Libehi could no longer hide his feelings.

During his time in the Eastern Empire, he had thought he had coped quite well, even when confronted with a number of unpleasant characters.

But now, he simply could not hide them.

‘D*mn it.’

He could barely swallow the curse rising in his throat.

From the moment he entered the palace, he was struck by the sight before him.

It wasn’t just Lady Dius and her maids openly scornful of Larinne that angered him; something else angered him even more.

It was the attendants, pretending to mind their own business while secretly stealing glances.

The instant he saw the way they were looking at Larinne, soaked through with water, his patience snapped.

As a man, he knew exactly what they were thinking.

Her wet clothes clung tightly to her body, revealing her figure all too clearly. It was obvious what kind of lustful thoughts must have crossed their minds.

What had they not already done in their imaginations?

He wanted to gouge out every one of their filthy, bloodshot eyes.

Ironically, whenever he looked at Larinne, a burning desire stirred within him as well. Yet he could not suppress the rage boiling inside him.

If anyone were to feel that way—

— it should be him alone.

He was the one who had dared to bite, suck and taste the tender skin beneath the thin fabric.

That right belonged to him alone.

Anyone who heard his thoughts might call them contradictory and vile. But he wanted to be different from other men.

He wanted to be the one person Larinne cherished above all others. Yet she had too many things to protect.

To him, she had always just been Larinne.

So why?

The reason he had kept his temper in check all this time was simple.

He only wanted to give her everything she desired.

But watching her willingly press her lips to an unfamiliar man?

—was something he simply could not endure.

He could not just stand there and watch.

The moment he saw that scene, his vision turned red.

By the time he came to his senses, his body had already moved of its own accord.

“Please stand up. The ground is cold.”

The first thing he did was remove the shawl he had been wearing and wrap it around Larinne, whose wet clothes had become almost transparent.

Once the filthy gazes clinging to her exposed skin were blocked from view, he finally felt a little better.

“Duke Libehi Winterd. Why have you come all the way here?”

“Your condition is not good right now.”

“I will leave after confirming that he is breathing again.”

His mood plummeted.

Her gaze was fixed elsewhere. It was fixed on the man lying there like a corpse — someone whose name he didn’t even know.

The same petty feeling rose inside him again.

“Lady Larinne.”

Libehi tried to help Larinne to her feet, but she resisted.

Though he held the advantage in strength and could easily have forced her away, he could not bring himself to do it.

The wrist he held was burning hot.

“There are too many people watching. We will handle matters here, so it would be best for you to take care of yourself first.”

“But I cannot leave these people behind like this.”

Something hot surged up his throat.

‘Do you truly wish to protect them—even if it means pushing your body this far?’

How precious were they to her?

He barely managed to swallow the question he wanted to ask.

A metallic taste spread across his mouth.

“I will make sure there is nothing for you to worry about. I promise.”

Suppressing the boiling anger inside him, Libehi whispered softly to Larinne.

Only then did she finally move as he wished.

“…I will rely on you for a moment.”

As though holding the most precious thing in the world, Libehi wrapped an arm around Larinne, who was still wrapped in his shawl.

As a result, Larinne ended up partly in his embrace.

Perhaps only now becoming aware of the eyes on them, she shifted slightly in his arms.

“Duke, there’s no need for you to support me like this…”

“……”

If he had been himself, he would have let go with a reluctant smile.

But not today.

Today, he wanted to leave no room for doubt.

Their shoulders and chests pressed together, becoming damp with water.

Strangely, this stirred an unsettling excitement, as though she were sinking into him.

‘D*mn it.’

As if the situation were not already difficult enough, he was overwhelmed by the effects of the companion dream.

Was it because she was touching him?

Or was it because the softness of her skin beneath the wet fabric felt so real?

His body heated up quickly.

All he wanted was to bury his face in the curve of her neck and take a deep breath.

Reason was slowly being devoured by instinct.

In response, Larinne’s body, pressed against his, grew warmer.

She seemed to be trying to hide it. But Libehi, standing so close, could sense the change.

Her breathing had become uneven.

There was a restless urgency within it that he could not ignore.

‘He wanted to claim those delicate lips—and the hidden sweetness within them—entirely for himself.’

‘But if I did that, it would only bring you disgrace.’

As he had said, there were far too many pairs of eyes on him.

He could not reveal the slightest hint of the dark desires surging within him.

Whatever else happened, he would never behave like his foolish fiancée.

Libehi forced himself to move forward, barely restraining the blazing impulses raging inside him.

“Harry, take care of the situation.”

“Honestly… this is outright labor exploitation.”

Harry grumbled as he stepped forward, but Libehi had no worries. He was a capable subordinate, and there was no one better suited to cleaning up a mess like this.

“You may take the shawl back.”

“You might catch a cold.”

It was cold in the desert.

He thought the excuse sounded pitiful, too.

Surprisingly, however, Larinne did not refuse his gesture.

“Get some proper rest. By the time you wake up, everything will be settled.”

Perhaps it was the softness of his voice that comforted her.

Larinne’s eyes slowly closed.

The aftereffects of the companion dream, coupled with the strain of using the power of water, must have taken their toll on her.

Even so, she had endured remarkably well.

Once she lost consciousness, Libehi carefully lifted her into his arms and held her securely.

