Cassius couldn’t respond to his words. He recalled the moment when he threw a wooden sword to the skinny boy trapped in the Portrion estate, who was depressed and mourning. Now, Walter, who was taught swordsmanship, was swinging the sword just as he had practiced. Throughout the match, he wielded the sword as he had trained, blocking the opponent’s attacks.

Even if Cassius didn’t have eyes to see, he thought that Walter would have messed up his jet-black hair more than usual. With a fake sigh, he chuckled.

“Worrying and giving me a touch of emotion.”

“Why do you worry so much? When was I ever a sloppy disciple?”

Cassius couldn’t reply to his words. Walter wasn’t boasting or lying. Just as he confidently spat out, he always brought results that were about three times better than expected.

“Well, you seem to have your own concerns about receiving. So, let’s put my concerns aside for a moment.”

Cassius stepped back slightly. As he did, Walter, seemingly unwearied, approached Edith with large strides.
Since seeing the blood, she couldn’t sit on the chair and almost stuck to the railing, pale-faced. Although Walter caused the hemoptysis, Edith’s face seemed even paler.

Observing that her blue eyes were fixed solely on me, I had a naive thought that it wasn’t bad to be the one worrying.

The seat prepared for Lexion was closest to the arena. Walter leisurely climbed the stairs towards Edith.

The young ladies who were watching the tournament winner with excitement soon realized that his green eyes were fixed on someone.

As is often the case with men who win the tournament and want to give glory to their lovers.

And who the woman was receiving his gaze could be known to everyone after a while.

“Miss Edith.”

Walter called her with a voice mixed with a hint of playfulness. He was aware that in official settings, he should address her as the former lady of Portrion. She was married, so he had to use the title of a lady at least.

However, becoming the duke of Lexion also meant ignoring such superficial etiquette.

When calling her name in front of everyone, there might be a tingling headache, and some scene could come to mind. A certain afternoon when he gently kissed her hand, making her smile, while she was still young.

“Thanks to the handkerchief you gave me as a gift, I was able to achieve good results in the match.”

Walter recited words similar to those spoken by the winners of past swordsmanship tournaments when proposing. Instead of the fierce eyes seen during the match, he left only the gaze of a well-tamed, gentle beast.

When he lightly pressed his lips on Edith’s hand, the onlookers were stunned.

“Is he by any chance proposing to the lady?”

“Is the Duke proposing to his own lady?”

More than being the wife of the duke of Portrion, the fact that Lexion’s successor had chosen her was etched in people’s minds.

“Walter, are you okay?”

Edith whispered to him with a small voice that only he could hear. Although he was worried about him, who was spitting out blood from his mouth, his lips were dry because of the hot lips that touched his hand.

“Check my body later. See if it’s still okay, or if it needs more cultivation.”

When he lightly nibbled the flesh of her hand as he did in the Portrion study, and whispered while pressing his lips on her skin, his heart tightened almost to the point of suffocation.

Although it seemed not to be severely hurt, judging by the playful voice that wouldn’t be heard by others, there was still anxiety in a corner of his heart.

As she frowned slightly, Walter gently stroked her slender wrist with his thumb.

“Rather than my worries, you should worry a little.”
Only then did Edith realize that Walter had been pressing his lips to her hand for quite a while. It was not a grateful kiss that anyone could see, but a subtle and provocative seduction.

Feeling dizzy as if everyone had noticed that she was used to receiving his kisses anywhere on her body, Edith was taken aback. However, at the same time, she didn’t mind that others knew that they had a special relationship.

His public act of kissing her hand in a place like this was no different from asking if he would be satisfied with saving the duke, who had been kidnapped, in terms of what it meant.

Since he took her hand first and led her, Edith wanted to take a step together. If he had run to another woman instead, her heart would have plummeted to the ground.

“What do I do, Walter? I can’t date other men now.”

Edith whispered softly enough for only him to hear, laughing under her breath.

At the moment he heard that sweet voice, Walter felt like his heart was pierced by a small arrow. Just a moment ago, he thought he could act cleverly, but when she brought up dating first, his reason seemed to have momentarily deserted him.

His thinking jumped astonishingly fast. Saying that she couldn’t date other men also meant that she couldn’t marry other guys. Requesting responsibility for kissing her in public places was nothing short of asking him to take responsibility.

No one else but Edith.

“…Why worry about that? Who else is as responsible as me?”

Although their conversation couldn’t be heard, the blushing face of the duke spoke volumes more than any explanation.