Count Peliesse, watching the Emperor dismount with an unapologetic face while the deposed prince was carried off on a stretcher, lowered his voice even more. His eyes, red and swollen, looked as if they were glaring at the Emperor, but he quickly bowed his head, fearing their eyes might meet.

“If you defy him, you’re dead for sure. If you saw his face when he aimed that ghastly arrow at his nephew, you wouldn’t have dared say such a thing!”

The count, whispering lowly, rubbed his sweaty palms on his clothes.

The Emperor had left the caught beasts, telling them to cook it for his nephew’s recovery. “Since the mansion owner is injured, today’s party is ruined,” he blurted out nonchalantly and ordered to prepare for the return.

As the panicked butler, Gustav, came running, followed by Yuan, Count Peliesse’s face turned beet red. The family of the deposed prince’s wife was a chance to meet Yuan at the party.

But to return without any gain was unacceptable.

“We should leave too! I can’t stay here anymore, it’s too unsettling!”

“We should meet Yuan first!”

“Nonsense! The Emperor himself is here…”

Among the hastily assembling crowd, Yuan stood pale-faced at the mansion’s entrance.

Emperor Igor approached Yuan confidently and hugged her openly, bidding farewell. He seemed to nibble on her earlobe.

Looking at Yuan’s face, which turned from white to ashen, Emperor Igor chuckled and, hearing the preparation was complete, turned without hesitation and mounted his horse.

Count Peliesse, scrambling into his family’s carriage, made his way through the crowd to Yuan.

“Yuan! This place is too dangerous for you! Do you understand? You must divorce immediately!”

Yuan, her mind numb, backed away. She saw the physician Hile hurriedly going upstairs.

The butler’s pale face, who sent her out to greet the Emperor, also bothered her. It was clear that Clad was injured somewhere.

Before the long procession completely left, her uncle’s face came close to Yuan.

“Yuan!”

“This is my home now, what do you mean?”

Her head was too cluttered to fear her uncle. After facing Emperor Igor for two days, she realized how insignificant her once-feared uncle was.

Yuan obsessively wiped the places the Emperor touched, cringing.

“Leave. This is my home. Don’t tell me what to do.”

Her uncle’s face tensed up with urgency, then he gritted his teeth.

“You’re mistaken. How can this be your home!”

“Leave.”

“Your husband, that monster, killed your sister!”

Yuan flinched, and the count warned her.

“Do you think your sister really died when it was her time?”

“What are you saying?”

“Before your sister, seven brides entered this mansion. Do you think they all just ran away? Some died! At night, the monster, Clad Euphris, goes insane! What about his wives? Your sister was also here once! Surely! And what happened? She died!”

Count Peliesse stepped closer to Yuan.

“Understand? The man you call husband might have killed your sister! The
Yuan poured out her voice, trembling with emotion that surged to its limit.

“Please tell me!”

Tears brimmed in her large eyes. Her slender chin trembled uncontrollably, unable to contain her anxiety.

Lancelot, taken aback by her intensity, yearned to see inside the bedroom but couldn’t take his eyes off her.

“Where did you hear such strange rumors? You know the answer.”

Lancelot, his face sweaty and tear-stricken, slowly scanned Yuan, then gritted his teeth and replied.

“Was Clad Euphris that kind of person?”

Tears that had swelled in her black eyes finally fell down her pale cheeks.

Unconsciously, Yuan shook her head. She still didn’t know much about her husband. But she knew how much pain he lived in and how much he didn’t want to share that pain with anyone else.

“Did he seem like a villain who would mercilessly chase away and kill innocent people? Even his own wife?”

Lancelot’s face looked as if someone was choking him.

“If you’ve ever had such suspicions, please, let this conversation be the end of it.”

His caramel-colored eyes gazed directly at her.

“If Clad heard this, it would hurt him more than any physical pain.”

“Madam?”

“I’ll help.”

At her offer to help, Hile’s face brightened. Leaving Hile behind, Yuan looked down at Clad, who was gasping for breath and glaring fiercely.

One arrow had been removed, but two more remained.

Clad’s jaw to collarbone was bulging with veins, his body flushed red from clenching his teeth.

“Get out.”

An unceremonious eviction order was issued to Yuan.

Hile, desperate for help, gave a pleading look. But Clad’s eyes showed no mercy, clearly rejecting any assistance.

“Get out. If you don’t want to see something horrible.”

As Hile stiffened at the warning mixed with pained groans, Yuan boldly moved to the other side of the bed, grasping Clad’s blood-caked hand.

Clad, unable to push her away due to the arrow in his shoulder, growled.

“Don’t you hear? Get out!”

“Lord Lancelot.”

Ignoring the refusal, Yuan called to Lancelot, who was standing at the door.

Immediately understanding her request, Lancelot sat next to Hile, who was trying to extract the arrow, and held down the writhing Clad.

“What are you doing? Get out!”

“When it really hurts, having someone hold your hand can halve the pain.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. Argh!”

Encouraged, Hile cautiously began to pull out the arrow.

As Hile prodded the flesh with a small medical knife and slowly extracted the grotesquely barbed arrowhead, Clad gritted his teeth.

Yuan firmly held his calloused hand, absorbing his pain.

“A year ago, Clad took an overdose of sleeping pills due to pain. During his struggle, your sister, Louise Peliesse, came to this house. Clad was unaware of her presence, and she stayed here for months, almost dead, before suddenly fleeing. Later, news of her death reached us. The attending physician said there were no signs of foul play.”

“Didn’t she have any chronic illness?”