“Look, isn’t that His Grace?”
“Who is he with? Is that a man?”
“Oh my… how gentle the Duke looks.”
“Wow, I can’t imagine His Grace acting like that. Who is that person with him?”
Whispers spread quickly through the plaza, growing louder the longer Draen and Lewis remained in view.
People slowed their steps, some are openly staring while others tried to pretend they weren’t watching at all.
Nobles lowered their voices behind fans, merchants paused in the middle of their conversation and even the knights stationed nearby remained perfectly still, though the attention around them was impossible to ignore.
And Draen heard every word.
His exceptional hearing caught each fragment of gossip with perfect clarity, even the ones spoken under breath yet his expression did not change in the slightest.
He simply continued kneeling in front of Lewis with his hands still steady and unhurried as he massaged Lewis’ tired feet as though the world around them did not exist.
What mattered more was that Lewis did not hear any of it.
Or at least, Draen assumed so.
Lewis sat stiffly on the bench with his posture tense and uncertain, completely focused on the sensation of Draen’s hands and the overwhelming embarrassment of being touched so openly in public.
His attention was fixed downward, avoiding eye contact with anyone passing by and too overwhelmed to notice the subtle reactions around them.
Draen’s gaze briefly lifted.
For a moment, he looked at the crowd.
Cold, silent and unbothered.
The whispers did not stop but they lowered slightly under the pressure of his presence alone.
It was not even a warning look, just a reminder of who he was.
The Duke of Silvaris did not care for public opinion and he cared even less for hiding what he valued.
Then, his attention returned to Lewis almost immediately, as if the rest of the world had already been dismissed.
“Don’t mind them,” Draen whispered low enough that only Lewis could hear but even as he spoke, the crowd continued to stare.
Because for all their fear of him, none of them could look away from the sight of the Duke kneeling so calmly before someone they could not yet understand.
Just as Draen continued carefully tending to Lewis’ feet, a sudden shift passed through his senses that made his eyes widened slightly as the first break in his usual composure.
For the briefest moment, his attention snapped away from Lewis as he looked around.
Not casually this time but with a subtle tension that didn’t belong on his face.
It was faint but enough for someone as observant as Lewis to notice instantly.
Lewis frowned slightly.
“Y-Your Grace… what’s wrong?” he asked but Draen didn’t respond.
His focus had already shifted elsewhere entirely, as though he was listening to something no one else could hear.
His hand, which had been gently holding Lewis’ foot, also stopped moving.
That alone made Lewis’ unease deepen.
“Your Grace?” Lewis tried again, more uncertain now.
Still no answer.
Before Lewis could say anything further, the atmosphere around them changed.
The knights stationed nearby moved at once.
Without a single verbal command, they closed in with precise coordination, forming a tight protective circle around both Draen and Lewis.
The sound of steel followed immediately as swords were drawn in unison.
The shift was so sudden that even the surrounding crowd froze.
A second later, confusion rippled through the plaza.
People who had been watching moments ago began to step back instinctively.
Some glanced around in alarm, others looked lost, clearly unaware of what had triggered the reaction yet despite their curiosity, most of them began to disperse quickly, as though an unspoken warning had been understood all at once. Follow the newest chapters on novelping dot com.
No one wanted to be caught too close when the Silvaris knights moved like this.
Within moments, the once crowded plaza began to thin, people quietly retreating and pretending they had seen nothing at all.
Lewis, now fully surrounded, looked between the knights in confusion before turning back toward Draen but Draen wasn’t looking at him anymore.
His gaze had turned distant as if he was already assessing something far beyond the plaza itself.
“Your Grace, should we return to the estate?” Leo asked, still on alert as his eyes scanned the surrounding area.
His hand hovered near his sword with tension clearly visible in his posture.
He then glanced briefly at Lewis before focusing back on Draen.
But Draen didn’t answer him.
Instead, his gaze shifted back to Lewis.
“My apologies,” Draen said gently with voice noticeably softer than usual.
“It seems you’ll have to return to the estate without me. Will that be alright?”
