If only he could, Edgar wanted to protect Rubica from every danger and problem.

He had saved her from a crisis only a day ago. Was it too much to ask, to want her to be just happy under his protection?

“Don’t worry so much. Although foxes can be deceitful, they don’t eat people.”

He tried for a smile as he took her hand, although he couldn’t do it well.

He was telling himself he wanted to keep her away from danger, but maybe he just wanted to keep her only to himself.

Why was he possessive of her? She clearly loved him, so why was he so anxious?

‘Oh, get a grip on yourself.’

He recalled the story she had told him about flowers when they just met.

He didn’t want to possess her and own her just to extinguish his inner anxiety. He himself had suffered so much because of such people. He didn’t want her to go through what he had felt.

On the other hand, loving her had enabled him to understand their feelings which he hadn’t been able to understand before.

Love is a splendidly beautiful emotion that gave endless joy, but it brings dark and muddy worries as its shadow.

Lose to that anxiety, and you will be falling into pain. Moreover, you won’t be falling alone as love is mutual.

He didn’t want to love selfishly and that was why he had to try even harder.

***

Rubica didn’t even get the time to get congratulations for her safe return as she had to prepare for the trip to the capital.

Ann wanted to go with her very much, but she gave it up when Rubica asked her to take care of the household while she was gone.

“The queen is a kind-hearted lady, but she tends to easily believe what people say.”

Edgar wanted her to avoid meeting the royals, but that was impossible. The queen had written them a letter saying she wanted to console the duchess who had been abducted by a spy, and they couldn’t find a good reason to refuse that.

“Carl, you’ve prepared tea, right?”

Unlike Edgar who would go to the capital like the wind, do his work in there, and come back, Rubica had many things to pack.

As the queen had offered to have a tea meeting in Claymore style, Rubica decided to present her Ios’s tea.

“Yes, and a few other gifts.”

Claymore’s roses and ribbons had been so successful thanks to the queen who introduced them to foreign ambassadors.

Rubica also added a pair of shoes decorated with her ribbons to the gift list, using the name of Khanna’s shop.

She had met a few celebrities, including Countess Tangt. However, the queen was on a totally different level.

Rubica checked many times to make sure the gifts and her dresses wouldn’t displease her.

‘I wish I could take Ann with me…’

However, she was so talkative and active. If she went to the mansion Edgar had in the capital, she could accidentally reveal his important secret. Instead, Rubica decided to get as much advice as she could from her before she left.

“Has Minos sent a message?”

“Yes, he said one of Ios’s trees is sick, so he must go to get a healing herb for it. It will take some time.”

Well, that must have been why Ios hadn’t come yet despite acting as if he would immediately come back after watering his plants. It was so… him and Rubica could make no comment to that.

Maybe he was even wailing in front of the tree every day, refusing to eat or drink. She could almost see Minos endeavoring to find a healing herb.

“I see, he’s busy.”

“Yes, with that and…”

However, Carl stopped there. He tried to move on to a different subject, but of course, Rubica didn’t fail to notice it.

“What is it? Tell me.”

“Oh, it’s, um…”

Carl didn’t know why, but he just couldn’t disobey Rubica. Edgar had told him she didn’t have to know about it but doing as she said had never ended badly.

Plus, Carl had already betrayed Edgar and confessed to Rubica more than once.

“A rumor has gone out that Ios and Jackal Bank have some kind of relationship, now the bank is crowded with people who want to be its client.”

“That’s weird! Aren’t they supposed to rather avoid it at hearing it is connected to a dragon?”

“Oh, that’s because, um, several people have seen gold fall from his hair, and…”

Carl stammered and looked at Rubica. He just couldn’t bring himself to say now people were saying that the dragon had saved her.

“It’s good then. At least Minos will be compensated for all he has done for us and Ios.”

“Of… course.”

“Still, I want to see him as soon as possible. Tell him to come immediately when he’s done with what he’s doing.”

The goblin will have to come when the sick tree is healed, and Ios would drag him to Rubica if he resisted. Carl was also looking forward to meeting Ios again. Or rather, he was excited about the tremendous amount of green tea the dragon had.

They arrived at the mansion in the capital late at night. In terms of size, it wasn’t even one-fourth of the Claymore Mansion, but Rubica loved it.

It had the minimum number of employees, but it didn’t have two annexes full of noisy relatives, which she liked very much.

‘I’ve been caring about them more than I thought.’

She hadn’t noticed it when she was with them, but now she could tell since they weren’t with her. The further your relatives are away from you, the better.

“If anyone says anything wrong to you, tell me immediately. Don’t hold it to yourself.”

Unlike her, Edgar couldn’t have been more anxious. He could do anything in his dukedom, but there were many nobles who were hostile toward him in the capital.

“Don’t worry. You know I’m not exactly the holding-to-myself type.”

He recalled how she made her opinion clear when they first met, even though she had been a lowly noble who could just barely make it to the end of her peers’ list. He smiled, but he couldn’t say okay.

“People here are nothing like the people you’ve met till now.”

Unlike nobles with dominions whose priority was to manage their land well, in the capital, the nobles’ ranks and positions were always changing depending on who held power. That was why they were much more cunning and good at trickery.

Rubica had been born and raised far from the capital, so she was quite ignorant of such schemes. Therefore, Edgar worried she might accidentally find herself involved in some other nobles’ quarrel. And, she was supposed to meet the queen the very next day, which he also didn’t like.

“Okay, I promise. I’ll tell you if anything happens.”

She wanted to tell him not to worry, but she knew it would only make him spend the entire night giving her warnings and advice, so she said what he wanted to hear. It made him relax, at least a little.

“The queen is nice, but her mood tends to sway easily. She frowns like this when she’s displeased, so if you see this expression, don’t say what brought it out ever again.”

His memory was frighteningly good, and he knew the king’s and the queen’s habits that even they didn’t know about.

“If you ever run into the king in his castle, that can’t be out of coincidence, so just ran away, or curtsy and leave. Also, don’t speak for long, no matter what you are asked of.”

He started to give her a lecture, just like he had done about Countess Tangt. The king and the queen were people he met very often, more than the times he met the countess, so he had much more information about them.

Rubica realized she was about to spend the night listening to him in her uncomfortable outdoor dress.

“Do you mind if I get changed?”

“No.”

Rubica thought he would leave the room and send in maids for her, but he didn’t. Eventually, she had to ask for it.

“Edgar…”

“Oh, right. It’s your first time in this mansion.”

He stood up, but he didn’t go to the door. He went to the wardrobe and opened it. It was full of clothes for women, and he took out a thin nightdress that suited his taste.

“Here.”

Rubica took it, thinking it would make him leave the room. However, he just stood there and kept staring at her.

“Edgar!”

She was about to cry, but Edgar realized something and tutted, “Yes, you can’t get changed without help.”

Rubica didn’t think he deserved to say that as he also needed help when getting dressed, but she thought he was finally about to leave the room and smiled.