Ingrid's behavior drastically changed after the incident. During the day, she would sit in the corner of her bed, hugging her knees and shaking in fear. At night, the nightmares that her young mind had previously sealed to cope leaked into her dreams, haunting her like vengeful spirits and threatening to consume her whole.

Day and night, she locked herself in her room, hiding in the safety of the darkness where no one could see her. The mere sight of her bedroom door opening makes her hysterical. No one could enter her room without setting her off—even Lily and the grand duke. For two days, she stayed in her room without eating.

Everyone was completely worried.

Ingrid’s situation made them helpless to the point where they began to wonder if they needed to resort to tying her and forcing her to eat. But none of them dared to do it to their precious young miss.

They don’t know what happened to her when she was held against her will in the kingdom of Serus for several months. One day, they just found her on their doorstep, standing like a lifeless doll. She didn't speak for months after that. And when she finally did, they did not dare ask, afraid that they would lose her again.

That is why they were always careful with how they treated her. But now that she has reverted to how she was before, they don’t know what to do.

The grand duke, deeply affected by Ingrid's current condition, could barely function. The servants often caught glimpses of him staring into the distance, his expression filled with sorrow. At night, the sound of weeping could be heard from his bedroom.

Fortunately, Elias was there, keeping things together so the dukedom would not fall into chaos.

They hoped for some miracle to happen—for their young lady to return to her former self. They couldn't bear to see the misery of their masters, who had been nothing but good to them.

And as though their prayers were heard by the heavens, a miracle did arrive in the form of Iris.

After being discharged from the infirmary, Iris headed directly to the Dahlia Palace. That's when she learned of Ingrid's current situation.

Knowing that she is the second-closest person to their lady as of late, the servants of the Dahlia Palace asked her to try speaking to Ingrid.

It was a desperate request. Iris has only been in the dukedom for a month and a half. If Lily, who has been with Ingrid for 18 years, can't coax her to come out, what can Iris do?

But to their joy and astonishment, Ingrid opened the door the moment she heard Iris's voice. However, she simply pulled Iris inside and slammed her door shut again.

Still, they were overjoyed, knowing their young lady wouldn't be alone anymore.

The grand duke was the happiest when he heard the news. He broke down into a sob in front of Elias as the anxiety that's been weighing on his shoulders finally eased.

It took Elias by surprise. He had seen the grand duke cry countless times. But that was the first time, after six years, that the mighty grand duke wept like a vulnerable child. Anger welled in his heart. He swore to make each one of them pay twice as much as the tears that fell from the young lady's and the grand duke's eyes.

“My lady, should we let a little sun grace your room?” Iris suggested it in a gentle voice. “It’s not good for your health to always sit in the dark, you know.”

As usual, only the silence answered Iris. It's been almost two weeks since Ingrid locked herself in her room. But the only progress Iris made was convincing her to eat a few spoonfuls from time to time and allowing her to light a single mana lamp, enough to light her bedside.

“I don’t remember.”

Iris looked at Ingrid, a bit surprised. The number of times that Ingrid spoke these past few days was even fewer than the times she ate.

“That time when I was held captive in the kingdom of Serus, I don’t remember much of it. Yet I vividly remember his mad eye as he told me that when the time comes, he will come back for me, and I must obediently return with him.” Ingrid shivered and began rocking back and forth. “I don’t want to go back to that place. I would rather die than go back there.”

Despite not remembering anything, every cell of Ingrid's body was telling her to never let King Oliver take her back. She felt like if she ever went back to that place, she would truly lose her sanity.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Iris wrapped Ingrid in a tight embrace. “It’s okay, my lady. You don’t have to worry anymore. I will protect you no matter what," she swore, not just to Ingrid but to herself as well.

Something didn't make sense to Iris as she observed Ingrid's broken state. She was certain that the people who attacked them were not sent by King Oliver. Knowing the mad king's obsession with Ingrid, he will be the first to destroy whoever dares to lay their hands on her. Perhaps something had happened in that forest that she wasn't aware of.

The last thing she remembered before she passed out was a phantom kicking the man in a white robe on the chest. When she woke up, she was already in the infirmary with her calf and upper arm wrapped in bandages.

According to Kevian, who stayed to look after her, they were saved by a teenage boy who finished all of the archers in the forest. However, she vaguely felt that there were other people there apart from that boy. In her delirious state, she seemed to have heard voices speaking as though they were in a hurry.

