Startled and confused, I instinctively recoiled from his touch. His hand, which had been hovering in mid-air, slowly withdrew. With a slightly furrowed brow, I asked him,

“Why are you here?”

His expression was even more pained than mine, as if he were holding back tears.

“…I saw you being taken away—no, I couldn’t bear to see you taken—ugh…”

His voice trailed off, urgent and bewildered.

“You saw me being taken?”

As I slowly sat up, Leopold moved closer once more, naturally wrapping his arm around my shoulder for support. I flinched at the unexpected touch, yet for some reason, I felt too weak to push him away.

“Who did it?”

“Those damn bastards you treated.”

“Damn… what? Excuse me?”

What was happening? I had never seen him so emotionally agitated or heard him use such crude language before. Although he often spoke in an unrefined manner, I had never heard him curse.

Noticing my bewilderment, he quickly corrected himself.

“I mean those pirates.”

Meanwhile, the moon had risen higher, casting a slanted light like a curtain. Our eyes met, his as clear as emeralds. Perhaps it was the serene moonlight that made him appear a bit paler than usual.

It was difficult to maintain eye contact with his straightforward gaze, which stirred all sorts of thoughts within me. The silence that followed felt awkward, and Leopold seemed disinclined to break it. Feeling the need to say something, I began recounting my memories.

“So… after treating them, I went down to the beach to rest for a while. But suddenly, someone attacked me from behind, covering my mouth and nose with a cloth. That’s my last memory, and now that I think about it, the cloth must have been drugged, right? Something to numb the nerves…”

“Yes. It seems they looted it from Fojetta. There was an herb farm nearby.”

He nodded lightly and continued in a cynical tone.

“They call it an herb, but it’s practically a poison. This place is quite far from the capital, and without proper oversight, they don’t even realize the danger of cultivating such plants. It’s pathetic.”

His voice grew sharper.

‘Did you really venture into the forest in this cold for that grand research? Honestly… it’s pathetic.’

He reminded me of how easily he criticized and condemned others. Just because he seemed a bit different didn’t mean his essence had changed. I laughed at my own foolishness.

“You don’t intend to punish the villagers, do you?”

Silly Hazel. Why was I trying to defend the villagers here? A mistake is a mistake.

“Of course, they should be punished.”

“Ignorance isn’t a crime.”

Having said something I didn’t truly mean, I found myself annoyed with Leopold for not agreeing with me. It felt absurd and pointless, and I knew I couldn’t sway him with this argument.

As expected, Leopold didn’t relent.

“Depending on the circumstances, ignorance can be a crime. In this case, you were nearly harmed.”

“But I’m fine now, right? Leopold, don’t punish them. They’re people working hard to build their lives. They’ve defended their village despite numerous attacks. We can inform them about the problem. I’ll help too.”

I knew from experience that emotional appeals like this didn’t work on someone as rational as he was. He was the type who wouldn’t grant even the smallest of my wishes. Yet, I couldn’t shake off my childish defiance and looked at him with earnest eyes.

Another silence followed. I braced myself for the rejection I expected.

But then.

“…If that’s truly what you want.”

His response surprised me. I stared at him, speechless, my eyes wide.

Was I supposed to thank him? Technically, this wasn’t for me but for the villagers.

Besides, I didn’t particularly feel like expressing gratitude. I decided to steer the conversation in a different direction, mocking my own unnecessary pride.

“What happened to the pirates?”

Leopold let out a slight scoff through clenched teeth.

“I killed them all. Every single one at their base. They dared to lay a hand on you. They don’t deserve to live.”

There it was again—words that seemed to convey concern for me. I had thought he came to Fojetta on the emperor’s orders, not for me, but I felt myself slipping into a delusion.

Even though I knew his true feelings were different, why was I becoming the reason for his actions?

The question rose to my throat, but I swallowed it back.

What I was curious about wasn’t his feelings.

What I wanted to know was everything else.

“I heard that the villagers were taken as hostages.”

“They’re all safe. You don’t need to worry about that. Just focus on getting better.”

