Paisar put down his brush only after completing half of the portrait coloring work.

The work time that started from early morning approached a whopping 5 hours.

Diana massaged her stiff shoulders and turned her neck.

“I’m sorry the work time took so long.”

“It’s fine. I was just sitting, that’s all.”

Diana smiled as she got up from the wide sofa. However, unlike her gentle smile, her heart felt gloomy.

Despite Paisar designating Diana as his muse, her mood was as bewildered and dry as a flower that bloomed mistakenly in the desert.

The reason she couldn’t fully enjoy this amazing stroke of luck was because of Raoul, who had been out of touch for a week.

After seeing off Paisar, Diana headed to Raoul’s bedroom without even washing up.

Though she wanted to soak in hot water right away as the smell of oil had permeated her dress, she just couldn’t wait any longer.

‘We barely see each other once a month if we’re lucky. How many times are left until winter for you to be so cold…? I don’t want to part with you on such awkward terms. I just want to leave only happy and joyful memories.’

To leave the studio and head to the servants’ bedrooms on the second floor, one had to pass through the training grounds.

Diana quickly moved her steps, disliking the empty space without Raoul.

‘I give up…! So what if he’s a bit lacking in social skills? He’s infinitely affectionate to those close to him.’

There weren’t many days left to indulge Raoul’s cute whining.

She had unnecessarily meddled in affairs the sub-male lead would have handled well on his own, shortening the time they could spend together. It was truly a foolish thought.

Diana crumpled both sides of her dress and hurriedly rushed out of the corridor with quick steps.

Once she made up her mind, she regretted fighting a battle of wills for a week and felt even more anxious.

‘What independence! Stay close to me! You work so hard usually, what’s wrong with relying on me when you’re at the castle! I should have fed you nutritious food until you were full, and let you rest comfortably… How could I lecture about education to someone who’s already struggling? No matter how I think about it, I’m trash, aren’t I?’

It was at that moment when she was running around the corner of the corridor with an urgent heart.

A maid walking out from the bedroom area bowed her waist in surprise.

She was holding a silver tray and watching Diana’s expression.

Looking down at the plate on the tray, a thick steak that seemed to be to Raoul’s taste remained untouched, not a single bite taken.

“He’s refusing to eat?”

“Yes. He hasn’t eaten a single meal for days. I tried to persuade him again, but he remained silent…”

“Is he definitely in the room? He could have left, right?”

“There’s no response, but judging from the sounds, it seems he’s in the room…”

Sounds? The maid nodded her head several times with a terrified expression.

“Sometimes there’s a metallic sound as if he’s swinging a sword in the room, and occasionally there are low sobbing sounds.”

The maid’s complexion was as pale as a woman who had encountered a tiger in the mountains in the middle of the night.

What on earth is going on? After dismissing the maid, Diana immediately ran to the front of Raoul’s bedroom.

Could he possibly be sick?

It was unlikely for the sturdy Raoul to suffer from a cold in the late spring weather.

‘He didn’t seem to have any major visible scars…’

Finally, after a week, Diana raised the white flag and knocked on Raoul’s door.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Even though the knocking sound rang out three times, Raoul didn’t answer.

“Raoul…? Are you not there?”

She put her head close to the door, trying to sense even the slightest sign of him, but it was useless.

The cold wooden panel was blocking between the two of them.

She listened carefully, but there was no sound.

‘There’s no way the maid would have lied.’

Diana raised her voice and called out once more.

“Raoul, why are you skipping meals? Did something happen…?”

“……”

Still, there was no sound. Lycans always had to worry about food when their prey went into hibernation.

He said he didn’t know the concept of picky eating or leftovers, as there were times when he had to endure for days gnawing on dried jerky.

Valuing daily provisions and eating without leaving anything was his long-standing habit.

It was an incomprehensible situation for such a Raoul to refuse meals.

Was Paisar’s appearance such a shocking event that it made him stop eating and drinking?

Diana fidgeted restlessly, constantly tapping her feet.

“Why did I do that? I’m sorry. I won’t get angry anymore…”

Still, there was no answer.

Raoul’s silence made Diana anxious and nervous. According to the maid who delivered the meals, he had been in seclusion for days.

With no response even after begging like this, Diana wanted to forcibly open the door.

