After that day, Ezekiel became strange. His suddenly changed appearance was something she couldn’t adapt to at all. Ezekiel acted like she would fly away if the wind blew or break if she ran. 

Because of this, Ezekiel had no intention of putting Cynthia down from his arms. His behavior was so natural that she often found herself already being held before she realized it.

“Your Holiness, I can walk by myself.”

“But I heard it’s difficult to move for several days after having relations. I want to carry you myself.”

“I’m fine now, really fine!”

“You need to get used to it, Cynthia.”

“I don’t need to get used to this kind of thing, you know?”

When Cynthia shouted in embarrassment, Ezekiel looked at her with eyes that found even that lovable. What part of that conversation just now? Where could he possibly feel affection from? 

Only after Cynthia struggled and demanded to be put down would Ezekiel reluctantly set her down. But when she said she wanted to go see the waves, he picked her up again, and when she sat on the sofa, he would place her on his lap. He seemed like someone who didn’t want to be apart from Cynthia for even a moment.

There was a reason Ezekiel could stick close without caring about other people’s opinions. Ezekiel casually mentioned that he had used his position as ‘Pope’ to make the soldiers open the doors. 

He also said with an unchanged voice that he had sent Helen and Rihart back to the main house. When Cynthia heard this story belatedly, she became curious about how far Ezekiel could surprise her.

The day after Ezekiel invaded the villa, Cynthia waited for Helen and Rihart to return. Especially Rihart. 

She hoped that the Dernier family’s faithful guard knight would not submit to the Pope’s authority and drive him out. But even when night came, and even the next day, Helen and Rihart showed no signs of returning.

This was strange – they should have returned by now. As Cynthia peered toward the front door waiting for the two, Ezekiel asked if she was waiting for someone. 

He even had a kindly smiling face. When Cynthia said in a suspicious voice that she was waiting for her maid and knight, Ezekiel answered in a calm voice that he had sent the two back.

“You sent Helen and Rihart back?”

“That’s right. I should have told you beforehand, but I wasn’t thoughtful enough.”

“Why did you send them back? No, before that, how?”

“There are ways for everything. They returned safely in a luxury carriage, so don’t worry.”

His attitude suggested nothing was wrong. At Ezekiel’s shameless answer, Cynthia lost even the will to ask further. Ezekiel smiled and said not to worry because he would serve Cynthia wholeheartedly in place of the two. 

Ezekiel? Someone who grew up being served from his position as Pope? Let’s see how well he does. If he’s even slightly annoying, she’d drive him out immediately.

…That resolution became meaningless when Ezekiel skillfully took care of Cynthia. Thanks to Ezekiel, the bed was always fresh, and she could eat delicious food at mealtimes. 

The villa was cleaned so thoroughly that you couldn’t tell it had been neglected, clean enough that not a speck of dust would stick even if you walked barefoot on the floor. Honestly, it was amazing.

Ezekiel didn’t stop there. He even carried Cynthia down when going to the first floor, and fed her bite by bite when eating. 

Though his way of serving seemed slightly wrong, it was true that she felt no inconvenience in daily life. She didn’t seem quite right in the head either, getting used to it and accepting food from Ezekiel’s spoon.

“How is it, Cynthia? Is it delicious?”

“Yes, it’s delicious, but…”

“I’m relieved. I was worried it might not suit your taste.”

“Yes…”

Isn’t something really wrong? Or maybe she was dreaming. Ezekiel had suddenly come down to the villa where Cynthia was staying, confessed his love, knelt and begged saying he was wrong, cried asking her to marry him, and now he was feeding her. Cynthia couldn’t believe all these situations were real.

Didn’t this make her escape to the villa meaningless? She had come down to avoid Ezekiel, but instead created a result where she was with Ezekiel all day long. 

But when she saw Ezekiel begging for forgiveness with eyes sometimes overflowing with anxiety, she couldn’t just stubbornly go back to the capital.

Moreover, a question that complicated Cynthia’s feelings kept coming to mind. Didn’t Ezekiel have someone else he liked? 

Not her, but she heard him confessing love to that young lady. Thinking about it, her brow furrowed without her knowing.

Why wasn’t he explaining that issue? Ezekiel had apologized for everything he had done over 10 years, but hadn’t said a single word about that day’s confession. Was he planning to slip by thinking Cynthia didn’t know?

