“Estelle, this isn’t the time to indulge your sulking.”

Sulking. How painful it was that he dismissed it so simply. Estelle felt lonely. Because in this vast imperial palace, she had no allies.

The cold treatment from the imperial elders telling her to consider herself fortunate, the disrespectful Maria, and the nobles who took her side and slandered Estelle…

Estelle was an outsider who didn’t belong anywhere.

“You have time to roll around with Maria—but you don’t have a moment to spare for me?!”

Lexion’s brow furrowed as he watched her lash out nervously. He looked displeased that his docile wife, who would pretend to die at his command, was raising her voice so inelegantly.

“If it’s like this, why did you marry me! Is it as others say—to use me as a tool to stabilize your special ability?!”

Once unleashed, her resentment couldn’t be controlled. Unbridled emotions poured freely from Estelle’s mouth.

“Is it because I don’t say anything, like an object, that I look like a fool to you! I’m a person too! A person with emotions and a heart that can feel pain!”

“Estelle, stop it.”

At the sound of Lexion’s sigh, Estelle felt her heart crumbling.

“Jeff was right…… You’re a selfish person who never loved me!”

In an instant, Lexion’s eyes changed as he gripped Estelle’s chin firmly and met her gaze.

“Then, what would you like me to do?”

His red eyes grew fierce, as if he might tear into her neck at any moment.

“F*ck, should I throw everything aside, stick by your side, and start a war? Is that what you want?”

Estelle shed hot tears as her jaw ached, crushed in his grip. Why did she keep feeling this disconnect? The brightly shining sun was setting, dyeing her world entirely in dark shadows.

“Huu… Lex…ion……”

Estelle blinked her eyelids, heavy with sorrow. Then her surroundings suddenly darkened. But his eyes looking at her remained there.

“Lexion……”

He raised his eyebrows obliquely, as if he had heard an unfamiliar word.

Lexion. As if it was the only word she knew, Estelle kept calling his name. Lexion, who had been quietly staring at her, answered in a gentle voice completely different from before.

“Yes, Miss Estelle.”

“Please… don’t leave me alone……”

“……”

With a strange look in his eyes, Lexion remained silent. With no response coming back, Estelle murmured in a pleading voice.

“I’m so… so lonely……”

After staring at her for a long while, Lexion bent down and whispered in her ear.

“Alright, don’t think about anything and sleep more.”

Estelle felt herself sinking into a heavy slumber, like being pulled downward, as she felt the gentle hand caressing her face.

* * *

After finishing his external schedule and passing through the main gate of the imperial palace, Lexion faced intense chaos in the carriage.

[You’ve worked hard.]

Those were the Emperor’s words as he patted his shoulder after coming down from the platform following a speech to the people. It wasn’t just about successfully completing the event. It must have been about Estelle, who was hovering between life and death.

The first thing Lexion did was conceal the assassination attempt. Seeing that it had reached the Emperor’s ears, he must have failed to block it completely.

The Emperor thought the assassination attempt on the saintess was his doing. Of course, he had never ordered such a thing.

‘If Estelle dies like this……’

It was true that he had rushed over like a madman when he heard the news, but thinking calmly, it wasn’t such a bad thing.

The Emperor’s words had merit.

The saintess’s existence weakened the imperial family’s power. With her appearance alone, nobles with different intentions were already rolling their eyes about where to attach themselves, and reports of unsettling movements came in day after day.

As the Emperor worried, the Empire showed signs of division. It was right for this troublemaker, who only caused chaos, to disappear in tragedy.

[The next two days are critical.]

Lexion’s mind was in turmoil as he recalled the doctor’s words. Though he tried to convince himself it was for the best… while he understood it intellectually, the problem was that his emotions wouldn’t listen.

It was an unseemly thing. To think that while believing it was for the best, he was gripped by fear of losing her. Damn it, he had been like this for days, his mood going up and down frantically like a madman.