From a distance, they might have looked like affectionate lovers.

“Duke Winterd. Are you leaving like this?”

Lady Dius stepped forward, blocking his path.

***

Warm sunlight streamed through the window frame, filling the bedroom with a gentle warmth.

Harry, who had only just returned after settling the matter at the Lake Palace, leaned casually against the wall and cast a sideways glance at his lord.

“The opponent was Lady Dius.”

“Get to the point, Harry.”

Libehi replied without looking at him. His attention was fixed solely on Larinne, who was lying on the bed.

As he watched him, Harry spoke again.

“I meant that acting so emotionally will not help you achieve your objective.”

“That’s unfortunate. I believed I was being quite rational.”

“And then you suddenly threatened to withdraw diplomatic relations. Were you trying to do something worse than intimidation?”

Even as Harry stared at him in disbelief, Libehi’s expression did not change.

“I thought you would simply match their tone and handle the situation smoothly as you always do. But the way you acted earlier… I thought you were about to declare war.”

“Truth be told, I’m rather disappointed in my own restraint.”

“Your Grace!”

Harry recoiled in shock, but Libehi merely shrugged.

Good heavens. It was fortunate he had been present.

Otherwise, the thought that Libehi might have drawn his sword on Lady Dius made his head spin.

“And the man?”

“He’s breathing again. Aside from exhaustion, he suffered no serious injuries. As expected of an Aydin, once he was out of the water, his condition improved quickly.”

“That must be welcome news for you.”

Harry narrowed his eyes at Libehi, who murmured the words quietly.

The suspicion that had plagued him ever since his arrival in the Eastern Empire was now confirmed.

His lord was clearly deeply interested in that woman.

This interest had most likely grown during the five long years they had travelled together.

Finally, Harry voiced the thought he had been holding back.

“Do you remember what you said to me the first time?”

“Are you about to start lecturing me again, Harry?”

“I mean what you said when you dragged me away from beneath the dragon’s nest—when I was lying there, no better than a corpse.”

Libehi remembered.

He had said that he would never be the first to close his eyes until he had taken his revenge.

And that Harry had to survive, no matter what.

On the day they were betrayed by their most trusted comrade and cast into the valley of death, it was sheer stubbornness that allowed them both to survive.

“It hasn’t changed. I apologize for acting impulsively earlier, Harry. It will not interfere with the plan. Tomorrow, I will speak with Lady Dius.”

“Does Lady Larinne have something to do with your revenge, Your Grace?”

“……”

The answer that had been about to come immediately fell silent.

“My life is in your hands anyway. I asked because it seemed as though you were hiding something in case I might betray you.”

Without a word, Libehi picked up a towel and began drying Larinne’s damp hair.

His touch was so gentle that Harry felt as though he had accidentally caught a glimpse of his lord’s true feelings.

Because of that, he could not press him any further.

“What about the matter I told you to investigate?”

“I confirmed that it’s being kept in the imperial archive. However, it has an anti-theft spell placed on it.”

“If it’s an anti-theft spell, then the Erkan tribe must be involved.”

Each of the many minority tribes belonging to the Eastern Empire had its own secrets.

Consider the red-haired Aydin people, for instance, who were blessed with the ability to communicate with birds from birth.

The Lemen people, on the other hand, were deeply attuned to water, giving them far greater freedom beneath its surface than others had.

The Erkan tribe, meanwhile, excelled in anti-theft enchantments.

‘That’s why they have served as royal gatekeepers for generations.’

A long-buried memory resurfaced.

He recalled the face of a gatekeeper who used to look after both him and the young Larinne. Yet he did not linger on the sentiment.

“I believe the first step will be to find out which member of their tribe cast the spell.”

“I’ll handle finding the one who cast it. You continue focusing on the slave documents.”

He brushed away the unnecessary nostalgia and tossed the gold accessory he had brought to Harry.

“More importantly, I believe an explanation is in order.”

Startled, Harry caught the gold bracelet that had suddenly been thrown at him.

The moment he recognized it as his own, he frowned.

‘I told you to be careful not to get caught.’

Still, since it had ended up in Libehi’s hands, things must have unfolded exactly as he had feared.

“Were you caught?”

“I pulled her away while Lady Dius’s knights were dragging her off to whip her. She’s probably returned home by now.”

A sigh of relief escaped Harry’s lips.

‘That woman bothered me for some reason.’

Harry had always had sharp instincts.

He couldn’t ignore the unnamed Egyptian woman and stepped in to help her.

In hindsight, this might have been foolish.

However, he knew that if he hadn’t helped her, he would have felt uneasy for a long time.

Now that the weight had been lifted, his usual composure returned.

“As Your Grace knows, I possess the gentle heart of an ideal husband. I merely offered a little help to someone in need.”

“Of course. A man who dreams of rabbit-like children must start making a good impression wherever he goes.”

Harry chuckled along with the lighthearted banter, but suddenly remembered something.

“Ah, that reminds me—there’s one more thing to report. It seemed that the lady was also smuggling weap*ns.”

“Weap*ns?”

Libehi’s crimson eyes narrowed sharply.

“Yes. I smelled gunpowder on that Lemen woman. It seems she may be planning something dangerous. Could it be that the lady is also trying to obtain the slave documents?”