Herald, who was covered in dust from riding a horse in a hurry, cleaned himself up and changed his clothes before returning to Lily’s side. He didn’t just watch over her, but directly attended to her by wiping away her cold sweat with a warm wet towel and moistening her dry lips.

That alone was surprising, but what shocked people even more was the way Herald fed Lily the medicine.

Even after being given an antipyretic, her fever was not easily coming down and instead fever flowers were blooming, so the doctor manufactured and brought a more potent antipyretic.

The problem was how to get Lily, who was unconscious, to take this medicine. Even when trying to pour it between her lips using a spoon, she couldn’t swallow much of it and it just flowed back out. The fact that the antipyretic was a red liquid that looked as if she was coughing up blood made Herald’s eyes crinkle.

“It’s not good to forcibly wake her up, but if we leave her like this, something worse could happen, so we have no choice but to wake up the lady.”

At the doctor’s decision, Herald looked down at Lily, who was breathing out labored breaths filled with pain, for a moment before asking.

“If you can give her the medicine while she’s unconscious, there’s no need to wake her up, right?”

“It would be ideal if we could give her the medicine without waking the lady, but… do you have a way?”

Instead of answering, Herald picked up the medicine bottle on the side table. The doctor, who was watching in confusion, was startled when the Count gulped down the antipyretic in one go.

“Wh-why are you taking that, Count!”

When the doctor tried to stop Herald, Dillon, who had been quietly observing the situation from behind, grabbed his arm.

“Will there be any problems if a healthy person takes that medicine?”

“What? Oh, no. That’s not it, but that antipyretic is a very bitter medicine…”

“Ah, if that’s all, it’s fine. As long as it doesn’t kill you to take it.”

At the gruesome expression of taking it and dying, the doctor’s face turned even paler.

In the meantime, Herald, who had the antipyretic in his mouth, wrapped his arms around the small shoulders trembling with chills and raised her upper body at an angle. The medicine was bitter enough for the doctor to worry, but his expression was indifferent. He didn’t even frown once.

Herald brushed her cheek stained with cold sweat and fever flowers, then slowly covered her lips with his.

“Oh…!”

At that moment, when the clueless doctor tried to let out an exclamation, Dillon quickly covered the doctor’s mouth. Covering even his nose made it difficult to breathe, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask to be let go.

Although she was dazed, when she was conscious, just pouring water was enough for her to drink it on her own, but now that she was unconscious, Herald pushed the medicine in as if blowing breath into her. It would be difficult for her to swallow a large amount at once, and there could be problems, so he slowly trickled it in and helped her swallow it little by little.

Thanks to Herald taking his time and effort, Lily was able to take all the medicine. Only after confirming there was no medicine left in her mouth did he remove his lips. As he turned his head while rinsing his mouth with clean water, he saw two people frozen in a strange posture.

“What are you doing?”

Only then did Dillon remove his hand that was covering the doctor’s mouth. The doctor’s chest, finally able to breathe, rose and fell greatly.

“What should we do after giving her the medicine?”

Without even a moment to catch his breath, the question flew in and the doctor answered while panting.

“That is, haa, to check, haa, if the antipyretic, haa, is working…”

“Enough.”

When the coldly subdued voice pierced his eardrums, the doctor immediately shut his mouth. Herald’s expression was also stiff. It seemed his mood had been upset by something, but not knowing what had upset him, the doctor just rolled his eyes.

“…Tsk.”

Herald clicked his tongue as if displeased with the doctor, then gave Dillon a look. Dillon bowed his head in greeting at the gaze telling him to leave, then took the dumbfounded doctor and left.

Even after completely leaving Herald’s sight, the doctor, who couldn’t relax his taut nerves, cautiously asked.

“Did I perhaps make some mistake to the Count…?”

With the momentum that he would immediately run to Herald and apologize profusely if answered yes, Dillon laughed and answered.

“You did nothing wrong, Doctor, so you don’t need to worry.”

“That’s a relief, but…”

The doctor’s eyes, glancing at the tightly closed bedroom door, were full of questions. He didn’t seem to simply be curious about why Herald’s mood suddenly worsened.

I’m sure he’s wondering what kind of relationship the Commander and Countess Benjamin have.

Since rumors had swept through the empire that Liliana Benjamin was Herald Braden’s wife, he may have already guessed their relationship. Of course, those rumors weren’t true, but…

…Are they really not?

