Chapter : 25
Now I understood why he didn’t want me to go.
It wasn’t that he had a particular reason—he simply didn’t want me to leave because he needed me.
But still… did he really have to say it so desperately?
If someone overheard him, they’d think he was a lover begging his partner not to leave after a breakup.
“I’m not going far. I said I’d just go to the marquis’s residence.”
“Can you walk on your own?”
I couldn’t bring myself to answer Cassiar’s question.
After being in pain once, I was terrified to even take a single step.
He seemed to realize my hesitation as he straightened from his crouched position after quietly watching me lift and lower my foot repeatedly.
“I’ll send a messenger bird to the marquis’s residence so they won’t worry. I’ll explain everything properly.”
Thankfully, Cassiar was quick enough to give me the answer I wanted.
Realistically speaking, it was impossible for me to make it back to the marquis’s mansion alone in this condition.
If I stayed in this room, I wouldn’t have to run into the duke anyway. Once my leg healed, I could go back.
“Do you need anything else?”
Cassiar asked, looking down at me still stuck in bed, unable to move much.
Need something…?
I had clothes to change into, cosmetics, comfortable slippers, and a soft bed. Everything was perfect.
The problem was bathing—and dealing with bodily needs.
I could postpone washing up since I wasn’t going anywhere, but the other issue couldn’t exactly be put off.
It was too late at night to ask for Liri.
“Could you please call Fani for me?”
“Would that be enough?”
“Yes.”
It seemed our conversation was over, yet Cassiar still didn’t leave.
Was he planning to ask me to help him fall asleep?
Come to think of it, I’d spent the previous night at the marquis’s estate, so he must’ve stayed up all night.
But right now, I had no intention of being accommodating.
Why should I be the one to offer help first? If he asked politely, maybe.
“Do you… have something else to say to me?”
I pretended not to understand what he was implying.
“You can call for me.”
“…Sorry?”
That answer caught me off guard.
“If you need anything—anything at all—you can call for me.”
There were plenty of servants in this mansion, yet he was telling me to call him?
What was he plotting this time?
“That won’t be necessary. It’s not like there’s anyone left for me to show off to.”
“There doesn’t have to be anyone watching.”
The more we talked, the harder it became to understand what he was thinking.
“In any case, that’s what I meant. I’ll send for Fani. Get some rest.”
He looked awkward when I stared at him blankly, coughed a little to cover his embarrassment, and finally left the room.
If only I could peek inside that head of his.
“Ah, whatever!”
For now, I just wanted to sleep instead of thinking too much.
At least I’d managed to protect Edelonian, right?
I’d done my part.
As I was about to lie down, I noticed three small boxes on the table.
Oh, right! I almost forgot!
With everything that had happened with Edelonian, I’d completely forgotten to deliver them.
They were desserts I’d brought from J.P. Rit’s Dessert Shop earlier today.
I reached out and picked one up.
Would my voice reach him, I wondered?
“Suu, are you there? If you can hear me, would you come out?”
I called out softly, but the room remained silent.
Right, even if he’s my bodyguard, it’s not like he can watch me twenty-four hours a day. He moves unseen most of the time, so there’s no guarantee he could even hear me now.
It was late anyway. I’d give it to him tomorrow.
Just as I was about to put the box back on the table, someone tapped on the window.
No way…
“Suu?”
The face illuminated beyond the candlelight was unmistakably Suu’s.
He really came?
I instinctively tried to get out of bed, but a sharp pain shot through my ankle, and I froze.
“I hurt my ankle, so I can’t get down right now. The window’s open—come in.”
As soon as I gave permission, Suu skillfully opened the window and stepped inside.
I thought he’d gone to bed already—was he still on duty at this hour?
When does he even sleep? In the morning?
But even back at the marquis’s mansion, when my hat flew off, he’d rushed out immediately—and that was during the day.
Now that I thought about it, he barely had time to rest.
No wonder he’d been asleep against the window when I first came into this room.
Realizing that he couldn’t even sleep properly because he was guarding me made my heart ache.
“I bought this because it reminded me of the duke’s household. I don’t know if you’ll like it.”
I offered him the dessert box.
Suu stared at it blankly for a moment before accepting it without expression—like someone who had never received a gift before.
“You can open it.”
At my prompting, he slowly lifted the lid, revealing cookies glazed with fruit jam.
He simply gazed at them again, motionless.
Did he not like cookies? Or maybe he didn’t have a sweet tooth.
Just because I liked desserts didn’t mean everyone else did. That was my mistake.
“If you don’t like them, you can give them to someone else. I just bought them because they reminded me of home. They’re probably cold by now anyway…”
Before I could finish, Suu took a bite of one.
Silently, he finished every last cookie in the box.
Guess he liked them after all.
“Give me the box—I’ll throw it away for you.”
He’d be resuming his guard soon, and I figured the empty box would just get in his way.
But instead of handing it over, Suu clutched the box and its pink ribbon tightly in his hands, not moving.
