If I were the real Ekette, and if I had truly been lonely because Kyron never returned, I might have thrown everything away and followed Louie back to my hometown with just that one smile.

“When will you come visit Avriel? You haven’t been back since you got married. Your parents miss you.”

That was a difficult question to answer. My hometown was far away, and my body wasn’t in a condition to endure such a long journey yet.

“Well, I…”

Before I could finish my sentence, I felt a tightness in my chest.

It was a familiar symptom. It felt as though cobwebs had formed in my lungs.

“Cough, cough!”

I started coughing before I could even answer Louie’s question.

How many minutes had it been since I reassured him that I wasn’t seriously ill and was perfectly fine? Five minutes, maybe?

Coughing right after making such a bold claim—it felt as though the heavens were watching me and pressing the “cough button” at just the right moment for their amusement.

“Cough!”

I started coughing violently, as if I were on the verge of death.

“Ekette? Are you sick?”

Louie froze, stunned by the sight he had never witnessed before. He wouldn’t know how to handle this.

“I-I’m fine, c-cough!”

Louie stared at me with wide, shocked eyes as I struggled to speak between fits of coughing.

I felt as though I might even cough up blood, so I desperately tried to cover my mouth. My face was surely flushed red by now.

The relentless coughing forced my upper body to bend forward involuntarily, as though I were about to vomit.

At that moment, a large, firm hand appeared out of nowhere, supporting my shoulders and steadying me.

“Get on.”

Before I could collapse, that strong hand lifted me onto a broad back.

***

Kyron easily hit all five darts on target.

“As expected, Your Grace, your skills are extraordinary!”

Calling it extraordinary for merely hitting five darts seemed like an exaggeration.

Even as he thought that, Kyron was already looking at the stuffed animals hanging inside the booth.

A teddy bear, a lion, a cat, a rabbit…

Stuffed animals didn’t interest him, but Ekette might feel differently. If he gave her one of those oversized stuffed animals, she might smile like a child.

“That one.”

He pointed to one of the stuffed animals and soon received it.

It was a white rabbit.

Kyron didn’t usually find rabbits cute, but among the ones displayed, the rabbit seemed to suit his wife best.

After thinking that it resembled her in some way, it started to look a little cute to him, too.

Tucking the stuffed rabbit under his arm, he left the booth.

Passersby stared in surprise, alternating their gazes between the stuffed animal and his face, but he didn’t care.

The next booth wasn’t far, so he quickly reached the place where Ekette was.

And then… he stopped in his tracks.

He immediately recognized the man standing next to Ekette, daring to hold her hand.

Louie Keyes. The man he had seen in Ekette’s hometown.

Even back then, he had been stuck to Ekette as if he were something important.

Wasn’t this the same man who had pretended to care about her while opposing their marriage until the very end?

Kyron’s subordinates had uncovered that Louie had been against their marriage during the process of arranging it.

He had been one of the few obstacles to their union.

What on earth was he doing here, standing next to Ekette, of all places?

The scene before Kyron’s eyes was not to his liking.

But he soon stopped thinking about it altogether.

“Cough, cough!”

Ekette had started coughing. As always.

The white rabbit stuffed animal he had been holding under his arm fell to the ground.

Ekette hated showing her sickly side in crowded places. But here, there were far too many eyes.

The first priority was to move her somewhere else.

Without hesitation, he ran over and carried her on his back.

***

I didn’t know how Kyron had appeared so suddenly. Every time I fell ill, he would show up out of nowhere—it was almost miraculous at this point.

In any case, before I could even process the situation, I was already on his back.

Carrying me, Kyron headed straight for the back of the dart booth.

Even without much explanation, the booth owner readily let us use the space.

Did I look that unwell?

Behind the booth was a partitioned-off area, probably the booth owner’s resting space.

Kyron gently and slowly set me down on a chair. It was a simple folding chair—not large or soft—but it was better than standing. At least it was out of sight from others, which was a relief.

“Are you in pain?”

Kyron rummaged through his pocket as he asked. He was taking out medicine.

I nodded weakly, still coughing.

With practiced hands, he pulled out a vial of liquid medicine and carefully poured it into my mouth. His movements were so skilled that it made me realize just how many times he must have dealt with this situation before.

After ensuring I had taken the medicine, he even wiped the residue from my lips with his fingers.

“I shouldn’t have let you go alone.”

He spoke in a low voice, tinged with regret.

Thanks to the medicine, my coughing gradually subsided. At least I hadn’t coughed up blood in front of all these people—that was a relief.

Once my coughing had mostly stopped, I was finally able to speak.

“I-I’m okay… now.”

Hearing my words, Kyron let out a long sigh of relief. In such a crowded festival, avoiding a serious incident must have eased his mind.

“That’s a relief.”

At that moment, a voice I had momentarily forgotten due to the fit of coughing spoke up.

“Ekette, are you alright?”

I turned toward the voice to see Louie, who had somehow entered the booth. He still looked visibly shaken.

“Yes, I’m fine now. Don’t worry about me.”

I forced a smile as I answered. I was worried that Louie might write to my family back in my hometown about my condition. I didn’t want my faraway family to worry about me.

Kyron straightened up and stood.

“Rest here for a moment.”

He instructed me before motioning to his guards, who promptly came to stand by my side.

I assumed Kyron was planning to leave. Since my coughing had stopped, I thought he was done here.

But contrary to my expectations, Kyron didn’t leave. Instead, he stood in front of Louie.

“Why… did you just stand there while my wife was coughing?”

Kyron’s large frame completely blocked Louie from view. Because of this, I couldn’t see Kyron’s face or Louie’s expression.

“I asked why you just stood there while my wife was unwell.”

“Y-Your Grace, I… I’ve never seen Ekette cough like that before, so I didn’t know what to…”

“Why are you saying my wife’s name so casually?”

“I’m her friend. Can’t I even…”

“You should address her properly. Call her ‘Duchess.’”

Kyron didn’t let Louie finish a single sentence.

Perhaps he was agitated because I had almost shown my weak side in front of so many people.

Poor Louie ended up bearing the brunt of it.

“And why were you meeting with my wife in the first place?”

“Can’t I even meet a friend?”

Louie retorted, his tone carrying a challenge. It seemed Kyron’s sharp words had stirred a rebellious spirit in him.