AFRPR 28

Episode 28

It was an unexpected visitor.

Rubbing her eyes, Estelle saw a familiar figure and quickly ran outside.

“Why aren’t you lying down?”

“What are you doing here, Duke?”

It was Lennox.

“Of course, I came to see you.”

Me? Why?

Estelle was confused. She never thought Lennox would worry about her.

She had assumed everything — the cold hand that comforted her and the voice she heard in her sleep — was all just a dream.

‘He’s not the kind of person who would come looking for me.’

But there was one thing she could guess, so she decided to use her secret weapon.

“Could you turn around for a moment?”

Lennox looked at her, silently asking for an explanation, but Estelle just urged him again.

“Just for a moment.”

Her face was still pale.

Not wanting to argue with someone who still looked sick, Lennox obediently turned around.

“Stay like that until I say I’m done.”

Is she trying to punish me or something?
Lennox was amused but stayed turned around. Meanwhile, Estelle brought out “that thing.”

‘Good! Now he won’t even think about coming inside!’

She was proudly sprinkling it when his voice suddenly interrupted.

“What are you doing right now?”

Busted.

But in times like this, confidence is key.

“As you can see, it’s dirty around here.”

She was spreading dust around like someone sprinkling salt and opened her hand, showing the dust she had collected.

Now that Duren was living in the annex with her, Estelle couldn’t live as carelessly as she used to.
She worried his lungs might get worse, so she worked hard to clean the place.

But then one day she thought:

‘It’s getting so clean that even the Duke of Winterlen might start visiting!’

That would be a disaster.

The one good thing about this messy annex was that Lennox — with his extreme cleanliness — couldn’t stand to come near it.

From that day on, Estelle started collecting dust in case she needed to use it to keep him away.

“Didn’t you just make it dirtier?”

“Nope. I worked hard to save this dust just for you, Duke.”

She had no idea how much he saw, but she couldn’t exactly say, “I saved this to kick you out.”

“Look! I gathered quite a lot just in that short time, right?”

She proudly held out the dust jar to him.

She expected him to recoil in horror, but to her surprise, Lennox didn’t react at all.

“Stop wasting time. Get back in bed.”

He stepped forward — stepping right on the dust she had spread.

This wasn’t how she imagined things would go.

‘Isn’t he supposed to be someone who won’t go near dust, let alone step on it?’

While she stood there frozen, Lennox took the dust jar from her.

“The doctor said you need plenty of rest. Though all he ever says is rest, so who knows if he’s a real doctor.”

Mumbling to himself, he closed the lid on the jar and tossed it away behind him.

“It’s trash, so you don’t mind if I throw it out, right?”

Normally, you’d ask before doing something like that.

But his face stayed completely calm.

Just as Estelle was about to protest—

“…!”

He grabbed her hand and pulled her along.

“Take your medicine.”

Lennox had taken her hand.

He, not Estelle, was the one to initiate contact.

While Estelle was too stunned to react, he gently sat her on the bed and handed her water and medicine.

“W-wait a second.”

“What is it? Don’t tell me you suddenly feel all better?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just… you touched me.”

“Yeah.”

Lennox casually reached out and touched her forehead.

“Still a bit warm, but better than last night.”

Another shock.

Estelle, still dazed, touched her neck just to check if her head was still attached and cautiously asked:

“Are you okay?”

“What do you mean?”

He looked at her like she’d asked something ridiculous.

“I’m dirty.”

Her face was sticky with sweat, and she hadn’t even washed after waking up.

By his standards, she must be absolutely disgusting.

But he just responded plainly:

“Wash later.”

“No, I mean I’m really dirty!”

Frustrated, Estelle raised her voice.

“You just touched a dirty woman!”

“Why are you talking about yourself like that? Even if you’re sick, don’t be so harsh on yourself.”

Is this a dream?

Estelle sat there with her mouth hanging open, stunned. Lennox chuckled.

“You used to cling to me even when you were in a much worse state. You didn’t care if you touched me or not.”

“…!”

“You used me like a wet towel, then threw me away when I was no longer useful. Did you forget all that?”

If only she could forget.

She remembered someone lending her a cold hand.

She thought it was a dream, but it turned out it was real — and it was his hand.

“I was too sick to recognize you back then.”

“I figured.”

Estelle turned her head slightly and took the medicine.

After a short silence, Lennox asked:

“Why did you jump in back then?”

He was talking about the monster incident.

“You could’ve died.”

Estelle had her own reasons for stepping in, but he didn’t know that. From his view, it must’ve looked reckless.

She had to give an answer that made sense.

“You care about Duren, don’t you?”

Cough, cough.

She cleared her throat and went on.

“So I thought I had to protect him, at least.”

“…”

“That’s all.”

“Would you really risk your life for someone you care about?”

“…I’m not that reckless.”

“No, you were plenty reckless.”

Estelle looked away, unable to argue.

Silence filled the air.

Lennox looked at her, still coughing slightly, and thought to himself:

‘She’s right — I don’t “care” about Duren…’

‘But I’ve at least ensured his safety as my heir.’

If he had only met Estelle once or twice, he would’ve scolded her.

Told her not to act so carelessly.

But this time, Lennox didn’t try to defend himself or justify his actions.

Instead—

“Next time something like that happens, I’ll make sure you don’t have to get involved.”

He had decided to accept Estelle and start changing himself.

He already knew the consequences of stubbornness and pride.

Though Estelle looked at him with disbelief, Lennox still reversed something he once said.

“From now on, stay in the main house.”

He couldn’t stop thinking about how she dragged her sick body all the way to the annex because of his order.

‘She probably doesn’t like it here either, so she’ll be happy to move.’

Or so he thought.

“No thanks.”

Estelle shook her head.

“I don’t mind staying here until we get divorced.”

“Until we get divorced, huh.”

Did she reject his offer just for appearances? Maybe she’d say yes later?

But Estelle’s tone was firm.

“The medicine’s kicking in. Please leave.”

She even kicked him out.

As she lay back in bed, Lennox quietly left the annex without a word.

He had brought this on himself.

Meanwhile…

Stained glass in many colors reflected the bright noon sunlight, lighting the room beautifully.

In front of a huge statue of a god, a blond man finished his prayer and opened his eyes.

“Say that again.”

“Well…”

An elderly priest hesitated, sensing the man’s displeasure.

“The Duke of Winterlen still hasn’t divorced.”

“Are you sure his wife is Estelle Bellon? Maybe it’s someone with the same name?”

“No, it’s definitely that Estelle.”

“He married her and she’s still alive after two months?”

The blond man muttered in disbelief and stood up.

“Helios-nim.”

Helios Kreuzen.

He was Estelle’s fourth husband — the only one still alive.

They had never even shared a wedding night, as the marriage ended quickly after it was discovered he was unable to perform sexually.