He only said to bring her to the imperial palace. Since he didn’t specify where to go, Teishar hurriedly took Lorencia to his own room in the palace.

Teishar finally began to feel at ease after laying Lorencia down on his soft bed. He then sent a message to Charlotte through a servant, informing her that he had brought Lorencia to his room. He couldn’t entrust Lorencia to anyone else. After a moment’s thought, he requested to borrow Susanna from Charlotte. Fortunately, Charlotte agreed.

Only then did Teishar sit down in a chair and let out a sigh. Rather than the thought of finally finding the child of Goddess Ella, he was struck by how she had endured alone.

He regretted not finding her sooner and not believing what his father had told him. Teishar clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms. He looked at Lorencia with eyes furrowed in pain. Agonizing sighs kept escaping him.

Teishar flinched every time Lorencia let out a painful groan. The kitten that came with her also seemed worried, meowing and pacing in circles restlessly.

“Ugh… Stop.”

“Lady Lorencia. Can you hear me?”

Lorencia slowly opened her eyes, forcibly lifting her sticky eyelids. Her mouth felt parched, causing pain. Her vision was blurry. Lorencia felt the bed with trembling hands. Her head was dizzy from having been asleep for so long.

−Meow.

“Leo?”

Relieved that Leo was by her side, Lorencia let out a deep sigh and spread her arms.

“Come here, Leo.”

After briefly welcoming Leo, Lorencia finally looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings and unfamiliar voice. Then her gaze met Teishar’s red eyes, which were looking at her painfully.

An indescribable silence followed for a moment. Teishar, whose gaze had met hers, lowered his face. But his gaze felt extremely sad and painful.

Long fingers tapped on the chair’s armrest. Anne, prostrated before Ruans, was visibly trembling in fear to anyone who saw. Ruans tilted his head slightly and smiled gently.

But Anne knows. That when Ruans smiles so gently is when he’s most frightening…

“So you just let them take the monster away? My monster, how dare they?”

“I apologize. I couldn’t stop them. They came with the Empress’s edict, so there was nothing I could do.”

“Don’t you know that you shouldn’t be saying sorry to me right now, at least?”

Ruans took out a small dagger from his bosom and held it in his hand.

“If you had at least died trying to stop Duke Spencer, I wouldn’t be hearing such apologies from Lady Anne in this place now, right? You regret it now, don’t you? Wishing you had died trying to stop them.”

“Huk. Kek!”

Something moved quickly. Anne hunched over in terror, trembling violently. But the scream just now wasn’t her own voice. Turning her head towards the sound of something dripping beside her, she saw a maid groaning and dripping blood.

“Kuluk.”

The maid collapsed in her place, gasping painfully. Anne froze in terror.

“Since I can’t bring myself to kill Lady Anne, I’m killing someone else instead.”

Ruans didn’t take his eyes off Anne.

“Please spare me.”

The maid, drenched in blood, pleaded to Ruans while lying flat on the floor. Ruans, who was approaching with his dagger drawn, perked up his ear once to hear what the maid was saying.

“Then let me ask you this. Why should I spare you?”

“Why, when I’ve done nothing wrong.”

“That’s right, you’ve done nothing wrong. But you’re dying because of Lady Anne.”

The maid began to cry loudly. Ruans furrowed his brow, then looked at the maid with a sympathetic gaze, nodding his head as he raised his hand holding the dagger high. Seeing this, Anne and some others tightly closed their eyes. Only Ruans seemed unaffected.

If Lorencia, who had just gained strength, falls into someone else’s hands, the castle he had carefully built up until now might crumble. An unbearable anger boiled deep inside him.

“Damn it! Why did it have to be Duke Spencer!”

The person who would take Adrian’s life had taken away the most important thing to him.

“I’ll kill him.”

As long as Lorencia is around, he can take Adrian’s life anytime. But before that, he needs to bring Lorencia back to the Count’s residence. Ruans couldn’t hide his impatience. If it was going to be taken away so easily by others.

“Right. Maybe it’s better to just kill her.”

Ruans’ green eyes flashed dangerously. He had to reclaim Lorencia as soon as possible. His steps quickened.

Lorencia opened her eyes wide. She recognized the man bowing his head before her as Teishar. He hadn’t changed at all from before. But considering that he was seeing her for the first time now, Lorencia didn’t say anything.

“Lady Lorencia. How are you feeling?”

Teishar asked, raising his head with difficulty and watching Lorencia’s reaction.

“Let me introduce myself first. I am Teishar of the Spencer family of the Polroid Empire.”