They must've been the ones who gave her the antidote. She already has an idea of who they are. Assuming her assumption is correct, the young boy would never leave the company of the other two. That means the other ones with them could only be them.

Iris's eyes landed on the mahogany-colored pouch on the bedside table. That wasn't there two weeks ago. But when she asked Ingrid about the pouch, she instantly became guarded.

Her gut feeling is telling her that those people and that pouch had something to do with Ingrid's sudden changes. But what could it be?

“I’m really scared.” Ingrid sobbed, pulling Iris back to reality.

Iris rubbed Ingrid’s back, soothing her as she gently whispered, “You don’t have to be afraid, my lady. I’m here. I will always protect you."

-

Iris stood silently, gazing at Ingrid's sleeping form, her heart heavy with concern. As she leaned to remove a few stray hairs from her face, she noticed a single teardrop rolling down the side of Ingrid's cheek, and her own eyes welled up with emotion. Even in her slumber, Ingrid was tormented by her troubles. She wished she could enter Ingrid's dream and destroy her nightmares so she wouldn't have to suffer anymore.

The intense feeling of emotion Iris felt in her chest took her by surprise. She had shed so much blood that she thought her heart had become hardened.

She stared at her sleeping mistress. It seems that the rumors about the beauty of the young lady of Lennox being able to soften even the hardest of hearts were true. Iris began to wonder if the young lady would also be capable of taming her master's heart.

With a hopeful expression, she gently wiped Ingrid's tears away before silently leaving the room.

"Iris."

Iris was startled when she suddenly heard someone call her name. She snapped her head toward the direction of the voice, her hands reflexively going for her hidden weapon.

However, her movement halted when she saw Elias standing a few feet from her. But she did not let her guard down.

It was the middle of the night. The servants were already sound asleep. With the heightened sense of a seasoned soldier, she could easily pick up even the slightest of noise. Yet she never noticed his presence until he called her name.

Now that she thinks about it, Elias has always had an unremarkable presence. She thought it was because he was often standing beside the grand duke, whose presence commanded everyone's attention. But it seems that wasn't the case. The only people she knew that hide their presence as well as he does are the shadow warriors of his highness.

"You don't need to be so wary of me. As you can see, I'm weaponless," he said, raising his arm and even turning around to show her he was harmless. "Even if I wanted to kill you, I don't have the means to."

Iris turned stiff for a second. She had never felt threatened by someone's words before. But at that moment, her beastly instinct was screaming danger!

"Are you saying that you're capable of killing me if you had a weapon?" she asked after regaining her composure.

Elias simply shrugs. "Don't worry, despite lying about your background, I don't have any reason to take your life," he said coolly, as though he were saying something of no importance.

Iris froze. She stared at Elias, surprise evident in her eyes.

"You knew..."

A smile that made Iris's hair stand on end graced Elias's lips.

"Of course, I knew. Whenever you tell a lie, you tend to stare a few milliseconds longer, so it was quite easy to distinguish the lie in your story. Besides, didn't it ever make you wonder how, despite being extremely strict with the young lady's protection, you were easily hired?"

She really underestimated Elia. Iris thought he was just a normal secretary. But no normal person could make her blood turn cold like he did.

Iris felt bitter in her heart. Who would expect that a mere millisecond was the reason she got caught? And just what kind of monster is he to actually notice such a tiny difference?

"If you've already known from the very beginning, why are you only telling me now?"

"Because you've finally proved yourself trustworthy."

Iris's eyes went wide when Elias suddenly bowed a hundred and thirty degrees towards her.

"Wha-what are you doing?" Iris's ears turned red, flustered.

"Thank you for saving our young lady."

Iris was shaken. Whenever she saw Elias, he was always calm and composed. He was like a body of water, free of any ripple. Regardless of the situation, he remained steady a ground.

If the grand duke is the pillar, then Elias is the brace that keeps things together. But now the brace is thanking her with a cracked voice as he tries his best to hold his tears back. It was quite a sad sight to look at. The grand duke was finally back to his old self, and the entire household is doing well. But despite being in the middle of the night, where his only witnesses were the cold wind and a soldier whom he knew would never tell a soul, he still couldn't allow himself to cry.

Elias's bowing image bothered Iris so much that she didn't realize that she actually went back to Ingrid's room instead of going to her own. However, she was awakened from her stupor when she saw a tall figure standing close to Ingrid's bed.

A gasp escaped from her lips, and she quickly kneeled to the floor.