* * *

Turning his gaze back to the fallen men, the Duke felt the warmth of Ed’s hand in his own.

When the Duke looked up again, Ed stood at the end of his gaze, illuminated brightly by the morning sunlight.

The Duke sighed softly and bent down to brush the sand and dirt off Ed’s knees.

Taking Ed’s hand once more, he led him to where Joy stood patiently by the roadside.

He helped Ed mount the horse and then said, “The Duke of Jade asked me to make sure I don’t cause any trouble.”

The Duke’s once stormy mood had now softened considerably.

Earlier, his voice had been filled with thunderous anger, but now he spoke with a smile.

“Let’s leave the cleanup to them, Ed.”

With that, the Duke mounted Joy, wrapping one arm around Ed’s waist as he grasped the reins with the other.

He gave Joy a light nudge, and the horse began to run again.

The Duke’s black hair fluttered lightly in the breeze as they sped along the forest path.

Ed glanced back slightly before turning his head again, squinting as sunlight filtered through the leaves.

“Too fast for you, Ed?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Ed shook his head at the Duke’s voice from behind.

A cool breeze whispered gently through the trees.

But just when it seemed they would continue running for a while, Joy came to a stop in a quiet spot along the forest path.

The Duke had pulled the reins.

After dismounting, the Duke tied Joy to a tree and walked over to Ed.

Noticing Ed’s discomfort, the Duke had stopped the ride. Ed let out a small groan of pain.

“Ed.”

The Duke, now looking down at Ed’s right knee, which had been strained from riding, spoke.

Ed instinctively pulled his leg back and responded.

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

It wasn’t anything serious.

His knee had just been scraped slightly from rubbing against Joy while they were running.

The pain had made him let out a small sound without even realizing it.

The sound had been so soft that it was surprising the Duke had even noticed.

“Hold on a moment.”

Excusing himself, the Duke gently grabbed Ed’s leg and rolled up his pants.

The fabric made a soft, sliding sound as it brushed against Ed’s skin.

The Duke’s hand touched the exposed area of Ed’s leg briefly.

Though the Duke’s hands were dry, they were warm, and Ed instinctively tensed up at the sensation.

There was a small scrape on Ed’s knee where it had been pressed into the rough ground earlier by those thugs.

‘Ah… I hadn’t realized.’

Seeing the wound, Ed brushed it off with his hand.

The scrape was so minor that even if Joy had started running again, it wouldn’t have caused any issues.

But the Duke thought differently.

“I should’ve crushed those men even more.”

The Duke’s eyes narrowed, and a sharp gleam flashed in his crimson irises.

Ed, still with his pants rolled up, looked down at the Duke before moving his hands.

He pulled the fabric back down, covering the wound.

“This is nothing, Your Grace. It’s such a small wound that it doesn’t even hurt.”

“As if it’s nothing.”

“Really, it’s fine. Should I hop around a bit to prove it? I could run the entire length of this trail with how I’m feeling.”

Ed spoke cheerfully, trying to dismount.

The Duke let out a small sigh.

There was even a trace of a smile at the end of it, though his gaze was still sharp as he glanced back down the path they’d just come from.

‘Should I go back and make sure they never lay a hand on Ed again?’

After a moment of thought, the Duke released his grip on Ed’s pants.

He brushed the dust from Ed’s leg before untying Joy from the tree.

Mounting Joy once again, the Duke held Ed more securely than before.

“Let’s go, Ed.”

This time, Joy walked at a much slower pace as they continued down the path.

---

In the end, despite Ed’s protests, the Duke took him to the largest and oldest medical clinic in Illa.

The doctor inspected Ed’s wound, applying a green ointment to the injured area.

The doctor advised Ed to wait until the ointment had fully absorbed into his skin.

The clinic had a faint herbal scent lingering in the air.

At first, the doctor seemed indifferent, as if wondering why someone would seek treatment for such a minor injury.

“Look carefully. Make sure it doesn’t get infected.”

As the Duke looked at the wound with concern, the doctor eventually brought out a magnifying glass to examine it more thoroughly.

Although it was a superficial wound, he applied a thick layer of ointment.

