“Lady Ariel.”

Ariel opened her eyes as usual at Anna’s familiar voice, but feeling something was off, she slightly lifted the blanket.

Discovering her unclothed body, Ariel hurriedly sat up in bed, and a sharp pain suddenly struck her. Only then did the events of last night come flooding back to her consciousness. She was certain she had fallen asleep in his bedroom. But he was nowhere to be seen.

Checking the wall clock, she saw that morning had already passed. As she got out of bed to go to her bedroom, an even greater pain than before overwhelmed her.

“Lady Ariel, may I come in?”

“Yes, come in. Wait! You must come in alone.”

As she pulled the blanket tightly around her body, the bloodstained sheets were revealed. Anna quickly approached from behind and hurriedly removed those sheets, grinning. But Anna’s smile quickly faded at the sight of Ariel. Bloodshot eyes, haggard face, red marks around her neck – Anna was left speechless.

“How did you know I was here?”

“The Duke… gave me a hint.”

Anna picked up the clothes strewn on the floor – the ones Ariel had worn when coming over – and almost blurted out some harsh words without realizing it. The nightgown, somehow stripped off, was destined to disappear quietly into the fireplace flames along with the bloodstained sheets. No matter how one looked at it, it was not a situation where she had been treated gently.

“Let’s go over quickly, Lady Ariel. Soaking in hot water will make you feel better.”

“Okay…”

After crossing through the connecting door between the bedrooms, Ariel had to wait a bit longer on her bed. The door she had locked was still unopened, so Anna couldn’t prepare the water in advance.

Meanwhile, Ariel took out a pill from the white medicine bottle in the lowest drawer of her vanity and swallowed it with water. It was the contraceptive she had asked Anna for after deciding to accept him. Though she knew it wasn’t good for her body, there was no other choice.

“The water’s ready. Let me help you up.”

“It’s alright. And… I want to bathe alone.”

Knowing how embarrassed she must feel, Anna readily agreed to the request and headed out, covering the torn nightgown and bloodstained bed sheets.

The handprints and red marks visible all over her body in the bathwater reminded her of the fierce night before. Ariel quickly shook her head to clear away the thoughts in her mind and leaned back, closing her eyes. In the silence where not even breathing could be heard, only her long hair floated in the water.

Saving Kaius involved far more hardships and adversities than she had imagined.

“Lady Ariel, chamomile is best at times like this, right? I’ve brought some tea, so please drink it and get some rest.”

By the time Ariel had come out of the bathroom and changed into a dress that came up to her neck, Anna had brought tea. Anna was getting quite good now. She had chosen the right tea that Ariel needed.

“But today is the day the chef is supposed to come…”

“Is that what matters right now? …You need to rest no matter what. Absolutely.”

After drinking the tea, Ariel was eventually led by Anna’s hand back to bed. She had been worried about what she could possibly do in this state, with her whole body aching and in pain. Anna pulled the blanket up to her chin and brought a chair to sit right next to her.

“We should light the fireplace starting today. It gets quite chilly at night.”

“Mm… But what about the Duke? He seems to have woken up early. I wonder if he’s not tired.”

It was a question born from the thought that if he was tired, he would be more susceptible to attacks from magical beasts.

“Who’s worrying about…”

Anna was about to ask who was worrying about whom, but she quietly swallowed those words. Ariel’s eyes, which had been blinking slowly, were now gently closing.

“Your Grace, the Lady is still sleeping, they say. This is a first. She always wakes up early. She must have been quite exhausted yesterday.”

Unexpected words came from Lemon, who had gone to relay a message to Ariel about the meal with Baron Demian.

“Still?”

Kaius’ brow furrowed slightly. He had thought she was just resting. Could she be ill?

“Anything else?”

“That… was all.”

When asked why she wasn’t waking up, there was no need to relay Anna’s sharp response of “Don’t you know why?”

“Bring Hearn.”

After giving the order, Kaius lowered his gaze back to the documents he had been reviewing. The day of the cooking competition was also the day of the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet. They needed to prepare a plan to secure ingredients for that day. On banquet days, some ingredients often ran out, and there were limits to procuring fresh meat in advance.

Kaius stood up after turning the last page of the document.

It was time to go see his wife.

“Lady Ariel. Are you awake?”

Ariel’s eyes slowly opened at the voice heard in her sleep. Instead of Anna’s face as she had expected, it was Kaius who entered her blurry vision.

