As they walked back, Yuis’s pace gradually slowed. She couldn’t shake off the lingering regret tugging at her heart and kept glancing back.

Then, it happened — too quickly for her to react.

Her foot slipped on the wet ground, causing her to fall.

The hem of her dress immediately became soaked in muddy water.

Bending down, Edric held the umbrella to shield her from the rain and carefully removed her shoe.

As Yuis instinctively tried to pull away, twisting her ankle slightly in the process, Edric’s grip tightened. His voice was low and steady, leaving no room for resistance.

“Stay still.”

Yuis had chosen low heels specifically to avoid slipping in the rain, but now she could only shut her eyes tightly and let out a quiet sigh.

After examining her ankle, Edric carefully lifted her into his arms.

Her damp and stained dress soiled his trousers and jumper as well.

Seeing the dirt spreading across his once-white jumper, Yuis instinctively reached out to rub the stains away with her gloved hand.

However, this only made the muddy blotches worse, further staining the knitwear and her gloves.

Realising this, Yuis stopped and leaned deeper into his embrace. Doing nothing seemed to be the best way to help him. This thought weighed heavily on her, deepening her sorrow.

Once they returned to their suite, Edric sat her down on the sofa, lowered himself without hesitation, and carefully lifted the hem of her dress.

The moment he saw her swollen ankle and the blood from her scraped knee, he pressed the call bell without hesitation.

His voice was calm yet chilling as he gave his order.

“Stay still and wait.”

Edric headed for the bathroom. After changing into light loungewear, he walked over to the door of the suite. Laura was standing there, holding a first-aid kit.

Taking the kit from her, he returned to Yuis’s side.

He sat down beside her and gently lifted her leg onto his lap. As his large hand moved gently up from her ankle, Yuis took a quiet breath, watching his careful touch without resistance.

Still applying no pressure, he moved his hand from her ankle to her injured knee. After briefly pressing around the wound, Edric suddenly lifted his gaze. The loose strands of his golden hair cast a faint shadow across his face.

Startled by the sudden eye contact, Yuis froze, as though she had been caught doing something wrong.

“Does it hurt?”

When she shook her head, he carefully released her leg and turned his attention to treating the wound.

He gently dabbed her knee with an alcohol swab, applied ointment, and then covered the wound with a bandage. Only then did he lower her leg and allow the hem of her dress to fall back into place.

Such gentle, tender care was a new experience for Yuis. This unfamiliar sensation prompted her to study Edric quietly for a moment.

Sensing her gaze, Edric raised an eyebrow. At that moment, there was a knock at the door.

He got up and went to the door himself, accepting the medicine from Laura and passing it to Yuis.

“It may taste bad, but take it.”

Yuis nodded and swallowed the powdered medicine. After she had drunk the water he offered her, he placed a small piece of chocolate in her hand.

As she stared dazed at the tiny chocolate in her palm, Edric sighed faintly and spoke.

“Must I feed it to you myself?”

She hurriedly unwrapped the chocolate and popped it into her mouth. Its sweet flavour wiped away any lingering bitterness from the medicine completely.

After taking her medication, Yuis lay down on the bed. She wanted to apologise for ruining the trip, but couldn’t find the words. Instead, she simply glanced at Edric as sleep overtook her.

Once he was sure that Yuis was asleep, Edric moved to another room, where Noah was waiting for him with a report.

A cold glint flashed in Edric’s blue eyes.

“All preparations for the journey to Darec have been completed. I’ve also contacted Sir Miles to have everything ready for departure as soon as we arrive at the estate.”

Edric nodded as he flipped through the final page of the documents, finally leaning back into the chair and closing his eyes.

Noah quietly bowed and withdrew.

From the small gap left open in the window, the scent of rain-soaked fresh flowers drifted in from the hotel garden.

It was the same scent that had lingered when he carried Yuis in his arms earlier. The memory of holding her stirred faint irritation within him.

Although the woman remained obedient towards him, she had changed ever since encountering Jerome Remy. She was overly anxious and constantly scanned her surroundings with restless caution, as if she had stepped into a trap.

What frustrated Edric even more, though, was Yuis refusal to open up to him fully, as if she were drawing one last invisible line between them.

She would glance at him as though she had something to say, but whenever their eyes met, she would quickly avert her gaze and swallow the words she seemed ready to speak. Watching this silent struggle stirred a peculiar kind of impulse within Edric — one he had never experienced before.

He drew his gaze away from the window and returned his attention to the table.

Before him lay a list of names — those who knew Yuis’s true identity as Everett.

It was his responsibility to address this matter now. If Yuis was to remain the Duchess of Kalang, it was his duty to protect her. However, to do so, he first needed to know exactly who was aware of her secret.

The list included Duke Karl Johannes, Duke Padrick Cheffield, Marquis Bessen Doran, Count Jim Remy, Terian Johannes, and Jerome Remy, as well as several of Terian Johannes’s close companions who had travelled from Haneder to be there.

Though not a large number, they were the heads of the noble families that ruled over Darec.

Accompanying this list was a report stating that the King of Darec had officially joined the Southern Alliance, led by Hetar.

Edric let out a quiet, mirthless laugh that he couldn’t quite suppress.

‘Sending the woman to Kalang to form ties, and running to the Southern Alliance out of fear of Hetar…’

‘Should I applaud Darec for its brilliant diplomacy?’

It was a truly remarkable display of survival. Had the King of Darec been present, Edric might even have offered him a round of applause.

Of course, that didn’t mean he was going to absolve Yuis of her responsibilities.

A political marriage was still a marriage. She should not bear all its weight alone.

Was Yuis the only woman on this continent forced into a loveless marriage? And yet she insisted on acting as though she were a helpless victim, trapped in the marriage.

Most nobles entered into arranged marriages — a fact that Edric knew well and had long since accepted.

Yes, Yuis Descartes had probably been forced into this marriage, but that did not give her the right to make that so obvious in his presence.

Surrounded by the faint scent of her perfume, Edric sank deeper into thought.

He reached for the crystal glass in his hand; the ice clinked softly as it melted.

The strong liquor burned as it slid down his throat, blurring his increasingly tangled thoughts.

After draining the glass and setting it back down on the table, Edric leaned back in his armchair and closed his eyes once more.

Tonight, it seemed best not to visit her.