Eriel examined Damian’s leg and received gauze from the maid.

The physician performed the treatment, but Eriel had been changing the gauze since Damian was injured.

Having grown somewhat accustomed to it, Eriel could now look at his wound without shedding tears.

At first, she couldn’t properly work as tears burst out just by looking at Damian, but now she skillfully replaced the gauze.

Damian, too, had become accustomed to her touch.

Initially, he stopped Eriel from taking care of him, but when she firmly conveyed her desire to do so, Damian eventually allowed it.

“Eriel.”

“Yes? …… Is it uncomfortable?”

Eriel raised her head to Damian as she wrapped the gauze.

Did I wrap the gauze incorrectly today?

Eriel moved to slightly adjust Damian’s gauze.

“No. The gauze is fine. But Eriel……”

It was when Damian gently held Eriel’s hand.

Bang!

“My lady!”

The bedroom door opened, and the steward’s urgent voice rang out.

The steward fidgeted beyond the door, but Lucy had already boldly entered the bedroom.

“Mom!”

Lucy ran over and grabbed the hem of Eriel’s dress.

“Mom, you can’t read me a book today either? You’re going to sleep with Dad today too?”

Lucy huffed. For the past few days, as Eriel had been by Damian’s side, the only time Lucy and Eriel met was during meals.

Even at dinner, Eriel had to leave early to change Damian’s gauze.

“Lucy. But your father’s wound……”

It was when Eriel bent her knee.

Lucy pulled out a sparkling golden letter in front of Eriel’s face.

Only then did Eriel realize why Lucy had come in such a hurry.

Eriel slowly took out the imperial letter and read its contents.

“Partner for the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet…… Oh my.”

Eriel read the contents and looked at Lucy.

“I want to talk about dresses with you, Mom, and shoes too! And, and I want to practice entering with His Highness the Crown Prince together with you……”

Lucy finished speaking in a gradually diminishing voice and dropped her shoulders dejectedly.

Eriel, holding the imperial letter in her hand, took a deep breath and nodded.

“Lucy.”

“Lucy.”

Eriel and Damian called out to Lucy simultaneously.

Eriel was startled and turned her gaze to Damian. Lucy’s eyes also turned to Damian.

“Come here.”

Damian gestured to Lucy. Eriel and Lucy’s gazes briefly met. Lucy rolled her eyes and glanced at Eriel.

As Eriel also slightly nodded, sending Lucy affirmation, Lucy took a deep breath and walked to the bed.

“Dad. I’m here.”

Lucy sat on a small wooden chair beside the bed and looked at Damian.

Damian, leaning his upper body against the pillow behind his back, nodded.

“Yes. Have you decided on a dress to wear to the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet?”

“Originally, I would have already chosen it and picked out shoes with Mom……”

Lucy’s eyes looking at Damian were sullen, but she lowered her gaze at the smell of medicine.

Seeing Damian’s leg wrapped in gauze, Lucy, who had been grumbling, closed her lips.

“Are you okay now, Dad?”

Worry quickly rose in Lucy’s round eyes, which had lost their complaints.

At first, Lucy was also shocked and sobbed at the sight of Damian’s wound.

Just seeing Lucy’s favorite teddy bear still by Damian’s side showed how much Lucy was worried about him.

“Is my teddy bear taking good care of you, Dad? Does it not hurt anymore? …… You rest with my teddy bear until I go to the imperial palace. Mom…… I need her too.”

“No. Let Dad choose the dress for you.”

Lucy’s pupils trembled, and then silence fell.

Lucy, who had been staring at Damian, turned her head and raised her gaze to where Eriel was.

Her twitching lips were seriously shouting.

‘This is a big deal, Mom. I think Dad’s head is injured.’

*

Damian was sitting in Lucy’s room, leaning back in a soft chair.

As if everything he said two days ago was sincere, Damian took a seat in the middle of Lucy’s room and summoned the madam from the dressing room.

The madam, invited to the mansion, brought two carriages filled with dresses, jewelry, and all the expensive items from the dressing room.

“Your Grace, the first one is a yellow dress. The traditional imperial……”

“No.”

Eriel turned her head to the side at Damian’s very decisive voice.

Lucy also looked at Damian, wiggling her eyebrows while wearing the yellow dress.

“There’s no need to match the Crown Prince. Next.”

