IBWMD 91

~Chapter 91~

“…Are you still not healed?”

Half of Kailen’s face was covered with black-red patches.

Even with those marks, he was still handsome, but it was clear the monster’s poison was still in his body.

Kailen calmly replied,
“Maybe it’s because of the mutant monster. My recovery is slow.”

Jeremy anxiously studied his master’s face.

“He should have been completely healed by now.”

The Grand Duke of Silence, Kailen, carried the power of a dragon. He was normally immune to monster poison and magic.

Regular monster poison couldn’t even harm him.

That was true… until the mutant monster appeared.

“I never imagined the poison belonged to a mutant.”

The assassin they had been interrogating had suddenly transformed into something that looked like a monster.

It had spit poison that could harm even the Grand Duke.

The assassin died immediately after, leaving no chance to find out who was behind it.

“Elaine!”

Kailen had shielded the Grand Duchess (Elaine) with his own body and took the full attack.

He didn’t normally show pain, but Jeremy could tell.

“He was sweating cold sweat and gritting his teeth just to endure it.”

The frequent headaches he had recently only made things worse.

Kailen couldn’t do anything except sit in his room, trying to bear the pain.

When he felt a little better, he would quietly go to the marital bedroom just to watch Elaine’s movements from afar.

Jeremy was frustrated.

“You can’t show up with that face. You’ll just make her worry more.”

“…”

“She must already feel guilty.”

But Kailen himself didn’t seem to care, which made it harder for Jeremy to say anything.

“…But are you really planning to tell the Grand Duchess your true identity?”

“…”

“I don’t think she’s plotting something evil… but still…”

Kailen gave a bitter smile.

“An evil plot, huh.”

Since Elaine’s holy power had been revealed, everyone seemed unsure.

“They want to trust her but can’t completely.”

Kailen remembered the moment Elaine had poured her holy power into him.

The way her eyes widened, the way her desperate hands grabbed him…

Then the holy power had rushed into him, clashing fiercely with the dragon magic in his body.

“Ugh!”

The shock had been so strong it temporarily cut off his connection to the dragon’s magic.

“Elaine! Wake up!”

“Grand Duchess! Your Grace!”

Elaine had fainted, her face pale and lips spitting blood.

Kailen didn’t even remember what he had done afterward, except that he forced the doctor to treat Elaine first before him.

Luckily, she was fine.

She had only fainted from using all her holy power at once and from the backlash of clashing with the dragon magic.

But then the estate was filled with chaos.

“This is not something we can ignore!”

Clark, one of his men, openly voiced concern.

“I don’t think the Grand Duchess is a bad person… but still!”

“We don’t know what the Emperor or the Pope are planning! Look at what happened to the previous Grand Duke!”

They even suggested annulling the marriage.

But before Kailen could respond, the head maid spoke up:

“The marriage is already valid. They have already shared a bed.”

She was slightly criticizing Kailen, but he didn’t deny it. If he did, they would push harder to annul the marriage.

They had a good reason to doubt Elaine—especially after what had happened to the previous Grand Duke and Grand Duchess.

“I’m not okay!”

Kailen couldn’t forget the weight of Elaine throwing herself on him to protect him.

She had revealed her holy power and desperately tried to save him, even coughing up blood.

He could still remember the desperate love and concern in her eyes.

“I know she’s not a bad person.”

Elaine was a good person. Everyone knew it, and that was why they were so confused.

But they still wanted to restrict her for now, just in case.

The thought of locking Elaine up gave Kailen a strong sense of rejection, but he couldn’t refuse their request when he saw the genuine worry on their faces.

At least she would be safe here. That was his only comfort.

Elaine accepted the restriction without complaint, even though she must have felt upset inside.

Even while he was in pain, Kailen wanted to see her again.

“Are you very upset with me?”

When they finally met again…

“If it’s okay with you… I have holy power.”

“May I help you?”

Elaine was still the same good person.

Her calloused hands, covered with scars, gently reached out to him.

“If you don’t want me to, I won’t.”

“But if I can help, I want to.”

Even though she was dressed up like a noble lady from the capital, she was still the same Elaine.

She reminded Kailen of all the times she had rushed in to help others, no matter the risk.

Elaine had told him once:

“If you’re going to reach out, don’t do it carelessly. If you reach out, hold on until the end.”

She had said that even before knowing he was the Grand Duke.

She had always lived by her words, whether people noticed or not.

She had never abandoned anyone, even those society considered worthless.

“She is still Elaine.”

No matter what she wore, no matter what role she played—she was his Elaine.

His partner. His Grand Duchess.

Kailen’s heart swelled uncontrollably.

“I also hid the fact that I’m the Grand Duke.”

So he allowed her to heal him, even though he knew dragon magic and holy power didn’t mix well.

To his surprise, Elaine’s holy power felt warm and gentle.

“Maybe it’s because it resembles her.”

He wanted to take off his mask and hold her.

He wanted to tell her everything and hear all her secrets in return.

He wanted to tell her,

“That proposal I made wasn’t a lie.”

But then—

Throb!

The headache returned. The dragon’s magic inside him was raging again, though the pain was much weaker this time.

Jeremy sighed deeply as Kailen frowned.

“I still think… you should watch her a little longer.”

“…”

“It’s already a sensitive time. First mutant monsters, now people turning into monsters…”

Jeremy swallowed nervously.

“And the dragon magic inside you isn’t stable right now either, right? It’s not working properly…”

Kailen slowly closed and opened his eyes.

He remembered the moment when his connection with the dragon magic had been cut.

“There’s something I want to confirm, Jeremy.”