It was quite a coincidence that Frisia, upon seeing Aslei smiling broadly at her, panicked, turned and slipped —twisting her ankle—while trying to run away.
❁ ❁ ❁
Speechless, Frisia, who was caught while running away because she couldn’t even control herself, was punished with a princess carry.
‘I know—I’m embarrassed, so don’t look at me!’
Unlike Frisia, who hid her face in shame, Aslei was brazen. He was the duke in the duke’s house, and why should it be unusual for him to walk around with his wife in his house?
What was more worrisome to him was that Frisia was too light.
Since he had never held a woman before, he had forgotten that his standards were set for men.
“You’re too light, madam. Are you eating properly?”
‘No! I’m not light, I’m completely heavy!’ she said, shaking her head in excitement and suppressing her desire to shout. Following the direction of her eyes to the side, Aslei’s gaze grew cold.
Her maid and her attendant noticed his gaze and retreated. Frisia spoke as they moved away,
“I’m not telling you to let me go, but don’t do this in front of other people.”
“I apologize. I’m slow. I misunderstood, and thought you wanted us to be alone.”
He spoke with a mischievous countenance completely distinct from what he showed around others. The devilish words he said with a beaming smile bright as sunlight had a tremendous impact on her heart. Held in his arms and unable to run away, she felt a cold sweat running down her back.
‘What’s wrong with him?’
She had a good hunch. He seemed determined to prevent Frisia from pursuing a divorce.
‘Do you really like me? But isn’t that impossible?’
What does the original mean? The original story was already tattered by the heroine’s page skipping, but it would be restored somehow if it were to be concluded with the male lead.
In fact, it was not unusual for Aslei to be kind to Frisia. Even though he was a contractual husband on paper, he was a generous man by nature.
He couldn’t always be by her side, but at least when he was around, he supported her.
“I’m alright now, so you can drop me off.”
She was so embarrassed that she wanted to find a mouse hole to hide in. So she hid her face and remained motionless.
Aslei saw Frisia like that and immediately cradled her.
He asked if she was okay, and she replied that she was not hurt. But he said he had to show and have the doctor check properly, so he was on his way to the place where the doctor resided in the duke’s mansion.
“No, you hurt your ankle.”
“It didn’t even turn red, it’s just a little sore… … .”
It hurt when she moved her ankle; Aslei quickly sensed it. She never moaned, nor did she have any bruises, so it was surprising that he noticed.
‘I feel weird.’
It felt like her heart was pounding, and she was in a good mood. She was also afraid of being caught flying, being elated.
“Duchess!”
The maid and attendants, who had previously fled, brought the physician. The doctor placed the bag he was carrying on the chest of drawers next to the nearby sofa.
“Duke, please drop the madam here.”
Aslei seemed to be at odds with the physician’s words for a moment. Frisia was terrified that he might insist the medic treat her in his arms.
‘Not that!’
As she shook her head hard, Aslei chuckled.
“Alright, madam,”
he whispered and lowered her down on the sofa where the doctor had directed. As she sat down, the doctor knelt over and looked over her ankles.
It was Aslei’s job to lift the hem of her dress a little. Even as a medic, it was an act he could not do except in an emergency.
“… … It’s just that the ligaments in her ankles are a little startled. If you don’t overdo it for a few days, you’ll be fine.”
She couldn’t believe she was so surprised that she fell. Frisia peeked at Aslei, thinking her ankle was unnecessarily weak.
When her doctor’s treatment was over, she noticed that he wanted to hold her again. As she saw him approaching, Frisia held out her palm.
“Now, wait! I’m not seriously injured and I can walk… … .”
“Didn’t he say not to overdo it? I was the one who surprised her, so I will take responsibility for your ankle,”
Aslei vowed and hugged her. Then, he looked at the physician.
The lawmaker nodded his head broadly at the cold eyes asking for his confirmation.
“It is true that you should not overdo it!”
Giving her a look that said, ‘Did you hear?’ Aslei held back his urge to kiss Frisia’s innocent eyes that were bashfully searching the floor.