Chapter 168

Why was Yelena's husband in the capital and not the fief? How did he get here? Yelena was curious about several things, but the feeling that dominated her at the moment was sheer relief that he was here.

Kaywhin wasn't the only one who appeared in the dressing room.

"Yelena! Liliana!"

"What in the world..."

Edward and Sidrion were behind him. Kaywhin scanned Yelena's surroundings with a hardened expression, and then dived at Michael.

Bang!

The resounding echo was far too great to have just been from the sound of two swords clashing. Michael's sword flew out of his hand. His wrist bent at a strange angle.

When Kaywhin took another dive at the man, the latter used his undamaged hand to take out a blade and aim it precisely in Yelena's direction.

Kaywhin immediately shifted the direction of his sword and struck the blade. In that short span of time, Michael took Rebecca in his arms and fled with superhuman speed.

"Those scoundrels! We can't let them get away!" Thomas shouted from the ground.

Sidrion swiftly moved his hand, conjuring a mass of light in the shape of an arrow in midair. It flew after Rebecca and the man.

Thwack! Crash!

The window outside the dressing room shattered. Edward and Sidrion went out to survey the situation, while Kaywhin approached Yelena.

Yelena tried to get up right away, but perhaps because all her nerves had been relieved, she couldn't move her body at all, like she was completely exhausted.

Kaywhin gently lifted her up in his arms.

"...Are you okay?"

Yelena gazed at Kaywhin.

His eyes were blue like the sea.

Her husband.

It really was him.

"How did you..."

"Let's go back first and get your wounds treated. Then I will explain."

Kaywhin stared at the wound on Yelena's palm with a solemn expression. It was still bleeding.

Yelena unconsciously covered her hand. Sidrion and Edward went back inside the dressing room.

"I think..."

"...Bloodstains..."

Both of their voices sounded muffled, like they were submerged in water.

'Ah, come to think of it. That woman's hair color. It looked familiar...'

That was Yelena's last thought before she lost consciousness.

***

When Yelena woke up, the first thing she heard was none other than Edward's voice.

"If she isn't injured, why won't she wake up?!"

"As I said before, she's in the process of recovering her energy. Aside from the wound on her palm, she has no other injuries. Please give it some time..."

"It's not like she's some frail weakling, but you're saying she's like this just because she needs energy?! Did you even examine her properly? You're a quack, aren't you, you fraudster!"

"Excuse me?"

She heard Edward being a Karen to the doctor, to be exact. As soon as she regained consciousness, Yelena spat out her first words, dumbfounded by her brother.

"Be quiet..."

Perhaps because her throat was sore, her voice came out much fainter than expected.

'A mosquito would be louder than this.'

But somehow, the noisy Edward was able to hear her. He immediately stopped chattering.

"Yelena!" He let go of the doctor's collar and went over to Yelena, who was lying on a bed.

"Where am I... Oh, my room."

It was a familiar setting. Yelena sat up and looked around. She discovered her husband, who was guarding her bedside.

Kaywhin handed her a glass of water. Yelena spoke after hydrating her dry lips and throat.

"...Did I faint, by any chance?"

"You sure did!" Edward shouted out in response. "You spent half the day unconscious!"

Yelena looked out the window without thinking at the mention of "half the day." It was dark outside.

'I really did.'

It had been day when the incident in the dressing room had occurred, but it was now night. Yelena was perplexed.

'Why did I faint?' And spend half the day unconscious, at that.

'Was it because my nerves were relieved?'

No, it couldn't be that. No one faints just from having their nerves relieved.

'I'm not even the type to faint that easily...'

Edward was right when he had shouted at the doctor that Yelena wasn't "some frail weakling." There were only two instances in Yelena's lifetime where she had fainted: when she had been rescued after almost being kidnapped by Incan and now.