When I saw it, I almost couldn’t believe my eyes. After confirming that what I saw was in fact, real, my brows knitted in astonishment.

A whole chicken with the legs crossed shyly, its pale flesh soaked in a piping hot and savory broth as steam rose throughout.

“Believe it or not, the duke himself brought us a fresh rooster this morning!”

Chef Rettin smiled bashfully, as if he was the one who brought it. Soon after, Edmund tore off a plump piece of thigh meat and placed it in front of me. Nonchalantly, at that.

‘Is this for real?’

Still in disbelief, I rubbed my eyes, but there was no mistaking it—it was Samgyetang!

Not even a fried chicken, but Samgyetang! From the beginning, I knew this novel was unlike others.

The nonsensical dish was both mind boggling and nose-blocking for me.

“Hurry and eat it. It won’t taste good once it gets cold.”

Unlike me, who had tensed, Edmund’s voice was relaxed. The sight of him cutting off a stewed chicken leg with a fork and knife felt familiar.

“It tastes delicious, as expected. Let’s have this for lunch tomorrow. My subordinates will also like it.”

“I already placed an order at the farm.”

Nodding in satisfaction, Edmund resumed his meal. Unlike him, who was eating with gusto, my gaze upon Samgyetang did not evidence fervor.

‘I appreciate the sincerity, but I can’t eat it, so what do I do?’

Looking at the billowing steam, beads of sweat rolled down my face.

I might become a sacrificial warrior of perspiration after eating that.

“Why don’t you eat? You won’t find this anywhere else in summer.”

Whether or not he knew what was burning inside me, Edmund spoke. I glanced at his face, and at first glance, he did seem very expectant.

‘Since your sincerity is commendable, I shall take one bite.’

After pondering for a moment, I gulped and made up my mind.

Then, I drank a spoonful of the hot soup.

The flavor of the clear broth combined with the strong garlic scent was excellent. The taste of my home country, which I hadn’t sampled in a long time, finally broke the seal.

I took one more bite, and then another. At the same time, I could feel moisture rising through my collar. The sweat glands all over my body were opening like water channels, preparing to let out what I had.

“Urp, tasty…”

As expected, the taste of home was truly frightening, and a burp escaped through the gap between my lips.

Before I knew it, the pot of soup had been reduced by half.

Beads of sweat formed on my round forehead. Damp, platinum-colored hair clung to my entire face.

“Whew, isn’t it too hot in here?”

I frowned at the intense heat. Still, no matter how excruciating it was, I couldn’t let go of that devilish taste.

“Not really.”

Edmund answered briefly and continued eating. Unlike my plate, which was piled high with clean-picked bones, Edmund’s plate was clean.

I felt embarrassed, but the feeling only lasted for a moment. In the quiet restaurant, only the sound of metal clanking and clattering could be heard.

The meal lasted for a while. Meanwhile, the hot sun grew stronger and stronger. My sweat production gradually increased, and my cheeks flushed red.

“This is really, really delicious.”

I rubbed my eyes to clear blurred vision and took a long breath. Edmund was staring at me for some reason, making me anxious.

‘Why is he staring at me? How embarrassing.’

I felt nervous every time sweat drenched my clothes. Once his gaze landed on my armpits, what then?

I thought about going out for a moment to cool off, but the sun was blazing hot, eliminating all shadows.

That was how I knew it would only get worse from there.

‘What should I do? I’m sweating like a fountain.’

The sweltering heat and my rising emotions threatened to suffocate me.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

Sensing that something was amiss, Edmund asked with concern.

“Haha, no, I’m fine.”

I casually dismissed it and hurriedly fanned myself with my hands. Despite my attempt to reduce the heat, it only grew, making me desperate.

‘I’m dizzy… Is there any cold water?’

To make matters worse, I started to feel dizzy. At this rate, I might faint from the heat.

‘I-it’s so hot!’

As a last resort, I began unfastening my buttons one by one. As soon as there was a slight gap, the heat subsided a bit.

As much as I wanted to tear my dress open, my hand refused to budge. There were only three buttons left. The reason was because when I glanced at Edmund, I saw that his expression had visibly hardened.

“Look, I didn’t do this on purpose. It was because it is really hot—really, really hot.”