He didn’t want to throw them away.
Did he like the box and ribbon that much?
I glanced at the ribbon he was holding.
It was pink with lace—adorably cute, actually.
Well, if he liked it, I’d respect that.
“If you like it, you can keep it.”
Suu handled the box and ribbon with utmost care, tucking them neatly into his cloak pocket like treasures.
I didn’t expect him to cherish them so much.
He treated them so delicately that I actually started wondering if I should give him ribbons as gifts next time.
“You’ve been working hard lately, keeping watch over me. I realized I never thanked you properly. So… thank you. And please, keep taking care of me.”
I said everything I’d wanted to say, but Suu didn’t leave. Instead, he stepped closer.
He lowered himself in front of the bed, his gaze fixed on my ankle.
“Oh, this? It’ll get better if I rest. The bone’s just slightly fractured.”
“…I’ll step out for a while.”
Suu rose to his feet and looked back at me.
“The duke is here, so you don’t have to worry. I’ll return before dawn.”
“Alright. Do that.”
As soon as I gave my consent, Suu disappeared out the window like the wind.
He must be exhausted.
He really should rest a bit. I understood that much.
Still…
I shivered as a cold draft swept through the room and glared at the wide-open window.
“He could’ve at least closed it…”
“Must be frustrating, not being able to move freely, right?”
In the end, I had to ask Fani to close the window for me.
She did so carefully, drawing the curtains to block the chilly air.
“Well, it can’t be helped. I’m fine staying still, but I feel bad for you, Fani.”
“There’s nothing for you to feel bad about, milady.”
“I just mean… there are so many things I have to ask you to help me with.”
Tonight alone, I’d needed her help with everything—from meals and washing to… more personal needs.
A few cookies weren’t nearly enough thanks for all the trouble.
“You don’t need to thank me every time, milady. I’m here to make sure you’re comfortable at the duke’s estate. That’s my job.”
Fani really was such a kind soul.
Surely Duke Cassiar had grown up with the same warmth and care.
How could two people from the same household be so different?
“I’m really glad you’re here, Fani. Honestly, if there were a man as attentive and caring as you, I’d probably marry him right away.”
“So milady prefers a man who can be gentle and nurturing rather than just protective?”
Her curious eyes sparkled as she leaned closer.
“That’s right. And it wouldn’t hurt if he were handsome too.”
Too bad men like that don’t actually exist.
“In terms of looks, he definitely passes… but he’s hopeless at showing it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, nothing! I just meant I didn’t realize that’s the kind of man you liked, milady. Anyway, keeping your ankle warm will help, so I’ll bring you some wool socks.”
Muttering softly, Fani took out a pair of fluffy socks she’d prepared in advance.
…I could’ve sworn she said “he definitely passes,” though. Did I mishear her?
“Just for tonight, please. Tomorrow I’ll ask for Liri instead. You already have plenty to do besides looking after me.”
I planned to ask Kyle in the morning to send a messenger bird to the marquis’s mansion to summon Liri.
“Ah… milady, that might be a little difficult. I heard there was a rockslide on the road between the marquis’s and the duke’s estates. The debris is large, and it’ll take some time to clear it.”
A rockslide? On the road to the marquis’s house?
“But that can’t be. The road was fine just a few hours ago when I went to the dessert shop—it’s near the marquis’s place.”
I’d passed through there barely three hours earlier.
The weather hadn’t been windy or stormy enough for a landslide.
“I only heard about it just now, so I’m not sure either. But apparently the road will be closed for at least a day.”
“Just my luck. Of all times, there has to be a rockslide now.”
If that were true, there was no way to call Liri here.
“In that case, I’ll just have to rely on you a bit longer, Fani.”
“Don’t worry, milady. I have my ways. Just focus on resting until your ankle heals.”
Fani gently helped me lie back down and pulled the blanket snugly over me. Her face looked unusually cheerful as she did so.
“Thank you, Fani.”
“It’s nothing. Now, please rest, milady.”
“I will. And thank you again for tomorrow, too.”
Instead of replying, Fani simply smiled—a bright, excited smile.
At the time, I didn’t realize what that smile truly meant.
“Why are you here, Your Grace?”
“You called for Fani.”
The next morning, I woke feeling refreshed thanks to Fani’s care the night before.
I called her to bring me some water for washing, but instead, Duke Cassiar appeared.
“I asked for Fani, not you.”
“She’s not here.”
“She’s not? Why?”
“She had something urgent come up and requested the day off.”
That didn’t make any sense.
Then what was I supposed to do?
Without her, I couldn’t even wash my face or eat breakfast, let alone take care of anything else.
“Before she left, she arranged someone else to look after you.”
Of course she did.
Fani was too thoughtful to just leave without making sure I was cared for.
“Could you please call that person, then? I’d like to wash up.”
“There’s no need.”
“…What?”
I blinked in confusion.
Then Cassiar lifted his long lashes and looked straight at me.
“Because that person is me.”
