Blood fell along his philtrum, sliding down drop by drop. Bai Yu's vision grew dark. He propped himself up on the desk with his hands, struggling to support himself for a moment, but ultimately couldn't fight the heavy drowsiness. Before his eyes closed, he heard the sound of a chair crashing to the ground.

Grand Duke Imuel abruptly stood up.

He bumped into the desk and chair, scattering documents all over the floor, but the Grand Duke had no mind to care about that. He half-knelt on one knee on the doctor's desk, reaching out to pull the doctor's hand, and cried out in a panicked voice, "Bai Yu!"

In the Grand Duke's mansion, the doctor usually wore a mask. The Duke took off the mask, revealing the doctor's handsome face, and only then did Imuel realize that the doctor's complexion looked terrible.

His lips were purplish-black, his meticulously neat black hair was soaked with sweat, a strand hanging down messily. Blood oozed from the corners of his lips and nose, trickling continuously in thin threads.

Imuel used his sleeve handkerchief to wipe it, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't wipe it clean. The blood continued to overflow, almost dyeing half the handkerchief red. The more he wiped, the more there was, and his hands trembled increasingly. By the time the mansion's doctor arrived, he was shaking uncontrollably.

The guards helped Bai Yu onto the bed, while Imuel supported himself on the desk to stand up. He dazedly lowered his eyes to look at the handkerchief in his hand. Seeing a glaring expanse of scarlet, he nearly lost his footing.

...What happened, to the doctor?

...He was perfectly fine just this morning.

Holding the handkerchief, he stood at the door, watching people come and go in the room. The gray-haired old doctor used some strange diagnostic tools and drew several tubes of blood from Bai Yu. Everyone was anxious and busy; only Imuel stood frozen in place, at a loss for what to do.

Some checked for breathing, some checked the pulse. Imuel wanted to step forward and help, but his identity as the Grand Duke instead became a burden. He didn't dare to approach or ask questions, afraid of putting more pressure on the medical staff, so he simply held onto the doorframe and stood at the bedroom entrance, staring blankly inside.

From this angle, he couldn't see Bai Yu.

The waiting time was incredibly long. When the preliminary rescue phase ended, the follow-up treatment still required a blood report analysis. Only when the old doctor stopped his movements was Imuel able to ask in a hoarse voice, "What's wrong?"

The old doctor said, "It looks like poisoning."

The Grand Duke's Mansion had had many dealings with the Black Robe Society, and there were also many prisoners in their dungeons who needed treatment when their illnesses flared up. The mansion was completely clear about their methods. As soon as Bai Yu's symptoms flared up, they recognized the cause.

It was just that there was still no suitable medication for this thing; the treatment methods were all held in the hands of the Black Robe Society. After pondering for a moment, the old doctor still didn't dare to prescribe medicine rashly.

After he finished explaining the condition to the Duke, Imuel's face darkened terrifyingly. He practically gritted his teeth as he revealed a smile, "Oh? The Black Robe Society, is it?"

That night, an unprecedented storm swept through Illyria.

Grand Duke Imuel was already renowned for his fierce and ruthless methods. Although he enjoyed a good reputation among the lower classes, among the nobles, he was an absolute tyrant.

In the past few months, the tyrant's mood had been acceptable, and he hadn't caused any trouble. But now, it was clearly not the case. For a time, every noble in Illyria feared for their safety.

The personal guards marched through the streets and alleys, comparing against a list, dragging undercover agents out of their residences one by one and locking them in the dungeons. In an instant, the middle management of the Black Robe Society was more than half depleted.

Although none of these individuals were individually all that important, connected together, they formed the crucial pathways that linked the gang from top to bottom, acting as the spreading capillaries. When these branches were completely broken, the Black Robe Society surprisingly fell into a state of semi-paralysis for a time.

The dungeons of the Grand Duke's mansion were overflowing with people, and the interrogation work proceeded in an orderly manner. With one confession after another, more names surfaced. Judgments were continuously issued, and the Illyria newspapers even dedicated a special section to record the progress of the trials.

