Eventually, I gave up and just relaxed my body and leaned against Kishian's arms.
Because it wasn't an opponent that could be defeated by force.
While I was quiet, he walked briskly, holding me tightly as if to protect me.
Fortunately, he didn't move his mean tongue and taunt me like he usually does.
He was only focused on moving me.
As a result, we were able to quickly reach my bedroom in the annex.
"Thank you. It would have taken quite some time if I had walked here myself."
He ignored my thanks and put me on the bed.
My whole body was still damp, so I tried to get up from the bed right away, but he sat me down again by pressing my shoulders.
"You don't need to move. Just sit still."
"My clothes are wet. If I stay like this, the bed sheets will get dirty."
"Does that matter?"
Of course, it was important.
Because if the bed sheets got dirty, I had to roll around on those dirty sheets for a week.
It was because the maids didn't change my bedding on time.
Kishian responded irritably as if he didn't know that fact.
"What's the big deal about bed sheets? You're already hurt."
He suddenly reached out his hand towards my leg and grabbed my ankle.
Finally, he lifted the ankle he was holding and showed it to me.
Only then could I see clearly that there was blood pooling on my heel.
'My heels are more scuffed than I thought.'
While I was inwardly surprised the corners of his eyes became distorted.
"If you're going that far, you should wear some comfortable shoes."
As he muttered, Kishian ran his fingers over my chapped skin.
I was startled by the stinging pain and tried to pull my foot away, but he wouldn't let me go.
"You need to apply some medicine."
After that, he started examining the red scars that stood out, particularly against my white skin.
As I was sticking my legs out in such a bright place with my ankles held, my toes kept curling up.
"I'll apply the medicine-"
"Where is it?"
He interrupted me and asked again.
"I'm asking where the medicine is."
Are you planning to go and see how it looks?
I hoped that wasn't the case, but It really seemed like that was the intention.
His gaze was fixed firmly on me as if waiting for me to answer.
I had no choice but to answer his question, as it seemed like this uncomfortable time would never end.
"It's in the second drawer over there."
When I left the palace, I took some good medicines with me and put them in a drawer.
When I pointed there with my gaze, he immediately opened the drawer and took out the medicine.
Until then, I had been thinking to myself that he would quickly return after seeing me apply the medicine.
Surely, there's no way that Kishian would apply the medicine to me himself.
There's really no way he'd do something that troublesome.
But he betrayed my expectations by opening the bottle and scooping out some of the medicine inside.
"..."
There were so many things I wanted to ask Kishian, who did such things, but I couldn't say anything.
As I just sat there in silence, hugging my legs, his gaze grew fierce again.
"How can I apply the medicine if you do that?"
"..."
Anyway. I wanted to end this situation quickly, so I stretched out my leg and showed the affected area as Kishian wanted.
He examined my stretched-out ankle and applied medicine to it.
It was a more delicate touch than I thought, and that's why I kept flinching.
It might have been less awkward if I had just rubbed it roughly without caring about the wound or anything.
I spread the medicine gently, being careful not to touch the injured area, but my stomach kept itching.
He asked as I couldn't stand it anymore and curled my toes.
"Does it hurt?"
"No, but it tickles. I don't mind if you do it to me, but I feel a little embarrassed because you did it to me like this."
"It's all different."
Tsk, he sneered, laughing.
It was even harder to say anything because he kept berating me as if everything was embarrassing.
So it was when I kept my mouth shut.
"Where else?"
"...?"
"You fell in the pond, so you must have scratched other places too. Let's take a look while we're at it."
He lifted up the hem of my skirt a little more as if he hadn't meant to ask for permission.
Even though I could only see her calves, I was so flustered for a moment that I almost grabbed the hem of my clothes and pulled them back down.
If I think about it, he's a man who's already had sex with me.
I couldn't understand why such small exposure and contact was considered embarrassing now.
He, unaware of my true feelings, searched for the wound with concentration.
I felt pure golden eyes slowly scanning my legs.
An ankle with a red wound.
As his gaze traveled up to my calves, knees, and above, I eventually Iowered the hem of my skirt to hide my legs.
Only then did he look away.
After that, he looked straight into my eyes.
"And as I said before, you are still the Archduchess, aren't you?"
"..."
"It means that you are not the kind of person who deserves to get hurt like this."
"..."
As I bit my lips silently, he suddenly pulled my ankle, which he was holding onto.
Because of that, Kishian's gaze became a little closer.
"You have to be careful. Just because it's your body doesn't mean it's completely yours."
At any other time, I might have just let it slide.
But is it because I've been through so much today?
My nerves, which had relaxed a little, stood on end again at those few words.
To me, who had nothing but my pride and was barely holding on, those words felt like a kind of attack.
"I am not your property, am I?"
As Kishian was about to get up from his seat after finishing the treatment, he turned his head towards.
I bit my lip hard and chewed before spitting out the words.
"I am sorry that I failed to uphold my dignity as the Grand Duchess and ended up like this. I understand why the Grand Duke asked me to do that. But even so..."
Because my mouth was a little dry from the tension, I cleared my throat once and continued speaking.
"I wish you wouldn't refer to my possessions like that."
"..."
"I will make sure that from now on I will never be treated so badly as I did today and your name wilI be tarnished."
After I finished speaking, I let out a long breath.
I was able to bravely say what I wanted to say even when looking into those golden eyes that always made me nervous.
So, I was feeling a little proud of my own courage.
"..."
Suddenly, his silence began to bother me.
Even if he didn't say 'okay" right away, I thought he'd at least know how to respond.
He just looked at me without responding, and the silence felt even more ominous.
Finally, unable to hold back any longer, I opened my mouth first.
“Grand Duke.”
"Ha. There's no way I can just let it go."
Suddenly, he grabbed my ankle roughly.
When he grabbed my ankle like that, I lost my balance and fell onto the bed.
At the same time, the hem of my skirt was lifted up, so I reflexively grabbed it and pulled it down.
His eerie, subdued voice settled into my ears as I was panicking.
"I don't know about anything else, but let's correct what's wrong."
Before I could ask what he was talking about, he opened his mouth and blurted out something quite absurd.
"Why aren't you my property?"
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