Calix stared at Selina’s face, frozen in place. The tears spilling from behind her mask were not false. Her words were unmistakably sincere.

‘Where did she even start misunderstanding things this badly?’

If someone misunderstood one thing out of a hundred, it would be easy to correct them. But Selina was mistaken about ninety-nine of them.

Anyone capable of distinguishing between the sky and the earth should have been able to see it — at least, that was what Calix believed. His feelings were written plainly on his face — they were impossible to hide. Not only the knight commanders, but everyone in the Grand Ducal Castle had noticed the change in him.

And yet, the one person who mattered most was misunderstanding him completely.

At this realization, the corner of Calix’s lips slowly curved upwards.

Since he arrived at the party, nothing had gone according to plan and he had been frustrated ever since. But to think that it was all caused by Selina’s misunderstanding…

“Selina.”

He loosened his grip on her thigh, instead gently cupping her cheek. Startled by the sudden warmth against her skin, she flinched and pulled her shoulders in slightly. Calix wrapped an arm around her shoulders and asked in a low voice.

“Why did you think that?”

His tone was much gentler than before.

This was not what Selina had expected. She had thought he would glare at her, push her away or lash out. Instead, he wore a soft smile, as though soothing a child.

“Well…”

Now that his attitude had changed, she was too embarrassed to express her true feelings. She had thought he would visit her at least once after that night or acknowledge her at the party.

That was how she truly felt. However, saying such things in front of Calix seemed childish and petulant.

“Is it because I didn’t come to see you?”

“Or because I told you I couldn’t attend the party, yet showed up anyway?”

As though he could read her mind, he set out the two possibilities.

Unable to answer, Selina turned her gaze away. She thought that if she didn’t answer, he wouldn’t see through her, but in truth, that reaction was almost the same as admitting that both reasons were true.

Calix realized what lay beneath her silence, and his eyes curved softly.

“I wanted to come see you, but I was too busy for things to go as I wished. So… are you angry with me because of that?”

He gave a brief explanation in a calm and unhurried voice.

In truth, there was a very specific reason why he had been unable to visit Selina. From morning until night, Calix had been consumed by thoughts of her. He was driven by the urge to drop everything and go straight to her room. Even if he did nothing — though the possibility of inaction was practically non-existent — he felt that simply pressing his face against her shoulder would have cooled the heat raging inside him.

The only reason he had stayed away from her room was because of tonight’s party.

After securing testimony that someone had been behind Selina’s abduction, Calix had no choice but to uncover that person’s identity. He could not rest until he had found them and eliminated the threat himself.

That was why he had summoned all his remaining associates who had once served Richardt and interrogated them about Eclipse and the nurse. He wanted answers before attending the party, so he had been relentlessly busy.

All he had learned was that Eclipse bore no resemblance to his blonde-haired uncle — Eclipse had black hair and eyes. That was all.

As for the nurse, no one could remember her clearly. The only conclusion they could draw was that she would likely be middle-aged by now.

Ultimately, the investigation had led him straight back to square one.

Put simply, Calix was very serious about Selina.

His determination to find and eliminate Eclipse was fueled by one reason alone. Eclipse posed a threat to her. His single-minded devotion to the investigation was driven by his desire to keep her safe. Even his decision to arrive at the party without having had a proper night’s rest was because of her.

Everything in his world revolved around her, as though she were its axis. Yet his pride would not allow him to show it.

Moreover, revealing such feelings would mean surrendering the upper hand in their relationship. Losing that advantage could lead to the most disastrous outcome, as Richardt’s case had already proven.

“You shouldn’t confuse me like that.”

What he wanted was to stand in a position of advantage without fully laying bare his true feelings.

And now was a rather good opportunity.

“I was the one who couldn’t tell whether you truly loved me or not.”

Selina, who had only just managed to keep her footing in their rocky relationship, was the first to raise her hand. By revealing her anxiety over Calix, she naturally tipped the balance in his favor.

“So tell me,” he whispered to her, a languid smile playing at his lips.
“Do you really love me?”

The small body in his arms trembled faintly.

As she shuddered like a fledgling bird that had fallen from its nest, Calix felt an unfamiliar desire — a strange, consuming possessiveness that made him swear he would never let go of what had come within his reach.

When Selina gently grasped his collar and whispered in a small voice—

“…I love you.”

Calix’s eyes wavered.

Like a traveler standing on parched land, longing desperately for rain, he craved her sincerity. When Selina’s true feelings finally emerged, shy and tentative like a budding flower slowly lifting its head, he stood there, dumbfounded and unable to speak, like a boy experiencing his first love fever.

“…Do you?”

After a long silence, that was all he could say.

The only thing Calix could do was give in to the overwhelming urge threatening to consume him if he stood still for much longer. He had to hold Selina — and he had to do it right now. No other solution occurred to him.

Suddenly, he scooped her up, turned, and positioned her so that her face was reflected in the mirror.

“C-Calix?!”

Clinging to him, Selina squirmed in confusion, but his actions did not stop there.

“Look at your face in the mirror. You’re ripe enough that it wouldn’t be strange to bite you right now.”

“P-please, stop…”

Embarrassed, she turned her head away, but that was only a brief escape—hardly a solution.

“You want me to stop?”

Calix whispered as he repeatedly pressed his lips to her nape. Each time his hot tongue traced her skin and left behind red marks, a soft m*an slipped free.

“Your body says otherwise.”

As a sharp, tingling sensation raced up from her toes and wrapped around her entire body, Selina trembled and leaned into him. When she curled deeper into his arms, Calix lifted her chin and held it in place, forcing her to keep her eyes on their reflection in the mirror.

“You said you love me.”

He whispered again, his voice unbearably sweet.

“So say it properly. Right here. One more time.”

She didn’t know why he was so fixated on those words. Surely, countless people had confessed their love to him before. Could something she said really hold such meaning for him?

And yet—

‘If it means even a little.’

Perhaps her confession of love would carry more weight with Calix if he had not regretted what had happened that night, but had actually just been too busy to visit her; if seeing Selina’s wrist held by another man had triggered his jealousy; and if this jealousy was indeed because of what he had seen.

This led Selina to quietly conclude that she might have misunderstood Calix all along. Perhaps he harbored far deeper feelings for her than she had ever realized.

There was only one way to find out.

“I love you, Calix.”

Selina lifted his face and turned it towards her. She pressed her lips to his, which were now as red as his eyes.

For a moment, Calix’s pupils widened slightly. Facing her husband, who looked genuinely startled, she declared her love for him once more.

“I love you more than my own life.”

As she finally spoke the feelings she had long kept sealed away—aged longer than the richest wine—Selina realized that these words were not a lie.

‘If you asked me to die for you, I would give my life without hesitation.’

That was how deeply she loved him.