The two dined at a random restaurant they came across and then headed to an inn, this time located a bit on the outskirts. Their room was on the very top floor. It was blatantly obvious, yet Helena followed without a word.

It seemed he had no intention of hiding it, considering how he immediately gripped the doorknob upon entering.

“Do you have a condition where you must break a door a day?”

“Don’t worry, I’m paying double.”

Helena sighed at the evasive answer.

“I won’t run away.”

“You won’t try to die anymore?”

“…….”

This time, Ian sighed.

“Please understand, not tying you to the bed is the most mercy I can show.”

Eventually, the doorknob got twisted out of shape.

He quietly approached her, untied the knot he had made that morning, and took her cape. Placing it along with her bag in one spot, he sat her down on the bed.

“You must be tired, rest.”

His tone was flat as usual but still carried his typical tenderness. Like the day before, Ian comfortably lay down on the floor.

The darkened room was filled only with their breathing. Helena sat quietly, blinking. Then she noticed some change lying on the table.

It was the leftover from their dinner and inn expenses. No more gold coins came out of his pocket.

Helena murmured towards his large back, now turned away.

“Now you have no money to meddle with.”

Just then, a loud cry came from outside the window.

“Master! Where on earth are you!”

The desperate call sounded almost like a death rattle. Helena’s attention naturally shifted outside.

Meanwhile, Ian got up and approached the window, shutting it with a decisively firm motion, cutting off any outside interest.

He then turned to her and said, “No need to worry about that either. I just found some reports I had forgotten.”

For the first time, Helena thought his face looked a bit sinister.

Papers rustled as they were quickly turned over. Despite working tirelessly for several nights, the mountain of documents seemed never to decrease.

Eugene leaned back in his chair in frustration after tossing aside the unfinished approval papers.

“Ah……!”

His hand, running through his dark hair, was exceptionally rough. The tediousness of the situation became even more irritating when he considered it all stemmed from Helena’s absence.

Just one person’s departure had stirred the entire mansion. The administrative tasks Helena had managed held significant weight. She had done her utmost so he could focus on external affairs.

Why hadn’t he hired more people? In response to his questioning, the head butler Gordon replied that the lady had objected.

“The master always seems to manage things swiftly, but he’s actually fighting for his life. In contrast, what I can do is limited to these tasks… It might not be enough, but this is how I want to better understand Eugene. The lady also wishes for me to prove my capabilities.”

Her tacit sacrifice under the plausible guise of fulfilling the role of the lady of the house. Yet, she never uttered a single complaint.

Considering the amount of work she shouldered alone, she could have asked for his help or even just a bit of recognition, but she never did.
“I’ve not been sleeping well lately, so I’m feeling a bit under the weather. I’ll head to bed first.”

She occasionally left the dinner table early, citing fatigue.

What had he said in those moments? He vaguely remembered teasing her about being tired from parading around at parties.

‘Such a foolish woman. Can’t even talk about such things properly… Damn it.’

Her past actions kept haunting him, tightening their grip around him. Unable to bear it anymore, Eugene stood up. When he wanted to clear his head, there was a place he usually went, or more precisely, someone to see.

‘…I haven’t visited the villa for quite some time.’

Eugene, mounting his horse, reminisced about the first time he met Natasha.

It was several months ago in the midst of Berat Forest, where an inevitable coincidence had occurred. Deep in pursuit of prey, Eugene stumbled upon a pitiful yet beautiful woman.

Honey-blond hair and deep green eyes. Her trembling figure, scared like a rabbit, was enough to make him forget his hunt.

“Please save me.”

She looked ragged after apparently wandering the harsh forest paths for a considerable time. Her pleading appearance was pitiful, so Eugene took her to his villa.

It was a villa initially intended as a gift for Helena upon completion.

But bringing Natasha directly to the grand ducal mansion was out of the question. He planned to let her stay at the villa until she recovered.

However, contrary to his initial resolve, weeks and then months passed, and Eugene found himself unable to send Natasha away.

Every time he tried to bring it up, Natasha would come up with some excuse to hold him back, and Eugene himself didn’t particularly want to part with her.

“You saved my life, Your Grace. Please let me repay my gratitude by staying by your side.”