Ariana’s fingers quivered as they brushed her earlobe absentmindedly, but she couldn’t move an inch. She had long known that Kenneth’s teal eyes were overwhelming, yet whenever he looked at her like that, it felt as though her heart, and indeed her entire being, shrank beneath their weight.

For a moment, time itself seemed to stop and the air in the room held its breath in perfect stillness.

When he reached out and toyed with her earlobe, she felt a tight coil form in her stomach and goosebumps prickle her skin.

“Ah—”

Startled, she opened her mouth, only to realize the breath that escaped was far hotter than she intended.

The moment she understood Kenneth had sensed everything, his hand was already sliding slowly down the curve of her cheek.

“W-wait…”

She had been about to tell him that his hand was too hot and that he should let go. But the moment her lips parted, the tip of her tongue grazed the pad of his thumb.

The solid warmth of his flesh slipped against the damp softness of hers and Ariana instinctively clung to the sofa with both hands.

That single touch brought back the memory of what this sign had once meant to them both.

When he stared down at her unblinkingly and fiercely, she forgot how to breathe and her vision swam.

It felt as though he had nudged her slightly, yet somehow she was suddenly lying flat on her back, staring at the ceiling.

A broad shadow blanketed her as the sofa dipped beneath his weight.

Realising the position they had fallen into, Ariana blushed from head to toe.

“K-Kenneth, we…! Ah—”

She clapped a hand over her mouth.

His lips had just brushed the curve of her neck above her blouse collar.

Startled by the intensity of his touch, she arched away, giving him the perfect opportunity to wrap an arm around her waist and pull her closer.

Wet, hungry sounds filled the air right by her ear, eliciting a stifled moan from deep within her.

Old memories flooded back at once, rising with the heat in her flesh: the countless times she’d writhed beneath him, crying out his name while thinking only of Bibi.

She had pushed those nights to the back of her mind for so long that the dormant sensations had awoken all at once, making the yearning unbearable.

“Ah…”

Unable to bear the slow journey of his mouth down her throat, she rubbed her head against the cushion.

When his hand slipped beneath her blouse to touch the small of her back, she could barely breathe — she knew exactly what would follow if he held her like this.

She could only dig her fingernails into the sofa and bite her lip to stop herself from making a sound.

Is this right?

It hadn’t been that long ago when she’d felt absolutely nothing for Kenneth—so much so that even her body refused to respond to him. But now… she couldn’t bring herself to push him away. The realization hit her like a jolt, leaving her shaken and confused.

She wasn’t inexperienced, so she knew perfectly well where letting this continue would lead.

But if she allowed it to unfold like this…

What will become of us?

The child was out in the garden, and they had no idea when Bibi might return. Being tangled up like this was madness.

Could it really be forgiven so easily?

If she chose to forgive him now, would that make everyone happy?

Was she supposed to dismiss her suffering as nothing more than a trivial footnote?

Her racing thoughts were interrupted when his palm skimmed up the line of her spine, causing her to cry out sharply as though she had been shocked.

She clung desperately to his shoulders because she couldn’t bear the spark racing across skin that had never been touched by anyone else.

“Kenneth—Bibi… she’s outside…!”

The moment the words left her lips, Kenneth’s back stiffened.

Their bodies still burned wherever they touched, as though scorched by the midday sun, yet he froze completely. Then, after drawing in a deep breath, he pulled away from her in one clean motion.

Ariana, trembling, hastily adjusted the front of her blouse. The sound of Bibi’s laughter echoing from outside only deepened her embarrassment.

But it was seeing Kenneth like this — dishevelled and without his usual composure — that truly left her speechless.

He had always dominated her in every aspect of their relationship, including in bed. He had never faltered in his control over their encounters. She had never seen him so flustered before.

With his back still turned, Kenneth ran a hand over his face and looked back at her over his shoulder.

“I’m sorry.”

“Ah…”

“I—”

He swept his hand down his face again, muttering something under his breath too quickly to make out.
Seeing him cursing himself like that made Ariana flinch with secondhand embarrassment.

Especially when she noticed the faint flush blooming beneath his eyes.

“…Let’s not talk about the earring.”

“Y-yeah… I think that’s for the best.”

“I’ll use the bathroom for a moment.”

“…What?”

Ariana was already feeling overwhelmed, and now she was even more flustered.

After all, it was the middle of the day — why did he need to use the bathroom now?

But the memory of that unmistakable heat pressing against her earlier hit her like a wave, and she couldn’t bear to look at him. She whipped her head away.

“Ah, yes… Go ahead.”

Yet, once he had gone, the thought of what he might be doing in there made her face burn all the more.

