Chapter 2 (Part 9)

“Baron Dupont, do you have any thoughts on divorce?”

“Apologies, Your Grace, but as an unmarried man, how would I know?”

“Then what do you think of a wife addicted to gambling and having an affair?”

Duke Richard spoke in a voice filled with anger, clenching his fist.

‘It’s absurd.’

To commit such disgraceful acts under the name of the Richard family.

Yet yesterday, Therese had looked him straight in the eye and said it wasn’t his concern even if she engaged in free love.

“Leaving her husband behind, no less.”

Whether she was bold or if it was all part of some play, he couldn’t tell. Jeremy, having lived his whole life wielding a sword, wasn’t a particularly delicate person.

“What about that bodyguard?”

Suppressing the strange emotions that flared up, the Duke asked.

“Ah, the man who looks like he could kill many with just his gaze, right?”

“Yes, that bastard.”

“Unfortunately, no one knows that man’s name, origin, or occupation.”

“I take back what I said about you being good at your job.”

“……Pardon? So suddenly?”

“You’re dismissed.”

Having dismissed Knight Commander Dupont with a single stroke, Duke Richard found himself thinking of a cigarette he didn’t even smoke.

‘That bastard is bothersome.’

He had spouted nonsense about being her personal slave and was with Therese every day. Then something flashed in Duke Richard’s mind.

“……Ah. Is that it?”

The reason she rejected him before they even got to know each other properly, just a month into their marriage.

Was it because she had someone she loved separately?

“But due to the Emperor’s command and Baron Demori’s greed, she had to marry me forcibly?”

Finally, everything that had seemed awkward fit together. His wife had come to the Richard family while harboring feelings for another man.

“I didn’t want this marriage either.”

If it weren’t for the Emperor, it was a marriage he wouldn’t have done even with a sword at his throat.

“Why do I feel like this?”

Knowing Therese didn’t want him filled him with a sense of disgust, as if he’d stepped into a pit of filthy sludge.

“……Hmm.”

He vividly recalled the moment they drank tea on Oxford Street.

Sitting leisurely on the street bathed in the setting sun, watching Therese savor her tea wasn’t unpleasant.

He couldn’t quite understand what this feeling was, but he intended to get to the bottom of it.

“Besides, she’s the only one for me.”

Their relationship was legally bound by marriage, so he had every reason to be with Therese.

“Unlike that arrogant bastard from Pasa.”

Jeremy Richard’s face twisted as he muttered to himself.

❖ ❖ ❖

As soon as she woke up in the morning, Therese skipped breakfast and went to Manus Bazaar.

“Any news of Roshan?”

Without even lowering her cloak, Therese asked, and the hesitant subordinate spoke.

“I’m sorry, but he didn’t return last night, and his whereabouts are unknown.”

“Don’t accept any urgent requests, and make sure to write down the rest thoroughly. And have a couple of guards follow me.”

After hastily organizing the documents piled on the desk, Therese stepped outside. She got into an inconspicuous black carriage and headed toward the outskirts of the capital.

Beyond the high and long walls, the scenery changed in an instant. Not everyone could live within the castle. Tanners, executioners, prostitutes, and others had to live outside.

“……Ha.”

The scenery outside the carriage was something she could never get used to. There were makeshift graves everywhere, and crows sat in rows on the dry branches, cawing.

A child, leaning against a half-collapsed wall, with a dirty face, kept whimpering. Perhaps the mother had died of illness overnight, as the child burrowed into the unmoving mother’s arms.

When Therese tapped the ceiling, the carriage stopped briefly.

“Have someone stay and find out about that child’s situation.”

One of the subordinates approached the child, and the carriage set off again. The poorly maintained road made the carriage sway continuously.

“It shows no sign of improvement.”

She had spent years using the money earned from the guild on this place, but the deep-rooted poverty of these people showed no sign of resolution. As she frowned for a long time, the carriage stopped in front of a small house.

