Hello, Readers! I am celebrating my birthday with extra chapter updates, so please enjoy this special chapter release of 4 bonus chapters! 🥳

(Lurelia’s Birthday Bonus – Update 4/4 🎉)

♡ To all readers who purchased these chapters before my Birthday: I can’t express this enough – Thank you for your support. (*ˊᗜˋ*)/ᵗᑋᵃᐢᵏ ᵞᵒᵘ*

***

The streets were lit at night.

Leticia pulled her hood down low and hurried her steps. The bouquet in her arms rustled.

Until last year, everyone had lived together in the theater troupe building, but after Leticia began gaining fame, Luka had arranged a new house for her in a neighborhood with good security.

Of course, immediately afterward, Chamuka moved into the house next door, and Luka also moved to the house next to that one.

‘Even though he’s so busy that he practically eats and sleeps at the troupe building, why did he get a house here?’

Leticia clicked her tongue as she thought of Luka, who couldn’t leave the troupe building today because he was too busy.

‘It’s not like he can monitor anything anyway. With Chamuka’s skills, even if brother stayed up all night watching, he wouldn’t know where Chamuka was coming and going.’

Of course, Chamuka had never once entered Leticia’s house without permission, so Luka’s concerns were truly needless.

Leticia turned into the alley where her house was located.

And immediately spotted the large flower basket placed in front of her house. Along with the large man standing at her door, who drew even more attention than the colorful flower basket.

“Chamuka!”

Though the man had his hood pulled down and his face wasn’t visible, there was no way Leticia wouldn’t recognize him.

Leticia quickly approached Chamuka.

“Leti.”

Yellow eyes shone brightly from within the shadows of Chamuka’s hood.

Leticia easily read his emotions from Chamuka’s dry greeting.

“Were you waiting for me? How did you know when I’d be here?”

“I know when your performance ends, so I figured you’d be here around this time.”

Chamuka picked up the flower basket he had set down in front of the door and handed it to Leticia, adding.

“Sorry, I couldn’t come today. I’ll come next time.”

As soon as Leticia took the flower basket, Chamuka tried to leave, and Leticia grabbed his sleeve in surprise.

“You’re leaving already? Can’t we talk for a moment…”

“It’s already quite late. Don’t you have practice tomorrow too? You should go in and get some sleep.”

His desire to leave quickly was evident.

Leticia narrowed her eyes at this.

Chamuka rarely—no, in fact, when he was with Leticia, he never wanted to leave.

He was the type who would try to extend his time with Leticia even if it meant using somewhat childish tactics.

Leticia asked directly without beating around the bush. After all, Chamuka was a man who couldn’t understand indirect speech.

“Do you have something urgent to attend to? Or perhaps you didn’t like the content of this performance… Is that why you feel uncomfortable talking to me?”

“This performance? Why would that be?”

Reading the puzzlement in Chamuka’s expressionless face, Leticia discarded Luka’s speculation.

Indeed, this performance was about a mad murderer, not a romance, as confirmed.

“No, it’s nothing.”

But then why?

Leticia observed Chamuka carefully as she asked.

“I was disappointed that you didn’t come this time. Why didn’t you come, then?”

“You were disappointed?”

Chamuka’s expression hardened a bit more.

Leticia smiled at his reaction.

They weren’t lovers. They had never promised each other a future, nor had they shared their feelings.

If anything, Chamuka had given his heart to Leticia, but Leticia had drawn a line saying “not yet” to those feelings.

“Yes. A little.”

However, Leticia could answer like this. She could complain about Chamuka not coming to see her.

Because Chamuka allowed it.

Without any obligation or responsibility, Leticia enjoyed Chamuka’s kindness as if it were her right.

Chamuka wanted it this way, and Leticia believed that someday there would come a day when she could take responsibility for his kindness.

“I’m sorry, Leti. It won’t happen again.”