But what could she have said? ‘Stay here and deal with it?’ That would have been far worse.

Her mind had never felt more chaotic. Once she was alone, she wandered the room in a daze, unable to calm down.

‘If they’d gone all the way just now…’

‘Even if I ended up following Kenneth… maybe I could’ve accepted it all in the end.’

As the heat slowly left her body, Ariana felt a blessed clarity gradually settle over her.

Thank goodness she hadn’t been swept away by the atmosphere and raw desire.

Had she surrendered to that familiar, overwhelming pull, she might have regretted it afterwards.

Pressing the back of her hand to her flushed cheeks, she stared into the mirror.

The image of the confident ‘mother who can raise a child perfectly well without a father’ had vanished.

In its place stood a woman in her mid-twenties — still unsteady and confused, her vulnerability laid bare.

Had I really become so desperate for another person’s warmth?

Had the strain of raising Bibi alone finally become too much, leaving her in need of the support of the one person who knew her best?

Ariana buried her face in her hands, forcing herself to think rationally.

First, she would go to another city in Duvris.

Kenneth was obsessive when it came to safety, and if his visions from his previous life were troubling him, she could trust his advice.

Just then, Bibi bounded in from the garden, still buzzing with energy after her snack.

“Mommy! Bibi’s back!”

“Welcome home, sweetheart. Did you enjoy your treat?”

“Mhm! But, um—”

Her daughter tilted her head, eyes wide with innocence.

“Mommy, did a bug bite you?”

“Huh?”

“Right there—on your neck!”

Ariana’s hand flew up to cover the telltale mark.
Truly, it was a mercy they had stopped when they did.

***

‘Getting worked up in a house with a child—have I completely lost it?’

Kenneth leaned his head against the cold tiled wall and took a ragged breath.

He was already half-mad with longing for her, but seeing her alive in front of him shattered whatever control he had managed to maintain.

A corpse with its skull blown apart and a living, warm body – the contrast could not be greater.

Kenneth cracked open his glazed eyes and pictured Ariana as she had been moments ago.

Yes, she had responded to him, but she had looked confused.

Seeing that look had brought him back to his senses.

Ariana had never been loved.

She had had a family, yes, but because of her older brother, she was always pushed aside. Ultimately, her parents committed s*icide, abandoning her in the process.

After that, she became tied to a man who didn’t deserve her devotion, showed her no respect and was now stealing what remained of her youth by showering love on a young daughter.

When someone has lived their whole life beneath the weight of contempt, even the slightest change in someone else’s tone can feel earth-shattering — like turning crumbs into a banquet for someone who is starving.

And what if that hunger had stretched across a lifetime, as it had for Ariana?

If he pushed her now, she would feel obligated to forgive him instantly. Without realising it, she would bury her own pain — her shame — deep beneath everything else.

Even though believing that he saw her as nothing more than a warm body to share his bed had once devastated her.

In a moment like that, would Ariana be able to tell the difference between his desire and her own?

Wasn’t he exactly the kind of man who would exploit that confusion?

‘That’s the kind of man I am.’

Kenneth let out a mirthless chuckle. No one needed reminding how brazen, how domineering he could be when crushing someone beneath his will.

‘I never should have let her see that my memories returned.’

Was this why his past self had vowed to keep it hidden? Because as long as she remained by his side, Ariana would keep paying the price.

At least now—finally—he understood. Truly understood. And the clarity had come just moments before desire could tip him over the edge.

The cold bite of the tiled wall pressed against his back drove the truth into him like a blade he couldn’t turn away from.

‘Let her go.’

Hadn’t he promised Bibi he would make sure her mother never hurt again? That was the little girl’s one, deepest wish.

If he truly meant to spare Ariana from further pain, then it was time to loosen his hold—to let her go.

Even if doing so hurt more than taking a bullet straight to the heart.

***

Theodora inwardly lamented the direction her life had taken.

The Emperor had finally responded positively to her letter reporting the discovery of the Aberdeen woman—that part had gone well enough. But now, to receive an incomprehensible order to report the situation to these man in real-time?

‘As if their little gathering could amount to anything.’

With disdain, she surveyed the crowd gathered near the Labelle department store. They called it a protest, but to her, it was just a shabby gathering of disgruntled fools. Cloaked in a pretence of righteousness, they were nothing but lowly scum with too much time on their hands.

What unsettled her most, however, was the sight of those degenerates laughing and posing with modern firearms like children playing soldier. Among them was the red-haired thug who had caused a scene in the shops by grabbing an Aberdeen woman by the wrist.

“So this is the woman who used to be a duchess… wow.”