While everyone was busy cleaning up the aftermath, Austin was sitting cross-legged on the floor with his arms propped on the bed. He gazed at her sleeping profile sadly. "Why is it always you who's getting hurt...?" He whispered.

After a few seconds, Austin's eyes slowly grew wider as an idea surfaced in his mind. It's always her... It's always her! Everyone else only gets injured when they're with her. The target has never been me! 

The moment he arrived at that conclusion, everything else made sense to him and he immediately have a prime suspect in mind. He got up and stormed out to catch the bastard himself. Damn it! We've wasted a year for nothing! All because I saw things from the wrong perspective to begin with. And that bastard dares to act loony to throw off my suspicions... The moment I get my hands on him, I'll tear him to pieces!

When he went out to the garden and saw the familiar uniform of royal guards, he wasted no time in ordering for them to follow him.

In his panic, Edwin forgot all about his fear of the current state Austin was in. "Your grace! Whe-"

"There's only one man we know who's so disconnected from people that we'd barely get any news of him and who has a sudden penchant for rearing animals!" Austin spat out with veins popping in several areas. 

Edwin did not need to ask anymore to know who he was referring to and what Austin intended to do with him. He silently watched as Austin went to the stables and left the mansion on horseback. There was no need for Austin's explicit instructions for him to understand that he was to stay behind and take care of things back here.

 

Unfortunately, there was no sign of the man anywhere along the way or at his house. Austin and the guards stayed hidden in the house or the nearby trees and shrubs, but there was still no sign of the man even after the sun rose.

Austin guessed that he had been prepared to abandon his home the moment he chose to attack with the animals. He punched the tree that he has been hiding in so hard that some splinters embedded into his hand. "Drey..." His eye burned with fury and vengeance.

After describing how Drey looked to all the guards present, he assigned some to continue keeping watch on the house in case Drey decided to return, while the others would continue their search for him. 

Drey was now a wanted man.

Upon returning back to the mansion, Austin was still burning with fury at himself, Drey, and how things were not progressing well. Not wanting to return to Eva's side in this state, he took to the backyard where he had dummies set up for shooting practice and thrashed them all badly. Some was battered to the point that the seams came loose and the stuffing leaked out, some were riddled with holes, and some were all cut up into bits. He panted hard as he vented all his anger out. He looked up and closed his eyes while taking a few more deep breaths. Finally feeling more in control of his emotions once more, he headed for Eva's room to find Edwin inside her room.

Edwin had seen everything that Austin did in the backyard so did not need to be told that Drey was still at large. Not wanting to trigger Austin, he made a mental note to inform everyone to never breathe a word of anything relating to Drey unless it was good news.

"Did she-"

Edwin shook his head. He knew that Austin would have been concerned about her so stayed awake to watch over her despite his lethargy. He had convinced the doctor to rest so that he would be in his optimal state when he was really needed.

"Thank you. You can go and rest now."

"No, you should be the one-"

"Go. I want to be with her."

Edwin found that he could not argue against that so he took a different approach. "At least wash up, will you? You wouldn't want miss Eva to see you in this state, would you?"

Austin looked down at himself. He looked haggard and disheveled. He wordlessly went and did as Edwin suggested before returning to the room as soon as he could. The towel was still hung across his neck and his hair was still dripping wet. His shirt was also not tucked in properly.

Edwin sighed inwardly. He had never seen Austin so careless about his dressing and image before. It made him recall the state of his private study that he caught a glimpse of in the past.

When Austin opened his mouth, Edwin shook his head, causing Austin to clamp his mouth shut again. For once, Austin was very easy to read. Edwin quietly stood up and left Austin to be alone with Eva.

Austin drifted in and out of sleep while sitting on the chair placed by her bed. 

Edwin came back in with lunch, tea break, and finally dinner. Each time, Austin only ate half before he could not stomach any more food. 

When the doctor came in to check on Eva, Austin finally asked, "When will she wake up?"

"... I don't know." The doctor said sadly. He did not want to give Austin any false hope.

Austin leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. "... Leave us." His voice was incredibly strained. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. Tears rolled down his cheeks as soon as the door closed. "Eva... I'll keep waiting for you to wake up no matter how long it may take."

 

Over the days that Eva spent unconscious in bed, Austin never left her side. He ate, worked, and slept there. Because he was afraid of hurting her if he tossed and turned in his sleep, he took to floor, to Edwin's horror. The doctor sighed and recommended for Edwin to simply prepare another bed for Austin in Eva's room. 

Austin also spent time talking to her. He described the weather each day and read books to her as if studying in her stead. He kept her up to date about her experiments and carried on her work for her.

A week passed by before Eva finally woke up.

She opened her eyes and blinked away the brightness that hurt her eyes.

Eva! You're awake! It's been a week!

A... week...?

Using her hand to block out the sunlight, she struggled to sit up when suddenly someone touched her back and arm, making her jump in shock.

She looked at the person and relaxed upon seeing it was only Austin. However, she was soon baffled when she noted how worried he looked and how she could not hear a thing even though his mouth was clearly moving. It was only now that she realised how everything sounded deafeningly silent. There had been no sound of the bed rustling, wind blowing, or birds chirping.

BaoBao, am I...

You lost your hearing... BaoBao said sadly.

Suddenly, Austin hung his head low and used both of his hands to hold her hand to his forehead. She could tell that Austin was crying from the way his shoulders shook.

Austin's saying how sorry he is, how much he still loves you, and how he'll never let a thing happen to you again. He's... Hurting... A lot... Even BaoBao was starting to tear up. This was a result of something that Eva had decided for herself but Austin was blaming himself a lot for what happened to her. He had seen everything Austin did for Eva while she was unconscious so have grown to really genuinely like him as a person, no longer just because he would be useful for Eva and would serve as a good entertainment.

