“Ning Gyeong! I can walk!”

“If you overexert yourself, your ankle will swell more. Let me support you for now.”

This wasn’t just support, it was practically replacing her foot. She demanded to be put down, but Lake shook his head.

How could she comfortably lean on him when he said that?

“I won’t tell anyone about the situation just now.”

“……”

“It seems like that’s what you want. If you wish, I won’t pry either.”

Veronica remained silent. It was out of irritation. He was unnecessarily quick-witted.

“You said earlier that if you want to give trust, you have to build it. I hope you’ll give me a chance to build that trust on this occasion. If I keep your secret well, will you trust me a little?”

“I didn’t know you were someone who would be so uselessly stubborn, Gyeong.”

“I didn’t know either. As you said, Veronica, people have many sides to them. However, if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have acted this way.”

“……”

“I’ll let you down once we exit the sewers.”

“Don’t mention what happened earlier to Thomson Gyeong either.”

“Understood.”

Returning to where they had parted, Thomson Gyeong was waiting for the two of them.

He was startled to see Veronica being carried by Lake and ran over.

Veronica adjusted the hem of her cloak to conceal the bloodstains.

“Miss Hardness! What happened?!”

“I twisted my foot. It’s nothing serious.”

“Are you all right? Is it to the point you can’t walk?”

“Not that much.”

As Thomson Gyeong fretted anxiously, Lake suggested, “Let’s get out of here first.”

He agreed, grabbed the lamp, and headed for the exit. As they emerged, the sky was dimly brightening.

Coming out of the sewers, Lake put Veronica down as promised. Veronica kept weight off her left leg to lessen the pain.

Belatedly, her stomach that had been hit earlier began to throb. She secretly held it as she walked.

The three of them headed towards the edge of the slums.

There were large wooden crates stacked high, and opening one revealed Lady Arin inside.

Thomson Gyeong rushed over and woke her up.

Fortunately, the lady slumped inside the crate was simply asleep. Veronica looked at Lake in amazement.

“You said you talked it over well.”

“There wasn’t time, so I had no choice.”

“The lady wouldn’t listen either.”

“I apologize.”

The apology was polite, but there wasn’t much sign of remorse on his face.

Did he use the same method on Magnolia? As she eyed him suspiciously, Lady Arin, who had been fast asleep, woke up.

“Huh, where is this…?”

Drowsily looking around, the lady’s eyes went wide upon spotting Thomson Gyeong.

“Dear, are you all right? Do you know who I am?”

“…Darling.”

Lady Arin looked up at Thomson Gyeong with tears welling up. Thomson Gyeong was relieved and tried to warmly embrace her.

“You wicked man!”

Pushing Thomson Gyeong away, Lady Arin slapped his cheek.

Thomson Gyeong held his slapped cheek in bewilderment. The lady then slammed her fists against his chest.

Thomson Gyeong tried to stop her but failed and got hit as is.

The lady, who had been frighteningly beating her precious husband, suddenly burst into tears.

Even more flustered, Thomson Gyeong cupped her face.

“Sob- Are you tired of me now? Do you dislike me?”

“What are you saying? Why would I dislike you?”

“Then why did you secretly go to the slums every night? You went to meet a woman! They said men go to the slums to do bad things or visit brothels!”

“It’s not like that. How could I have another woman besides you?”

“Then did you gamble? Get swindled out of money? Debt? Labor exploitation?”

“None of those. It’s hard to explain in detail, but it’s really not that. It’s a misunderstanding.”

“Lies!”

“It’s not a lie. You know how much I love you. My feelings for you haven’t changed since the moment I first met you. I love you, Aria. You’re someone who is far too good for me. I know what you’ve sacrificed for me… How could I cheat on you when I have you? Let alone go into debt or gamble.”

“It’s really a misunderstanding…? None of those things?”

“Yes, none of them. Believe me.”

“Darling!”

Lady Arin threw herself into her husband’s arms. Thomson Gyeong also embraced her warmly.

“I’m sorry for making you worry.”

“I’m sorry for doubting you too.”

Having confirmed their unchanging love for each other, a rosy atmosphere wafted around the couple.

Watching the heartwarming scene of the couple’s reconciliation from behind, Veronica scratched her head while Lake scratched his arm.

Then the lady noticed the two of them and stepped back.

“Veronica! Heavens, what happened to you?”

Lady Arin nimbly got out of the crate and ran to Veronica. After examining her state, the lady’s face turned grave.

“Did you roll around in a cesspool or something?”

“Something like that.”

“Yes, you smell too…”

The lady wrinkled her nose, then suddenly turned to look at her husband. The stench was emanating from that direction too.

Love had temporarily paralyzed even her sense of smell.

Veronica belatedly checked her own condition. It was certainly not good.

If she returned to Hardness Street like this, there would be an uproar. The three of them, having gotten used to the stench, scratched their itchy bodies.

After looking at the three of them in turn, Lady Arin spoke.

