Investing in My Crippled Wife: Every Return Makes Me Stronger

"Urgh..."

Roya’s eyelids fluttered weakly before she forced them open, her vision blurry and unfocused at first. She blinked a few times to adjust to her surroundings.

"W-Where... am... I?"

She muttered as the details slowly sharpened, the shapes around her turning into walls, furniture, and two familiar figures standing a short distance away.

"...E-Ethea?"

She called out weakly.

In an instant, the woman in the wheelchair and the man turned in her direction, their eyes lighting up, filled with relief and a hint of eagerness mixed with awkwardness that Roya, in her groggy state, completely missed.

"P-Princess!"

"S-Senior Sister!"

’They,’ Roya blinked again, her thoughts still sluggish, ’look... so happy to see me...’

Her lips curled up as she tried to sit up. However, her body refused to listen to her. It felt heavy and disconnected, like her limbs belonged to someone else. A strange numbness clung to her, and for a moment she didn’t know what to do.

"Princess, are you ok?"

Ethea’s husband asked worriedly.

"A-Ah, yes..." Roya replied awkwardly, gritted her teeth, and forced herself to move again. Slowly, the strange feeling began to disappear, and strength returned to her arms bit by bit. After some struggle, she managed to sit upright on the sofa.

As she looked forward and saw the couple looking at her worriedly, warmth bloomed in her chest, pushing aside the lingering embarrassment she felt.

She straightened her posture, smoothing the creases of her dress as best as she could, and gave the couple a subtle grateful nod. "Thank you... for worrying about me." She paused, collecting her thoughts. "But... can you tell me what happened while I was unconscious? Who saved me?"

"Wait..." Ethea hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Do you remember anything? Before you lost consciousness?"

Roya nodded. "After I received the signal from you, I immediately sent my secret guard team to help. But not long after they left..." She lowered her head, recalling the moment. "Three black-robed figures ambushed me. I... I couldn’t even put up a proper fight. One of them used a powerful mental attack, making my head dizzy, but I still managed to cast a spell. But... it didn’t work, and... everything went dark after that."

"I..." She looked back up at them. "I just woke up since then."

"..."

Ethea and Soren exchanged a glance, understanding crossing their features.

A moment later, Soren spoke. "In that case, I will leave you two alone and help with the clean-up outside. Ethea will explain everything you want to know. And please... don’t leave this room until I return."

Roya nodded, though her expression indicated that she approved of Soren’s considerate move. "Thank you."

Soren nodded and turned back to Ethea. "I’ll come back soon. Stay safe."

"Be careful and don’t push yourself too hard," Ethea replied.

"Mm, I promise." Soren smiled, and with another nod to Roya, he turned to leave.

Roya was a little confused by their exchange but stayed silent until the door clicked shut. Then she turned to Ethea, her brow furrowed. "What exactly happened back then? Were you ambushed as well?"

"Mmm," Ethea nodded, looking back at Roya. "It’s a long story."

"It doesn’t matter. Please, tell me everything in detail." Roya said with a serious expression.

Ethea nodded and started. "...Everything started after the semi-final..."

───────

"Excuse me, Mr. Everly. Can I have a moment of your time?"

"Hmm?" Soren paused. He had taken only a few steps from the room when someone called for him. He turned around and found a woman standing there, clad in full black armor that seemed to swallow the light around it.

His body tensed on instinct, but after recognizing her as one of the knights who had fought beside them earlier, he relaxed slightly while keeping his guard up.

"You are?" He asked while using Advanced Appraisal on her.

"It’s an honor to meet you, Mr. Everly. I’m Her Highness Roya’s personal knight. You may call me Knight Aya." The woman introduced herself. "I wanted to thank you for helping us save Her Highness. You put both yourself and your wife at great risk, and the Empire does not take such sacrifices lightly. If there is ever anything within reason that you need, you only have to ask. I will personally see to it that your request reaches the right ears."

"The honor is mine, thank you. And..." Soren paused as he finished analyzing her status. Looking at her mental state, he could tell she was being honest, so he let himself relax a little more.

"She’s safe now, and that’s what matters," he said. "But... I won’t pretend I did it out of pure goodwill. It was my wife who asked me to help, and I couldn’t say no to her. If it had been up to me alone, I would never have put her in danger." He paused, looking calmly at the woman to make his point clear. "But of course, I would still have helped in other ways. After all, she did send us help when we were in trouble."

"I know." The woman smiled behind her mask and nodded. "And... it was you who discovered criminal Lucent’s real identity and came up with the plan after all. Without your help, we probably wouldn’t have succeeded. Even if we did, the casualties would be too great to bear." She paused, her voice softening. "So please, if there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask."

Soren nodded in acceptance and pondered for a moment.

"There is one thing..." He met her gaze. "I am sure you have already found out my and my wife’s real identities. All I ask is that you keep it to yourself and help make sure it doesn’t spread. We don’t want any more attention than necessary."

The woman blinked, caught off guard for a second. Then she nodded, her posture straightening. "Understood. I will do my best to fulfill your request."

"Then, I am going to take my leave." Soren gave her another nod. "Take care."

"Take care." The woman bowed and watched Soren turn and continue on his way.

’...I think you were greatly mistaken about him, my lady. He is a man more than worthy to stand beside Lady Ethea.’ She thought as Soren disappeared down the corridor. ’...I should tell her to apologize properly later.’

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!