“Welcome, Duke. Have you been well?”

“…..”

When had it started? Her attitude toward him had become more comfortable.

It might have been better when she feared and pushed him away. That was the expected and desired response.

The more she feared him, the more Jurgen was pleased. It felt as if he had finally gained the upper hand in his relationship with someone he had once miserably yearned for.

But now that her attitude had changed…

“The clinic is a bit chaotic, isn’t it? Please understand. We’re terribly busy.”

Jurgen followed Vanessa as she first left the room. She seemed to be heading to the next patient room.

He mentally counted the number of patients hospitalized here. With over 100 patients, Vanessa must have used the divine word more than 50 times already.

For some reason, he felt irritated. Jurgen ran his hand over his face and sighed before speaking.

“There are about 60 patients left. If you’re planning to treat them all today, stop. You’ll end up damaging your body.”

It wasn’t because he was worried about her, but because he disliked troublesome situations arising. After all, he would be the one dealing with the aftermath.

However, Vanessa seemed to disagree with Jurgen’s words, shaking her head as she replied.

“I’m still fine. I decided to just treat the patients currently in the clinic and rest for today. Besides, Garcia and Renee are taking good care of me…”

Just then, they encountered Renee and Garcia coming around the corridor corner. They were carrying a wool coat and a wooden tray respectively, with the tray holding simple refreshments of bread, water, and dried fruits.

“Oh, my lord? When did you arrive?”

“Greetings, Duke.”

Unlike Garcia who asked with round eyes in apparent surprise, Renee offered a proper greeting with a deep bow.

The four soon converged at one point. First, Renee draped the wool coat over Vanessa’s shoulders. While performing this action, she glanced up at Jurgen and explained as if he would naturally be curious.

“Her Highness is sensitive to cold.”

Then, after briefly checking Vanessa’s reaction, she added,

“It seems her body has weakened from overusing the divine word.”

Apparently, she was also one of those who opposed Vanessa overexerting herself.

Following this, Garcia chimed in as if he had been waiting for his turn.

“And skipping meals too. Your Highness, please eat something now, even just a little. You’ll really collapse at this rate.”

When he held out the tray to Vanessa, she hesitated momentarily before taking a piece of bread.

Watching her take small bites and chew slowly as if she had little appetite, Jurgen couldn’t help but laugh dryly.

He couldn’t understand it. The foolishness of willingly undertaking such physical hardship.

While he considered whether to simply carry her out of the clinic right then, Vanessa finished the small piece of bread and took a few sips of water.

Finally, she put a few raisins in her mouth, chewed and swallowed them, then glanced furtively at Jurgen before walking past him. She was clearly wary that he might do something unpredictable.

Jurgen glared at the back of her round head as if he wanted to stick pins in it, then followed with long strides. As he drew closer to her side, Vanessa glanced up at him and said,

“I’m just eating a little now because I don’t feel like eating, but I’ll eat properly after I finish everything. My body is just slightly chilly, there’s no major problem.”

Yeah, right.

Naturally, Jurgen didn’t believe her words.

He knew from experience how stubborn she was, and that she would never give up until she achieved her goal.

Ironically, he knew her as well as he hated her.

Upon reaching the next patient room, Vanessa unfailingly used the healing divine word on the patients.

Though it was still unknown whether Vinea’s power residing in her could prevent the reinfection of the plague, it seemed certain that it could cure all symptoms and completely heal the disease.

Thus, Vanessa went around all the remaining rooms healing patients, and Jurgen let her do as she pleased. He thought it might actually be good if she ended up getting sick or fainting from the strain this time.

After experiencing such a reaction once, she would be more careful about using the divine word afterward.

Shortly after, the treatment of all hospitalized patients was completed, and as Vanessa staggered while leaving the last room, Garcia and Renee hurriedly supported her. Both wore deeply worried expressions.

“Your Highness, are you alright?”