“Let’s all go to our house.”

As soon as they arrived at the Thomson residence, Veronica was given a bath. The maid diligently scrubbed Veronica’s body to remove the stench.

When she undressed, the maid was shocked to see the state of her body, but pretended not to notice as Veronica seemed to be hiding it.

Since there was only one bathtub, Thomson Gyeong and Lake had to unfortunately wash outside.

Only after changing into prepared fresh clothes and being soaked in perfume were they permitted to enter the parlor.

While drying her hair, Lady Arin said,

“I’ll send a servant to Hardness Street in the morning. Lord Harry will be worried.”

“Thank you, Lady Arin.”

“But why did you wrap a handkerchief around your neck?”

To her question, Veronica answered, “Because it’s cold.”

Lady Arin then hastily got up to bring her a blanket. Veronica wasn’t that cold and was actually on the warmer side, but she smiled and draped it over her shoulders.

“Does your leg not hurt?”

She made an excuse that she had twisted her swollen leg by misstepping. A gloomy look spread across the lady’s face as she examined the state of her leg.

“I’ll at least bring some ice.”

Veronica stopped her from making a fuss.

Having seated her back down, Lady Arin bowed her head. A apologetic air could be read from her clasped hands.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to clear up the misunderstanding with my husband. If it weren’t for you, Veronica, I would have kept worrying alone and misunderstanding my husband.”

“Tell that to Magnolia rather than me. She was very worried about you.”

Honestly, if it weren’t for Magnolia, she wouldn’t have gotten involved to this extent. The lady, who had heard a rough account of the situation, also said she would definitely do so.

Still worried about her leg, the lady got up again. Soon after, Lake, now in fresh clothes, entered the parlor.

The two of them awkwardly encountered each other at the doorway and exchanged belated greetings.

They hadn’t had a chance to introduce themselves properly, having rushed to the Thomson residence.

“I’m Aria Thomson.”

“Lake Lining.”

“Lining? Could it be Magnolia’s-”

“Second older brother.”

Lady Arin happily smiled and took his hand.

The lady didn’t realize he was the one who had knocked her unconscious and stuffed her into a wooden crate.

She simply thought she must have fallen asleep from fatigue and found it a bit strange that she wasn’t sleepy despite taking a nap.

“Gyeong Lining accompanied me in Magnolia’s stead.”

“So that’s how it is!”

At Veronica’s words, the lady expressed her gratitude to Lake.

Their clasped hands shook up and down wildly. Lake seemed a bit flustered but obediently complied.

As Thomson Gyeong entered, Lady Arin headed in his direction. Lake approached Veronica’s side.

Watching the couple, who had cleared up their misunderstanding and grown even more congenial, Lake spoke.

“How is your leg?”

“It’s fine.”

“I brought this separately.”

Lake held out a small, flat container.

“It will swell more by tomorrow.”

Saying that, he pointed to her neck area.

Veronica also touched the neck she had covered with a handkerchief. As he said, the stinging pain had intensified in a short while.

“Thank you, Gyeong.”

Veronica gratefully accepted it.

“It’s too late, so both of you should sleep here and go in the morning. Is that all right with you too, Gyeong Lining?”

“Yes, that’s fine.”

“There’s only one guest room, so Veronica will have to sleep with me. Gyeong Lining, you can use the same room as my husband.”

“I’ll sleep here.”

“Pardon? Here?”

“The sofa is enough.”

Lady Arin was taken aback, but Lake added, “I have a lot of outdoor experience, so I can sleep well even on bare ground.”

Knowing he was an imperial knight, Lady Arin seemed to understand and said she would bring him something to cover with.

Lake once again extended his hand to Veronica, who had gotten up limping to head to the room.

“I’ll escort you to the room.”

“I’ll decline being carried.”

“I’ll support you by holding your arm.”

If that was the case. Veronica readily reached out her hand.

Thomson Gyeong, who discovered Veronica being supported by Lake, rushed over.

“I’ll support Miss Hardness.”

“I’ll do it, so you don’t need to worry.”

“No. You’ve gone through a lot because of me, and I couldn’t even treat you properly as a guest. I want to at least do this much. You must be tired too, Gyeong, so please go rest.”

If that was Thomson Gyeong’s wish, there was no helping it. Instead of Lake, who was somewhat hesitant, Veronica reached out to accept his goodwill.

Lake reluctantly saw her off.

Thomson Gyeong carefully took her and went up to the guest room. The familiar interior of the room came into view.

Entering the room, Veronica sat on the edge of the bed and caught her breath for a moment.

“Thomson Gyeong, you should go rest too. Your wife must be waiting.”

Veronica buried her face in the bed.

Thinking she would faint if she closed her eyes like this, she turned around to see Thomson Gyeong still hadn’t left.

Veronica slightly raised her upper body.

“Did you have something to say?”

He suddenly knelt down on one knee. Veronica hurriedly sat up.