“Kaius?”

The golden eyes, which seemed to have regained focus, widened in surprise.

“It wasn’t a dream.”

The suddenly collapsing bookshelf, Kaius appearing in the moment of crisis – it all seemed too unbelievable, so Ariel mistook it for a dream for a while.

Ah. The book.

Ariel tried to hurry and get up, but she couldn’t achieve her goal.

“Stay still.”

Kaius pressed a finger firmly on Ariel’s forehead as she tried to get up.

“What are you doing?”

“Don’t move.”

Ariel, whose face turned bright red as if embarrassed by the situation, flailed her arms and legs to get away from him. As her struggling intensified, she hit Kaius’s chest hard. A painful groan escaped from him, but it was so faint that Ariel didn’t notice it.

“You hit your head.”

Only then did Ariel remember being hit on the head by the book and touched her head. Kaius chuckled softly at the sight of Ariel tilting her head with a puzzled expression.

“I used a potion. If you’re okay, try to get up slowly.”

As Ariel was rising, leaning on one of his arms, she saw that Kaius couldn’t move one of his arms. And then the blood that had been hidden by his fallen hair. Upon closer inspection, his pale complexion too.

“Ah…”

Her eyes suddenly reddened. She had wanted to be by his side to save him, not to hurt him more. Faced with Kaius’s detached gaze as if it were nothing, Ariel turned her back on him.

Even when she had seen him more severely injured by the demon beast, she hadn’t reacted like this. She bit her lip to swallow the sobs that were bursting out, but there was nothing she could do about the tears that flowed. Hot teardrops fell, wetting the front of her dress.

***

Kaius, watching the faint sobs escaping and the trembling shoulders, reached out with his uninjured hand. Just as he was about to grasp her small, tightly clenched hand, Ariel raised her hand to wipe away her tears. His hand, grasping at empty air, clenched tightly.

“Don’t cry.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize to me. It’s a husband’s natural duty to protect his wife. And right now, I’m in quite a bit of pain. When do you plan to heal me?”

Ariel, whose shoulders twitched at Kaius’s words, quickly calmed herself. She was at a loss for how to treat him from now on. But thoughts about him could wait.

Taking a deep breath and exhaling, Ariel turned back to him.

“Thank you. For saving me.”

Ariel, without properly making eye contact, silently began treating the visible wounds like a doctor. Kaius’s gaze deepened as he looked at Ariel’s wet eyes and reddened eyelids.

“What happened to your arm? Can you tell if the shoulder is dislocated, or broken, and if it’s broken, where?”

Ariel asked him as she quickly removed the jacket with its torn buttons.

“It seems dislocated.”

“Ah… What should we do? I can’t fix that with my healing power.”

“Is that so? Well, I suppose not.”

Kaius, speaking calmly, grasped his dislocated left arm with his right hand. Just as Ariel thought, ‘Surely not?’, there was a cracking sound as he reset his own shoulder. Ariel’s face turned pale as she let out a small scream at the sight.

“The shoulder seems resolved, but my back hurts.”

Though he was talking about his own pain, his expression and tone were as calm as if he were describing someone else’s condition.

Ariel nodded and sat down on her knees in front of him, and Kaius looked at her with a strange gaze. The woman who fearlessly unbuttoned his shirt was cunning and brazen. Yet she still wouldn’t touch his body with even a fingertip in bed.

“Ah…”

Kaius’s head turned slightly to the side at the small scream Ariel let out as she moved behind his back.

“Does it hurt to breathe?”

“A little.”

“I think your bones are injured too.”

After finishing treating his messed-up back, Ariel walked to Kaius’s front. As she hesitated, staring blankly at his chest, unable to touch him readily, Kaius guided her two hands to himself.

“Here.”

Ariel, with a reddened face, treated him while turning her head away, moving as Kaius guided her with “here” and “here too” several times. Then she felt something soft under her palm.

“Here too.”

Startled by the moist and ticklish sensation, Ariel pulled her hand away and turned her gaze to him. He burst into low laughter at her dumbfounded look. After a long while, her eyes looking at him shone clearly. It would be appropriate to say she was glaring at him. But it was better than the guilty look she had been wearing all along.

“Don’t tease me. Even if this looks easy, it’s really not easy for me.”

“I see. My lady.”

The sight of Ariel blushing and fidgeting with her small hands clasped together made the smile on his lips grow deeper.

“Then now for the painful areas…”

Ariel’s face reddened even more as her gaze unconsciously lowered to his lower body. She had suspected that his inability to stand might be due to an injured leg, but faced with his steady gaze, unavoidably indecent memories came to mind.