Why is he here? Could it be night again? Startled, Ariel instinctively crawled away to the opposite side of the bed.

Kaius chuckled slightly at her reaction, as if she had encountered a monster upon discovering him. He quietly sent Anna out first and then turned his gaze back to Ariel. By then, she seemed to have come to her senses; though her face was still pale, her eyes were clear as she looked at him with pursed lips.

“Come here.”

At his words, Ariel covered the buttons on her chest with her hand and shook her head slightly. Kaius’ brow furrowed lightly at this irritating sight.

While he agreed that he hadn’t treated her well the previous night, he wasn’t a beast blinded by lust enough to touch his wife when she was in pain. Kaius’ lips set in a hard line. If he continued to watch Ariel’s ridiculous defiance like this, who knew what might happen again.

He walked to the window and drew back the curtains, letting in bright sunlight. When he opened the window, the scent of the forest and roses seeped in. The incoming breeze billowed the long white curtains, concealing Kaius’ figure.

Only then did Ariel realize that it wasn’t the dark of night, and that Kaius didn’t have other intentions. As she let out a breath of relief, she saw the man walking leisurely out from between the billowing curtains. The sight was quite imposing, and Ariel unconsciously clutched at her skirts.

“Come here, Ariel.”

Kaius approached the bed again and commanded in a firm tone, looking directly into Ariel’s eyes. Meeting his gaze, Ariel instinctively knew. If she didn’t approach now, he would come, and what followed would not be pleasant.

Kaius ostentatiously took a step back. This one step would move her hesitant heart, and Ariel would approach. And that thought proved correct.

Of course, this was after she had become aware of her disheveled appearance and tidied her clothes and smoothed her tangled hair. Kaius laughed softly as he watched.

It was the Ariel he knew.

“Are you in pain somewhere?”

“What? Oh, no.”

Her cheeks seemed slightly flushed, and he wanted to feel her forehead, but decided against it, knowing it would only lead to unnecessary conflict.

“Still, this is the first time, so you should get examined.”

Kaius spoke in a casual tone and called in Hearn, who had been waiting outside.

“Lady Ariel. May I examine you for a moment?”

If this was the plan all along, he should have said so from the beginning. Recalling how she had needlessly frightened herself, Ariel stared at Kaius.

“Yes.”

Kaius, who had been standing a bit further back, saw Ariel’s eyes glaring at him. A smile escaped him at the sight of her pretty eyes, revived now that she wasn’t cowering in fear.

After a while of thorough examination, Hearn finally spoke.

“There doesn’t seem to be anything particularly wrong, but are you feeling any discomfort right now?”

As he asked this, Hearn discreetly turned his head to glance at Kaius. Ariel’s face turned bright red as she understood the intention behind the question. She sneaked a look at Kaius, but he was calmly looking at Ariel as if nothing had happened.

Too embarrassed to voice it out loud, Ariel slightly nodded her head towards Hearn.

Hearn smiled faintly and took out some medicine from his bag. While most doctors carry pain medication as a standard, ever since Kaius started getting injured, Hearn never failed to include it along with hemostatic agents.

“Take one pill whenever you feel discomfort.”

“Thank you, Hearn. I’ll do that.”

After Hearn left, Kaius silently poured a glass of water and handed it to Ariel. When Ariel obediently accepted the water, Kaius took out a pill from the medicine bottle Hearn had left on the bed.

Ariel, who had been watching his actions intently, slightly extended her hand.

“Please give it to me.”

But Kaius didn’t hand over the medicine. Feeling perplexed, Ariel looked up at him standing in front of her.

“Why…”

It was then that Kaius grasped the tip of Ariel’s chin. Before she could retreat, her mouth opened, and the small pill entered. Ariel’s brow furrowed as she remained dazed. The bitter taste spread as the medicine dissolved.

“Water.”

His voice was low and gentle.

“Drink the water, Ariel.”

At his words, mixed with a low chuckle, Ariel’s face, which had calmed, flushed again. Though she drank all the water, the bitter taste didn’t disappear. It was then that Ariel’s body suddenly lifted. In the blink of an eye, Kaius had laid Ariel back down on the bed.

“Get some sleep.”

He pulled up the blanket to cover her, but she didn’t close her eyes and instead pulled the blanket up to her neck. Seeing her small hands clutching the blanket with an anxious face, he couldn’t help but laugh. Kaius brushed back her fallen hair and quietly left the bedroom.