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“Mm…”

…He never, ever wanted to hurt her.

Yelena furrowed her brows as if the hair on her face was tickling her.

Kaywhin reached out his hand, brushing a few strands of Yelena’s silver hair behind her ear.

“…”

His hand lingered near her face. Then, he drew his hand back.

It was an hour until daybreak.

Kaywhin left Yelena’s quarters and stopped by his own residence. Then, he went to his study.

After some time, he called Ben to his study.

“Master, did you call for me?”

It was early, but Ben only woke up earlier with his old age. One would not be able to detect any hints of drowsiness on his face.

Kaywhin organized his documents and said, “About the merchant group takeover we spoke about yesterday.”

“Yes.”

“I’d like for things to progress faster. I don’t mind if this means we’ll have to increase the budget.”

“Understood. I will relay your message.”

“And…”

Kaywhin glanced outside the window. Day was breaking.

“Stop by the maids’ quarters and tell them not to wake up the duchess.”

Ben gave a subtle smile at that.

“Yes, I will do that.”

***

Yelena slept to her heart’s content.

The sun was high in the sky when she woke up, which spoke for itself.

Anyhow, upon waking up, her body felt refreshed and well-rested.

Yelena ate a late breakfast. Then, she looked over the budget accounts in her study for the first time in a while.

She couldn’t focus. It was hard to work after a hiatus.

‘Kaywhin’s stories from yesterday were really fun…’

He had told her about the large-scale monster subjugation from 8 years ago.

The vividness and realism of his storytelling was perfect.

‘Sir Colin’s telling of the monster subjugation was fun too, but nothing beats hearing about it directly from my husband…’

Perhaps Yelena enjoyed the first-person perspective more than the third-person perspective.

Of course, there was no denying that the difference in who was telling the story also influenced her preference greatly.

‘I’ll have to ask him to tell me what happened next before we go to sleep tonight.’

She had heard up to the part where deep in the middle of the mountains, they had discovered a troll with two heads who acted as the patriarch.

Now, she was going to hear what happened next. She hummed to herself, filled with excitement.

It was then that Ben appeared, knocking on her door somewhat urgently.

“Madam.”

“Ben?”

His wrinkled face looked uneasy.

“What’s wrong?”

“Well, you have a guest. But…”

***

“Young Miss!”

Yelena was suspicious as she approached the castle’s main gates.

A small maid who was half Yelena’s size dashed towards Yelena and hugged her.

Young Miss.

In just a few months, the title now felt unfamiliar to Yelena.

“Merry? How did Merry get…”

Bcak at the countdom, Merry was Yelena’s exclusive maid from before Yelena got married. She was a familiar face and one Yelena was happy to see, but at the same time, one that did not belong here.

Yelena raised her head, flustered. Behind Merry was a more familiar, and that much more unbelonging, face.

“Yelena.”

It was the second child of Count Sorte’s family, Yelena’s older brother.

“I came here to get you myself! Let’s go home!” Edward Sorte shouted proudly from where he was standing.

Chapter 7 The Subtle Correlation Between Good News and Bad News

Edward stubbornly refused to move elsewhere.

Yelena could just get on the carriage and they could leave right now. What was the point of moving elsewhere except to be cumbersome?

He was not going to budge anytime soon. It was only after Yelena kicked him in the shin with all her might that she was able to sit across from him in the parlor.

“…So.”

Yelena stared at Edward, thinking he was being ridiculous.

“You said you came here to get me. What do you mean?”

Edward winced as if his shin was still in pain as he answered, “Exactly what I said. I’m here to take you home.”

“No, I’m saying, why are you trying to take me home all of a sudden?”

“I read your letter.”

“My letter?” Yelena asked back without thinking. Then, she remembered, having briefly forgotten.

The letter she didn’t receive a reply to.

“After your letter arrived, our whole family had a meeting, where I gave my opinion. I said I wanted to bring you back home for your safety.”

“…!”

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