Earl Joyce, as if a button had been pressed when the duke said he was ‘not feeling well’, got out of the carriage and within 5 minutes, pulled the duke out of the carriage and took him into the inn room.

Took him? No, it was more like he threw him in.

Of course, neither in terms of status nor physical possibility did Earl Joyce use physical force on the duke. However, the duke rushed straight to the inn room without a word of resistance, following Earl Joyce’s lead.

In the end, Chloe, who was left alone in the carriage, had to enter the inn belatedly and wait for Earl Joyce to come down to the counter.

Since the duke said he would stay here, she would have to get a room here too, but it felt uncomfortable to ask for a room without getting the master’s permission.

Of course, she couldn’t share a room with the master or the noble Earl Joyce, so she would have to get a separate room.

As she was on duty attending to her master, naturally her accommodation should be arranged by her master. But with neither the master nor his permission, it was difficult to say, ‘Give me my room.’

After sitting on the sofa in front of the counter for about an hour?

Suddenly, there was a clattering sound from the stairs, and Earl Joyce came running down.

“Earl Joyce?”

When Chloe called out to him, Earl Joyce made a single exclamation ‘Ah!’ as if he had just remembered Chloe.

“You! Um…, I think I need to go somewhere now, so you should at least guard the duke for now. Um…, no, the room right next to the duke’s is my room, so wait there for now, and if the duke calls, come immediately.”

“Calls?”

“Um…, I mean, if the duke calls for me! Anyway!”

“Ah, yes.”

Earl Joyce ran out of the inn without even listening to Chloe’s response.

What on earth was this situation?

Chloe headed to Earl Joyce’s room with a vague expectation that he would get her a room when he returned.

However, even after about an hour in Earl Joyce’s room, Earl Joyce did not return, and there was no separate call from the duke.

In fact, about 10 minutes ago, a ‘thud’ sound was heard from the next room. It sounded like something heavy had fallen on the wooden floor.

Did the duke drop something? But still, there was no call.

It was getting dark outside. It was almost dinner time.

Chloe hesitated for a moment and decided to ask the duke how he wanted to have dinner. Judging by the duke’s condition earlier, he would probably ask for it to be brought to his room.

Knock knock.

“Your Grace.”

There was no answer.

“Your Grace, it’s Clyne. May I come in?”

Still no answer.

“Then I’m coming in.”

At the duke’s mansion, even if there was no answer from the duke, as long as there was no word of prohibition not to enter, the attending servant would move according to the daily routine, so they could enter the duke’s room without permission at meal times or tea times.

Although the place had changed, it was still dinner time, so Chloe opened the door without hesitation.

“…?”

Chloe tilted her head as she entered the room. It was because the duke wasn’t in the room.

He wasn’t on the small sofa in the room, nor on the chair at the table, not even on the bed.

Did he go out?

“Your Grace, are you not here?”

There was no answer.

“He’s not here. Where did he go when he wasn’t feeling well?”

Chloe muttered as if talking to herself.

“Haaah…”

“Oh my!”

Chloe screamed in surprise at the groan that seemed to answer her muttered words, which she thought no one would hear.

“Your Grace?”

The sound seemed to be coming from the narrow space between the bed and the wall. It was a spot not visible from Chloe’s position at the door.

“Clyne.”

Just then, the duke called for Chloe.

“Yes!”

Chloe quickly retraced her steps to see if she had made any mistakes in her self-talk and ran to the opposite side of the bed.

“No, don’t come! Don’t come, Clyne.”

The duke tried to stop her, but it was after Chloe had already come to where she could see the duke.

The duke was lying on the wooden floor right next to the bed. Why on earth was the duke in such a place?

“Your Grace! Where are you not feeling well? Why are you under the bed like that…!”

Chloe unconsciously took a step closer to the duke. At a glance, cold sweat was flowing from the duke’s forehead, and to describe it accurately, he looked pained, curled up rather than lying down.

“Clyne!”

The duke’s voice was as dry as a wrung-out towel.

“Yes?”

“I told you not to come. I said… don’t come.”

Even speaking seemed difficult.

Why on earth did he end up like this? And where did Earl Joyce go, leaving his master in this state!

“Where are you hurting? Should I get some medicine?”