Eva used her other hand to gently stroke his head and back, hoping to convey how she was fine.

Almost ironically, Eva considered herself fortunate. She knew that she was only able to stay this sane because she still has BaoBao here to chat with her and convey the messages. Moreover, she thought that it was a good thing that she did not die unexpectedly. She did not want another berserk ending for Austin like what happened to Vlad.

 

Austin had been working at the table near the window when he heard movement coming from the bed. "Eva? Eva!" He immediately rushed to her side to help her up however seeing that she jumped, his heart sunk. His reaction to her waking up was nowhere near quiet, she should not have been this surprised.

"Can you hear me? Eva...?" Seeing the blank look on her face, his heart felt like it was caught in a tight grip and tears welled up in his eyes. He lowered his head and held her hand to his forehead. As if a dam within him was broken, tears fell freely from his eyes and words poured out of his mouth.

"Sorry... Sorry... It's all my fault... I'm so sorry... I shouldn't have let you go alone. I shouldn't have let you leave my side. I should have figured it all out sooner. It's all my fault that you're in this state now. I'm so sorry. I promise that I'll never leave you. I'll always love you. I'll always be here for you. Forever. Forever... I'm so sorry. I won't let anything happen to you again. I know it's the same promise that I always make and break, but I'll try. I'll never stop trying. I'm so sorry for always failing. I-"

He abruptly stopped when he felt her hand very gently stroking his head and back. Her gesture made him break down further and cry even harder. He could not understand how she could still be so calm and gentle with him. He felt pathetic that he was the one being comforted when it should be the other way around. His whole body shook and he could not hold back sounds of his sobbing. The whole time, Eva never stopped stroking his head and back.

Edwin eventually came in with tea break but stopped at the door step when he saw Eva sitting upright on her bed and Austin hunched over and crying his eyes out. His breath got hitched in his throat and his eyes watered up. He immediately felt emotional just from watching the scene. He was happy to see that Eva woke up, but his heart broke to see Austin like that. 

Eva looked at him and smiled sadly while shaking her head. He gritted his teeth as he closed the door and left. As much as he wanted to be able to do something, he had to accept the fact that it was Eva whom Austin needed the most right now.

 

A long while passed before Austin finally calmed down. He kept his head hanging low while he moved away to clean his face up in the bathroom attached to her room.

After he came out looking a little more refreshed but still with puffy red eyes, Eva looked at him with a gaze that seemed to be beckoning him over, which he heeded.

She handed him a note.

"Feeling better now? I'm really fine. It was a risk I knew I was taking by running into fire myself. I was prepared for it." It was only half the truth. She knew that it would be risky but she would not have expected to lose her hearing.

Austin still looked sorry.

Eva smiled helplessly then lightly patted the edge of the bed near her. He sat down as she wished.

"I felt like I wasn't alone the whole time I was unconscious. You were here the whole time, weren't you? Thank you." It was yet another white lie with a bright smile on her face. She only knew of this thanks to BaoBao who updated her while Austin was in the bathroom.

Austin shook his head to show that it was nothing. He took the pencil and notebook from her. "How're you feeling now?"

"Not bad actually. Doctor Blaze is really good."

"I'm sorry..."

Eva shook her head. "I know. Enough with that. Maybe you should try speaking as per normal, I might be talented in lip reading for all we know."

Austin frowned a little at her strange idea.

"You really want me to?"

Eva nodded. "Maybe you can tell me if there is anything I missed after I passed out?"

"... I found out who's behind all the attacks." Austin spoke very slowly and mouthed the words clearly for her to see.

Eva gestured to show that she understood a little of what he said. She did not want to overdo it and look unrealistically talented when it was really just BaoBao relaying the message to her in real time.

"What do you think about learning sign language? It's not fair that you're always the one adapting to others. I'll learn it with you."

Although Eva really did not mind not learning it, she felt touched by his offer and wanted him to feel a little better, so she accepted.

Austin then continued to explain the current situation to her. "I found out who's behind it. We no longer have to go on a wild goose chase. The royal guards loaned to me by the royal couple are searching for him now as we speak."

"The royal guards? And he's missing?"

"More arrived as reinforcements in the middle of the night of the attack. That bastard knew that he was exposing his identity with that move so has been prepared to abandon his house."

"So who's he?"

"Someone you don't know." Austin intentionally kept the identity from her. It would be too easy to guess that she was target instead of him and he did not want her self sacrificing nature to end up offering herself up as bait.

"Shouldn't I still know how he looks like or something about him? I'm still your bodyguard."

Austin just barely held back a frown from forming on his brows. He could not fathom how she thought that she was still in a good shape to be his bodyguard. It was also absurd since he wanted to be the one to protect her from now on. However, he was afraid of hurting her if he made her sound handicapped, so he wrote, "There's no need to. I'm leaving everything in the royal guards hands. I obviously suck at finding and catching people. So I'll stop stupidly risking my life outside and will be staying home till he's caught."

Eva frowned a little. This sounded uncharacteristically cowardly of Austin that she could not help but suspect if this was because of her.

"What about your work?"

"I found out that there are many things I can do from home. I don't have to waste my time on meaningless trips."

Meaningless? He's definitely acting weird. BaoBao, you really don't know anything?

I told you everything I know already! Even I am waiting for them to utter a name in the house. But it's like some forbidden name or curse in this household or something. It never came up even once!

Oh well then, it's not like pushing him now would be beneficial for anyone.

Eva nodded to show her understanding.

"You must be hungry?"

"A little."

"I'll get something for you. Don't get off the bed. Rest."

Eva nodded.

Austin later returned with food and the doctor behind him. It was then confirmed that Eva has permanently lost all her hearing. Besides that, all her other wounds were healing up well without any serious inflammations or complications.