IBWMD 90

~Chapter 90~

The sensation in my hand… I felt like I had touched it before.

But where…?

At that moment—

“You’d better stick to the muscles you already touch freely.”

“You’ve already defiled the purity of my muscles, Elaine. You’ll have to take responsibility.”

Wait—why was that memory popping up now?!

‘That was forever ago!’

I suddenly realized the Grand Duke was staring right at me.

Then it hit me—I had just… freely squeezed the Grand Duke’s chest.

“Ahem!”

I coughed awkwardly, trying to chase Karl’s voice out of my head.

‘Now’s not the time for distractions.’

If I’d decided to help, then I had to help.

I took a deep breath and focused on my holy power.

After being so drained from my fever, my power had finally recovered a bit today.

‘Alright, let’s do this.’

Honestly, I wanted to save every bit of holy power for Karl first, but…

‘I can’t just ignore someone in pain like this.’

Karl could wait for me to gather more holy power.

If I healed the Grand Duke, maybe I could even ask him to let me go find Karl.

Resolving myself, warmth spread from the tips of my gloved fingers.

The Grand Duke flinched.

The moment my power touched him, I felt a sharp jolt too, almost pulling my hand away.

There was something—like a force—that both pushed my power away and tried to trap it.

‘Is this dragon magic?’

It felt eerily similar to touching a monster.

And I could feel it even through my gloves…

Perhaps this was the same kind of magic once called “demonic,” naturally incompatible with holy power.

‘Karl felt like this sometimes too.’

But that was probably because of the monster blood that clung to him as a hunter.

‘Focus.’

I couldn’t help but laugh at myself bitterly—I was comparing my husband to Karl again.

I pushed down my emotions and focused on channeling the tiny amount of holy power I had left.

‘If I push too hard, it fights back…’

So I went slowly, carefully, like aiming at a target.

I shaped my holy power like a bullet—

Not a sharp bullet flying through air, but a heavy one slowly cutting through water.

And then, when I felt it connect deep inside—

‘Huh?’

I felt my consciousness being pulled further inward.

It was no longer resisting, almost as if it trusted I wouldn’t hurt it now.

There was something massive and overwhelming staring back at me.

A brilliant golden light.

‘Ah…’

It was almost… enchanting.

‘Just a bit more.’

Warmth flooded outward—and then I heard it.

A sound, like a child giggling from being tickled.

But it wasn’t a child.

Those huge golden pupils staring at me…

Suddenly, my hand was pushed away.

Not by me—the Grand Duke had pulled it back.

“Your Grace?”

I looked at his shoulders and neck. They were flushed red.

It seemed he was telling me that was enough.

Still, there was one encouraging change—

“It worked, I think…”

The black and red patches of monster poison that had covered his upper body had faded.

‘Not a full recovery, but… it’s better than nothing!’

I cleared my throat, trying to shake off the lingering awe in my chest, and spoke seriously.

“I know you dislike the temple. And I understand why.”

“……”

“But please, if possible, get regular treatment, Your Grace.”

“……”

“If you need, I can even… make a request to the temple myself.”

‘Or pretend I’m asking the temple and bring Zion here instead. I’m sure I can persuade him.’

If that worked, the Grand Duke could recover much faster.

But even as I thought that, my heart ached.

‘…Did Karl suffer injuries this bad?’

The smell of burned flesh still haunted my nose.

‘Are you okay…?’

I wanted to know what state he was in.

If he was silently enduring pain all by himself.

‘Focus, Elaine.’

I stepped back from the bed, deciding to let the Grand Duke rest.

In this condition, even talking for long would be too much for him.

“Please rest well.”

I hoped he would recover quickly enough for us to come to some agreement.

I was about to politely withdraw my hand when—

“Ah!”

Suddenly, my wrist was grabbed again.

The grip wasn’t strong, but firm enough to stop me.

“Uh…?”

Before I realized it, I was sitting on the small stool beside his bed.

Wait—when did I even move here?

I had definitely been on the other side a moment ago.

As I blinked in confusion, I heard a slow, rattling breath—

Like metal scraping from inside the dragon-head mask.

When I looked at the mask blankly, the grip on my wrist tightened slightly.

I could feel his lips moving behind the mask.

The tension pressed down on my shoulders—

“Where do you think you’re going, my bride?”

A shiver ran down my neck.

‘…So his vocal cords really are damaged.’

His voice was completely ruined, like a cave’s echo scraping against a chalkboard.

The content sank in a beat later.

‘Wait… he just called me my bride?!’

But that wasn’t the end.

As if he expected me to pull away, the Grand Duke laced his fingers through mine.

Our hands were now intertwined so tightly, I couldn’t bring myself to pull away.

“……Elaine.”

That broken, wrecked voice called my name slowly.

“Stay here.”

It sounded desperate.

As if he was begging me not to leave him.

As if he was… lonely.

‘Wow… damn.’

Was I really this soft-hearted? Why was I even thinking this?

No—I had Karl, no… wait, this man was technically my husband.

I sat there, completely at a loss for how to respond.

The Grand Duke, still holding my hand, took a deep breath and slowly leaned back against the pillow.

“……”

There was no longer a metallic rasp in his breathing.

‘He’s asleep again…’

That surprised me.

I hadn’t thought he’d be the type to fall asleep in front of a stranger—especially someone sent from the capital.

‘He must really be that weak right now.’

Unable to bring myself to leave, I sat there for a while, muttering under my breath,

“…Just for a little while.”

Because I knew what loneliness felt like too.

When you’re sick and alone, it hurts even more.

And besides… I did need to win a bit of favor with the Grand Duke.

So I stayed, watching over him as he slept.

“Your Grace.”

Jeremy entered the Grand Duke’s room, suppressing yet another sigh.

Elaine, who had visited earlier in the day, had already returned to her own room to rest.

Kailen glanced at Jeremy from where he was sprawled on the bed.

“What are you planning to do now?”

If it were the past, Jeremy would’ve just told him to reveal to Elaine that he was Karl.

But now… he wasn’t so sure.

‘She hid the fact she had holy power all this time.’

And not magic—holy power.

When Jeremy had pressed his uncle for answers, he’d admitted he’d known all along.

He even confessed she had purified the poisoned meat.

He’d assumed she was just a former saint candidate.

Then he nearly fainted when he learned Elaine was actually the Grand Duchess.

At least Jeremy was certain of one thing—the woman he’d personally dealt with was neither malicious nor scheming.

That was why he’d reluctantly agreed to leave her alone with the Grand Duke despite his nerves.

But still…

‘Can we really trust Elaine Pascal as an “insider”?’

Everyone had forgotten, but she was originally sent from the capital—by the Emperor and the Pope.

That fact weighed on his mind.

She was a good person, yes, but…

‘How did things get so tangled up?’

Well, it wasn’t like their master had been honest either…

“I don’t plan to keep it a secret forever.”

The Grand Duke’s voice rasped like metal.

Jeremy rolled his eyes and asked,

“So you are going to tell her you’re the Grand Duke?”

“Did you think I was still some scumbag tricking an innocent young lady?”

“But, Your Grace… she’s still…”

“She’s still the wife and bride the Emperor gave me.”

“……”

“But I can’t reveal myself now.”

The Grand Duke removed his mask as he said this, revealing his face.

Jeremy swallowed hard.