Chapter 59

The butler’s behavior a little while ago was obviously too excessive to be merely explained by the fact that it was a contagious cold.

‘…Isn’t it just a cold?’

Was he perhaps in a lot of pain?

Was he hiding that fact to himself?

Yelena’s head was becoming increasingly more confused.

She kept her mouth shut and called for Abbie.

“Let me know as soon as the butler comes out of the Duke’s bedroom.”

It was about an hour later that she was notified that Ben had left her husband’s bedroom.

Yelena moved out of her room without hesitation.

But the door to her husband’s bedroom was still blocked, and the guard refused to step aside.

‘Then, instead of the door, I can enter from elsewhere.’

Yelena immediately gazed at the tree in front of her with a solemn face.

She looked up and saw the balcony of her husband’s bedroom on the second floor.

‘Good.’

Climbing up the tree seemed to be enough to cross onto the balcony.

At least, that’s what it looked like in her eyes.

‘I can do it.’

Filled with determination, Yelena hung a lamp on the branch and placed her feet on the base of the tree.

She then took a deep breath and started climbing the tree.

‘It’s been 13 years since I’ve climbed a tree…’

To be exact, her last memory was from around the age of six.

But she could do it.

‘This much should be possible.’

And that thought became a reality.

Yelena’s physical strength and athleticism were not bad for a noblewoman her age.

Moreover, her limbs were long, and she was relatively light.

More than anything, it was a favorable condition to climb a tree.

‘All right!’

Yelena, who was hanging from the tree, breathed.

She was almost there. The balcony was just around the corner.

Now all she had to do was cross over to the balcony railing.

‘Let’s not look down.’

Yelena reached out carefully.

When her fingertips touched the railing, she grabbed it tightly.

One hand, one foot.

Another hand.

In turn, she moved from the tree to the railing.

Now she just had to bring over her right foot.

‘It’s done!’

Yelena’s body relaxed for a moment.

However, perhaps because her concentration briefly lapsed, her right foot slipped from the railing and slammed against the wall.

The problem was that the spot she hit was the same area where she had accidentally injured herself when she kicked the stone in the garden just a few days ago.

“…!”

Due to the flash of unexpected pain, Yelena lost strength in her other foot that supported her body, and her body slipped all the way down.

A dizzying sensation from losing her footing struck her whole body.

A hand clasped tightly onto Yelena’s arm.

Yelena barely managed to raise her head; her heart seemed about to burst.

“…Yelena.”

Her husband, Duke Mayhard, was holding Yelena by the arm and staring at her in disbelief.

Duke Mayhard immediately pulled Yelena over the railing with incredible force.

Then, he brought her into the bedroom.

Yelena sat in her husband’s bedroom, barely calming her fluttering heartbeat, and glanced up.

Her husband, who was sitting on the bed, was dressed in a shockingly sloppy manner.

The front of his gown was unbuttoned; perhaps worn in a hurry to cover his bare body.

Yelena tried her best to keep her eyes off her husband’s bare skin.

It was the best she could do in order to keep her conscience in this situation.

Duke Mayhard silently stared at Yelena with complicated eyes and then opened his mouth.

“Wife.”

“…Yes.”

“Just now…”

He couldn’t immediately go on.

On second thought, this situation now seemed alarming and inconceivable.

“What were you going to do if I didn’t find you just now, Wife?”

“…”

“You almost got seriously injured. Do you realize that?”

“If I get hurt, I’ll recover if I get treated.”

She claimed that she wouldn’t have died.

Of course, it didn’t help at all.

Duke Mayhard’s expression hardened.

“Is it okay if you break an arm or a leg as long as you get better? Don’t be ridiculous.”

She was being scolded.

Yelena lowered her eyes and blinked at the floor.

It was the coldest voice she’d ever heard.

‘…My husband gets angry, too.’

‘That’s right.’

He was human, so of course, he would get angry.

Yelena wriggled her fingers on her lap at the new realization and asked quietly, “Are you angry?”

“…”

“…I’m sorry. I did something wrong. So don’t be so angry.”

“I’m not angry…”

As Yelena meekly reflected on herself, Duke Mayhard sighed and continued with what he wanted to say.

“I was surprised and worried. I was afraid my wife would get hurt.”