The bedroom door closed, and the sound of footsteps gradually faded away.

Even after Harry had left the room, Larinne could not bring herself to open her eyes.

This was because the envoy from the enemy nation was sitting beside her, holding her hand tightly.

Sweat gathered in his grasp.

Setting aside the awkwardness of his behavior, which was akin to guarding a beloved lover—

The conversation she had overheard continued to linger in her mind.

‘The lady might also be searching for the slave documents.’

He had definitely said that.

‘That almost makes it sound as though they are searching for the slave documents as well.’

Larinne had regained consciousness while the two men were still speaking.

She had grasped the general context of their conversation, but because she had missed the most important part, the question remained unresolved.

‘What was it that I missed?’

She couldn’t even begin to guess.

The slave documents contained an obedience spell.

Unless these documents were destroyed, Larinne and Pellet would never be able to leave the Eastern Empire.

This was why Larinne had planned to break into the Imperial Archives with Pellet before escaping the Empire.

‘But if the envoys of Lirmen share the same objective…’

As the thought reached that point, it felt as though someone’s hand had suddenly intruded and begun squeezing her heart.

‘Could it be… that what he said before was sincere?’

She still remembered clearly the words he had whispered during their first meeting.

“The royal family of Lirmen, which inherited the fallen Kingdom of Lirmen, dreams of rescuing all the Lemen people scattered across the continent.”

“That includes you as well, Lady Larinne.”

The voice that had once warmed her ears with its moist whisper surfaced again.

‘Why?’

The question rising within her caused another voice—burned into her memory like a brand—to echo once more.

“If nothing else, I always keep my promises. I’ll come back for sure and take you out of this h*ll. Don’t cry, okay?”

Her steady breathing trembled.

‘…Could it be him?’

The way he pretended not to know her when they first met.

The unfamiliar surname he used.

Even the way he looked at her felt different from before.

Perhaps it was all because of some truth he could not reveal.

Maybe that was why.

As this thought crossed her mind, all the things she had tried so hard to ignore slowly resurfaced: The sorrow that sometimes flickered in his eyes whenever he looked at her.

The way he handled Horus so effortlessly. And the way he behaved as though he knew the conversations she had once had with that child.

Each memory tapped gently against her heart.

She wanted to ask the question aloud.

If she did—

— what would he say?

“You’re awake?”

Larinne, whose lips had been moving slightly, slowly opened her eyes when she was asked a question.

Immediately, she met a pair of crimson eyes.

How long had he been watching her?

He must have been the one who had brought her there.

Before she lost consciousness, she had practically collapsed into his arms.

Had he stayed by her side the entire time?

‘Just to see me wake up?’

Her thoughts wandered far too freely.

Larinne rubbed her flushed cheeks with the back of her cool hand and pushed herself upright.

“How is Kalon?”

Libehi Winterd paused for a brief moment before answering in his usual tone.

“He is safe.”

“That’s a relief.”

“……”

“……”

An awkward silence settled between them.

Ever since losing that child, she had become noticeably quieter and calmer in temperament.

Yet now, for some reason, she wanted to chatter endlessly—anything at all.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“It’s about the promise you made—that there would be nothing for me to worry about. You kept it. Thanks to that, Kalon’s life was saved.”

“I always keep the promises I make to you.”

For some reason, she could not look away.

Again and again, she found herself searching his face for traces of someone she once longed for.

Even though she knew it was foolish, she could not stop.

“And I also saved you from collapsing under the effects of the companion dream. Will you thank me for that as well?”

“……”

Her words caught in her throat.

Something she had completely forgotten resurfaced: She remembered the moment they had danced together, their bodies entwining as one.

His gaze had lingered on her lips, which still felt warm.

Without realizing it, she ran the tip of her tongue over her dry lips.

“What should I do?”

His crimson eyes slowly traced the faint curve of her pale pink lips as they moved.

A strange sensation spread through her.

She could not keep her feet still. One moment she felt as though she wanted to swallow something burning; the next, she wished to pour cold water over the heat stirring in her waist.

A fog began to creep back into her mind.

“Duke Winterd.”

“Yes, Lady Larinne.”

Hearing her call his name paralyzed his ability to think clearly. Or perhaps it was being consumed. Either way, one thing was certain: If the effects of the companion dream were not resolved by the end of the day, things would become dangerous.

With each passing moment, breathing became more difficult.

It felt as though someone were squeezing her lungs.

Even when she was underwater, it had never been this hard to breathe.

Now, drawing a single breath felt almost impossible.

The pain only continued to intensify.