Lorencia examined her body. All the torn and bruised areas had disappeared. The pain in her legs was also gone.

“You must have many questions, but I will explain one by one.”

“Yes.”

Although she already knew the story through the amethyst necklace, Lorencia nodded as she watched Teishar speak each word clearly.

“That’s what happened.”

“Then, Duke Spencer. Should I return to the Pol Heredian Count’s residence?”

“I won’t send you back.”

“You won’t send me back?”

“I have no intention of sending Lady Lorencia back to the Pol Heredian Count’s residence.”

Teishar smiled faintly after saying that. Lorencia stared at his smile as if enchanted, then unconsciously averted her gaze. She kept feeling as if his red eyes were pulling her in. Just then, a rumbling sound was heard and Lorencia’s face turned red.

“Please pretend you didn’t hear that.”

“I didn’t hear anything.”

“Thank you.”

Teishar rang a bell. He ordered something from the servant who entered.

Lorencia met his red eyes once again. The emotion felt too intense to be mere concern. The wavering red gaze and sadness that seemed to weigh down her entire body continued to show.

“The meal will arrive soon.”

“Thank you.”

A brief silence fell. Lorencia, not knowing what to say first, kept her mouth shut and just stroked Leo’s head in her arms with the back of her hand. Teishar was the same. Above all, it was his first time being alone with a woman like this in a room. Sweat began to form on his palms.

−Knock knock

At the sound of knocking, both of them looked at the door simultaneously. A servant opened the door and entered, placing a trolley with food and then leaving. A middle-aged woman with a warm appearance approached Lorencia with a kind smile.

“Hello, Lady Lorencia. I am Susanna from the Polroid Empire.”

“Hello.”

“Susanna is Lady Charlotte’s maid.”

Susanna skillfully propped up pillows behind Lorencia’s back to help her sit up. Lorencia blinked at the sudden touch of a person.

“You must be very hungry? I’ve prepared easily digestible foods since you have an empty stomach now. Is there any food that Lady Lorencia particularly likes? If so, please let me know. I’ll prepare it next time.”

“I don’t have any particular favorite food.”

Susanna smiled and began skillfully tying Lorencia’s red hair so it wouldn’t get in the way while she ate.

“Then I’ll prepare nutritious foods to help you recover.”

A bed table was placed on the bed where Lorencia was sitting so she could eat. Susanna skillfully set the food on the table. Lorencia unconsciously swallowed her saliva at the delicious aroma of the food being served.

“Try a spoonful of soup first.”

“Yes.”

Lorencia took a spoonful of soup.

“It’s… delicious.”

She recalled the terrible-tasting foods she had endured eating until now. Even after being adopted as the Count’s daughter, she still had to starve. The maids often “forgot” to bring her meals, so she was frequently hungry.

“This is potato soup.”

“Yes. They say potato soup is best for an empty stomach, so I prepared it. Does it suit your taste?”

Seeing the potato soup, Lorencia was reminded of something. In the dark prison where not a ray of light entered, when she was starving to death because they brought neither food nor water, the last thing she thought of wasn’t her beloved Ruans, but this very potato soup before her eyes.

“It’s… so delicious.”

Lorencia took another spoonful of soup and chewed it slowly. She had never tasted such delicious potato soup before.

“Oh my.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks without her realizing, dripping into the potato soup. The figures before her wavered through the tears gathering in her eyes.

“I’m sorry. While eating… I’m crying.”

Teishar took out a handkerchief from his pocket and silently wiped away Lorencia’s flowing tears.

“It’s alright. Cry if you want to cry. Eat if you want to eat. Do as Lady Lorencia wishes. If you say you want the potato soup brought again, I’ll have it brought warm again.”

“No, you don’t have to do that.”

Ruans said he liked her bony body. She could only watch as Ruans ate delicious food. To maintain her thin figure, her allowed daily meal was just one bowl of watery rice porridge.

Come to think of it, the reason he starved her was to prevent her from building up strength to run away.

Lorencia sobbed as she picked up the spoon and ate more potato soup. It’s delicious. So delicious. And painful.

After eating soup for a while and eating soft bread, Lorencia’s stomach quickly filled up.

“I’m sorry.”

After feeling full, she felt embarrassed for showing herself eating while crying.

“I also tear up sometimes when eating delicious potato soup, Lady Lorencia.”

“Duke, you cry when eating soup too?”

“Of course. Delicious food always brings happy tears. Right, Susanna.”

Teishar gazed intently at Susanna.