Shioana's long, long day began. When she returned home, exhausted from office work, the Duke clung to her all night long.
"Your Excellency, you know this is a situation that is difficult to understand."
Shioana let out a sigh as she wiped the corners of the Duke's mouth with a handkerchief after giving him the medicine. It made no sense to entrust her with nursing when he hated her as if he wanted to kill her and didn't trust her at all.
"There is absolutely no need to seek your understanding."
The Duke's face remained completely composed after spitting out such heartbreaking words.
"I've sweated a lot, so I should wash up a bit."
At his words, Shioana hurriedly rang the bell, and a servant went to the bedroom to attend to the bath. Once everything was ready in the bathroom attached to the bedroom, they approached the Duke to help him undress.
"Your Excellency, I will support you."
"If you're all ready, let's all head out."
"But Your Excellency, it will be difficult for you to wash by yourself right now."
Duke Bernhard usually forbade servants or guards from entering his bedroom. For this reason, he was never served in the bath.
As everyone withdrew due to the Duke's adamant refusal, Siona also tried to sneak out.
"You stay there. Because you have to take care of me."
The Duke's steps as he walked toward the bathroom wearing a robe looked precarious.
Feeling dizzy, he rested a couple of times for a distance of only a few steps.
"I think I'll need someone to attend to me..."
Shioana, who had been quietly watching his retreating figure, slumped down onto a chair.
She started this work because Viscount Conrad said she could decipher it in about a month, but each day was hard to endure.
A moment later, she heard the sound of a gown falling, and then it was quiet for a long time.
She strained her ears toward the bathroom, where even the sound of water was barely audible, and grew increasingly anxious.
Etienne was in very poor condition. He tossed and turned all night and groaned in severe pain.
"Surely you didn't slip or fall into the bathtub, did you?"
Shioana, feeling anxious at the terrible thought, suddenly stood up and put her ear to the bathroom door.
"Your Excellency, are you alright?"
However, no sound was heard from inside. Without a moment to hesitate, she threw open the door, and the thick steam filling the interior enveloped her.
At first, nothing was visible, but after a while, she could see the Duke with his eyes closed.
Sitting in a bathtub filled with roses, he exuded a mysterious aura.
His damp blonde hair was swept back, and a faint blush spread across his pale cheeks.
For some reason, the tightly closed red lips beneath the closed eyes caught her gaze.
Shioana barely regained her senses as she watched the petals covering his body beneath his exposed shoulders.
"...Your Excellency?"
He did not answer even when she called him several times, and feeling frustrated, Shioana stood close to the side of the bathtub.
When she dipped her finger in, the water had cooled quite a bit and was lukewarm. As Shioana filled the tub with more hot water and poured it in, he slowly opened his eyes.
"...Hmm."
Shioana felt unnecessarily embarrassed as she faced his displeased face.
"I called out to you but got no answer, so I came in to check and found the water had cooled down."
"So that's the problem."
Shioana clamped her mouth shut, offended by his abrupt and cut-off remarks. It seemed that even her kindness was suspicious to him.
"What on earth is the problem?"
"It's ridiculous that you're worried about me."
"It wasn't just Your Excellency; I would have done this to anyone."
Shioana thought that she didn't do it specifically because the other person was a Duke.
"To add persuasiveness to those words, it would have been better not to be so blatant from the start."
"...Ha."
Why on earth does she seem like a joke in Etienne's eyes at every turn?
She betrayed him and sold him out.
After all, having come here, he was under the delusion that she was approaching him again without even recognizing him.
As she stood still, her body trembled.
She thought she had thrown away all her pride, but it was hard to bear being treated like this by Etienne of all people.
"How long are you going to keep treating me like the only sinner?"
He lifted his head at Shioana's cold words.
"Did you just say that to me?"
“Is there anyone else here?”
Shioana did not avoid his sharp gaze.
"If we really look into it, you're the one who deceived me. I didn't even know who you were."
She really thought that Etienne was a slave of Caspian.
Although he had nothing and there was a difference in social status, Shioana loved him.
"If I did anything wrong, it was simply loving someone childishly and believing that everything would work out."
Loving Etienne was irresistible, and she would do anything to protect him.
