“Are you okay?”

As Debora urgently asked while trying to descend the stairs, Zen spoke.

“Don’t come down.”

Zen’s firm voice, concerned that Debora might stumble as well, stopped Debora in her tracks. While Zen prevented Debora from jumping down, he couldn’t alleviate her concern for Dia.

“Viscount Blaise’s lady is alright…”

Zen, who sighed softly, answered Debora in place of Dia. Dia’s body, still in his arms, trembled slightly.

No, in fact, Dia had been trembling from the beginning. It’s just that Zen, distracted by Debora, noticed it belatedly.

Seeing Dia nestled deeper in his embrace, Zen furrowed his eyebrows.

“Sorry. My legs gave out…”

Dia didn’t want this to happen either. However, her legs wouldn’t cooperate. Although it was natural considering she almost tumbled down the stairs, Dia felt pathetic in her current state.

Zen, who had furrowed his eyebrows, observed Debora’s expression. She still looked helpless, gazing at Dia in Zen’s arms, not Zen himself.

‘Ask her to be kind.’

Zen wasn’t sure if the method he thought of was genuinely a kind gesture. However, it seemed better than leaving things as they were.

After sighing, Zen spoke.

“Please forgive my rudeness, Viscountess Blaise.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Zen unexpectedly embraced Dia.

“Eek!”

Surprised, Dia let out a small scream. Even though Dia was still shivering with a bluish tint, Zen said to her,

“This might be faster.”

That’s how Zen walked up the stairs. Despite Dia being an upright adult, Zen’s face seemed completely unaffected, as if he were walking alone.

But Dia wasn’t unaffected. Her face, which had just turned bluish, was now flushed to the point of bursting.

‘Oh my!’

Mr. Baker is holding me! Dia had never been embraced by someone before. She felt tense, her heart pounding so much that she felt dizzy.

Until Zen gently laid Dia down on the bed, her face remained feverish.

“Miss, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Kneeling in front of the bed, Debora asked, examining Dia’s complexion.

“I-I’m fine. Really.”

With a trembling voice, Dia answered, swallowing hard.

“I’m sorry for causing concern. It was my mistake.”

“No. No, it’s not. I’m the one who should apologize for not correcting it immediately.”

Debora said, raising the end of her eyebrows.

Dia was taken aback. Debora shouldn’t be apologizing. Even someone with excellent motor skills might not have been able to catch Dia at that moment.

Just as Dia was about to tell Debora not to say such things, Zen spoke first.

“Why apologize? This was an accident.”
Dia raised her head to look at Zen. Zen, with a serious expression, was gazing at Debora, not Dia.

Debora seemed to have something to say as her lips twitched, but she quickly bit them. Then, she gathered a determined expression, slowly opened her lips, and said, “We should call a doctor.”

“No, no! I’m not hurt,” Dia hastily replied. Debora, still unable to shake off her worries, spoke kindly to Dia.

“If you feel any pain later…”

Having said that, Debora shook her head vigorously and continued, “If you feel the slightest discomfort, please let me know.”

“Yes, I will.”

In response to Dia’s answer, Debora offered a faint smile. However, there was still concern in her eyes.

At that moment, Dia felt a fluttering sensation in her chest. It was a different emotion from when her foot slipped on the stairs or when Zen embraced her.

It felt as if she had submerged her body in warm water or wrapped herself in a fluffy blanket.

‘A comfortable and reassuring feeling…’

If it were her birth mother, she would have scolded Dia. She would have scolded her foolishness and the commotion she caused.

‘Actually, I did make a mistake.’

But why was Debora saying only warm words to her like this? Wasn’t she frustrated with Dia?

“We should prepare some warm tea.”

Debora stood up and said, “I’ll ask a maid to do it. Please wait for a moment.”

Pointing outside with a slight nod, Zen, who had been observing everything discontentedly, said, “Have a maid do that. Let me take a look at you.”

Debora blinked her large eyes slowly. Then, she smiled brightly at Dia and said, “I’ll leave the tea to you. I’ll be back in a little while. Rest well.”

“Yes.”

Dia responded, looking at her and smiling.

After Debora and Zen left, Dia clutched the soft blanket and focused on the sound of her heartbeat. It was beating at a usual pace.

As she stayed there, she felt a bit drowsy. Perhaps the tension had eased. Dia shook her head to avoid closing her eyes. She wanted to drink the tea Debora had promised. Her throat wasn’t dry, but it was prepared by Debora.

Debora naturally thought that Zen would take her to the study and scold her for not taking care of her master properly.

However, contrary to Debora’s expectations, Zen led her to the living room.

The living room had been renovated recently with intricate and large wooden models that resembled real attention-grabbing trees, adorned with gold and red ornaments. All the furniture had been replaced with new ones.