“There’s something I’d like to discuss. Do you have a moment?”

At the Duke’s request, the doctor stepped out of the room.

Left alone, Ed waved his hand to create a small breeze while waiting for the ointment to dry.

‘I really didn’t need to come to a clinic for this.’

Feeling embarrassed, Ed thought the ointment was being wasted on such a minor injury.

“Ah.”

Just then, a white piece of paper slipped out of his pocket as he bent over.

Picking it up, Ed smiled.

‘This is what caused all the trouble today, huh?’

It was a ticket to the Illa racetrack.

He had left the mansion at dawn to get this.

But now that he thought about it, offering a second-class ticket like this to a duke, in a seat unfit for a noble, seemed quite embarrassing.

Plus, he hadn’t even confirmed if the duke was free today.

Ed flicked the ticket with his fingers.

“Let’s just pretend this never happened.”

At that moment, the infirmary door opened.

The duke and the physician walked in, conversing.

“So, I just need to take one potion and one pill after each of my three meals a day, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct. This elixir has been passed down in my family for generations, and we take great pride in its effectiveness for boosting stamina. Many have already seen its effects.”

“Alright, then I’ll look forward to it.”

The duke, who had stepped inside, approached Ed, who was sitting in a chair.

He glanced down at the ticket in Ed’s hand, tilting his head.

“A ticket for the Illa racetrack?”

“…Ah, yes.”

“Looks like it’s for today’s race.”

In a brief moment, the duke had gathered several pieces of information and began visualizing Ed’s early morning movements in his mind.

‘So, he went out at dawn to get this racetrack ticket.’

Then we should go.

“There are two tickets, right? You’ve got a seat for me too?”

The duke asked playfully, pulling out his pocket watch to check the time.

The race started at 1 p.m., so if they left after breakfast, they’d have enough time.

The duke squinted, calculating the schedule in his mind.

Realizing the duke was methodically planning something, Ed hurriedly spoke up.

“Ah, well, I didn’t exactly plan to watch the race.”

Honestly, he just wanted to return to the mansion and rest.

He had impulsively bought the tickets, but the thought of the crowded venue didn’t appeal to him.

The seats weren’t even that great.

But the physician beside the duke was quicker to respond.

“If you’re visiting the Illa racetrack, entering through the East Gate is best! There’s a rumor that entering from that side brings good luck. I also heard that today’s race features the white horse ‘Shu’ and the black horse ‘Pearl,’ two equally matched competitors!”

“Is that so?”

The duke’s response made the physician even more enthusiastic.

“Yes, whenever those two horses race, the entire town of Illa is on edge! It’s said that when they run, all work in Illa grinds to a halt. That’s how intense the excitement is!”

The physician looked at Ed with admiration.

“So, it must’ve been hard to get these tickets… If they’re white, that means they’re second-class seats, right? Be sure to bring a hat since those seats don’t have shade.”

The duke nodded in agreement.

“Looks like we’ll need to buy hats. Shall we, Ed?”

---

After breakfast, the duke began walking toward a clothing store. It was the physician’s recommendation that led him there.

“If you’re looking for hats, I’d recommend the Mill Clothing Shop in the central square! It’s a five-story building with plenty of goods beyond just hats, so you’ll find it a comfortable place to shop.”

Following the duke, Ed noticed a large group of people coming down the stairs from the shop and instinctively pressed himself against the railing.

Though the staircase was wide, the hands of the people descending were filled with large bags.

They were clearly excited, swinging their arms with joy, but they paid little attention to their surroundings.

Ed, who had already been bumped once by an elbow from one of those bags, decided to wait for them to pass.

At that moment, the duke came back down a step, extending his hand to wrap around Ed’s arm.

He gently but firmly pulled Ed into his embrace, securing him protectively with his arm behind Ed’s back.

“Let’s go, Ed.”

The duke had placed himself between Ed and the crowd, keeping Ed closer to the handrail.

“I’m fine.”

‘…I should be the one serving the duke.’

As if sensing Ed’s thoughts, the duke smiled faintly.

“We should hurry and buy those hats. It would be troublesome if we arrived late to the racetrack because we dawdled.”

* * *