***

It was a relief that there wasn’t a serious issue with his wife’s wrist. But still, how could such a delicate wrist…

It was his responsibility for not protecting Ekette. If she hadn’t gone to that dangerous shop, none of this would have happened. Or at the very least, if he had been with her at the time…

Kyron had visited the Dark Shop the previous day. The shop owner had been cooperative in providing information since the shop was supported by his Black Lake Knights.

He was immensely relieved that the shop Ekette had chosen happened to be one he had connections with.

She had purchased tools for disguise and teleportation magic.

Those were items clearly suited for escaping.

If his wife, in her frail condition, ever tried to leave… he wouldn’t be able to bear it.

Meanwhile, the information he obtained from the Dark Shop wasn’t limited to Ekette’s purchases. He also learned about another customer who had visited around the same time.

The Crown Prince.

The one who had injured his wife’s wrist was the Crown Prince.

Thinking of the Crown Prince made Kyron’s fists clench involuntarily.

Once, they had cooperated to achieve a common goal, but those days were long gone. There was no way he could work with him as before.

Still, the doctor’s advice about “avoiding excessive physical contact” lingered in his mind.

Did that mean physical contact could harm his wife’s health?

Even last time, when he had held her hand to thank her for bringing him ointment from Pierce, she had pulled away as if trying to escape. It seemed she didn’t even like holding hands.

If someone who needed absolute rest was startled badly, it would undoubtedly be bad for their health.

Hadn’t she said she didn’t even want to get married?

She didn’t want to marry me? Was it a forced marriage, then?

Until now, he hadn’t known that his wife hadn’t wanted the marriage. He had never even considered the possibility.

But… even if she hadn’t wanted this marriage, she was his now, wasn’t she? That fact reassured him.

***

After the doctor left, Lia entered the room holding something in her hands. Her face was flushed, as if something good had happened.

“Lia, what’s going on? Why do you look so happy?”

At my question, Lia handed me what she was holding: an envelope.

“You’ve received letters, Madam. Please read them.”

I checked the sender’s name on the envelope. It was a familiar name.

“Allis sent me a letter?”

I immediately opened the envelope and began reading the letter.

It said she was terribly bored since I left, that the weather there had become sunny and warm, that she was still deciding when to use the wish stone, and that she wondered when I would visit again.

“She seems to be doing well.”

“Right? She even wrote me a separate letter. Oh, and you’ve also received a letter from your hometown!”

“My… hometown?”

Lia handed me another envelope.

It was from Avriel, my hometown.

I quickly opened the envelope.

As I read through it, I realized it was a letter from an old friend back home.

It asked how I was doing, said they were doing well, and mentioned that my parents were also doing fine.

Word of what had happened at the banquet seemed to have already reached them. They had heard that I had fallen ill at the banquet and that the culprit had been caught. They also expressed concern, asking if I was having a hard time dealing with the capital’s nobles.

After finishing the letter, I placed it back in the envelope.

I carefully stored it in the drawer where Ekette kept letters from her hometown.

The drawer was filled with neatly arranged letters Ekette had received since arriving here.

As I was reflecting on the letters I had received, Kyron entered my room.

I still hadn’t come up with an excuse about my wrist, but surely he wouldn’t kick me out.

“What were you doing?”

Uncharacteristically, Kyron didn’t get straight to the point.

“Well, Allis sent me a letter, so I was reading it over and over. Is something wrong?”

“No.”

“Then did someone mistakenly tell you I’m sick again?”

“That’s not it, either.”

Kyron stood in front of me for a moment before stepping further into the room.

“Can you spare some time?”

“Time? Uh… I have plenty of time, actually.”

If nothing was wrong and I wasn’t sick, why was he here?

I followed him as he walked further into my room.

“What is it?”

He looked like he had something to say but was hesitating, seemingly finding it difficult to bring up.

It was a demeanor that didn’t suit his broad shoulders and sharp features.

He entered the dressing room attached to my room.

“Why are you going in there…?”

He scanned the dresses hanging inside and pulled one out. Unlike the plain dresses I usually wore around the estate, this one was bright and adorned with frills and ribbons.

He handed me the dress as I looked at him suspiciously.

“Want to go out?”

“…Where to?”

“There’s somewhere I want to go with you.”

“…?”

He held the dress up to me.

“It’ll look nice on you.”

I found myself holding the dress he had chosen.“Change into this, and let’s go out.”

……After a while, I found myself reluctantly wearing the outfit Kyron had chosen for me and boarding the carriage with him.

Various possibilities crossed my mind.

Was there someone we were meeting today? If that were the case, there’d be no reason to bring me along.

Could it be that he found out I went to the Dark Shop and was taking me there? But if that were the case, there’d be no need to wear a dress like this.

The destination wasn’t far from the Duke’s estate. When we arrived, we stepped out of the carriage.

It was the bustling central district of the capital, lined with shops. There were quite a few people on the streets besides us.

It was my first time visiting this place since our trip to the hotel restaurant, so I looked around at the surrounding buildings with curiosity.

“As always, the buildings here are so beautiful.”

Kyron approached me as I tilted my head back, mesmerized by the architecture. He seemed like he was about to take my hand but hesitated and withdrew his hand.

“This way.”

Kyron took the lead, and I followed him.

“Where are we going?”

Instead of answering, he opened the door to our destination. A sweet aroma wafted out. I stared at Kyron in disbelief.

Why would Kyron bring me to a place like this?