The Young Master I Carefully Raised Became Obsessive

The imperial knights stood around them. If Ardion did anything, swords would be drawn against him.

Delzion hurriedly whispered to Ardion, "Lady Laila is in Your Highness’s mansion right now. She wasn’t feeling well and almost collapsed."

Only then did Ardion lower his hand. The magical light that had been shining brightly soon diminished.

Rowell pushed away the servant's hand reaching for him, wiped his mouth with a white towel, and threw it away.

"Remember, you stupid trash, the more you struggle, the more I will not stay still."

Then Rowell left the conference room with the imperial knights.

Ardion's heart pounded. He glared at the place Rowell had left as if he wanted to kill him and then moved his feet. "How is Laila now?"

"The butler said she’s resting. And I don’t think she’s been feeling too well since the healer left.”

Ardion clenched his fists as his pace quickened. Delzion practically ran after him.

❋ ❋ ❋

I opened my eyes at the feeling of something softly touching me. Ardion was right in front of me, brushing my flowing hair aside.

“Laila, are you okay?” His voice was still affectionate.

I smiled back at him. Then I quickly moved his hand away.

Ardion’s expression instantly hardened. "Laila?"

"The healer said I shouldn't infuse mana for a week. My mana is still unstable."

"Even so, there's no need to go this far."

"Your Highness, just your touch makes mana flow, so it's better to be cautious."

"Then you're saying I should just watch you like this for a whole week?"

I nodded while he stared at me expressionlessly. His eyes somehow looked sad and sorrowful. 

I hesitated for a moment and then held up the necklace. “I found the necklace. I was the one who lost it, so I should find it.”

Ardion’s gaze turned to the necklace. He didn’t seem surprised.

When I looked at him curiously, he looked up and met my eyes. His green eyes were unusual. “Laila, you always seem to make me worry.”

“…”

“What would I have done if you were about to die? I didn’t even know you were there.”

As expected, Ardion already knew that I had taken back the necklace from Rowell’s palace.

I said calmly, “But I came back safely, right?”

“Safely?” Ardion’s voice was too low.

I nodded vigorously, feeling unnecessarily concerned. His eyes became even darker.

His lips were tightly clenched as if he was barely holding back his anger. His stiff face was something I had never seen before.

Somehow, the surroundings seemed to be getting colder, and cold air seemed to be circulating around Ardion.

“What if you had died?” The low tone of his voice lingered in my ears.

“Your Highness.”

Ardion’s eyebrows narrowed for a moment. He closed his eyes and slowly opened them. “Can’t you not even call me Your Highness?”

“…”

“I told you to call me by my name.”

When I didn’t say anything, his mouth pursed like a dried lemon. “Is that hard? We’re going to get married anyway.”

Ardion climbed onto the bed. I hesitated and stepped back.

He looked down at me for a moment. Beneath his neatly arranged black hair, his green eyes, shining with a captivating light, perfectly captured me. I could see a hint of longing. It was the look I sometimes saw from him.

But strangely, today it seemed different.

More than anything, his eyes seemed to waver slightly.

“The closer I get, the more you seem to be getting further away.”

I couldn’t exactly understand Ardion’s words. As my mind became more and more complicated, his red lips parted slightly. In an instant, his face came close to my neck.

“But do you know that?”

The thick breath brushed against me, leaving a lingering warmth. When I turned my gaze, Ardion’s eyes met mine, and his eyes softened.

“I will definitely marry you, no matter what happens.” Ardion looked down at me with eyes filled with longing. His red lips hovered near mine, close enough to touch. However, Ardion suddenly stepped back.

He got completely off the bed and immediately turned around.

I hesitated for a moment and then called out, “Did your talk with Rowell go well?”

Ardion stopped on his way to the door and said without looking back at me, “No.”

Then he left the room.

The conversation didn’t go well. It seems like Ardion feels guilty.

Just as my mind was getting complicated, something moved at the doorway. I looked closely and saw Derol’s head poking out from the crack in the doorway.

“Derol!” I opened the door in surprise. Only then did Derol run towards me with all his might.

“Master, are you okay?”

“I’m okay, but why are you going out when you’re ill? Don’t you know that’s dangerous?”