“Your Highness…”

Vanessa responded to their concerned voices with a faint smile. It was a smile that seemed as fragile as a small snowflake hanging from the tip of a bare winter branch, ready to crumble at the slightest touch.

“I’m fine, now I’ll just go up to my room…”

Jurgen had no patience left to watch further.

With large steps, he closed the distance to Vanessa in an instant and scooped her up. He hadn’t thrown her over his shoulder like a sack, so this could be considered somewhat merciful.

“Duke…! What are you—”

“Keep your mouth shut unless you want to bite your tongue.”

As if to prove what he said wasn’t an empty warning, Jurgen passed through the corridor at lightning speed.

Because his steps were so fast, Vanessa’s body swayed precariously. Fearing she might really bite her tongue, she closed her mouth and stayed quiet.

In less than two minutes, Jurgen left the clinic and headed straight for the stables. The stable boy who spotted him offered a friendly greeting, then blinked in confusion upon seeing Vanessa held like a prisoner in his arms.

Ignoring the stable boy’s reaction, Jurgen placed Vanessa on Alexander’s saddle.

It was natural that Renee and Garcia, who had followed, exchanged silent glances before retrieving their own horses from the stable.

✦ ✦ ✦

‘Kidnapped again.’

Vanessa thought indifferently.

‘And imprisoned again.’

She looked around the women’s quarters of Rivadel Castle, which she hadn’t visited in a while. The interior of the room wasn’t much different from before, but the curtains had been changed to a brighter color and another display cabinet had been added by the window.

Jurgen had thrown Vanessa into this room, secured the door with a triple lock, and disappeared somewhere.

And for ten minutes now, no one had entered, leaving her alone in the room.

Vanessa let out a deep sigh and flopped down on the bed that was ridiculously large for one person. Having experienced imprisonment twice now, it didn’t bother her. She was just a bit irritated.

‘How rude…’

She mentally cursed Jurgen while hoping she would be given something to do. Or at least some books to throw at him.

Having been so busy until now, just lying there doing nothing made her restless.

Just as Vanessa was reaching her limit and considering whether to open the window and jump out—

Click, click—

“……!”

The sound of unlocking came from outside the door.

Startled, Vanessa jumped up and watched the door. Soon, the door opened and Jurgen entered.

He wasn’t alone. He was with someone else, a face Vanessa knew.

House Drake’s personal physician.

Jurgen, who had brazenly invaded the women’s quarters with the physician in tow, stood before Vanessa who was sitting on the bed.

With an inhuman face devoid of any readable emotion, he gestured toward Vanessa and ordered,

“Check her pulse.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“……?”

Vanessa was bewildered by the unexpected situation. She hadn’t expected Jurgen to care about her health.

‘Wasn’t he just annoyed by my acting freely, not liking when troublesome situations arise…’

If the fact that she possessed healing power became widely known through this incident, it would be troublesome in many ways.

That is, from the perspective of Jurgen, the head of House Drake, who would have to deal with it.

For Vanessa, it was rather a calculated move. Becoming an entity possessing power that everyone revered and coveted would greatly elevate her status in this continent of Astra.

Of course, her desire to save people was also genuine.

“Excuse me for a moment, Your Highness.”

The physician politely addressed her and held out both hands. It was a request for cooperation to check her pulse.

Vanessa calmly nodded and without any hesitation gave her hand to the physician.

While the physician carefully held her hand and examined the pulse beating on the inside of her wrist, Vanessa’s eyes met with Jurgen’s, who stood at a slight distance.

Searching gazes exchanged silently in the quiet.

His eyes said he knew her well but couldn’t understand her, while her eyes said she wanted to understand him but he remained a distant existence.

That suffocatingly tight tension.

Finally, when the physician finished the examination and released Vanessa’s hand, quietly stepping back, the frozen air shattered.

However, the penetrating gazes that seemed to dissect to the bone remained fixed on each other.