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chapter 64
Rustle, rustle—the sound of flipping newspaper pages woke Serret. When she opened her eyes, Yuan was sitting at the tea table, scanning through the newspaper.
It had been two days since the attack, and Serret was receiving rather meticulous care in Yuan’s bedroom.
Whenever she barely lifted herself, Yuan would rush over to ask what she needed. Even a faint groan from her made him consider calling Dr. Kane.
He had tried to feed her the meals brought by the staff, leaving Serret flustered, and he had even attempted to carry her to the bathroom, which shocked her.
Serret found Yuan’s overprotectiveness a bit bothersome and wished he would go to work as a secretary.
She sat up. Hearing the movement, Yuan put down the newspaper and looked at her.
“Does your head still hurt?”
He rose from his seat with a concerned expression. Striding over to her, Yuan placed his large hand on her forehead before she could answer.
As his hand rested on her forehead, Serret realized just how big his hands were and gently removed it.
“I’m really fine now. I’ll return to my room.”
Serret smiled faintly at him.
“Make sure you take the medicine Dr. Kane prescribed properly.”
“I’m taking it properly.”
“Don’t do anything dangerous. Stay home quietly. Next time, it won’t be a leash—I’ll put handcuffs on you.”
Serret let out a small laugh at Yuan’s deadpan expression.
“When you say that with that face, it sounds so sincere.”
“It is sincere.”
Yuan said firmly. Truly, handcuffing those thin ankles would put him at ease. She really should be locked up somewhere.
“You seem to have quite extreme affection for me.”
Serret smiled as she got off the bed. She wobbled slightly from dizziness, and Yuan immediately held her arm firmly.
“If you’re not feeling well, stay here longer.”
“I’m more comfortable in my room. You should go to work.”
Serret freed her arm from his grasp and left the bedroom without hesitation. Yuan restrained himself from pulling her back onto the bed.
Even as she disappeared from view, a sense of unease settled in him. It seemed he would have to work in the study for the time being instead of the office. Yuan left the bedroom and headed to the study.
Back in her room, Serret called Hanna and Eve. The two women arrived in a rush, fussing as if she needed immediate hospitalization.
After listening to their worries for a while, Serret asked Hanna about the medicine bottle.
“You didn’t have the bottle, Lady. If you had it, I would’ve known,” Hanna replied confidently.
“I was definitely holding it. It looked exactly like a birth control pill bottle, so I was checking for the Held clan symbol—but then I was attacked.”
The absence of the bottle meant the assailant had taken it. Serret’s face grew serious. Had the attacker targeted her because she had the bottle?
She decided she needed to go back to retrieve it. Despite Yuan’s warning to be careful, she couldn’t just sit idly. Serret stood up.
“I need to go to the Berun estate. See if the bottle’s there.”
“Where are you going! Dr. Kane said you need to rest. If His Grace finds out, it’ll be a disaster!”
Hanna jumped at Serret’s words. Yuan, usually so calm, seemed eerily absent now. Even when Serret had recovered from a headache, Yuan hadn’t shown this expression.
“Hanna’s right. You need to rest.”
Eve added, worried.
Dr. Kane had said Serret had mild concussion symptoms and must absolutely rest for several days. Serret herself felt dizzy and had intermittent headaches.
Yet she wanted to find that bottle—to confirm whether it was the poison Sophia drank, and whether it bore the Held clan symbol.
If the bottle contained poison and the symbol was present, could Lydia be considered Sophia’s killer?
“I just can’t help it. I feel like finding that bottle will give me a lead.”
Serret replied weakly to Eve.
“But it might not even be the poison Sophia drank. That bottle looked just like any ordinary birth control pill bottle…”
Eve trailed off.
Eve was right; there was no guarantee the bottle contained poison. In Berun, poor people unable to access hospitals used Held clan medicine. It wasn’t strange for bottles with the symbol to be around.
Had Serret been too consumed with the idea that Lydia was the culprit? But Sophia wasn’t a child who would die leaving her siblings behind.
Then Hanna, as if making up her mind, spoke.
“Then I’ll go. Lady, stay here.”
“Will you? Good. Hanna, take Pete with you. Don’t go alone.”
“Yes, Lady.”
Hanna nodded and left the room.
Serret and Eve waited anxiously. Two hours later, Hanna returned, looking frustrated.
“There’s nothing. Pete and I searched nearly all of Berun, but we couldn’t find the bottle.”
Serret’s face grew serious.
“Nothing at all? You looked thoroughly?”
“I even went to the police to ask if any bottles from your case had turned up. Nothing.”
Serret sighed. It seemed certain the attacker had taken it.
“Should we try tracing the birth control pill Sophia gave us? If the Elliott heiress really gave poison to Sophia, the person who made the pills might have made the poison too.”
“That won’t be easy. The bottles are common, and Held clan members always put their symbols on them. How many Held clan members are there in the capital?”
Eve shook her head.
“Some Held clan members make medicine without running a pharmacy.”
“Right, like Aunt Glmima.”
Eve agreed.
“So what do we do?”
Hanna looked at Serret and Eve dejectedly.
“Nothing to do but wait for the police investigation, I guess.”
Serret pinned her hopes on the police. After all, the assault on the Duchess of Fractuster would ensure a thorough investigation. She sighed, troubled.
Late at night, Serret tossed in bed, unable to sleep. Her mind swirled with thoughts of Sophia and the assailant. Occasionally, she thought of Yuan, who had stayed by her side.
“Do you know how scary His Grace was? His gaze… wow, it was a killing weapon! I thought I’d suffocate to death.”
Hanna’s words made Serret chuckle. Hanna had mimicked Yuan when explaining his reaction to Serret’s injuries—it had been hilarious.
“…I can’t sleep.”
Still smiling at the thought of Hanna, Serret got up. Since she couldn’t sleep and wanted to organize her thoughts, she decided to write in her diary, sitting at the tea table.
Just as she opened the ink bottle, the door suddenly swung open, and Yuan entered.
“Your Grace?”
Startled, Serret looked at the door and accidentally knocked the ink bottle over. Ink spilled onto the floor, blackening it.
“Ah!”
Serret steadied herself and watched Yuan stride in. Something was off. His hair was disheveled, he was shirtless, wearing only pants, and barefoot.
Seeing Yuan in such a chaotic state shocked Serret. He looked like a completely different person.
She knew his personality well. The meticulous Yuan Fractuster would never leave his bedroom looking like this.
“Yuan.”
Serret rose from her chair, alarmed.
Yuan looked dazed, his eyes unsteady. Serret was bewildered; she had never seen him in such a disheveled state.
Before she realized it, Yuan was right in front of her, grabbing her in a sudden hug. Pushed by his strength, Serret sank back into the chair.
“Serret.”
His hot breath touched her neck. Even his breathing was unstable.
Serret almost stroked his back out of instinct, but then remembered they weren’t at a place to share such intimacy and hastily pushed him away.
“What’s wrong?”
But Yuan didn’t let go. The harder she tried, the tighter he hugged her.
“Let go of me.”
Struggling in his grasp, Serret realized Yuan truly wasn’t in his right mind.
“A dream…”
His words trailed off, his voice trembling with fear.
Hearing him mention dreams, Serret’s strength drained.
“Another dream?”
It was hard to believe a mere dream could make him so vulnerable. She couldn’t understand why Yuan was so swayed by it.
“I killed you. I… killed you…”
His voice quivered.