“Everyone, stand guard outside.”

“Understood.”

The warriors personally trained by Roshan discreetly took their positions.

“I don’t understand why he insists on staying here.”

Despite having enough money, Roshan refused to move inside the walls.

His house was a small building with a garden overgrown with weeds, looking almost like a ruin. When Therese opened the door, the old door creaked, and she had to push through the weeds to reach the entrance.

Knock, knock.

She knocked on the door, but there was no response from inside. Anxious, Therese simply opened the door, and a dagger flew out, prompting her to dodge quickly.

“Seeing as you have the strength to throw a dagger, you must be alive.”

Holding the dagger embedded in the wall, Therese raised her voice.

“Roshan! It’s me!”

At her voice, no more daggers came flying, and only groans could be heard from inside.

Walking further into the vertically long house, a bedroom covered with a large cloth appeared.

“Roshan, I’m coming in.”

“Don’t come in.”

Speaking seemed difficult, as his breathing was labored. When she pulled the cloth aside vigorously, Roshan, lying still, came into view.

He had bled so much that the white shirt he wore was stained red, and the bed sheets were soaked.

Seeing Roshan in a much more serious state than she had anticipated, Therese almost collapsed.

“Goodness! Roshan!”

“It’s not as serious as it looks.”

Roshan, trying to reassure her with a weak smile, only made Therese angrier.

“Does it have to be life-threatening to be serious?”

Holding back tears, she instructed someone to fetch a physician immediately.

“A regular physician won’t do, so send word to the Richard family’s physician. Go personally and bring them.”

The family’s physician, Alberto, arrived promptly and greeted her politely.

“Good day, Duchess.”

After thoroughly examining Roshan’s wounds, the physician said they required sutures.

“I would appreciate it if you could prepare some strong alcohol to pour on the wounds. Hot water and clean towels too.”

Since the power of magic stones didn’t reach here, the room was lit with numerous candles.

When the physician cut off Roshan’s clothes with scissors, the terrible injuries on his body became clearly visible.

“……Goodness!”

Therese’s face turned pale as she covered her mouth with her hand.

Blood was still oozing from a long sword wound that seemed to have split his back in half. The wound was so severe that bones were visible beneath the muscles. Also, there were several uneven scars on his side and chest.

Therese had no idea Roshan had gone through such an ordeal.

“I will begin now. If you feel faint, you should step outside.”

“No, I will stay till the end.”

For him, who had come from Pasa, she was the only one he could call family here. She couldn’t leave him to undergo such a critical procedure alone.

Soon, the physician calmly began suturing the wound. Due to the depth of the wound, the suturing took quite a long time. During the process, Roshan fainted, unable to withstand the excruciating pain.

“The suturing is complete, so he just needs to take his medicine and rest well. It will probably take a few months, but if he moves before then, the sutured area could reopen.”

“Thank you.”

“No, I just did my duty.”

After the physician left, Therese finally took a good look around the room. The bed sheets stained red and the scattered items made the room a mess, not suitable for a patient to rest in.

With no servants, Therese rolled up her sleeves. She swept the floor to clean up the trash and laid a clean cloth where Roshan lay.

After working for a while, sweat trickled down her forehead. Exhausted, Therese sat next to Roshan’s bed and spoke.

“Roshan, what have you been doing behind my back?”

The wound she saw earlier wasn’t caused by a weapon. It was clear that something with long claws had attacked Roshan.

“But monsters can’t enter the capital.”

The capital of the empire maintained security against monster attacks with the power of magic stones. Thanks to the powerful force, non-human entities couldn’t cross the capital’s walls.

Frowning, Therese dusted off her seat and stood up. She wanted to stay and nurse Roshan here, but she couldn’t.

“Keep a close watch on Roshan and contact me immediately if anything seems amiss.”

“Don’t worry.”

A man with a large tattoo on his face bowed his head to Therese.