Cynthia thought she should ask Ezekiel about this problem. If she said she had seen Ezekiel confessing that day, what reaction would he show? 

Would he finally give up everything and return to the capital? Thinking such thoughts, when Cynthia looked at Ezekiel, he immediately put down his spoon, having been carefully observing her.

“What’s wrong, Cynthia? Did you bite a stone or something?”

“No, no, that’s not it…”

Ezekiel casually kissed Cynthia. His tongue that penetrated into Cynthia’s mouth took away everything she had been eating. Then he seemed to savor them and look for any problems. Since their last s*xual encounter, skinship had become far too natural.

“The taste is fine… There doesn’t seem to be any foreign objects either.”

“No, no!”

Cynthia felt she needed to sort out this strange situation. Right, she could ask about curious things one by one. Cynthia took Ezekiel to the living room. 

When they reached the sofa, Ezekiel naturally hugged Cynthia and placed her on his lap. It was comfortable being able to lean against Ezekiel’s chest, but… no, that wasn’t the point!

“No, Your Holiness. I have something to say first.”

“What do you mean? That you won’t marry that worthless man?”

“No. Not about marriage, but about this whole situation…”

“Or it would be nice if you said you’d call me by my name now.”

Only after coaxing and soothing Ezekiel could Cynthia escape from his embrace. Cynthia, who finally sat facing Ezekiel, began to speak.

“First, didn’t Your Holiness have someone else you liked?”

“Yes, I told you I love Cynthia.”

“No, not me. You have someone you like.”

“…Me?”

Ezekiel furrowed his brow like he had heard something ridiculous. And he muttered about fifty times, seemingly unable to understand, “I have someone I like other than Cynthia?”

“At Duke Diana’s daughter’s return party.”

“Ah, that day. The day Cynthia came wearing a red dress.”

“Y-yes.”

“Cynthia was wrong that day. Cynthia in the red dress appeared in my dreams. If you’re curious about the content, I’ll tell you.”

“That’s not it – you confessed that day!”

“…Confessed? To Cynthia?”

“Not to me… to the Duke’s daughter on the balcony! I heard you confessing that you liked her.”

“Me?”

Now Ezekiel’s face became serious instead. Ezekiel seemed to have become a robot that could only say “Me?” instead of “Yes, my lady.” He asked several times if the Duke’s daughter was the same Duke’s daughter he knew. Ezekiel really seemed to have no idea.

“I heard it directly. You confessed to the Duke’s daughter.”

“Even if the world ended, that could never happen.”

“Definitely, definitely! Your Holiness laughed saying you liked what you liked to the young lady, and I saw the young lady laugh back asking if you were going to confess like that.”

“Ah.”

At the specific explanation, Ezekiel’s face cleared like he finally remembered something. Soon Ezekiel’s face brightened. It was a smile brighter than anything in the world could compare to. 

He hugged Cynthia like he couldn’t bear it. Then, seemingly not embarrassed at all, he kissed Cynthia’s neck. Lightly biting her neck like he was reluctant to let go was a bonus.

“I don’t know why you only saw that scene. That was me saying I liked you.”

“What…?”

“The Crown Prince, the Duke’s daughter, and I have been childhood friends since we were young. Like you and Michael.”

“But I never heard such stories…”

“Well, it’s top secret if it’s secret. We agreed to keep it secret in case there were talks about powers joining forces.”

While saying this, he kissed various parts of her face like he couldn’t bear how lovely Cynthia was. He had the face of a child who received an unexpected gift. His whole face showed he was dying of happiness.

“The Duke’s daughter knows I love you. I was telling her I couldn’t bear how much I liked you. Along with the story about wanting to confess to you after pressuring the Crown Prince to pass a law allowing the Pope to marry.”

“…”

“Then she teased me asking if I would really confess like that.”

“Ah…”

Had she misunderstood? But it definitely sounded that way at the time. Her face reddened at the thought that it was a ridiculous misunderstanding. 

Then Ezekiel lightly bit her lower lip and kissed her. The kiss quickly deepened. Wet sounds filled the living room. Thanks to Ezekiel sucking on her tongue so much, the root of her tongue was starting to hurt.