The irony of being filled with rage when thinking about who was behind harming her, while also thinking it was inevitable, filled him with disgust.

“Just who the hell……”

There were too many suspects. It could be the Emperor, who was pretending to shift the blame to him, or it could be the Empress, who had been displeased with Estelle. She was a mother who would do anything for her child. Hadn’t she even buried a maid in the lake after the maid had laughed and flirted with him?

If neither of them, it could be opposition forces dissatisfied with him or the Guardians trying to cause chaos.

There were truly… so many people who wanted to eliminate that small woman.

Remembering how she had continuously called his name as if he were her only salvation while suffering from high fever, Lexion frowned as he got out of the carriage.

“Your Highness!”

His aide, who had been waiting for him, spoke in a hushed voice.

“The saintess has awakened.”

“She’s awake…?”

That was fortunate. No, was it fortunate? Lexion’s face became so complex it couldn’t be defined in a single word.

“You have a schedule right away, but shall we cancel it? Would you like to go to the detached palace?”

“No.”

Watching Lexion walk toward the main palace, the aide showed a surprised expression. Based on his recent actions, he had thought Lexion would drop everything and rush to her.

“…Keep reporting on the situation.”

It seemed he hadn’t completely withdrawn his interest.

“Yes. Understood.”

* * *

“Uh……”

Estelle blinked her eyes with a bewildered face. What was going on? She rolled her eyes to look around, then groaned at the pain she felt throughout her body.

How could this be…… She was alive!

“Miss! Are you conscious?”

Someone supported Estelle as she raised her upper body, and recognizing her, Estelle asked in surprise with a cracked voice.

“…uh… L-Laura, how are you… here…?”

“Hic! You’ve really opened your eyes! Thank goodness! Oh God! Thank you!”

Laura, who had been so worried she had fretted constantly, welled up with tears of joy.

“His Highness the Crown Prince called for me! He said you needed your attendant, so I came, but you were dying! Do you know how shocked I was?!”

“…He did that?”

“Yes… I didn’t even know you were critically ill and was secretly cursing that there wasn’t a single person to attend to you in the imperial palace… I think he wanted someone trustworthy to stay by your side.”

“Does Father… know too?”

“No, His Highness said it had to be kept secret… I was completely unaware until I saw you.”

“That’s good. He would worry if he knew. Don’t tell him in the future either.”

“Yes, I understand. Well… that would be better. If he heard that you, who he thought was doing well, ended up like this, how shocked would the master be…! I was really afraid you might pass away after hovering between life and death every day, my heart couldn’t take it…!”

“How long have I been lying here…?”

“Today is the fourth day. Miss, please have some water. Oh my… your beautiful face has suffered so much……”

Estelle took the cup Laura offered and took a sip. As the water went down her scratchy throat, she let out a groan as it felt like her insides were burning up. Having gone without food for so long, her stomach was in terrible condition.

“Are you hungry? Should I prepare some simple soup?”

“No. I don’t think I can digest anything. But… what happened to the culprit?”

“I don’t know the details either. I heard that evil woman took her own life… I don’t know why she did it, and His Highness only said it was resolved… that it shouldn’t become a rumor… that if anyone revealed it, they would find it difficult to keep their lives.”

“I see……”

“Don’t you think it happened because someone was jealous of you, Miss? There are more than a few crazy women in the capital who follow His Highness the Crown Prince around.”

“Hmm……”

Laura’s words seemed plausible. All Guardians were respected and loved in their territories for their wealth and appearance. While some followed them purely, many showed an obsession that went beyond normal boundaries.

And among the Guardians, the one with the most vicious followers was Lexion. Perhaps crazy people recognized a crazy person? He particularly attracted many malicious women.

“But if you’re here, what about the household? Father can’t do anything by himself.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. His Highness the Crown Prince sent people and also resolved the house issue.”

“What issue? Don’t tell me… money problems?”