Chapter 7 – Part 10

Marsden had been repeatedly standing up and sitting down at least twenty times in the past five minutes.

Later, Ricardo, who had heard the news late and rushed over, looked at him with a distracted expression, but Marsden didn’t care.

“Goodness, Your Grace. The Marchioness will be here soon.”

“But she’s already a minute and thirty seconds later than expected. What if the Emperor says something strange…?”

“Your Grace.”

Ricardo firmly grabbed Marsden’s arm.

“That won’t happen. You know how wise His Majesty is. He would never talk about ‘that.'”

“I know… but why am I so anxious?”

“Because, Your Grace, you always feel uneasy when you’re apart from the Marchioness. I can’t tell who the elder is between you two.”

As Ricardo jokes, Marsden’s tense face relaxes a little. At times like this, he seemed like a vulnerable child, which made Ricardo feel sorry for him.

“Don’t worry. The Marchioness will understand this situation. If she’s as smart as she is, she’ll already know that today’s events were planned by His Majesty.”

“You’re right, probably… but what I’m worried about is…”

Marsden ran a hand over his cheek, which had become more prominent in a short time.

“Olivia has taken a liking to Hellebore, just as she did before.”

Although it wasn’t a look filled with affection, it was enough to stir up his petty jealousy.

“But now that she’s been deceived, she’s probably hurt and very angry. Besides, this happened right after I deceived her.”

From Olivia’s perspective, she’d been betrayed by someone she trusted for several days in a row. It wouldn’t be strange for her to be filled with resentment.

This wasn’t his intention. Guilt kept surging in his heart at all times. He thought it would be enough if Olivia didn’t get hurt. He believed that protecting and cherishing her with all his might also meant protecting her heart.

“Marsden.”

Marsden suddenly lifted his head. There was only one person who would come to the room without knocking.

“Buddy.”

Even though he thought he might be coldly pushed away, his body moved on its own. It only took a few steps to cross the wide room and stand in front of her.

“I’ll step out for a moment.”

Ricardo tactfully left the room, and Olivia immediately reached out to Marsden.

“Let me see your hand.”

“My hand?”

Marsden didn’t understand her intention but extended his hand to Olivia right away. He wasn’t wearing gloves.

Olivia gently touched his large hand wrapped in bandages. Her touch was as careful as if she were handling cotton.

“There’s no blood.”

“Yeah, but I had to throw away the gloves. They weren’t special ones, just something the steward picked out.”

Marsden babbled on, fearing Olivia might turn away coldly. Without a particular reply, Olivia pressed her thumb into his palm.

“Does this hurt?”

“No.”

When Olivia squinted as if to confirm, Marsden quickly confessed.

“It hurts, but I’m used to small pains like this.”

Marsden glanced at her, but Olivia didn’t seem particularly angry. She just asked quietly.

“Has Hellebore ever tested your loyalty in this way before?”

The anxiety inside Marsden slowly subsided. She was worried about him.

“I’m worried that you might have unnecessarily bloodied your hands because of me. Even if you’re fine with it, I hate it.”

Olivia scratched her forehead as if troubled.

“I can’t remember, but it feels like I’ve always felt a terrible sense of debt whenever you got hurt. I felt incompetent, like it would be better if I wasn’t there…”

“Olivia.”

Marsden moved his fingers to grasp Olivia’s hand tightly.

“I think we’ve talked about this before, but can’t say things like you’re useless or anything like that. You’re someone the world always needs. Absolutely indispensable.”

It sounded like he was saying she had to be in his world.

“So, don’t say things like that and carry out the punishment you gave me. I’ll teach you the spell.”

“I’m surprised. I thought you’d refuse until the end.”

“It’s better for you to get angry at me than to suffer from unnecessary guilt alone. That way, at least you’ll be in front of me.”

Marsden intertwined his fingers with hers as if binding them.

“So, let’s resolve everything within two weeks and, whether we fight or you resent me… let’s do it together.”

Let’s stay together.