Larinne realized that the aftereffects of the companion dream were far more threatening than she had imagined.

With every muscle in her body tightening and the pain intensifying, she forced her lips apart and spoke.

“You said… that one must act as they did in the companion dream.”

“And?”

His voice was calm but cunning, like the whisper of a serpent tempting Eve with forbidden fruit.

She knew the man in front of her was dangerous.

And yet, for some reason, she found it hard to say no to him.

It felt like an irresistible gravitational pull.

Her lips moved instinctively.

“Shouldn’t we finish what we started? If we don’t resolve it… it will cause difficulties for both of us.”

Her words came slowly, one by one, as she looked down.

His red lips drew her attention.

They looked moist, as though they held the sweetness of a freshly bitten pomegranate.

Below them, his throat moved slightly.

It was different from her own.

The prominent line seemed to display his masculinity.

“It seems you’ve decided to do your best with what can be done now.”

Each time he spoke in that sweet voice, his throat moved gently.

She felt an unexpected urge to touch it.

It was unlike her—but the thought lingered stubbornly.

“I will do my best as well.”

Libehi Winterd rose slowly from the chair beside the bed and climbed onto it.

She resembled a snake.

She felt as though she had become its prey.

Like a venomous serpent slowly coiling itself around its chosen victim and savoring the moment.

Where should he start biting?

Where should he leave the mark of his teeth?

The way he devoured her with his gaze alone was strangely intoxicating.

“Even if you say you are satisfied halfway through… I cannot promise that I will stop.”

Her body tilted toward the side where his weight pressed down. Before the gentle whisper of his voice had even faded, his damp lips closed over the rim of her ear.

“!”

The sensation was much clearer than she had anticipated.

Startled, Larinne tried to pull away. But Libehi Winterd would not let her move away.

Before she knew it, he had moved so that he was almost straddling her.

There was nowhere left to escape to.

Even when she turned her head, his strong arms, the veins raised with restrained tension, blocked her every path.

When she finally gave up trying to avoid him and looked straight ahead, she found crimson eyes, glowing with an odd light, fixed on her.

It felt as though she were facing something immense.

Overwhelmed by his gaze, she could not move as he slowly swept his red eyes over her body.

“There is no need to be nervous.”

He brushed aside her still-damp hair and traced the exposed line of her neck with his fingers.

To have someone invade a place she had never allowed another to touch stirred a strange sensation.

“Wait a moment.”

“Didn’t I say? I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop halfway.”

Seeing Larinne stiffen from head to toe, he let out a faint chuckle.

“First, you should tell me the order of what you intend to do.”

In her haste, she had blurted out the first thing that came to mind, but regretted it as soon as the words left her lips.

They were completely irrelevant to him.

What possible use could the imperial etiquette manuals of the Eastern Empire be to a foreign envoy?

Her coming-of-age ceremony was approaching, and her imperial etiquette instructor had drilled those lessons into her until her ears nearly bled.

That was why such an absurd remark had slipped out.

Things like how a husband and wife must proceed in a prescribed order when they unite.

Or that they must keep the lights on and use all five senses to check each other’s bodies for flaws.

The strange, complicated and utterly astonishing wedding-night etiquette of the Eastern Empire flashed through her mind.

‘And I’m supposed to do that with this man?’

At the same time, the realization that what had been meant to happen with Seidon was now happening with someone else stirred up a strange sense of guilt in the pit of her stomach.

In other words, she felt as though she had abandoned her fiancé completely.

“I didn’t realize you preferred setting an order and proceeding step by step.”

“You misunderstand.”

Her cheeks flushed red like a girl in spring.

Perhaps her embarrassment amused him, because he repeated the question teasingly.

“What would you like to do first?”

“That’s not it. I was just reminded of the etiquette lessons I received.”

“You received lessons.”

His voice dropped noticeably, revealing his mood.

His eyes narrowed as though he were an impatient beast about to lose its prey.

Strangely, she felt a faint sense of satisfaction at this.

It was a very peculiar feeling.

In any case, Larinne felt she should explain herself and parted her lips.

“It was only theory. It’s not as if I’ll ever have a chance to use it… I just heard it so often that it slipped out. I apologize for the discourtesy.”

“I refuse your apology.”

“What?”

“Because it was not discourteous.”

The way his crimson eyes slowly curved was oddly suggestive.

“Then I’ll follow my own preferences for the order.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think of it as a practical lesson.”

A practical lesson? What exactly did he—

Before she could even ask, a large hand suddenly slid beneath the folds of her rolled-up dress without warning.