Duncan couldn’t tell if he had answered properly while talking with his mother, as he was thinking about Yerena the entire time.

He… never knew he could continuously think about someone else like this.

Even with his mother, who desired eternal power, right in front of him, only Yerena’s image appeared in his vision.

After countless thoughts of wanting to see her, the meeting with his mother ended.

Cutting out the unnecessary conversation, what his mother really wanted to say was, ‘I want to meet the woman you brought to the imperial palace soon.’

Even though Yerena had only woken up recently, the news seemed to have already reached his mother’s ears.

His mother seemed eager to meet the woman who had changed him as soon as possible.

Duncan ended the meeting with his mother, asking her to wait a little longer.

He wasn’t sure if arranging a meeting with his mother was right when he hadn’t yet been forgiven by Yerena…

‘I had no choice but to borrow mother’s power to punish Benjamin.’

But now, begging Yerena for forgiveness came first.

Duncan walked almost at a run to the room where Yerena was staying.

Arriving in one breath, he knocked on the door a couple of times.

“Are you in there? It’s me.”

Strangely, there was no answer. Duncan urgently knocked several more times.

“Yerena?”

Still, there was no response.

He felt dizzy, with his heart plummeting to the floor. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind in a matter of seconds.

Had Benjamin escaped from prison and captured Yerena again?

Or had Baron or Lambert invaded the imperial palace?

If not that, perhaps some noble who was displeased with his return to the palace was targeting Yerena…

“Oh, no…”

Duncan had no choice but to open the closed door. He could no longer suppress his rising anxiety.

His fingertips on the doorknob trembled just like when he had confessed to her.

He was greeted by silence. There was no one in the spacious room.

“Ye-Yerena! If you’re playing a prank, please stop! I’m really worried.”

Duncan hoped that the playful Yerena was hiding somewhere, ready to surprise him.

But again, only silence returned.

“Yerena!”

Duncan called her name loudly as he looked around the room.

Yerena was nowhere to be found. Duncan felt a dizzying despair.

At that moment, a maid named Mary, who was passing through the corridor, was startled by his shout and approached Duncan.

“Your Highness? Are you alright?”

Duncan gripped Mary’s shoulders tightly. Mary was shocked by the desperate look on Duncan’s face.

“Have you seen the woman who was staying here?”

“N-no, I haven’t.”

“D*mn it!”

Duncan was ready to head straight to the prison where Benjamin was confined.

He felt he should first check the most suspicious person.

But what if it wasn’t Benjamin’s doing?

Then what next, what next…

It felt as if his insides were burning black. He felt nauseous even though he hadn’t eaten all day.

“Ow, ow, ow…”

Only upon hearing Mary’s faint groan did Duncan realize he was gripping her shoulders tightly.

“…Sorry. Go about your business now.”

After releasing Mary, Duncan ran down the corridor.

Living as Duncan rather than Demian, he had earned the nickname “gentleman who doesn’t run” for his leisurely pace.

For some reason, when it came to Yerena, he seemed to run desperately.

Just as he was leaving the Second Prince’s palace…

He saw a woman walking through the well-maintained garden in just a matter of days.

Her hair fluttered softly.

Even in the darkening surroundings, her red eyes shone noticeably bright.

Soon their gazes met.

The woman, seemingly pleased by the unexpected encounter, waved her hand excitedly.

‘Not knowing how worried I was!’

Duncan called out her name loudly.

“Yerena!”

Then he ran to her, panting.

It felt as if she would disappear like an illusion if he didn’t talk to her right now.

Duncan couldn’t forget losing her in the Philia Islands.

He didn’t want to experience that sense of loss again. Absolutely not.

Duncan stopped running only when he was close enough for their knees to almost touch.

“Yerena! Huff, what on earth are you doing here! Do you… do you know how much I’ve been looking for you?”

Yerena opened her eyes wide.

As if she had no idea he would be desperately searching for her.

“I… I just came out briefly to see off the other monster birds that came to find me. I was about to go back up. Were you looking for me a lot?”

At that question, Duncan cried out pleadingly.

“I thought something bad had happened to you again… I thought I had failed to protect you again. I was so…”

“Duncan…”

“I thought I was going to go crazy.”

The words he spat out contained nothing but sincerity.

He had realized that a person could go mad in just a few minutes.

“May I hug you just once?”

It was a brave request.

He thought she wouldn’t let him hug her unless she forgave him.

But her hands reached out before she answered.

She gently wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him closer.

Helplessly drawn in, he felt her warmth completely as she embraced him. It was a warmth that could never be dismissed as an illusion.

Duncan took a deep breath and exhaled. The scent that tickled his nose was also Yerena’s.

He unconsciously tightened his hands around her back.

“Please stay where I can see you for a while. Please…”

“I will. So calm down. You look like you’re about to cry.”

It wasn’t just that he looked like he was about to cry; he actually shed a few tears.

His tightly closed eyes felt lukewarm. Fortunately, the tears didn’t well up enough to stream down.

He couldn’t shed tears so unsightly after making a fuss because she had disappeared for a moment.

Yerena simply held him until he calmed down.

Her hand patting his back gave him a sense of relief.

“Now I feel like I can live.”

***

Duncan seemed to have been deeply traumatized by my kidnapping.

I’d never seen this man so anxious before.

Duncan seemed like someone who thought I might suddenly disappear again. Even though there was absolutely no reason for me to disappear.

“…So when are you going to sleep?”

Despite the late hour, Duncan showed no intention of returning to his room.

He sat in a chair in front of the bed where I lay, just staring at me.

“I’m not going to sleep.”

“I’m really not going anywhere. I have nowhere to go anyway.”

“Then I’ll just watch you fall asleep and leave.”

“No, I can’t sleep with Honey here!”

How could I fall asleep when he was looking at me so pitifully, like a puppy needing to relieve itself?

I was lying on the bed more comfortably than anyone in the world, but I wasn’t sleepy at all.

“Am I… actually a nuisance to you? Like, burdensome?”

“No, it’s not like that.”

“…I shouldn’t be doing this when I haven’t been forgiven, right?”

Duncan pitifully wiped the corner of his eye.

“No. That’s not it… Think about it. Someone who passionately confessed to me is staring at me, wouldn’t I be embarrassed?”

“Are you embarrassed?”

“Yes… I’m a woman who can feel normal excitement, too.”

“S,o I make you nervous?”

Duncan’s eyes sparkled as if he had never worn that pitiful expression.

“…I’ll let that question slide. I haven’t forgiven Honey yet.”

I pulled the blanket up to my lips and glanced at him.

“If you’re not going to leave, tell me about when you lived in the imperial palace.”

“Ah… the imperial palace.”

“If it’s difficult to talk about, you don’t have to.”

Duncan slowly shook his head.

“No. I wanted to tell you, of all people.”

Before starting his story, Duncan glanced at Bless, who was sleeping carelessly on the sofa.

“Bless seems to be in a deep sleep, so it’s perfect timing to talk.”

Though Bless had become human-form, Duncan treated him no differently than before, and it seemed the two men had had a heart-to-heart talk while I was unconscious.

“Is this a secret from Bless?”

“No. It’s not really a secret.”

“Then why?”

“Because I wanted to tell you first.”

“….”

“I wanted only you to hear my story.”

Duncan casually said words that could make my heart flutter.

I wonder if Duncan knew.

That I was someone who got excited just from receiving his jacket.