“The gentleman died last night.”

Kahar tilted his head slightly and pressed his lips to Meliciel’s cheek, then pulled away.

It was so fl*id and natural that Meliciel only understood what happened around the time the sensation of his lips disappeared.

“…….”

She rubbed the spot where his lips touched with her fingertips and stared at him in disbelief.

“What. Did you like my lips?”

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Want me to use my tongue too?”

Meliciel stared at him with wide, startled eyes, and Kahar laughed like he was enjoying himself.

Right. That man is not ordinarily crazy.

“Shall we go, then?”

Kahar whispered in a sweet voice. He drove everyone else into fear while teasing Meliciel with a honeyed tone.

But from a distance, it looked like Grand Duke Kahar was completely taken with his future Grand Duchess.

Only now did Meliciel begin to slowly understand his intent.

Kahar was clearly issuing a warning.

That no matter what she tried, she could not come close to the Grand Duke’s level. So go ahead and try something, he was saying.

It was also a thorough warning never to speak Viviana’s name again.

The gentleman who died last night was probably referring to his patience.

He seemed genuinely angry. It was proof that Kahar loved Viviana with his whole heart.

I touched something I shouldn’t have.

If Meliciel failed this test and went on thoughtlessly defying him, she would be discarded without mercy.

She could reach this conclusion because she knew his character to some degree.

A scene from the past suddenly surfaced in her mind.

The time Lani slipped quietly into Kahar’s room, and Kahar and Viviana startled apart from each other.

“Oh my. You have a guest.”

“She’s not a guest. Lani, wait outside for a moment.”

After Viviana left, the shameless man pressed his lips to Lani’s forehead.

Having been pressed against another woman just moments before, Kahar acted as though Lani belonged to him.

But Lani never once defied him, because he was the one who saved her life when she nearly died at the auction house.

She did not want to be like that anymore. Could she not tell him how she felt, just a little?

Meliciel drew back the eyes that shone with quiet sorrow and steadied her breathing.

Then, as though she made up her mind, she reached out both hands and wrapped them around Kahar’s neck.

She rose onto her heels. She slowly leaned in and caught his lips, then let go.

“…….”

In the past, this man, mad with desire, never turned away from contact like this. He never hid that he wanted Lani.

What about now? Would he say it disgusted him because she was not Viviana?

Or, like when he kissed her first just now, would he still treat this kind of contact as something trivial?

Kahar looked at her with slight surprise, then furrowed his brow.

“That’s a bolder repayment than I expected.”

“It’s a response to an excessive gift.”

He bent down and readily lifted her into his arms.

“Then I should make myself worth the price.”

“What? Put me down.”

“No.”

Kahar adjusted his hold on Meliciel as she squirmed in surprise and gave a light, mocking remark. Then with one arm around Meliciel and one hand on the reins, he leaped onto the horse.

He held her squirming waist firmly.

“Grand Duke, this is……!”

“The carriage is gone now, so what can you do?”

The carriage was smashed, but they could simply prepare a new one. So why did she have to ride the same horse as him, for all to see?

Something she felt between his thighs made Meliciel flinch in surprise.

She met his eyes and startled even more, turning her head away, and Kahar laughed low.

“Do you like it?”

“……Please get me a carriage.”

“Hold on. Unless you want to tumble off again like you did from the rock.”

She finally lost patience and raised her hand to push against his chest, and he lightly caught her hand and pressed his lips to the back of it.

Through the spill of his hair, his blue eyes were sharp and beautiful, and Meliciel could do nothing at all.

***

It was already the second day of traveling on Kahar’s horse, or rather, perched on it. The night before, after using the travel portal, they stayed at an inn and set out again early in the morning.

They stopped to rest about once every two or three hours, but for Meliciel, who spent her whole life lying in bed, it was a grueling journey.

Even so, she felt too sorry for the knights and servants traveling with them to show how hard it was, so she kept forcing herself to act fine.

It would also be better to arrive at the Grand Duchy quickly rather than delay further.

From around four in the afternoon, the weather turned ominous. Dark clouds began rolling in, and before long the sky turned black.

