Emilia’s face turned pale. Although hidden behind his back, the blood flowing from his arm could be seen dripping from his fingertips. Bright red blood began to spread on the carpet.

“Lady!”

“He-here! The Duke’s room is here!”

The sound of people rushing over from afar could be heard. Her whole body was trembling and her legs felt weak, but if she collapsed here, it would only be a burden to Enrico.

Thinking that she needed to call for help, Emilia moved her trembling legs towards the door and discovered a gun lying on the ground.

Meanwhile, Enrico faced the black-masked man with movements that couldn’t be seen from someone with an arm injury.

As if deciding that things wouldn’t work out like this against Enrico’s punches that had become even faster and more destructive than before, the black-masked man aimed at Emilia who was heading towards the door.

However, that seemed to be the cause of his mistake. Compared to the time he had been dragging out, the black-masked man was struck in the face by Enrico with a futile blow.

“Kuheok-!”

It was a tremendous impact. As he tried to steady his staggering body to avoid falling, Enrico tripped his legs and knocked him down. The moment he put force on his hands and knees to suppress the struggling black-masked man, the sound of a gun being cocked was heard.

The trembling muzzle touched the back of the fallen black-masked man’s head. At that, the black-masked man’s struggles ceased. It was a moment when the things she had learned from her father when she was young came in handy.

“…Well done.”

Enrico said in a low voice, looking at her. Behind her back, as she tightly grasped the gun with a face that looked like she could collapse at any moment, people rushed into the room.

“You can give it to me.”

“…”

“It’s okay.”

At his gentle voice, Emilia barely relaxed her grip. He took the gun and handed it to Fabio. Blood could be seen flowing down Enrico’s arm.

“Duke! Your wound…”

“First, lock this guy up.”

As Emilia hurriedly approached, Enrico raised a hand to stop her and gave orders to Fabio.

“You come over here.”

The hand that had been blocking her lowered and took her hand. It was cold and still trembling pitifully. He clasped that hand as if imprisoning it within his own as he left the chaotic room.

“Duke, you need to get treatment quickly. Your arm is bleeding…”

“Yeah. It’s bleeding, but it’s fine.”

“How can it be fine! You were cut by a knife.”

“Yes. It’s just a cut. Not a stab.”

Unlike her who was stamping her feet, he remained calm throughout. She couldn’t understand why someone who abhorred artworks so much didn’t take care of his own body. Her face contorted.

“Where are you going!”

“You keep trembling. I was going to take you to your room.”

It was a truly leisurely remark. Tears welled up in her eyes at his heartbreaking consideration, prioritizing artworks even in this situation.

“Then let’s go this way.”

“Downstairs? Ah, is it because of those things.”

“Let’s go for now.”

Emilia headed towards the servants’ quarters, recalling memories from her childhood. She remembered there being a small infirmary around here…

“Ah, there it is.”

“What are you looking for?”

“Yes.”

“Look for it later. You should go and rest. I’ll take care of the treatment myself.”

“…Why are you doing this! Do you have to see me cry because I feel so sorry?”

“What?”

Her eyes, which had been stubbornly looking ahead, looked up at him. Tears were brimming in her jade-colored eyes.

“…Did you just say you’re crying because of me?”

“Not yet!”

“Then what are these tears for?”

“These, these are…!”

She quickly turned her head and wiped her tears with her other hand. The corners of Enrico’s mouth curved at the sight. His eyes had a slightly dazed look, but the gradually appearing smile revealed a strange sense of satisfaction.

Enrico awkwardly covered his mouth with his hand as if he were an awkward person. He could feel the corners of his mouth turned up at his fingertips.

“Emilia.”

“…”

“Emilia, look at me for a bit.”

“…I don’t want to right now.”

“Why.”

“When you get treatment, we can talk then.”

Thinking he was trying to send her away again, Emilia sealed her lips, using treatment as a condition, and led him to the infirmary.

Emilia shedding tears for his sake. He wanted to take a closer look, but she was stubbornly turning her head away. He didn’t want to forcefully stop her.

Enrico oddly looked down at their joined hands. Had anyone ever been this proactive towards him? Well, to begin with, their relationship wasn’t really like that in the first place.

A glint flashed in his jewel-like purple eyes.

“There should be something to treat wounds in this room.”