“Then how about the color that has symbolized the ducal house for generations? We have prepared it in blue, the color representing the Zenova Duchy. In light blue……”

“No.”

“……Damian?”

Eriel called out to him after the consecutive “No’s.”

“The color symbolizing the Zenova Duchy can give the impression of allowing an engagement, so no.”

However, Damian very calmly explained the reason to Eriel and gestured to the madam.

“Th-then…… I will prepare it in another color.”

The madam’s eyes quickened. Lucy glanced at Damian with sullen eyes even as she went to change her dress.

Meanwhile, Eriel set the teacup on the table and called out to Damian.

“Damian. You want to personally choose Lucy’s dress because you want to, right?”

“……Of course.”

Damian nodded, looking at Eriel.

“It’s not because I slept with Lucy for two days, right?”

“Eriel, do you think I would act like that without understanding my daughter’s heart?”

Eriel awkwardly smiled, swallowing the answer that it seemed like he would.

“Right. Damian, you wouldn’t do that.”

Eriel turned her head forward.

Just then, Lucy was walking over, wearing a cute pink dress. Her sharp eyes, turned sideways, were directed at Damian.

Even before the madam, Lucy parted her lips and asked Damian.

“How about this one, Dad?”

“Hmm……”

Damian looked at Lucy’s dress as if contemplating.

“This one won’t do either.”

“Why?”

“It’s too cute, so it won’t do.”

At Damian’s blunt words, Eriel turned her head again with a dumbfounded expression.

“What’s wrong with being cute? Huh? Dad!”

As Lucy spoke with puffed cheeks, Damian grinned.

“It’s the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet, but it seems like our daughter will be the star, so it won’t do.”

At those words, Eriel held her forehead.

“Damian, even if……”

“That makes sense.”

However, this time, Lucy agreed with Damian’s words.

“Even so, I shouldn’t become the star at someone else’s birthday.”

“That’s right.”

In the end, Lucy went to change out of the pink dress herself. Eriel, who had been looking at Lucy’s back, turned her head to the side.

“Damian, are you serious?”

“Of course.”

Damian raised an eyebrow as if asking why she couldn’t believe his words.

“Al-alright.”

Eriel nodded.

When Lucy came out wearing a very dark navy dress, the corners of Damian’s mouth lifted.

“This one would be good.”

Eriel tilted her head, looking at Lucy, who had become a black bird.

“Lucy? This dress……”

“This one looks strong and nice.”

“Damian, does Lucy need to look strong at the banquet? Who is she trying to look strong for……”

“Strong? Does this look strong? To you, Mom? Do you also think this dress looks strong?”

Eriel moved her lips, then nodded with a hesitant nod.

“It-it does look strong. Lucy……?”

“Good. Then I like this one too.”

Lucy nodded with conviction.

Who on earth does she want to look strong for?

Eriel alternately looked at Lucy and Damian, who had satisfied smiles. The smiles on the two, with one corner of their mouth raised, were truly identical.

*

At that moment, in the imperial palace, Jessica requested an audience with His Majesty the Emperor.

“It is said that Bruno has safely arrived as an envoy to the Eastern Continent.”

Jessica knelt down.

“What?”

At her words, the hall was abuzz.

Not only had Jessica, whose whereabouts were unknown, suddenly appeared, but Bruno, who had disappeared, had unexpectedly arrived safely as an envoy to the Eastern Continent!

However, Jessica, with a distinct look of exhaustion, tearfully and boldly told the Emperor despite the reactions of those around her.

“His Grace the Duke of Zenova is currently injured in the leg. He detected external circumstances trying to kidnap my husband and exerted his efforts, thanks to which Bruno arrived safely in the Eastern Continent.”

“Are you saying that the Duke of Zenova single-handedly rescued Bruno, who was held in the imperial palace, and caused this incident?”

The Emperor slammed the table.

“No. In the process of someone kidnapping my husband, my husband was detained elsewhere, and His Grace rescued him. Fearing another kidnapping, he quickly sent my husband as an envoy to the Eastern Continent first.”

“Rescued him? …… Then where have you, his wife, been all this time?”

“I actually…… Bruno. Sob.”

Jessica shed tears.

“Bruno told me to hide just in case, so Derick and I just followed my husband’s words. I don’t know much about the forces trying to kidnap Bruno, but I think the mercenary guild that Bruno hired to kidnap Her Ladyship may have held a grudge and caused this incident.”