“This is nothing; I’ll recover quickly. But…”

Ah, weak Hazel.

“Why did you come here?”

My self-hypnosis shattered quickly.

“Because you’re here.”

His straightforward answer came without hesitation, and my curiosity only deepened.

“For just that reason?”

“Why ‘just’? It’s where my wife is.”

His gently raised eyebrows complemented his soft smile. The tender expression made my heart ache with resentment, and I lowered my head.

If making my heart churn like this was a skill, then he certainly possessed it.

I swallowed a bitter smile and was about to send him away when his warm voice reached me again.

“Still, seeing you not just lying there… but talking with me, no matter the subject… really puts me at ease…”

As he finished speaking, he suddenly slumped forward onto me.

“…Leopold?”

The strange sound of my heartbeat echoed in my ears, freezing me in place.

But there was clearly nothing wrong.

He must have just fallen asleep. After clearing out the pirates, he was probably exhausted. This man was usually so robust. He had never been sick…

I slowly stretched out my arm toward him, slumped over my lap. But my hand couldn’t quite reach, trembling instead.

This made it difficult to examine him properly, and my hands kept…

“Is anyone out there? Someone, please come in, hurry…!”

A knight quickly opened the door, recognizing my faintly frightened voice.

“What is it, ma’am—Duke!”

His startled eyes met mine, and I finally regained my senses. I barely held onto my composure as I spoke.

“Sir Lanette, he suddenly collapsed. Help me move him to the bed! Quickly!”

A few knights appeared with lanterns amidst the nighttime commotion. They laid Leopold down where I had been sitting, and I moved to the chair he had occupied. My heart raced with a flurry of negative thoughts.

Focus. Magic is mental strength. If you fear, you can’t do anything. Hazel, it’ll be okay. He’ll be okay.

But no matter how hard I tried to steady myself, it felt as if my resolve was slipping through a loose net. Only the faint rise and fall of his chest eased my overwhelming worry.

Then, one of Leopold’s closest knights, Lanette, hesitantly spoke up.

“Ma’am, the Duke was slightly injured during the battle. He told us not to mention it, but in this situation, it feels more disrespectful not to…”

Another knight standing behind him shone a lantern on his leg as if he was already anticipating this moment. Blood was crusted darkly on the outside of his left calf.

“It’s an arrow wound.”

I held my trembling right hand with my left and examined the injury. Fortunately, it was a minor wound. This was something I could easily treat without any issues.

I let out a sigh of relief and spoke calmly.

“It looks like a shallow graze. Even Leopold gets injured sometimes. Can you cut this part for me?”

Lanette immediately pulled a small dagger from his coat and swiftly cut from the hem to the knee where I indicated. Then, looking a bit embarrassed, he defended Leopold.

“It’s our fault for not covering him properly. A barrage of arrows came down, and we couldn’t keep up with his rapid advance.”

Was it because he was saving the villagers? It was hard to imagine someone as rational as Leopold recklessly charging into enemy lines.

Logically speaking, the residents of Fojetta were now under the care of the Lawrence family. My husband had a duty to protect them, and from what I remembered, Leopold Lawrence was an impeccable lord. Yet, I still had doubts.

“Why was it left untreated until now? You could have at least wrapped it with a bandage.”

I hadn’t intended to sound accusatory, but my voice naturally sharpened. Lanette replied with a troubled expression.

“He insisted on not moving until you woke up, ma’am.”

What did my waking up have to do with bandaging the wound? The answer baffled me.

But what good would it do to question it further now? No one here could go against Leopold, and treatment was the priority.

“Alright. Everyone, please leave now.”

Once the sturdy knights had all disappeared, only the sound of the lantern’s wick crackling remained in the room.

I began examining the injury in earnest. Kneeling by the bedside, I aligned my gaze with the wound and focused my energy into my fingertips. The blue light that flowed forth illuminated the wound even more brightly.

The wound was quite deep, but not severe enough to cause fainting. Even villagers with worse injuries hadn’t lost consciousness; it was strange.