pondering with a serious expression, the doctor looked around cautiously and asked.
“Did you burn a scented candle in the room? It’s getting dizzy. It’s better to ventilate.”

At the doctor’s words, Klaus’s expression stiffened. It seemed that what he was feeling was not unique to himself.

A sweet fragrance, enough to cloud the mind, permeated the room.

On the other hand, the closets and maids wore puzzled expressions.

Looking at the maid who was instructed by the closets to open one side of the window, Klaus, for a moment, recalled the Crown Prince’s words about the Lapelios family while talking about the Raphelios clan.

“Do they have a unique scent?”

Certainly, this fragrance didn’t seem to be from scented candles or perfumes.

Since they didn’t burn scented candles, and there was no way Antonio, sweating profusely, still had the scent of perfume.

Then this must be Antonio’s natural scent… The fragrance intensified to an overwhelming degree since he started feeling unwell.

Could Antonio be one of the Lapelios family?

Perhaps, if it were Viscount Yukiliod, known to be part of the Lapelios family, he might know about Antonio’s current condition.

Suddenly rising, Klaus, putting on his jacket, puzzled Alejandro, who opened his mouth in confusion.

“Where are you going, sir?”

“I’m going to meet Viscount Yukiliod.”

“Now? At this hour?”

“It’s almost sunrise, seems appropriate.”

Who greets guests as soon as they wake up?

Alejandro had to gulp down the words that lingered in his mouth. He knew very well that his master, when he set his mind on something, would see it through no matter what.

In the pre-dawn hours, Klaus rushed his carriage to the royal guesthouse and confidently requested to meet Viscount Yukiliod.

Lognan, Johannes’s aide, greeted Klaus with a bewildered expression.

Then, saying he would soon convey his words, the vanished Lognan returned after a while to guide him to the reception room.

In the reception room guided by Lognan, Johannes, looking neat and hard to believe it was dawn, was sitting at the table, waiting for him.

As Klaus sat silently across from him, Johannes, with a graceful smile, took the initiative to speak.

“At this early hour, what brings the Viscount here…?”