Out of habit, I began spewing some protests. No matter how much I wanted to respect Edmund’s words to ‘go slowly,’ this time, I refused to give in due to the situation.

“—You put on quite a nice act.”

* * *

Edmund interrupted her. The narrowed red gaze seemed to have already reached its own conclusion.

Glassy purple eyes, parted lips, flushed cheeks, and disheveled, unbuttoned front. Everywhere he looked, there were signs of seduction.

As expected, she didn’t even heed his words about taking it slowly. The fact that she obediently followed his instructions was strange from the beginning. Still, he never expected her to be so brazen.

Who would’ve expected her to behave in such a way at the sacred table, especially in front of the food he had prepared?

“Can’t you just behave for a moment? Do you really have to be like this?”

“I think there’s a misunderstanding, I really didn’t…”

she answered hesitantly, but the other person was determined to not listen.

“What on earth goes on in that head of yours? Do you have nothing better to do than obsess over me all day?”

* * *

My anger was steadily rising at the false accusation. My breathing grew labored, while my vision blurred further. I shook my head to regain focus, to no avail.

“Didn’t I say to take it slow? Did my words mean so little to you?”

I couldn’t answer the question that followed. As the world started spinning, I saw two Edmunds.

“Honey… I’m dizzy.”

In the next moment—

—Crash!

“Chloen!”

My vision tilted once again.

* * *

“…Uh, I think she has heatstroke.”

Dr. Mars rummaged through his medical bag and commented as if it was no big deal. A fierce glint flashed across Edmund’s face as he listened to the explanation.

How could Dr. Mars be so calm when she was in the throes of death?

Deep within his heart something boiled, but he tried to suppress it.

“Whew, isn’t it too hot in here?”

He thought she was merely exaggerating about the heat, but that wasn’t the case at all. While her body was on fire, she ate hot healthy food. There was no way that weak woman could overcome it.

Low, eroded crimson eyes turned to Chloen.

‘Huff,’ a sigh escaped from her parted lips.

‘Emotion took me over again.’

His unconscious wife was facing him with reddened cheeks. As he stared at her, his chest constricted and his stomach lurched. He felt guilty when he realized that he had berated someone who was already in trouble.

Perhaps because her fever was rising, Chloen wheezed, furrowing her eyebrows. The faint sound of her breathing continued for a while. Edmund averted his gaze and spoke in a low voice.

“What’s the cure?”

“It’s simpler than you think. It’s best to keep her body cool and stay out of the sun for a few days if possible. Since she has a high fever, I recommend putting something cool, like a damp towel, on her body. Lowering her temperature is of the utmost priority.”

“What happens if her fever doesn’t go down?”

In response to Edmund’s question, Dr. Mars pursed his lips, mulling his next words.

“Well, it… it can damage many organs.”

“What? Why are you so calm? How can you be so carefree even though my wife collapsed!?”

Edmund raised his voice and snapped, which was uncharacteristic of him.

His reaction was so vicious that Dr. Mars’ shoulders shrunk in an instant.

“No, that’s not—!”

“If anything happens to my wife, I won’t spare you.”

In an instant, Dr. Mars’ eyes went as big as saucers. He, of all people, knew that the tiger-like Duke Randolph could get rid of him with ease.

Dr. Mars hastily answered.

“Death due to fever or heat stroke is uncommon. In most cases, if you lower the body temperature, it will pass without any major issues. First, how about changing the clothing the Duchess is wearing? This isn’t something I can do…”

Dr. Mars rubbed his wrinkled fingers and lowered his gaze in embarrassment.

“Okay, you may go.”

Edmund seemed to have realized the intention as he hurriedly issued an order to dismiss other participants from the room. Soon, only two people, Chloen and Edmund, were left in the spacious bedroom.

“The fever keeps rising.”

Edmund lowered his gaze and let his hand fall on his forehead.

Feeling guilty for no reason, the duke groaned lowly and ruffled his silky hair.

“Lowering her body temperature is the utmost priority. If left untreated, she will suffer from damage to multiple organs.”

Edmund clutched his temple and muttered to himself. Whether or not she was aware that she was burning, Chloen’s body temperature rose as she spilled hot breath.

—Knock, knock, knock…

The moment the button that covered her delicate neck opened and the tight collar became somewhat loose—

“…!”

Edmund’s fingers had been moving without hesitation and suddenly froze.

__