Chapter 171: Chapter 171: I’ll Take Care of Everything

This reminded Augustine of how Su Yaoyao’s brow had been constantly furrowed in her sleep these past few days, how she often startled awake from nightmares.

She was always worrying about either Noah or Lucia. He sighed helplessly, his heart aching for her.

He lowered his head slightly, his gaze falling upon Lucia, the one who’d "stolen the nest." A complicated look flashed in his eyes.

Then, he carefully lifted Su Yaoyao into his arms and turned toward his own bedchamber.

Before leaving, he made sure to give a stern order to a nearby attendant. "Take good care of Lucia. If anything happens to him, I’ll hold you personally responsible."

Augustine carried Su Yaoyao back to his bedchamber and gently laid her on the soft bed.

Candlelight flickered in the chamber, the dim, yellow light spilling across Su Yaoyao’s pale face and revealing the deep, dark circles under her eyes. Seeing her so haggard, Augustine felt his heart clench as if squeezed by an invisible hand.

He kept a silent vigil by the bed, his eyes never leaving Su Yaoyao’s face for a single moment.

Time passed slowly in the silence, each minute stretching into an eternity for Augustine.

Finally, Su Yaoyao’s eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes.

Augustine’s heart leaped. He quickly leaned in closer and asked softly, "Yaoyao, how are you feeling? Does anything hurt?"

Su Yaoyao looked around in a daze, her expression bewildered. A moment later, recognition dawned, and her eyes instantly filled with worry for Lucia. She asked urgently, "How is Lucia? Is he all right? I just saw him in my dreams again... he looked like he was in so much pain." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Augustine gently took Su Yaoyao’s hand, enveloping it in his warm grasp. "Have you forgotten?" he soothed. "The doctor said Lucia’s life isn’t in danger. As long as he’s carefully looked after, he’ll recover. Don’t worry so much. You’re going to run yourself into the ground."

Hearing this, the tension in Su Yaoyao’s body eased slightly, but her brow quickly furrowed again. "Then I need to go take care of him. The doctor said he needs me to comfort him." With that, she struggled to sit up.

Augustine quickly pressed her back down, his tone gentle but firm. "You’re still very weak. You need to rest. Lucia has attendants and doctors watching over him; he’ll be fine. Once you’ve recovered a bit, it won’t be too late to go comfort him."

"But I can’t stop worrying. He’ll be terrified when he wakes up. If I’m not there, his mind will run wild," Su Yaoyao said, her eyes filled with anxiety.

"If you keep this up, you’ll just collapse again. Then, before Lucia has even recovered, you’ll be sick in bed. Not only will you be miserable, but Lucia will blame himself. Do you really want to see him like that?" Augustine coaxed patiently.

Su Yaoyao bit her lip and hesitated for a moment before finally relenting with a small nod.

Seeing that she had finally agreed, Augustine ordered an attendant to bring hot water and a clean towel. He then personally retrieved a soothing balm for exhaustion from a nearby cabinet.

Augustine sat gently on the edge of the bed, his eyes filled with adoration, as if Su Yaoyao were the most precious treasure in the world.

He wrung out the warm towel and began to gently wipe her cheeks, his movements so delicate he seemed afraid he might hurt her. "You’ve been so tired these past few days," he said softly. "It’s time you got some proper rest."

Su Yaoyao was taken aback by the attention. "Your Majesty, I can’t let you do that," she said quickly. "I can do it myself."

Augustine’s brow furrowed slightly. He feigned a hurt expression and sighed, looking for all the world like a dejected child who had been neglected.

He stared at Su Yaoyao, his gaze intense. "You called me Augustine a few times, and now you’re back to ’Your Majesty’ and acting so distant. In your heart, am I only the lofty ’Your Majesty,’ and not the Augustine you can be close with?"

He paused, a lonely look flickering in his eyes before he continued, "Is it only Lucia you like now, Yaoyao? Do you only care about his feelings? Can’t you feel my love for you at all?"

"No, no..." Augustine’s words made Su Yaoyao’s heart clench, as if it had been pierced by something sharp.

She quickly came to her senses, remembering the terrifying scene of Lucia’s violent outburst. A wave of residual fear washed over her.

After that incident, she no longer dared to ignore or neglect any of the males she cared for.

She explained anxiously, her hands instinctively clutching Augustine’s sleeves, her eyes filled with panic and urgency. "Augustine, you’ve misunderstood. You’re important to me, too. Very, very important."

Seeing her flustered state, a smile slowly touched Augustine’s eyes. He reached out and gently stroked her head. "Good. You’re very important to me, too," he said softly. "So just let me take good care of you."

Su Yaoyao gave a small nod, no longer protesting.

Only then did Augustine give a satisfied smile and resume gently wiping her cheeks with the towel.

The exhaustion of the past few days had left Su Yaoyao’s skin pale, and seeing it made Augustine’s heart ache.

After wiping her face, he carefully cleaned her hands, tending to each finger as if trying to convey all his care and heartache through his touch.

Watching Augustine’s focused expression, Su Yaoyao felt a warmth spread through her chest. "Thank you, Augustine," she said softly.

Augustine smiled faintly. "I’ll be even happier when you start calling me your husband."

A blush spread across Su Yaoyao’s face, bringing some much-needed color to her pale cheeks.

Next, Augustine opened the balm, squeezed a small amount of the delicate cream into his palm, and warmed it before carefully beginning to massage Su Yaoyao’s temples.

His fingers applied just the right amount of pressure, moving in slow circles, hoping to ease her frayed nerves.

Su Yaoyao murmured softly, "That feels so nice."

Augustine said gently, "Go back to sleep. Don’t worry, I’m here for you."

"Mmm," Su Yaoyao hummed in response. Between Augustine’s gentle massage and warm words, she gradually relaxed, and drowsiness began to creep in.

She slowly closed her eyes and said softly, "Augustine, with you here, I feel so much safer..."

Watching her drift off to sleep, a contented smile touched Augustine’s lips. He leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, whispering, "Sleep now. I’ll always be here to watch over you..."

Then, he sat quietly by the bed, his gaze fixed on Su Yaoyao’s face, as if he were guarding the most precious treasure in the world. His eyes were filled with deep affection and resolve, as if he were declaring to the entire world that he would protect the woman before him with everything he had.