The Archduke's Songbird-Chapter 50: Consoling Her

Meanwhile, in the hallway, Bernard was not happy seeing Isadora sticking her back to the wall and crying. He didn’t know why he felt like someone was ripping his heart apart seeing her cry.

He couldn’t walk away as he did usually. A desire rose from his heart to make her feel better.

Food!

Food always makes anyone’s mood better. He asked the maids to bring some food. He couldn’t stay away until they brought the food. Little by little, he stood closer to her. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Your lady is fine. Wulfhart is with her," he said. All he wanted to see was her smile. He didn’t like that she was crying for nothing. But he couldn’t get mad at her. She was the first woman who didn’t hate him, after all.

Isadora looked at him, her green eyes misted with tears. The tip of his nose and the area around her mouth were red like a tomato. Her voice was abysmal as she spoke. "I don’t trust your Wulfhart much with my lady. My poor lady... She was suffering alone... I left her alone..."

Isadora covered her face with her hands and started to sob. She was so distressed, she couldn’t even stand. She slid down the wall and hugging her knees, she continued sobbing.

Bernard was left baffled. How come his attempt to make her feel better made her cry more? Why would she think she failed? She tried her best!

It was his habit to stay far away from crying women. They tended to cry more if he was near them. But he couldn’t step back from this crying woman.

His instinct to protect her in her vulnerable state and the novel desire to form a deeper emotional connection with this woman urged him to stay closer.

He wanted to hug her to make her stop crying. She helped him in his helpless state—she touched him and assured him that not everyone hated him. He wanted to do the same.

But he knew he was not supposed to hug people if they didn’t want it; a man should not touch an unwilling woman. Now the question was whether she liked to be hugged by him or not.

Bernard scratched his head thinking deeply. Emotions were hard for him to understand. He had limited emotions and identifying others’ emotions was a task almost impossible for him. But he wanted to learn. He had never strained himself thinking of someone’s emotions but he did so with a painful delight when it came to Isadora.

Clearing his throat, he sat beside her.

Ultimately, he let his heart win as his rational thoughts led nowhere. Slowly, he stretched his hand and reached behind her neck to hug her around her shoulder. She was so small and looked pitiful as she sobbed.

He retreated his hand as he became nervous. What if he makes her sadder? He wouldn’t be able to bear it.

He felt a chill and noticed that the window at the end of the hallway was open. He looked at the pitiful crying figure. If he felt the chill, she should have too. Maybe that was the reason she was hugging herself. She wasn’t even wearing very warm clothes.

He stood up and sat at the other side, blocking the cold wind from reaching her. He scooted closer to her for her to share his warmth. He was a big man and he could handle the cold. How could a petite woman like her survive the cold?

Without knowing, he reached out and patted her head. Her hair was softer than he imagined it would be; definitely not as soft as her lips though. Thinking of her lips, his heart raced. His eyes landed on her exposed neck and that didn’t cause him any comfort but only a torturous pleasure at the bottom of his abdomen.

What was that? It can’t be right to feel this way! It should stop feeling this way.

He gulped as she stopped sobbing for a second. Immediately, he retreated his hand thinking that he had angered her and lost her favor. He had lost the one good thing in his life. His heart descended to chaos.

When she looked at him with her puffy eyes pitifully, he almost plunged his dagger into his chest so that he wouldn’t hear her frustrated voice.

"Bernard," she said, her lips trembling. "I don’t know what to do..." Once again, tears rolled down her cheeks.

Bernard instinctively reached out for her but stopped himself. But she did the unthinkable again.

She hugged his arm and rested her head on it. Bernard went stiff and stayed motionless like a stone statue. At least, she wasn’t sobbing anymore, and that made him think that she was getting better.

He controlled his desire to touch her hair once more. Without knowing, his lips curved. She is leaning on me! He wanted to keep her close to him and let no single harm befall her.

The maid came with the food. He shushed her to stop talking and gestured for her to place the tray down and leave. He thought that the petite woman might have fallen asleep leaning on him.

Flowers bloomed in his light-free iron heart as having a woman leaning on him brought such great joy.

He tilted his head to see if she was asleep, but her eyelashes were fluttering. How pretty!

Suddenly, she jerked her head and looked at him. His heart skipped a beat and he sat straight.

"Is my lady all right? Why is there no sound?" she asked, peering at the door.

"She is fine," Bernard said hurriedly. "Aren’t you hungry? Eat," he said hoping she didn’t start crying again.

"You’re sure. How?" Isadora looked at him.

"Because Wulfhart told me that he owes Jessamyn~"

"Lady Jessamyn," Isadora interjected him.

Bernard smiled. "Wulfhart told me that he owes Lady Jessamyn his life," Bernard said enunciating the ’Lady’.

"He said that?" Isadora’s eyes widened.

"I swear," Bernard placed his hand on his chest.

Isadora pouted and then stared at the door. "If that is the case...then... Still!" she turned at Bernard. Her mind was racing a thousand thoughts at a time.

"Eat!" Bernard offered her bread and pushed the bowl of stew to her.

"But Milady is~"

Bernard held her hand and leaned down to be at her eye level. "She is fine. Isadora, your lady is fine." Bernard repeated, looking into her eyes.

He didn’t give up until she started eating. After eating a little, she tore the bread and offered him the better half.

"Eat," she thrust it in his hand.

Bernard didn’t refuse her. No one cared for him enough to force him to eat. It caused a fluttering sensation in his heart.

He had to struggle to have a slice of bread in the past. After he got under Wulfhart’s wings, he had enough food no one had to force him to eat. He made sure she ate the meat though. She needed it more than him.

"Liar!"

The terrifying shout of Jerrick echoed in the hallway. Isadora dropped the last bite of bread and ran to the door.

"Milady!"