WYMYEB - Chapter 36




Elvin answered the questions, unable to hide his bewilderment.

"Food, meal? It's okay to eat that much alone..."

"What about a bath?"

"Taking a bath is okay, too..."

"Are you sure it's okay? The affected area is so red."

Complex emotions soon appeared in Elvin's eyes.

He looked at Kishian with eyes that showed so much complexity and then finally answered.

"Well... it's best to get as much help as possible from those around you."

"I see."

Kishian nodded as if he had finally heard the answer he wanted.

Elvin stared at Kishian again and asked the question I wanted to ask.

"But Your Highness, why do people seem to have changed?"

"...?"

"Yes, when you were in the field..."

You didn't even blink an eye when you heard someone dying next to you.

"Ha, are those subordinates who always talk about death the same as the Grand Duke? Those guys are people who will live well even if you just throw them away, but the Grand Duke..."

Kishian, who seemed about to say something about me, closed his mouth again.

I listened with curiosity, but all that came out between those lips was a long sigh and a scolding toward Elvin.

"Stop talking nonsense and just give me the medicine."

"Yep."

Elvin, who seemed to be quite friendly with Kishian, answered as he did so and gave him some medicine.

There were two types of medication: one to be applied directly to the affected area and one to be taken orally.

Kishian, who had accepted it for me, then extended his hand.

When I gave him a questioning look, he frowned even more, his already wrinkled eyes.

"I'm trying to support you. Because you're hurt."

"I can walk by myself..."

"Do you want to go and hug me like before? If you keep being stubborn, I'll have no choice but to move you like that."

"... I'll just be supported."

It would have been better to be supported rather than carried away in an embarrassing hug like before.

So I had no choice but to grab his hand and stand up, and he held on to me so tightly that he almost lifted me up.

Then he started to support me, walking with very careful movements.

As he watched the two of us leaving the treatment room, I could hear Elvin muttering in my ears.

"They say people change when they get married..."

He seemed to mutter something like, "You've become a completely different person," but I couldn't hear the details...

Boom! 

That was because Kishian slammed the door to the treatment room so hard that it made a loud noise.

Kishian seemed to relax only after arriving at the bedroom and carefully sitting me down on the bed.

"Phew," he said, letting out a long sigh and running his hands through his hair.

When I saw that sight, the question that had been on my mind for a while finally came out.

"Is there another reason why you're doing this? From what I've heard from Elvin, it seems like you didn't really care when your subordinates got injured in the battle."

Elvin said that earlier.

Why have people changed so much?

It must have been a question asked out of curiosity that a man who was usually indifferent to others would be so concerned about my mind or wounds.

Kishian didn't give me a proper answer, but since it was just the two of us, I thought maybe I could hear an answer.

As expected, he seemed a little hesitant to answer, but after a moment, he opened his mouth.

"Because it's too soft and weak."

He, who had been looking away for no reason, looked at me again.

Then, he carefully lifted my injured arm and examined it.

"Because your body is too small, soft, and weak. It looks like it will break if I look away for even a moment. Is that enough of an answer?"

It was a fairly detailed answer.

But I wanted to know a little more fundamental reason.

"Isn't it okay if I leave it to break?"

"...What?"

"Why can't it break? That's what I'm curious about."

Anyway, I was just bait to Kishian.

Or maybe I was a victory trophy he took as a souvenir for becoming the King of the North.

So there was no need to be anxious about getting a little injured.

To be blunt, it would have been fine to just take a deep breath.

"..."

Kishian didn't answer my question for a while.

As if I had asked a difficult question.

After a long time, the voice that came out of his teeth that had opened again was filled with anger.

"Why can't it be broken? Have you forgotten that you married me? It was only yesterday."

"But our marriage-l..."

"Even if it's just a formality."

He cut off my continued speech in a somewhat sharp tone.

While I was frozen in surprise, Kishian's hand grabbed my shoulder.

"Even if you didn't want me and were just pretending to get married without any sincerity... I'm your husband anyway."

"..."

"Is it so unbearably strange for a husband to worry?"

When I heard that question and made eye contact with Kishian, I was hurt again.

It was because his gaze seemed to be filled with sincerity for some reason.

But that's not likely to happen.

I put on a mask of hypocrisy to hide my wavering heart.

"Thank you for worrying about me."

"..."

"As you have cherished me. I will cherish you and this northern land."

I hid my true feelings by giving a formal answer that seemed to have been created according to a template.

His eyes were distorted as if he was feeling frustrated about something.

"No, I'm not trying to impose any obligation on you..."

"Still, I want to do one person's share. As a Grand Duchess."

He answered in a slightly more resolute voice than usual and got up from the bed.

"Please allow me to interrogate Albrecht, the man who harmed me."

"Interrogate...?"

I nodded to him, who seemed somewhat embarrassed.

"I know you might be anxious about entrusting him to me so readily. However, Albrecht was sent by the imperial family. So I believe I have the authority to dispose of him."

"He doesn't seem to treat you like a Grand Duchess at all. I only saw him for a few minutes, but he smelled like a dangerous person. Are you going to personally interrogate and dispose of such a person?"

It seemed as if he did not want to let me come into contact with Albrecht, a servant of the imperial family.

He must be thinking that I might be plotting evil with him.

In an attempt to clear up even little of that doubt, I looked at him with unwavering eyes.

"If you truly consider me your wife, I hope you will show just as much trust in me."

I didn't want to be seen as a weak being in need of protection.

Rather, I hoped to become a colleague who could be trusted and relied on.

... It would be impossible for either of us since he would have considered me an enemy from the start.

Still, he nodded as if he wanted to pretend to believe me.

"Very well. I will leave it entirely up to my wife to decide what to do with him."

Just as I was about to say thank you for trusting me, Kishian added.

"But I cannot compromise on this. If he does something even a little dangerous..."

I listened intently to hear what he had to say.

A moment later, his voice filled our space, which had been silent, eerily.

"Then no matter what you say, I will tear  his limb from limb and kill him."

This is only the one time you're leaving Albrecht's disposal up to me.

It meant that if he did anything that could be harmful, he would step forward himself and demonstrate his authority as the Grand Duke.

After swallowing dry saliva, I nodded in agreement.

Only then did he take his murderous gaze away, and only then could I breathe comfortably.

***

I had no intention of going straight to Albrecht.

Since he was strangled by Kishian, his eyes would have rolled back by now. It would be difficult to have a normal conversation even if I went there.

So I waited for the right time to come.

As time passed, the sun set, and the pale moon rose.

Finally, I started walking. I headed towards the dungeon where Albrecht was being held.

Fortunately, I was able to stand before him without feeling nervous, as the cold, still air of dawn cooled my heart.

As I stood before the bars of the dungeon where Albrecht was imprisoned, his head slowly rose.

As soon as he realized that it was I who had come looking for him, he started lashing out at the iron bars.

"How dare you! Do you think you can get away with treating me, His Majesty the Emperor's loyal subject, like this!!"

The bloodshot eyes, as if possessed by evil, were hideous.

I stared at the excited Albrecht and threw him some food that would tickle his fancy.

"Just keep your mouth shut. I will help you complete your real mission successfully."


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