More and more crimes were made public. The Black Robe Society had orchestrated many heinous cases, ranging from embezzlement and misappropriation of property to murder, arson, and organ trafficking, an exhaustive list. The prisoners held in the Grand Duke's mansion were successively sentenced to punishments such as execution, exile, and life imprisonment according to the severity of their crimes. The sound of gunshots at the execution grounds in the suburbs was unceasing. A busybody kept count and found that the number had already exceeded the great purge when the Grand Duke first took power.

For a time, public discussions raged wildly, creating a massive uproar.

But Imuel had no time to care about any of it.

Bai Yu didn't wake up for a few days, and he worked at high intensity for those few days, seemingly using documents and files to numb himself. He scheduled his daytime hours completely full, leaving not a single gap, his methods so decisive they were chilling. And at night, he would come to Bai Yu's room and sleep with the doctor.

Bai Yu's blood test report had already come out. The old doctor came to check every day, but he still couldn't draw a definitive conclusion. He could only give the Duke a vague answer: "I don't know when he'll wake up, and I don't know when he'll recover. Maybe tomorrow, maybe..."

Bai Yu's condition was the result of System 55's intervention, which had many differences from typical cases, so the old doctor didn't dare to draw a conclusion.

But from the suspicious pause in his tone, Imuel already understood.

—Maybe he will wake up tomorrow, maybe he never will.

He felt deeply remorseful.

On the very day Bai Yu fainted, they had been at odds, or rather, Imuel had been unilaterally throwing a tantrum.

He hadn't eaten with Bai Yu, they hadn't held hands, and they hadn't said goodnight to each other. Those things he was used to in his daily life, things he thought would continue forever, he hadn't done any of them.

And that actually turned out to be the last opportunity.

After that, everything came to an abrupt halt.

Imuel remembered the day Bai Yu told him he was going to Rhys' banquet. The doctor had coaxed him with a slight smile, but that time, he hadn't looked back.

To have and then lose was always more saddening than never having had at all. Having received the doctor's gentleness and care, the previous loss was already painful enough to pierce his heart. If he were to regain it, only to lose it again in a short period of time, Imuel could no longer imagine how he would continue to live.

"..."

The document in his hands suddenly became an incomprehensible jumble of twisted text. Imuel abruptly looked up, only to realize that the moon was high in the sky at some unknown point. He had already been sitting alone in the study for several hours.

Without the doctor to remind him, he didn't even remember to eat dinner on time.

The Duke was in a bad mood and had ordered not to be disturbed, so the servants didn't dare approach. If the doctor were awake, he would probably knock three times on the door, and then, regardless of whether Imuel agreed or not, push it open without a word and drag him out to eat.

But now, no one dared to do so.

Imuel pushed aside the documents, walked to the front of the bed in the bedroom, and sat down on the edge.

He took the doctor's hand, placed it against his cheek, and gently rubbed it.

Having been bedridden for so long, the doctor's body temperature was on the lower side, and his skin had developed fine goosebumps, but Imuel didn't let go.

He stubbornly intertwined his fingers with the doctor's, as if afraid that the doctor's temperature would continue to cool down. But at some point, something liquid seemed to fall onto the back of the hand. Imuel slightly closed his eyes, allowing the uncontrollable wetness to condense, gather, and finally slide down his chin.

In a daze, he seemed to hear a soft sigh.

Bai Yu was actually awake.

The flare-up of the poison was uncomfortable. He currently felt soreness in his bones and his muscles were weak and fatigued, but Bai Yu didn't really care. The System's forced detoxification clashed with the toxins, and the coma was more like the body's emergency protective measure. After surviving the first few days, he was already much better.

His body was still somewhat out of control, and his eyelids felt as heavy as iron, but he could perceive everything outside, and he could also feel the wet trails on the back of his hand.

They were icy cold, sliding two centimeters down the back of his hand before being gently wiped away by Imuel.

He had made the little cat cry.

