IPTVI – Chapter 58

“Come on. There’s no need to look so grim.”

In contrast to the Grand Duke’s contorted face, Aiden still spoke with a relaxed expression. With a bright smile, Aiden tilted his head and leisurely walked out of the room.

Finally, Aiden left the room, and the Grand Duke drew closer. His heavy footsteps trudged toward the bed. I held my breath slightly and stared at him. It was the first time we’d met since our ambiguous parting this morning, but this wasn’t the time to worry about such things.

Then, I suddenly noticed the long white bandage wrapped around his arm. I frowned and asked,

“What happened to your arm?”

“…None of your concern.”

“Is it badly injured?”

I narrowed my eyes at his curt reply. A faint sigh escaped his lips.

“There was just a bit of a problem during the hunt.”

After a brief reply, he hesitated for a moment before parting his lips.

“More importantly… are you all right?”

“I’m fine. There was a fire in the maze garden… They said I just collapsed because it was hard to breathe with all the smoke.”

I added a simple explanation for him, as he wouldn’t know the details, having just returned from the hunt. His face was dark as he listened to my story. After a long moment of choosing his words as if in thought, he slowly opened his mouth.

“That… what I said earlier…”

“What I said earlier was a lie, to be honest.”

I cut him off before he could finish, blurting out the words. He looked at me, his eyes wide with surprise.

“A lie…”

“This morning… when I said I’ve never harbored a single personal feeling for you, Your Grace.”

“……!”

The Grand Duke now looked as if he didn’t know what to say. His red eyes wavered aimlessly. I looked up at him, my own eyes clear.

“If you count worrying as a personal feeling, that is.”

After taking a moment to catch my breath, I let out a deep sigh and continued.

“To be honest, I was worried about you, Your Grace. We’re in the same boat. How could I not be worried?”

“……”

“You were worried about me when I was sick, too. When we were in the cave. And even now…”

I had to pause to collect myself as I was suddenly overcome with emotion. The Grand Duke looked down at me in silence, his face complex.

“It’s the same for me. It bothers me that you hurt your arm at the hunting grounds. What am I supposed to think when a man called the Battlefield Butcher gets hurt on a peaceful hunting ground?”

“…That’s.”

He trailed off, looking troubled. Then, he slowly swept a cheek with his unbandaged hand. I spoke to him in a sharp, chiding voice.

“It’s because you were overconfident in your skills and threw away your good luck charm.”

“……!”

After snapping at him, I held out my hand. The Grand Duke’s eyes, which had inadvertently glanced at my palm, widened in shock.

“How did you…”

“It just… seemed like a waste to just throw it out. It’s quite effective, you know.”

I looked at the charm ring on my palm and cleared my throat unnecessarily. My ears felt hot for some reason, so I averted my gaze.

I had found it after searching the garden bushes after he left the room. If you were to ask why I bothered to find the charm ring he had thrown away like trash, well, there was no reason. I just didn’t like that the ring had been abandoned all alone like that in an unfamiliar place. So I rummaged through the branches as if the ring were some precious token of mine.

“So it was you, not a squirrel.”

The Grand Duke muttered an inscrutable, hollow remark to himself. It seemed to be tinged with self-derision.

After a moment of silence, his hand, which had been frozen as if rigid, slowly moved and enclosed the charm ring in my palm. An unreadable emotion flickered across his face. I bit my lip once and hesitantly opened my mouth.

“I don’t know… what misunderstanding you may have had, but this is nothing more than the loyalty of a partner with the same goal. So you don’t have to worry about me violating the contract in the future. Honestly.”

“Loyalty…”

He repeated my word quietly, his face showing that he found it hard to accept. So I decided to give him the answer he wanted once more. For some reason, even when the Grand Duke showed me kindness, he hated the idea of any other feelings growing between us.

“So, this is partnership for a partner in the same boat! It’s just a partnership. You know? You wouldn’t want Victor to get hurt either, Your Grace.”

I deliberately brought up his good companion, Victor, and spoke in a nonchalant voice.

“Elena…”

At last, his voice calling my name rippled like a rain-soaked wave. Feeling awkward looking at him, I quickly pulled my outstretched hand back to my side and turned my head away.

“I-I’m going to rest now. You should go back to your room and rest too, Your Grace. Honestly, you look more seriously injured than I am.”

I acted peevish for no reason and pulled the blanket up as if I were about to fall asleep. At that, the Grand Duke’s lips parted as if to say something. His Adam’s apple moved slowly. It looked as if he were trying to swallow words that were stuck in his throat, unable to be spoken. A strange sense of anticipation rose in me, that perhaps words of concern for me might come out of his mouth. I peeked out from under the blanket, my eyes only, and stealthily observed him.

“Alright.”

But before he left the room, that was the only word he uttered in a tight, choked voice. As if to say that was all there was between us.

“So it really… was nothing…”

I muttered awkwardly to the firmly closed door. A sharp sigh escaped from between my teeth.

* * *

Creak— The large door opened without a knock.

“Looks like that burn is quite severe.”

Aiden frowned at the pungent smell of antiseptic. Benedict, who was sitting at a small table in the bedroom, glanced once at Aiden. Then, with a blank face, he poured the rest of the antiseptic over his injured arm.

“Shall I help you?”

“Not necessary.”

Replying even more bluntly, Benedict skillfully wrapped a bandage around the disinfected arm. Wrapping a bandage with one hand was as natural as breathing to him. Getting burned wasn’t anything special, either.

Aiden plopped down in a seat in front of Benedict.

“Honestly, I didn’t think you’d jump straight into that fire.”

His crooked voice was somewhere between a sneer and admiration.

Everyone who had witnessed what happened in the maze garden that afternoon had been left speechless.

The garden entrance was blocked by fierce flames and a fallen tree. The Queen had already escaped the maze unharmed, and no one in the kingdom was willing to brave the danger and enter the maze where Elena was trapped. The same went for Aiden, who had returned from the hunting grounds at some unknown point. But Benedict, who had galloped up on his horse like a madman a moment later, was different.

“To think you’d break through the fallen tree with sheer force.”

“……”

Benedict remained silent, quietly finishing his dressing. The unpleasant feeling that had been grating on his nerves for a while now made him reluctant to even answer.

Aiden shook his head. At first, he too had tried to rescue Elena, but he had missed his chance. The fire had grown uncontrollably large in an instant, and he hadn’t dared to enter the flames bare-bodied. But Benedict seemed to be a man without fear. As soon as he confirmed the entrance where the maids said Elena was trapped, he plunged into the flames without a moment’s hesitation.

As Aiden watched Benedict treat his own wound, he continued with a meaningful look on his face.

“How is Elena? She seemed to have inhaled a lot of smoke, so I was worried there might be aftereffects.”

At those words, Benedict’s hands, which were tying the knot on the bandage, paused.

‘Did he just say… Elena?’

He finally realized it. The source of his displeasure. He was displeased and angry that Elena was with Aiden. And he couldn’t stand Aiden showing interest in Elena.

Having finally reached a conclusion, Benedict lifted his head, his face hardened.

“I don’t think you need to worry about my wife.”

His gaze, fixed on Aiden, was as cold as if he were facing an enemy on the battlefield. Aiden scoffed at the wary look in his eyes. Now, he met Benedict’s gaze head-on.

“She’s your fake wife anyway, isn’t she?”

“……!”

Instantly, Benedict’s expression completely cracked.