"I don't regret doing what Eli told me to do. Even if I went back to that time, I probably would do the same."
If only she could save Etienne, she would turn her back on him a hundred or a thousand times.
"..."
Shioana, having barely managed to hold back her tears, spoke again.
"You are free to hate or despise me, but I would appreciate it if you stopped misunderstanding me. I have absolutely no interest in that arrogant Duke Bernhard."
What she loved was Etienne, not the identity he was hiding.
"Well then, I'll be going now."
No matter how sincerely she poured out her feelings, Etienne had no intention of listening to her.
'But it's a relief that I said everything I wanted to say.'
It was just as the exhausted Shioana turned around. The sound of water was heard, and he emerged from the bathtub and embraced her.
"Who gave permission to leave?"
"...Are you... crazy?"
The Duke's naked body was clearly felt through the fabric.
As the moisture on his body quickly soaked Shioana's clothes, hot heat soon enveloped Shioana's entire body.
"I'm feeling dizzy. Could you hand me my gown?"
Shioana reached out, picked up the robe he had taken off, and handed it to him from behind. He had loosely put on the robe and was still leaning against her.
"Your Excellency, that’s enough now..."
"Why are you acting so shy?"
Her cheeks flushed bright red at Etienne's whisper.
After all, the two were clearly a married couple who had spent their first night together in Regbell. There was no need for them to act so reserved.
However, Shioana felt that their marriage was somehow like a mirage. When she could not say anything, Etienne whispered with his head buried in her shoulder.
"You're still as self-centered as ever."
Shioana Evgenia was like that from the beginning.
She saved him when he didn't even want to live, and hovered around him. She approached him as she pleased and shook him to his core.
She had no idea how hard he tried not to fall for Shioana.
However, having taken his entire heart, she mercilessly abandoned Etienne.
***
Two weeks have passed since Shioana started nursing Duke Bernhard.
After the incident in the bathroom, the Duke's abusive behavior decreased. However, that did by no means make living with him more comfortable.
She set the moving date for her new house for two weeks later, and she looked for second-hand furniture in her spare time after work. Thompson and Murphy kindly offered to share items they no longer used at home.
"So, I'm coming out after waiting exactly two weeks."
And before that, she thought she should resolve the marriage issue first. It bothered her that she had asked Martha to issue a marriage certificate, fearing that Eli might break the two of them up later.
Originally, there was no problem. Since they believed that Etienne was dead, the certificate was practically just a souvenir.
'He's alive here just like this.'
After thinking for a moment, she concluded that it would be fine.
Because the Duke is dying to devour her. He probably wouldn't even care about such things.
Her head started throbbing again at the thought of Etienne. When it was time to leave work, the Bernhard family's carriage was waiting.
"Please stop by Zone 5 for a moment."
Shioana, having asked the coachman, leaned back in the chair.
She needed to get the medicine Harriet had been prescribed earlier because his heart was weak. It was before Shioana, who had stopped by the pharmacy, got into the carriage.
Just then, someone called out to her from across the way.
“Shioana!”
"..."
Count Noah checked on her and tried to cross the road immediately.
Shioana quickly climbed onto the carriage and shouted loudly at the coachman.
"Please leave as soon as possible."
Terrified, she trembled while tightly gripping the carriage door handle.
The Count who remained behind called her name forcefully again.
The carriage had gone quite far out of the 5th district, and when Shioana could not hear Count Noah's voice, she realized that she had dropped her medicine.
“How good.”
Avoiding him like this was a temporary measure, not a solution to escape him.
Upon returning to the Bernhard mansion, Shioana visited the office where Viscount Conrad worked. The Viscount was quite puzzled, as it was rare for her to seek him out first.
"Is something wrong with His Excellency?"
"No, that's not it. Could I ask for some advice?"
She heard that Viscount Conrad is skilled in law and handles all the affairs of the Bernhard family. Cedric, who had invited her to sit, asked.
"Shall we listen to it first and then decide?"
"I mean when the estate and mansion are transferred to someone else due to debt."
Shioana felt her mouth go dry because she couldn't possibly say that her older brother had done such a thing.
“So?”
Cedric stared sharply at her from behind his glasses.
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