At the sudden question, Dillon frowned. Even if they weren’t in any relationship, or even just an ordinary relationship, one doesn’t feed medicine through the mouth.

In other words, Herald and Lily are not in an ordinary relationship.

“…”

Dillon sighed softly as he brushed back his hair. The reason the conclusion was annoying yet unsurprising was because it was something he already knew. He had just been denying it because he didn’t want to acknowledge it.

But now he had no choice but to acknowledge it. Herald Braden liked Liliana Benjamin as a woman. No, he loved her.

The fact that he finally admitted it was so frustratingly stifling that Dillon silently screamed while frantically messing up his neatly arranged hair.

Fortunately, the more potent antipyretic was effective. As her fever gradually went down, her body that had been trembling with chills slowly calmed down. Her expression, which had been contorted with pain and cold sweat, also gradually improved.

The reason Lily still couldn’t wake up was because the medicine contained a sleeping agent, so there was no need to worry too much now, the doctor said.

Although one concern was relieved, Herald still stayed by Lily’s side. He wanted to be the first person she saw when she regained consciousness.

I hope you know how much I worried about you and diligently nursed you.

I don’t really like showing off and even thought those kinds of people were funny, but with you… I want to show off like this because you don’t know my heart too well unless I do this much.

I want to convey my feelings to you like this. And I want to be acknowledged…

Thinking this was ridiculous in itself, Herald scoffed and properly covered the slightly slipped blanket up to her neck. As the setting sun made red light shine towards the bed, he drew the curtains.

He had dinner with just a simple sandwich and was waiting for Lily to wake up when an unexpected uninvited guest came looking for him.

“Who came?”

Not believing it even hearing it with his own ears, Herald asked the butler, Coleman, again. Coleman hesitated for a moment at his somewhat intense reaction, then spoke again.

“Count Benjamin has come looking for the Countess, saying he wants to see her.”

Fredrick Benjamin coming here to see her. That alone was unbelievable, but it was even more absurd that he boldly demanded to see Lily. It was something one absolutely couldn’t do if in their right mind.

Ah, that fellow wasn’t in his right mind. Recalling the things Fredrick Benjamin had done, the corners of Herald’s lips slanted.

“Did you tell Count Benjamin that the lady is ill?”

“No. I said I would ask the master and return, so please wait a moment.”

“Then he’ll be in the parlor.”

Convinced that even if Fredrick Benjamin wasn’t in his right mind, he wouldn’t have recklessly come here without reason, Herald entrusted Lily to Emily and headed to the parlor. On the way, he tried to gauge Fredrick’s intentions, but no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t guess. That made it all the more cryptic yet simultaneously anticipated.

The more Fredrick Benjamin acted out, the more Lily’s resolve to divorce him would solidify.

Arriving at the parlor, Herald opened the door and entered without even knocking. Fredrick, who had been leisurely admiring the parlor with his hands behind his back, saw him and smiled.

“It’s been a while, Count Braden.”

Even though Herald came instead of Lily, Fredrick wasn’t surprised at all. Herald, displeased by his grin as if he knew he would come alone, twisted his lips.

“I’m very curious about what confidence made you come to my manor.”

Sitting in the head seat, Herald crossed one leg and asked. For a moment, Fredrick’s upturned lips wavered at the voice and gaze so cold it sent chills through his body.

“I don’t have any particular confidence.”

But only for a moment. Fredrick sat next to Herald as if nothing had happened, smiling.

“I’m just worried about my wife who has been away from home for a long time. I came because I missed her and wanted to see her.”

Herald, letting out a snort, tilted his head at an angle.

“Lies need to be kept to a reasonable level for people to believe you.”

“It’s not a lie…”

“But who said you could sit anywhere you want?”

When the murderous question flew in with a sharp edge, Fredrick stood up again with a start.

“Sorry…”

“I’m joking, sit back down.”

“…”

At Herald’s attitude that anyone could see was clearly mocking him, the smile completely disappeared from Fredrick’s face. In contrast, Herald brightly smiled and said:

“I’ll ask again, Count Benjamin.”

“…”

“Why did you come to see her?”

Fredrick, who had been staring at Herald while keeping his back straight, soon sat back down and answered.

“I came to see my runaway wife because I was curious when she would return home.”

It probably wasn’t a mishearing that he emphasized “my wife”.

“So I’ll tell you, will you be returning my wife soon, Count?”