After I went to Rowell’s palace earlier, I put Derol in another room for a while. I thought it might bother him since he had a bad cough after the healer left.

But Derol seemed to be annoyed by that. “I pushed myself a little to see if you were okay.”

“I’m okay, so there’s no need to do this.”

At that moment, Derol stared into my eyes, his black eyes shining like stars. His eyes seemed to be filled with water, and then tears flowed down.

"Derol?" I quickly wiped Derol's tears away,

He buried his face in my hands. "Master, don't die."

I quietly stared at Derol, who sniffled and leaned closer to me.

"Life wouldn't be worth living without you, Master."

"Derol, it's not that serious."

"But you didn’t wake up for so long, Master."

It seemed that Derol had been checking on me while I was sleeping. Anyway, I was just lying down because I was tired from going to Rowell’s palace.

Derol looked so anxious about me.

In a way, things were different from usual. I used to always check on Derol before dinner.

I jumped out of bed. "Derol, I'm fine."

"But didn't you say you need Ardion?"

"That's true…"

Now that I thought about it, I realized I hadn’t told Ardion about my condition. There were many things I hadn’t told him that he likely wanted to hear—starting with my condition and what happened with Rowell.

I checked the clock on the wall. It was late at night.

I can ask him tomorrow morning.

I lay down on the bed again. “Derol, do you want to sleep together?”

Derol nodded and lay down next to me. I closed my eyes while stroking his soft fur. I could hear his breathing close to my ear, feel his warmth, so my mind was at ease.

❋ ❋ ❋

I woke up to a knock on the door. I looked at the clock. It was early morning.

I barely got up and opened the door. “Your Highness.”

Ardion was standing there with a silver tray full of food. “That Your Highness again. Have you forgotten my name?”

I should have just called him Ardion, but strangely, I couldn’t say it easily. When I hesitated, Ardion smiled and approached me. Then his lips naturally turned to my cheek.

I stepped back. 

Ardion stayed like that for a moment and then straightened up. “You said a week, so there are six days left?”

“Yes, but what are you doing here this morning?”

“I prepared breakfast for you.” Ardion neatly cleared away the table and placed the silver tray on it. “I prepared what you like, Laila.”

I looked back at Derol. He was lying face down on the bed, looking at Ardion.

Ardion must have noticed his gaze. “Derol, your food is in your room, so eat it there.”

Derol stood up and ran towards me. He stood on both feet and waved his hands here and there. I bent down and made eye contact with Derol.

“Master, I’ll go eat in my room.”

“Are you fine alone?”

“Yes, I’m hungry anyway, so I’ll eat there and come back.”

I nodded while patting Derol’s head. He quickly went through the crack in the open door, and my eyes followed him out.

“Laila, the food is going to get cold.”

Hearing that, I turned around and saw Ardion holding a spoon. As I got closer, he held the spoonful of soup in front of my face to feed me.

I stepped back slightly and looked at him. “I can eat by myself.”

“You shouldn’t push yourself too hard.”

I tried to grab the spoon, but Ardion shook his head. I could only open my mouth. Ardion carefully put the spoonful in my mouth.

“Is it delicious?” Ardion asked with shining eyes. It wasn’t bad. When I nodded, he scooped up another spoonful of soup.

“Your Highness.”

His eyebrows moved slightly, and he looked at me.

“What happened with Rowell?”

“…”

“Did it become complicated because of me?”

I inexplicably felt uneasy. Since I took the necklace, I didn’t think Rowell would stay still. More than anything, I was concerned that Ardion had answered ‘no’ yesterday.

In that case, the conversation with Rowell must not have gone well…

Ardion shook his head as he looked at me, and a faint smile appeared on his face. “The crimes that Rowell accused me of were forgiven.”

When I heard that, the uncomfortable feeling in my heart disappeared a little. “… Then it’s okay, right?”

“Yes, it is.”

His voice was unusually calm as he answered. For some reason, I felt like he was hiding something. He had been in a bad mood yesterday, but he was strangely kind and gentle to me today.

Of course, Ardion was always like this, but today felt oddly different.

While I was curiously looking at Ardion's face, there was a knock on the door.