“Councilor!”

Casus’s voice echoed down the hall.

“Where is the councilor?”

A man who wouldn’t bat an eye if his wife died, why is he like this now…?

‘Ah, it’s confusing. Why is he acting like this all of a sudden?’

Atia glanced at the face of Casus, who was holding her.

It felt like she had become a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes within his wide embrace.

If a kingsize bed could be personified, this is exactly what it would feel like.

“Your Highness! What’s going on!”

Servants who were in the corridor rushed over, their mouths agape.

“My wife is not feeling well; call the councilor immediately for an examination.”

(This is a time separator.)

The councilor examined Atia’s condition, checking for any abnormalities.

“Hmm.”

Around the bed where Atia lay were Casus, Kesha, and other servants.

I just pretended to be sick for a moment; I didn’t expect Casus to go as far as to call a councilor.

‘What if he finds out I’m faking?’

Finally, the councilor spoke.

“It seems she has a slight fever. However, her heartbeat and pulse are normal… In conclusion, there appears to be nothing wrong.”

One of Casus’s thick eyebrows twitched upwards.

“Nothing wrong?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Atia rolled her eyes nervously.

I wish this would end quickly.

“Examine her again, carefully.”

Casus seemed skeptical and requested another examination from the councilor.

Atia was breaking into a cold sweat on her back.

‘Does he know I’m faking it?’

Atia took a short, deep breath.

Kesha approached and brushed Atia’s hair back behind her ear.

“Ma’am, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I feel a bit better now.”

Atia slightly crinkled the corners of her eyes and gave a small smile.

The councilor took a long time reexamining Atia to confirm she had no other issues.

“Nothing wrong.”

“Is that so?”

Casus, who had been watching with his arms crossed, spoke in a low voice.

“You may leave.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The councilor gathered his belongings and exited the room.

Atia swallowed nervously, gauging Casus’s reaction.

“I’m relieved. I felt dizzy because I exerted myself too much… It felt like the whole world was spinning.”

Atia twirled her index finger in the air as she spoke.

“It’s fortunate that there’s nothing wrong, truly.”

Hearing Casus’s meaningful words, Atia bowed her head and remained silent.

Kesha, standing by her side, was rubbing her arm without knowing her inner turmoil.

“It’s really good to hear you’re okay, ma’am.”

Atia smiled awkwardly in response to Kesha’s words.

“I should leave; you seem tired.”

With a chilly expression, Casus looked down at Atia and spoke.

As Casus walked toward the door, Atia thought,

‘Does he know I faked it…?’

What on earth was his intention, making me flustered by suggesting an unexpected night together?

I had no reason to refuse him outright.

The only excuse that came to mind was that I was sick.

If he finds out I lied, it could deeply wound the proud Duke of Wellington’s ego.

‘…Somehow, it feels like I’m accumulating a lot of hate points. What should I do?’

Suddenly, the unique and refreshing scent of Casus came to mind.

When I said I was sick, he picked me up without warning, allowing me to smell him up close.

It was warm and faint, as if fabric softener had been sprinkled.

The scent seemed to linger around Atia.

‘It smells so good, I want to keep smelling it.’

Atia lay alone in bed, tossing and turning with a complicated mind.

(This is a time separator.)

Shhhhh.

Rain fell in the forest.

It was a rare occurrence in the North.

Caw, caw.

The sound of a crow’s cry came from deep within the forest.

“Tch.”

Thunk!

Leo kicked a stone in frustration, thinking he’d wasted another day.

“Little one. It’s not working. Come out right now.”
“Not now. I have plans.”

“What plans? You look free.”

“I have something. Let’s meet some other day.”

“Fine then.”

It was Leo who had asked Atia for just three days.

But those three days had already long passed.

He didn’t even know how many days had elapsed.

He had searched the forest for the legendary griffin egg, but it was nowhere to be found.

Did such a griffin egg even exist?

The knights who had followed Leo also looked rather fatigued over the past few days.

There was no other way.

Although they had been searching the forest since dawn, they could only return to the ducal residence after it had become pitchdark.

Leo told the knights to go in first, and he sat alone in the ducal residence’s grass field.

Thump!

The coarse grass touched his legs.

Days of hard work had yielded nothing.

His father, Hidegger, had thrown his net just once and caught the highlevel magical beast Cerberus.

He himself had only seen a midlevel magical beast once.

“Damn, it’s really hard to find.”

Griffin egg, the recommended food in “How to Become the Strongest in the World,” special edition “Even an Anchovy Can Become a Muscle Man.”

Yet, for some reason, he had a bad feeling that he would never find it, not in days, maybe not even in years.

Leo clenched a handful of grass and gritted his teeth.