“If not that, are you sick somewhere…? Did you collapse?”

He might have been exposed to a delayed-acting poison or had his internal organs injured by a demonic beast attack.

As her thoughts reached that point, Diana’s hand moved on its own towards the doorknob.

Clank! Clank!

Raoul, who didn’t trust humans, always lived with the door locked except when Diana visited.

Today, as expected, the door was firmly locked.

Flustered, Diana looked around. Just then, a maid passing by caught her eye.

“Wait a moment… I’ll call someone…!”

It was at that moment when Diana turned to get the key to the bedroom.

Crack… crack… crack…!

Between unknown cracking sounds, a low groan as if exerting force was heard. Diana stopped moving in shock.

“Raoul?”

Thud!

Along with a loud collision sound, the floor where Diana stood shook. She trembled in surprise.

“What’s wrong?!”

She asked urgently, but there was no answer from Raoul. Diana licked her lips and looked around.

She was torn between rushing to get help immediately or waiting for Raoul to move.

Then, a low voice sounded very close.

“…Haa… Go away, Diana.”

“…W-why does your voice sound like that? Are you in a lot of pain? Where?”

“…Quickly. Listen to me.”

Raoul made a dry sound as if he was about to cough up blood at any moment.

Whatever had happened in the past week, painful groans seeped through between each broken phrase.

“What on earth is going on? If you’re too sick to even eat, you need to get treatment right away…!”

“It’s not an illness that can be treated…”

Diana placed both hands neatly on the door and brought her forehead close.

Raoul was certainly close. If only the door would open, but he kept insisting on strange stubbornness.

When Diana leaned her cheek against the door and called Raoul’s name, a chilling vibration was felt on her delicate skin.

Scratch… scratch…

It was the sound of nails scratching the door. Diana, a little startled, called Raoul’s name again.

“Raoul…?”

“Grrrr…”

This time, instead of a human voice, a low beast’s growl that sent chills down the spine was heard.

“……”

As Diana took a step back, a groaning sound came from inside.

Squeak-.

And soon it returned to Raoul’s original voice.

“…I’m sorry. I’ll be fine soon. Please go back now…”

Raoul’s presence moved away.

Clank. Soon the sound of cold metal rubbing was heard, and the bed sank slightly with the sound of bedding being crumpled.

Diana stood frozen, unable to move a single step.

‘What on earth is this situation?’

A choked sobbing sound was heard from inside the bedroom.

Diana finally understood the cause of the strange sounds the maid had mentioned. It was the sound of Raoul enduring pain.

The moment Diana heard Raoul’s voice, she instinctively realized that he was suffering from adult awakening.

She immediately ran to the library.

She remembered reading a passage that explained in detail about the Lycan’s adult awakening in an ethnology thesis once.

Diana sat down on the floor, throwing the book down.

“This is it.”

It was a passage she had folded, thinking it might be needed someday.

Adult awakening is the most difficult and challenging period in a Lycan’s life.

Not only do they grow rapidly, but they also grow to an enormous size. Their bone structure becomes twice as thick, and their entire body swells up like a beast.

This rapid growth occurs not only in the human form but also in their true form.

For about a month, they can’t even come to their senses, shifting between human and true form.

At this time, if a Lycan already has a stable bond with their bride, they grow much faster and the growing pains end more easily.

However, if that’s not the case, the possibility of going mad from pain cannot be ruled out. In this case, they are confined deep in the forest and their limbs are bound to allow the Lycan to safely complete their growth.

If there aren’t even family members to help, they might become terrifying monsters and attack villages.

“Raoul has neither a bride nor a family. I have to help him…”

Before the regression, Raoul lost his mind during his adult awakening and harmed a servant.

On his father’s orders, the Lycan was locked in an underground prison, unable to get even a bowl of gruel, and had to be punished.

‘They assigned a knight to be the jailer back then, right? Byhar! That bastard persistently tormented Raoul.’

Raoul was bound to the wall by his limbs and severely beaten.

If Diana hadn’t secretly gone down late at night to take care of him, he would have been beaten to a pulp and starved to death.

At that time, Raoul was so exhausted in body and mind that he couldn’t recognize Diana at all.

Thanks to that, she was able to feed him meat and apply medicine, but… there was no reason to help in the same way now.