Bai Yu hadn't taken this poison seriously in his heart, and coupled with the fact that there were more important things to do, he had been so busy that, in the end, he even forgot to tell Imuel.

The Grand Duke thought he wouldn't wake up; he must be incredibly heartbroken right now.

Having bullied his partner to this extent, the doctor felt a rare trace of guilt. He painstakingly manipulated his body, like a novice driver clumsily controlling a machine. After some struggle, he finally opened his eyes.

The first thing Bai Yu saw was Imuel's lake-blue pupils.

The little cat's eyes were very beautiful, reminiscent of the blue holes of Grand Bahama, or the turquoise of Nishapur. It was a clear and gentle blue, without any impurities. But right now, these eyes were looking at Bai Yu sorrowfully, brimming with tears that rolled down uncontrollably drop by drop, as if you had done the most terrible thing in the world to him.

As aloof as Bai Yu was, even he couldn't bear to let the owner of these eyes shed tears.

He with great difficulty twitched his fingers, the movement soft and weak, brushing playfully across the little cat's palm.

Imuel instantly felt it.

He lowered his head in disbelief, looking straight into Bai Yu's eyes.

The doctor had woken up at some unknown point. He still looked weak, but he gave Imuel a comforting smile, then opened his mouth as if he wanted to speak.

Imuel leaned down, getting closer.

Bai Yu sighed, "Don't cry, Imuel."

This wasn't the first time Bai Yu had said this. In that gloomy basement of the Grand Duke's mansion's garden, when the doctor had picked up the little cat, he had comforted him like this as well.

At that time, the little cat had rubbed against the doctor's chest, crying like a fool, soaking the doctor's shirt entirely. But now, Imuel was stunned. He raised his arm, almost panicking as he wiped away the wet trails under his eyes. Hiding his expression, he hastily stood up, clumsily fetching water and tucking in the doctor's blanket. When everything was done, he leaned down again, "Is there anywhere else that's uncomfortable?"

Bai Yu actually felt that he was almost better. The System's detoxification process was nearing its end, and he was gradually regaining control of his body. But since Imuel asked this way, he felt inexplicably guilty, so he hesitated for a moment and said uncertainly, "...A bit cold."

In Imuel's eyes, this hesitation meant that his body was still unwell, dizzy, and not quite lucid.

The Duke strode out of the door and ordered someone to bring a hot water bottle and blankets, wrapping Bai Yu up tightly. Then, he reached his hand in and felt Bai Yu's lower back from under the covers.

After returning to human form, Imuel had always been restrained and conservative. Because of his mother's identity, he had been framed with degrading words since childhood, such as frivolous and promiscuous. Imuel didn't want the doctor to see him like that either, so this was the first time he proactively reached out to touch the doctor anywhere other than his hands.

He wanted to check his temperature.

Bai Yu had broken out in a cold sweat, and the skin on his lower back was freezing. When Imuel's scorching fingertips pressed against it, the flesh of Bai Yu's waist quivered, and he couldn't help but shiver.

In the Grand Duke's eyes, he was just still cold.

So Imuel lifted the blanket.

He took off his coat and took off his trousers, leaving only a thin shirt to cover his body. Then, he slid in through the gap in the blanket and tightly hugged the doctor.

As if afraid that Bai Yu still felt cold, he tried to maximize their body contact area. So his arms wrapped around the doctor's chest, and his legs also tangled up, hugging him like a koala, finally nestling his head against the doctor's shoulder.

Heat transmitted over continuously. Imuel asked hoarsely, "Still cold?"

Bai Yu: "..."

His Adam's apple bobbed unnaturally.

The little cat had only worn a pair of trousers. Once the trousers were off, his legs rubbed directly against him.

It was true that Grand Duke Imuel had a widely praised face, but the rest of him had always been hidden under heavy robes, covered up securely. Bai Yu never knew that the short-legged little cat actually had such a beautiful pair of legs.

The skeletal structure was slender, the muscles firm. Even though he couldn't see them, he knew the lines were smooth and beautiful, slender where they should be, with just the right amount of fleshiness at the root of the thighs. His legs rubbed against the doctor's legs, stubbornly using his skin to warm the doctor.

