“…!”

Kaywhin’s eyes widened.

“Wife, what are you doing here…”

“We need to talk.”

Yelena pulled his arm without waiting for an answer. Kaywhin was led by her weak force. Yelena brought him to the room she had been hiding in and then shut the door.

Clack!

As soon as the door shut noisily, Yelena pushed Kaywhin against the wall. She looked up at him, slightly biting her lips.

Kaywhin’s eyes quivered as Yelena stared at him.

“…Wife.”

“Why are you avoiding me?”

“That’s…”

“Don’t even think of saying that you weren’t, or that I’m just imagining it.”

Yelena clenched her fists.

She needed courage, the courage to hear the reason why her husband was avoiding her.

Her heart was racing with fear and she was suddenly hit with the urge to escape this situation. But she couldn’t run away like this.

“My apologies, Madam. The duke is busy with work…”

The maid cautiously told Yelena, after coming out of Kaywhin’s study.

It was the first time Yelena’s husband had ever turned her away. The same husband who hadn’t even stopped her from entering his study when they had been no different from strangers. His excuse was that he was busy, but Yelena could tell just from the maid’s troubled expression that that was a lie.

“…What if I say I’ll wait inside until he’s done with work?”

“Ah, that… I don’t think today is a good…”

“…All right.”

Even now, it was hard to describe what Yelena had felt when she had turned around.

It had felt like the time she had been prohibited from entering Kaywhin’s bedroom when he had been sick.

No, the sense of betrayal and shock was even greater this time around.

Yelena was sad, and mad. She felt empty, flustered, and a part of her was suspicious too. She was overcome with so many different emotions that she couldn’t put an exact name to them.

But at the same time, she was sure of one thing.

‘I have to do something.’

If she stayed put, then nothing would be resolved.

The same situation had occurred in the past. Yelena had climbed up a tree late at night to get to the second floor balcony. Thanks to that, she was able to find out why her husband had forbidden her from entering his bedroom.

‘It’s the same this time.’

Usually at this time, Yelena would already be fast asleep. Yelena had forced her drowsy eyes open and staked out in the room next to her husband’s bedroom.

She had been worried that she might fall asleep and miss him, but fortunately, she quickly reacted to the sound of her husband’s footsteps and presence.

Yelena took a deep breath.

She had long forgotten that she had been the one to avoid her husband first. She stared at Kaywhin with a look that said she wouldn’t be backing down, or even compromising, until he gave her a reason.

“Tell me. Why are you avoiding me?”

“…”

“Whatever the reason is… I want to know.”

“It’s not your fault, Wife.”

Kaywhin, with his back against the wall, looked down at Yelena and shook his head.

“It’s my own problem. So…”

“I want to know what that problem is.”

Yelena remembered a similar conversation she and her husband had in the past.

When Yelena had asked him why they didn’t share a bed despite being married, her husband had simply said that it was “his problem” and avoided giving the real answer for a long time.

How long had it taken for her to finally get the real answer?

‘No.’

She couldn’t wait that long this time around. Her chest would burst from frustration. She was going to get her answer right here, right now, no matter what it took.

Yelena approached the door with a determined look on her face. She blocked the only exit with her body and then spoke.

“You can’t leave until you tell me.”

“Yelena.”

“I’m not moving. You know I keep my word.”

“…”

“I’m being serious, so if you want to spend the whole night here with me, then continue keeping your mouth shut like you are right now.”

Yelena eyeballed Kaywhin, but even so, she didn’t seem intimidating at all.

Kaywhin, who had been looking at Yelena with a flustered look, opened his mouth.

“It won’t be good for your health if you stay up past sunrise.”

“…Are you worrying about me right now? I’m threatening you.”

Yelena was dumbfounded by the worry she heard in Kaywhin’s voice.

“If you’re worried, then tell me the reason.”

“…”

“Please.”