Chamuka usually never repeated what he had already said. But for Leticia alone, he would repeat it as many times as she wanted.

Every time she confirmed this exception, Leticia felt good. Quite good, in fact.

“So why couldn’t you come, then?”

“That’s…”

As she deliberately moved a step closer while asking, Chamuka frowned, seemingly flustere,d and trailed off.

Leticia hesitated when she caught a faint smell of blood from his body as she moved closer.

“…?”

Without hesitation, she grabbed the front of Chamuka’s hood and pulled it wide open.

Through the dim streetlight, she could faintly see blood stains on Chamuka’s abdomen.

“…Are you hurt?”

“It’s not my blood.”

“Then whose blood is it?”

“….”

Leticia quietly looked up at him while still holding onto his clothes as he remained silent.

Finally, unable to withstand Leticia’s gaze, Chamuka confessed the truth.

“…It’s Tan’s blood.”

“Where did you bury him?”

“I haven’t buried him yet.”

***

To others, it might seem like Chamuka was always stepping on Tan without reason, but Chamuka always had valid reasons.

And if you really looked at it, Chamuka wasn’t the only one using violence.

Usually, Tan was the one who provoked things first, and Tan also sincerely fought back against Chamuka, so it would be more accurate to say it was a mutual fault.

It wasn’t Chamuka’s fault that the guy lacked skill and lost every time they fought, was it?

This time was no different.

Six months ago, the Grand Duke of Basilinte had summoned one of his two clever sons to spend more time with the Grand Duchess.

The plan was to have them share the Grand Duke’s duties.

The brothers, not wanting to leave Leticia and depart for the Basilinte domain, naturally got into a fight, and Chamuka won.

As a result, Chamuka had tied Tan up from head to toe and sent him off to the domain.

Thus, Chamuka had neatly removed Tan and monopolized his position by Leticia’s side in good spirits.

Until he heard the news that Tan had escaped from the domain.

As the loser, Tan should have properly acted like a loser and worked in the domain, but Chamuka had merely given him a deserved punishment for daring to try to return to Leticia’s side.

…That was Chamuka’s excuse.

“…Tan is still alive, right?”

Leticia asked, looking down at Tan, who was tied up and unconscious in Chamuka’s house.

Chamuka, who had ended up bringing her to his house after failing to resist Leticia’s persistence, answered indifferently.

“Yes. His life is safe. And his limbs too. I need to send him back to the domain to work.”

Honestly, Chamuka didn’t care whether Tan lived or died. When Tan took away Leticia’s attention like now, he just wanted to bury him somewhere.

“Couldn’t you untie him and let him sleep in a bed?”

“…If you say so, there’s nothing I can’t do.”

Leticia smiled at Chamuka’s answer.

“Thank you.”

Chamuka stared intently at Leticia’s expression.

He now knew what made Leticia happy.

When he did things he would never do if it weren’t for Leticia’s request.

“I’ll throw him on the upstairs bed and come back. Sit and rest. If you’re tired, you can go home first.”

“I’ll sit and wait. Take your time.”

Chamuka roughly placed Tan on his shoulder and went upstairs.

From downstairs, he heard Leticia sitting on the sofa.

Honestly, in a house this size, he could sense her presence no matter where she was.

He could hear Leticia’s breathing, slightly labored perhaps from fatigue after her performance.

After opening any room and throwing Tan onto the bed, he came back downstairs to find Leticia half-dozing as expected.

Chamuka stood still and gazed at her defenseless, unguarded appearance for quite a long time.

In fact, he could have kissed Leticia right now and pretended nothing had happened.

But instead, Chamuka pulled over a blanket and covered Leticia with it.

He loved Leticia.

And Leticia loved his patience.

So it wasn’t okay, but it was okay.

Leticia could test him as much as she wanted.

She could make him yearn more, act more selfishly, and never pay any price for his heart. It was all fine.

Chamuka could endure anything, everything.