Bai Yu closed his eyes, a little sweat breaking out on his forehead.

If he could speak normally right now, instead of having to force words out one by one, he would definitely tell the little cat

—He might be a bit frigid, yes, but he wasn't impotent.

Imuel had lived in luxury for many years, so the touch of his skin was excellent, like a piece of warm, lustrous jade. If one were to grip his thighs with both hands and knead them with their palms, one could imagine the sensation.

In this situation, even a saint might not be able to hold back.

Bai Yu was an adult male with normal physiology, and moreover, an adult male who had been under high pressure all the way since coming to Illyria, not even having relieved himself once. With Imuel rubbing against him like this, he was bound to feel something.

With the hot water bottle and blankets, plus a tightly pressed body, Bai Yu only felt terribly hot. But he had just said he was cold; taking it back now would be too weird. So he closed his eyes, let the sweat roll down his forehead, and endured it quietly.

However, the Grand Duke mistook the sweat on his forehead for cold sweat. Imuel leaned out and meticulously wiped it with a tissue, then asked worriedly, "Are you still cold?"

"..."

Bai Yu didn't speak, so Imuel naturally assumed he silently agreed. Thus, he straightened his body, about to get off the bed: "I'll go find a servant to get you another hot water bottle, and then add another blanket."

"..."

Getting another hot water bottle and adding another blanket, Bai Yu would definitely get heatstroke right in the dead of winter.

At this matter of life and death, the last bit of discomfort in Bai Yu's body completely dissipated. The veins on his forehead throbbed, and he reached out to grasp Imuel's wrist: "Don't go. I'm not cold."

"Not cold?" Imuel frowned, looking over with concern. He sat back down on the bed and suspiciously touched the doctor's forehead, "Really not cold?"

Bai Yu kept a wooden face: "Not cold."

"Really not cold."

"Not cold at all?"

"Not cold at all."

"Then is there anywhere else that feels uncomfortable?"

"Not uncomfortable at all."

The Duke furrowed his beautiful brows, his eyes faintly showing disapproval: "I don't believe you. You're lying to me."

"..."

Imuel listed: "You've been unconscious for almost a week and just woke up. In the beginning, the bleeding from your nose and mouth wouldn't stop at all. How could you not feel uncomfortable?"

"..."

Bai Yu felt exhausted: "What will make you believe me?"

Imuel: "You have to prove it to me."

He had originally wanted to say: You have to get better, get out of bed normally, eat normally, have your complexion improve, and then go get a physical report. Once the report results come out and all indicators are normal, prove it to me that way, and then I'll believe you.

But Imuel's legs shifted slightly, suddenly touching something. He cut off his words, using his thigh to confirm it again in disbelief, and then his face turned bright red as his eyes widened.

If he were in his little cat form, his fur would have puffed up like a hedgehog by now.

Bai Yu reached up and covered his face.

The little cat had been as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, pouring water and tucking in blankets, all because he was afraid Bai Yu was uncomfortable, wanting to make the sick Bai Yu feel a bit better. However, not only was Bai Yu not sick, but his body also gave off this kind of reaction. Even as calm as the doctor was, his thick skin couldn't handle it.

But at this moment, the sound of fabric rustling rang out, and Bai Yu suddenly felt a weight on his waist.

Imuel straddled his waist and sat directly on his hip bones.

Bai Yu opened his eyes. The little cat had already taken off his last shirt; his neck, collarbones, chest, and waist were completely exposed. The blanket had been tossed aside at some point. The cold, white moonlight shone on his body, his skin glowing with a warm luster like cold jade.

Imuel's eyelashes fluttered slightly, biting his lower lip as if nervous, but his lake-blue eyes looked over steadily, staring stubbornly at Bai Yu, as beautiful as a pair of tourmalines with a cat-eye effect.

The noble Grand Duke of Illyria was currently sitting on the doctor. He looked down from above, commanding haughtily:

"Want me."