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“Her Highness contracted a cold. She has been experiencing a lot of fatigue lately, and her body was weakened as a result. As soon as she wakes up, she will recover.”

“Why are you only saying that now?”

The doctor had not said anything wrong, per se, but he had grossly overestimated the Archduke’s patience. Kyle’s hostility terrified the poor man, and the doctor couldn’t guess what kind of horrifying thoughts were going through the Archduke’s mind. He shuddered when he saw Kyle’s eyes turning a threatening shade of red. The doctor thought about how he had managed to survive this long, but his luck was probably about to run out. It seemed he would probably lose his neck today.

As the mood in the room grew thicker with fear and apprehension, one of the maids suddenly stepped forward.

“Ma… Ma… Master, I’ll take care of the Archduchess,” she stuttered nervously. “I’ll do anything to make her fever go down, so let me take responsibility for her.”

It was Marina. She was willingly putting her life on the line not just for Riddel’s sake but for everyone else’s as well. The room’s occupants hesitated and looked even more distressed, holding their breaths in anticipation of what the Archduke would say in response to her offer. Kyle gruffly glanced at her and then at Riddel lying in agony on the bed. He turned again to Marina with an expressionless face.

“All of you, leave the room.”

The workers all heaved a collective sigh of relief. They had been so nervous that none of them had been able to breathe properly since Kyle entered the room.

“Didn’t you hear me tell you all to get out?!”

When Kyle’s voice fell dangerously low, Jean hastily ushered everyone out as quickly as he could. He knew full well what those glowing, crimson eyes meant. They were the ominous portent of something terrible waiting to happen. Only those who had seen them knew they were the dragon’s eyes. Having been accidentally on the receiving end of those eyes once before, Jean was well aware that they could not risk provoking Kyle any further.

What on earth is happening to you?

After Kyle was left alone in the room, he became nervous. He couldn’t calm down at all. Riddel Spencer was really a unique woman. She was the one who dared to approach him first, and now suddenly she was starting to back down. Normally, she was the kind of person who held firm in her position and didn’t like to lose. He couldn’t believe someone so headstrong was now suffering alone. This was completely unlike her.

There was no woman stranger than her in this world. She was the only one. After managing to find some composure, he stared at Riddel. Her chest rose and fell in short, ragged breaths. Judging by her expression, she looked to be in great pain, like she was dying.

You’re sweating so much…

Kyle pulled the ribbon near Riddel’s chest and her nightgown easily came undone. He dipped a prepared washcloth into a small basin that the maids had left nearby and then wiped the sweat from Riddel’s body. The Archduke was also careful to make sure he diligently cleaned her hands and fingers, whatever was in reach.

He suddenly burst out laughing, but it was a bitter laugh. The situation was so ridiculous to him. Never before had he ever tried to touch anything so delicately. It felt too pathetic.

As he carried on trying to ease Riddel’s body temperature, he was desperate not to touch her too much. At that moment, a tear slipped from the corner of Riddel’s eyes. Kyle became flustered at the sight of her tears. Then, she started to murmur incomprehensibly.

“I’m sorry…”

What is she saying? He was only able to make out one phrase, but internally he wondered what she was apologizing for.

Kyle wet a new towel and laid it on Riddel’s forehead. Above all, lowering her fever was his first priority.

“It’s cold.”

“You must endure it so that the heat can go.”

When he tried to reach for another towel, Riddel suddenly grabbed Kyle’s hand. Surprised, he tried to withdraw from her grasp in a hurry. He really tried…

“It feels good.”

… until he heard her say that. She tightly held his hand and placed it against her cheek.

Although he knew that he had to remove himself from her quickly, he couldn’t bring himself to do so. Her skin felt so warm. He looked at Riddel like he was bewitched. A strange sensation was blossoming in his chest.

“…!”

At that moment, Kyle noticed that something had gone terribly wrong. He frantically pulled back his hand, but it was too late. Riddel’s skin had already turned dark. Her right hand and cheek were both in a serious state.

If things continued at this rate, Riddel would grow even more ill either from the cold or the rot. He had to scrape the necrotic tissue from her body in order to stop the possibility of an infection setting in.

Kyle unconsciously reached out to do so, but then he stopped.

“Haah…”

He burst out in another round of ironic laughter. The fearsome Archduke had done so many things, killed so many people with these hands. A few nights ago, he had even tried to kill this woman, but he was ultimately unable to. And now, he was trying to save her, yet he found he couldn’t even do that either. These hands could do nothing to help her. Kyle couldn’t resist laughing because he felt like a fool. He roughly rang the bell that had been left on the bedside table, and Marina, who was waiting outside, entered the room with lightning speed.

“Get me pain and frostbite medicine right now!” he shouted at her.

Marina made haste to do as he said. Kyle was well aware that the medicine wouldn’t heal the injuries caused by his curse, but he had to do something.

I know that Riddel Spencer can survive this.

He had seen her save those dying flowers. After a while, Marina brought the medicines he requested along with some cotton gauze and bandages. She then took her leave, and Kyle encountered another problem. He needed to apply the medicine to Riddel’s injuries, but he couldn’t risk coming into contact with her any more than he already had.

I can’t touch her.

Kyle’s face twisted into an awful expression. Not once in his entire life had he ever considered himself worthless, but right now he felt utterly incompetent.

Only

“If you’re so scared of touching me, why don’t you wear gloves?”

Suddenly, Riddel’s words from their first night flashed through his mind. When he went to ring the bell to call for the maid again, he found a pair of white mitts in the drawer next to the bed. They were gloves that Marina had left in advance.

“Yes, Riddel,” he quietly conceded. “What you said was right.”

Kyle then took the gloves and put them on. As he treated her, his eyes started to return to their normal hue, but his mind was still a mess.

****

When I opened my eyes again, a familiar ceiling materialized above me. I took a second to realize I was no longer in my old bedroom but my room in Kyle’s mansion.

I don’t think I’ve been asleep for long because the sun is still up.

From what I recalled last, I had gone to take a nap after breakfast. I glanced around the room. Just then, I noticed that Kyle was sitting in front of the bed.