Just as Ariel was about to ask again, she sank down helplessly as Kaius silently stood up and picked up his shirt. Due to the release of tension and having used all her strength, she was so dizzy she couldn’t move a finger. Kaius chuckled as he watched Ariel slowly move to find and clutch the demon realm plant guide to her chest.

What was so special about that mere plant guide?

“Um… Could you get me some water? A lot. A whole lot. And please find Anna.”

With those words, Ariel leaned back against the tilted bookshelf and closed her eyes. Whether due to her injuries or having used up a lot of life force, even opening her eyes was a struggle.

“I’m right here! Lady Ariel. I’ll go out and bring water. Your Grace, please dress properly in the meantime.”

Ariel was relieved at the sound of Anna’s welcome voice. She had been worried that Anna might have been harmed, not having seen her since she went to get the ladder.

“Does your head hurt? Or somewhere else?”

Kaius, having quickly dressed, knelt on one knee in front of Ariel.

“I’m fine. Water… I just need to drink water.”

Kaius lifted Ariel’s chin, which had been buried between her knees. At his action, Ariel’s closed eyes opened briefly before slowly closing again. Taking out a handkerchief, Kaius slowly wiped the blood from Ariel’s face and the cold sweat that had beaded on her forehead. He also brushed her disheveled hair behind her ears. After staring at her face for a long while after that, Kaius finally let go of Ariel at the sound of the door opening.

***

“What brings you to seek me out, when you’re busy qualifying for the Demon King title?”

Ludvian sought out Lucifer Tanak. The prince of the demon race, currently in the form of a child. He had the purple hair and eyes characteristic of the royal family.

“Where did you stash away the Demon Realm Plant Guide? I’ve already looked into it, so don’t think about denying it.”

“The Demon Realm Plant Guide? Ah. That should be in the library.”

At Lucifer’s glib words, Ludvian raised magical energy in his hand and shot it towards Lucifer’s attendant. The palace guards couldn’t intervene. The situation was such that it was unclear who would become the Demon King.

“Still can’t remember? You should think carefully before answering.”

“My, my. You don’t even know who the master of this palace is.”

At Lucifer’s nonchalant attitude, this time Ludvian shot magical energy at Lucifer himself. But it was blocked by the captain of the palace knights.

“Lord Ludvian, you must not attack Lord Lucifer.”

“Speak, Lucifer.”

“I might have placed it in the human world.”

“Where in the human world.”

“Books naturally wander here and there. Why are you making such a fuss about it? Ah, enough. It’s the Empire. The Klardeus Empire.”

He muttered to himself, saying he might have lost it there during the demon realm war.

“But why?”

“You don’t need to know that. More importantly, Lucifer Tanak, if I become the Demon King, you’ll have to vacate the palace. How about clearing out in advance?”

“What disappointing words. Don’t you know it’s not over until it’s over? If by any chance such a thing happens, I’ll hand it over cleanly, so don’t worry.”

Ludvian judged that talking further with him would be a waste of time. From the start, there was no way that the sly Lucifer would give a proper answer.

“By the way, Ludvian, I heard that human woman you were working on recently got married? And to Duke Kaius von Elbartan, who bested me, no less. Come to think of it…”

With a bang, the door closed and Ludvian left the place. As soon as he disappeared, Lucifer’s face, which had been glib until just now, hardened. As if he had become a different person. His eyes, which had become serious, sank deeply.

***

Having eaten dinner to her fill, Ariel sat on the bed and checked the Demon Realm Plant Guide.

The name of the antidote she had been desperately searching for was Alraune. Alraune was not only capable of detoxification but could also remove seals and curses, making it a miraculous medicine.

The surprising fact was that Alraune was a living, moving plant, and its food was the Japaros flower. It was extremely difficult to obtain, and even harder to grow or propagate. That was Alraune.

The fortunate point was that Ariel already had Japaros. Ironically, the Japaros that was driving him to death was also the plant that would help save him.

It seemed to resemble herself as well.

“Lady Ariel.”

Anna, who had gone to fetch tea, burst through the bedroom door. Ariel quickly closed the book and turned her gaze to Anna.

“Guess who’s come to visit downstairs?”

As it wasn’t a question expecting an answer, Ariel just blinked silently.

“It’s Rosalyn.”

“Has she come to see me?”

Anna looked at Ariel with a strange expression. Ariel was completely unaware, but rumors were rampant in the capital right now.

Ariel von Elbartan, unconscious due to an accident.

To catch the culprit, Kaius had chosen to exaggerate the accident rather than conceal it. Creating the situation the culprit wanted. There were limits to tracking down the small fry who actually caused the accident.

The one caught in that trap was the current visitor.

“Well, Rosalyn says she’s come to nurse Lady Ariel.”