“It’s not medicine. I… would like you to leave.”

“…”

Chloe felt helpless, being treated as an unnecessary presence rather than being of help when her master was in such pain.

“Joyce went… to get suppressants.”

Suppressants?

Suppress what? The pain?

“So you… get out!”

The duke was putting all his effort into chasing Chloe away even in this state.

“Yes. If you need me, I’ll be waiting right outside the door, so please shout.”

Although he didn’t seem to have the strength to shout, it felt like someone should at least let a person in such pain know that someone was right beside them.

“Even if I call you! Don’t come! I’m telling you not to come. Absolutely don’t come!”

I guess not. I guess he has enough strength to shout!

Suddenly, from who knows where, the duke shouted so loudly that it echoed, leaving Chloe dumbfounded. It was to the point where she wondered if her offer to wait was that irritating.

“Yes! Then I will absolutely not enter this room.”

Chloe had no choice but to reassure him firmly, as she was slightly hurt and the master wanted it so badly.

So! Why on earth did you bring me here! Far from being helpful, I’m just a burden, and when I try to be of assistance, you chase me away, not letting me come near.

Chloe grumbled inwardly as she left the Duke’s room. Apart from her worry, she felt slightly resentful towards the Duke.

The condition worsened as time passed.

Aware that the heat was approaching, Hugrey had been carrying suppressants. However, he hadn’t anticipated that the heat after imprinting would be this severe. The symptoms were far more intense than expected.

Usually, he could endure with just one suppressant pill, but he carried three just in case. Even after taking all of them at once, there was no sign of calming down.

Joyce had gone out to find suppressants, but since the world believed that beast-men had disappeared, suppressants weren’t easy to obtain anywhere.

Would he even be able to find any?

“Clyne, ah! Clyne. Chloe…”

Amidst the groans of pain, oddly enough, the names Clyne and Chloe alternately escaped his lips.

Calling for Clyne, then calling for Chloe. He was so confused he couldn’t even tell who he wanted right now. In fact, he longed for Clyne, who was within reach, much more than the imprinting partner he hadn’t even found.

Clyne, you rascal. Are you trying to kill me? How dare you enter my room, making me go even crazier…

I should lock that door.

If that fellow enters without permission again, he really didn’t know what would happen, what he might do. However, he didn’t dare to approach the door.

Not only was it difficult to move his body, but somehow, he felt that if he went towards the door, Clyne’s scent would be even stronger there.

One day.

Just one day to endure.

They said that if the heat isn’t resolved properly, there would be after-effects, but the extreme pain wouldn’t last more than a day.

You can endure it. Hugrey Ulpaz. You’re not just a wolf cub, but a werewolf.

Hugrey curled up more and more in pain that felt like his body was burning up, with heat starting from his lower abdomen and consuming his entire body. Like a fetus curled up in its mother’s womb.

He had to endure no matter what.

‘I’m not a beast, but a human.’

He kept repeating this sentence as if engraving it in his brain.

Well past midnight. Joyce still hadn’t returned.

The Duke seemed to have no appetite due to his illness, as he hadn’t called for Chloe even once in the six hours since she had entered and left his room.

Chloe felt a bit of self-loathing.

Growl. Grumble, grumble.

Because amidst all this, her stomach had been making loud noises for hours. While her master was in such pain, all she could think about was food.

To maintain at least a minimum level of conscience, she didn’t eat alone. In fact, it’s not that she didn’t, but that she couldn’t.

The Duke had told her never to enter his room, but she couldn’t completely leave her sick master alone in a place that wasn’t even the Duke’s residence.

But perhaps because she was too alert, listening for any sounds from the next room, her hunger grew worse as time passed.

Moreover, even though she had just been sitting, today was different from usual as they had traveled a long distance. Constantly shaken by the vibrations of the carriage. So it’s natural to be hungry.

Chloe tried to justify the screaming hunger, giving it legitimacy.

However, despite straining her ears to hear sounds from the Duke’s room, there had been no loud noises since she left his room.

Instead, if she put her ear to the wall, she could occasionally hear groaning sounds. But she couldn’t just go in on her own to the Duke who had emphasized several times not to come even if called.

She had already loudly promised that she would absolutely not enter.