Meliciel was still seated in front of Kahar, nodding off.

“Lean back comfortably. I’m not heartless enough to let you fall off a horse.”

“You told me to go ahead and fall off if you weren’t going to hold me…….”

Meliciel grumbled and straightened her posture.

“And how am I supposed to lean back comfortably when the Grand Duke isn’t comfortable either?”

“What?”

“…….”

“I don’t think that’s something a person who’s been sleeping in my arms all day should say.”

“……That’s exactly why you could just get me a carriage.”

Meliciel pulled herself upright before she could doze off again and touched her slightly warm earlobes.

“Either be brazen or be shy. Pick one.”

“I can’t be consistent every time. Most people go back and forth.”

She protested in a small voice. She did not want to lose a single exchange to him.

The result of poking at his sore spot in the name of making a threat was that Kahar met her every move with a sneer and returned every word with mockery, so Meliciel had no choice but to fight back stubbornly.

“Fine, just don’t go crying that you want to go home.”

“Home is the Grand Duke’s home now.”

“You adapt fast.”

Kahar’s sarcasm was irritating every time she heard it, but Meliciel kept her expression as neutral as she could and managed her feelings.

This man is insane. Truly insane.

“Your Highness.”

Mihael came forward then. He looked around the forest, green as his own hair, then pointed at the sky.

“Rain will pour soon. The timing is awkward, so it would be better to ride without stopping.”

“It’ll be a fairly long ride. Can you manage?”

Meliciel gave a light nod. The weather looked threatening to her as well, and she felt that stopping because her body was struggling would only lead to worse trouble.

“Full speed.”

Kahar’s voice rang out and the knights answered in unison. The moment he finished speaking, Kahar was the first to pick up speed.

The pace was nothing like before, and Meliciel felt a flicker of fear. The trees flashing past and the obstacles the warhorses cleared in stride made her head spin.

She tried to hold on as best she could, but her slight frame began to sway as the speed kept climbing.

Meliciel quietly grabbed Kahar’s cloak, and from somewhere came the sound of a low laugh.

“……You wouldn’t want a dead Grand Duchess.”

“Right. You need to stay alive at least until the wedding.”

Everyone’s wish to have the rain hold off until they arrived was dashed, and cold raindrops began to fall. The rain that tapped lightly against the skin turned into a downpour in an instant, like iron bars crashing down.

Shhhh.

The water that swallowed the earth was threatening, like a great hole had opened in the sky. By that point, Meliciel had no choice but to press herself against Kahar.

“We’re almost there, so just close your eyes for a bit.”

Fortunately, Kahar did not tease her for being frightened this time. Instead, he spread his cloak wide and wrapped it fully around her body.

Inside the waterproof cloak, Meliciel managed to find some calm.

The great heaving motion of the warhorse beneath her, and the strong pulse of the man at her ear.

A strange feeling washed over her. Another old memory came back.

“Do you like my chest?”

“The Grand Duke’s heartbeat is just so loud…… I was startled.”

“Then listen more.”

But it was only a bitter memory. Meliciel felt nausea rising and pressed her hand over her mouth.

Fortunately, she was able to reach their destination before she fainted.

“Good work. Everyone rest until the rain stops.”

Kahar ordered the knights and leaped off the horse. He carried the limp future Grand Duchess in one arm and walked into a stable with a roof.

It would be a lie to say he was not concerned about Meliciel, who had been hanging limply since a while back.

He never intended to push her this hard either. The weather turned differently from the forecast, and the journey became more grueling than planned.

“Are you asleep?”

Meliciel barely managed to push the cloak aside with her weakened arms and poke her face out.

“Have we finally arrived?”

“You look like you’ve come back from the dead.”

Kahar said it in an even tone and quickly scanned her complexion. Fortunately, she did not seem to be in serious condition.

“Put me down now.”

“This is our territory. The climate around here is too volatile for people to live in, but it has research value. We mainly use it as a transit route.”

Kahar began walking steadily with her still in his arms. Servants came running from somewhere, but he dismissed them with a glance.

“Put me down already. I can walk on my own.”

“Over there is the knights’ quarters. And this way is where we’ll rest.”