Emilia, now reassured, quickly rummaged through the interior, seeing Enrico obediently following her. Quietly watching her, he clenched and unclenched his fist, thinking that the released hand felt strangely empty. Then, sensing a presence at the door, he turned his head.

It was Fabio who had come looking for Enrico. He gestured for silence and waved his hand, signaling him to leave. Fabio, who had been looking at him with a puzzled expression, discovered Emilia collecting medicine and quietly bowed his head and withdrew. The door that had been opened quietly closed again.

In the meantime, Emilia, who had roughly gathered the basic wound treatment medicines according to what she knew, quickly approached him.

“Sit down quickly.”

“Okay.”

He pulled over two nearby stools, pushed one to her, and sat on the other.

“For now, I found a hemostatic agent, so I’ll apply this and give you simple treatment. I don’t know much either, so you’ll have to call a doctor right after we’re done.”

“Why bother when I’ve been treated?”

“Duke…”

Emilia frowned with a devastated expression.

“I’m the one who’s injured, so why are you making that face?”

“…I’m sorry. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt like this.”

His gaze poured intensely over her face as she looked at the injured wound with an apologetic expression. It slid down, meticulously examining her large eyes, soft nose, and finally resting on her lovely lips, as if looking at each feature one by one.

She applied the medicine to the wounded area as if frightened. Strangely, rather than pain, a ticklish sensation was felt more strongly. The gaze that had been lingering on her trembling lips moved back up to her tear-shaped eyes.

There was still a slight trace of moisture in her eyes. Her wet eyelashes looked like flower petals drenched in dew.

‘Those tears were shed for me.’

Perhaps because no one had ever shed tears for his sake, the feeling was strange. Enrico felt the urge to press down firmly on the area near his heart due to that indescribable feeling.

“Fortunately, the wound isn’t deep.”

Emilia muttered with a much-improved expression. Of course, her cheeks, which had looked soft before, still appeared stiff, but seeing the slight relaxation of her lips, it seemed like she had gotten a little better.

“Your hands are so cold.”

Enrico slowly grasped her hand that had been touching his arm. Although it seemed to have a bit more warmth compared to before, it still felt like ice to his hand.

“Ah, there’s still some treatment left. We just need to apply this.”

“I’ll hold it for you, so apply it.”

“…What?”

“Here.”

“You can just let go of my hand.”

“It’s warm.”

Enrico lifted her hand that he was holding. Then, tilting his head slightly, he placed his cheek against her palm.

“Your cold hand feels nice.”

His delicate eyelashes lowered, following the slow closing of his eyelids.

Emilia’s eyes froze. She was so surprised that she stood stiff like a frozen person, not even blinking her eyes and momentarily holding her breath. What kind of situation was this? Why was he doing this? Questions erupted one after another. His cheek touching her palm was soft as it looked, but it was indeed hot.

No, it seemed to be even hotter than usual.

‘Is the fever rising more because of the wound? Ah, I heard people can even talk nonsense if their fever gets too high…’

Whether it was really because of the fever or something else, Emilia’s mind also froze at the sudden situation.

As if denying reality, her eyes that had been looking down at him belatedly blinked. At the same time, his eyelids slowly lifted, revealing his captivating beautiful eyes. Dark eyes filled with unfamiliar excitement and satisfaction shone.

It was as if time had stopped. The moment when they silently gazed at each other and no one moved was broken as Enrico raised his head. Holding the hand that had been touching his cheek, his other hand reached out to her face and cupped it as if touching something precious.

Emilia’s eyes trembled slightly. Normally, she should have immediately brushed off this hand and escaped. However, the two hands that touched were filled with heat, and his increasingly close breath was extremely hot.

Her heart began to beat faster and faster as if it would burst. It felt like she would collapse right away if she stayed like this. The moment the tip of his nose touched her, her vision became blurry.

It seemed difficult to endure any longer like this. As she tightly closed her eyes and slightly twisted her head, his approaching lips brushed past her cheek as if missing her. Their breaths, not knowing whose they were, intermingled and gradually settled into silence.

“…”

After a while, Emilia stood up from her seat with a confused face. Moving her lips, she glanced down at him and squeezed out the words.

“…I’ll be going now.”

He didn’t even spare her a glance. Even when she left, his head that hadn’t been raised slowly lifted only after the sound of the door closing.