The knights nearby stiffened almost imperceptibly because that tone alone was enough to make even seasoned soldiers exchange subtle glances.
The Duke of Silvaris was not known for speaking like that.
Ever.
Still confused, Lewis hesitated for only a moment before nodding while remaining seated on the bench.
“Ah… alright.”
Draen’s expression softened slightly.
“Good.” He stepped closer and gently brushed his hand against Lewis’ cheek.
“I’ll have you sent back to the carriage. Don’t worry about anything else. Just rest when you arrive, alright? Wash up … and eat.”
Lewis felt his heart stutter at the touch.
His face immediately turned red again.
“U-uh… alright,” he muttered before blinking and remembering something.
“But… where are you going?”
For a brief moment, Draen’s gaze flickered calculating whether to tell him or not.
‘I can’t exactly tell him it’s another dragon…’
Without answering, he simply leaned down and kissed Lewis on the lips quickly and intentionally.
Just enough to cut off any further questions completely.
When Draen pulled back, his expression was already composed again, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
“It’s nothing worth your attention,” he said calmly.
“Just go back for now, alright?”
Lewis sat frozen, visibly stunned with his mind clearly short circuiting from the sudden kiss.
Draen, meanwhile, straightened his posture and turned away with absolute composure, as though he hadn’t just silenced him in the most unfair way possible.
His attention shifted to Edrik immediately.
“Send him back safely,” Draen ordered with voice returning to its usual cold authority.
“I will not tolerate any mistakes. Understood?”
The knights all responded at once.
“Yes, Your Grace.”
And just like that, the calm warmth from moments ago disappeared replaced once again by the unmistakable presence of the Duke of Silvaris. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Going back toward the estate, Edrik led the knights at the front while the rest of the escort formation moved with disciplined precision.
On the other hand, Leo remained close to Draen’s side, still alert, still scanning the surroundings as if expecting another disturbance at any moment.
Inside the carriage, Lewis sat by the window in silence.
The scenery outside passed in calm, steady motion but Lewis barely noticed any of it.
Instead, his thoughts kept circling back to Draen.
How gentle he had been earlier.
How easily he had knelt in front of him in public without hesitation.
How he had spoken so softly, as if Lewis was something precious rather than something to be managed or controlled.
It didn’t make sense.
Back in Korea, Lewis had never experienced anything like that.
Kindness, yes but never this kind of gentleness that was directed at him without condition and expectation.
In his previous life, he had always been the one doing things for others.
Helping, adjusting, giving space and making things easier.
Not the one being cared for.
Not the one being looked after so Draen’s actions now felt unfamiliar in a way that was almost unsettling.
Warm, yes but also confusing.
Embarrassing in a way he didn’t know how to handle.
And worse, he didn’t even know what Draen truly felt about him.
Being called bride didn’t automatically mean it was real.
Draen might be openly showing affection, even possessiveness but was it love?
Was it certainty?
Or was it simply because he had already decided that Lewis belonged to him and everything else followed that belief?
Lewis lowered his gaze slightly with fingers tightening against the fabric of his clothes.
He wasn’t sure which answer he feared more but before his thoughts could sink any deeper, a sudden sharp pain struck his stomach.
“Ah…!”
At first, it was only a dull pulse.
A strange tightening sensation, like something twisting faintly inside him.
Lewis frowned and instinctively placing a hand over his abdomen.
But within seconds, the feeling intensified.
Another throb, then another.
The pain escalated rapidly, becoming so sharp and overwhelming that his breath caught in his throat.
“Ugh…! Ugh… it hurts…”
Lewis’s body folded forward as he lost balance, collapsing onto the floor of the carriage.
His hands immediately clutched at his stomach, face pale with shock and pain.
Outside, Edrik noticed it instantly.
The entire escort formation reacted at once and the carriage jolted as it came to an immediate stop.
“Stop the carriage!” Edrik ordered sharply with voice cutting through the air.
Inside, Lewis curled slightly on the carriage floor, breathing unevenly as the pain continued to spike in irregular waves with his thoughts completely scattered.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
“Your Grace!” Edrik shouted at the sight of Lewis.