Kahar stopped in front of a small wooden cabin. It was set a little apart from where the knights would rest, and the trees surrounding it gave it an isolated feel.

There was no time to look closely because of the heavy rain. Meliciel’s words were dismissed over and over, and she no longer had the energy to argue, so she let out a long sigh and rested her head against him.

“Good girl.”

She did not like Kahar’s tone, but she had no strength left and let it go.

As he stepped through the already open door, Kahar spoke.

“Everyone stand down. Rest until I call.”

The servants bowed their heads in acknowledgment.

“Yes. Enjoy your time.”

Enjoy your time? Meliciel frowned and looked around the quarters. The corners of the servants’ mouths seemed to twitch, which left her with a vague, unsettled feeling.

The cabin was open and large, consisting of a single room. Expensive decorations hung on every wall, with a bathroom on one side and a sleeping area on the other.

The fact that there was only one bed nagged at her, but she quickly shifted her attention elsewhere.

It was summer, so the fireplace held no flame. Instead, magic stones filled its place to maintain the temperature.

She heard they were quite expensive, so she found herself being unnecessarily careful.

On the smooth wooden table in the center of the room sat steaming stew, soft white bread, sweetly braised meat, and fresh fruit.

Steam rose from the teapot as well. It seemed preparations were made in advance to welcome the master before arrival.

The temperature grew colder with each leg of the journey, to the point where the summer heat was no longer felt, so the warm tea was a welcome sight.

Kahar stopped in front of a round chair. He sat Meliciel down there and headed toward the partition where the bathtub was.

He pulled back the partition, made of five connected panels, and a bathtub filled with hot water came into view.

Plumbing appeared to be installed, as a water pipe was visible on one side.

For what seemed like a simple resting place, there were many thoughtful touches here and there.

“There are several places like this throughout the empire.”

“Is this somewhere you visit often?”

“Twice a year or so.”

To keep it this well maintained for only that many visits. She felt it was a waste for a space far better than an ordinary commoner’s home to sit idle, while at the same time she was freshly struck by Kahar’s wealth.

“Are you washing first? Or together?”

Kahar was in the habit of teasing. Meliciel glared at him.

“Then I’ll go first. Have something to eat.”

Kahar gave a short laugh and began taking off his jacket. He was truly without any inhibition.

He shed his upper garments in an instant and was moving to take off his trousers whether she was watching or not.

“Aren’t you going to call a servant?”

“Bothersome.”

Meliciel quietly turned her head and stared at the table. Even then, the sounds of Kahar undressing continued.

“Is there perhaps another room?”

“What do you mean?”

“I was wondering whether I have to stay here with the Grand Duke tonight.”

The sound of water splashing as he stepped into the bathtub was clear.

“Isn’t it more of a fuss to deliberately sleep separately?”

“……But there is only one bed.”

“If you’re confident sleeping sandwiched between a bunch of dark figures, I’ll look into it.”

“……”

Honestly, even when he speaks.

His shadow moved faintly behind the thin partition. It was the soft glow of the magic stones shining above the bathtub.

Amber-colored magic stones hung throughout the cabin, giving it a rather cozy feel. Something about it felt strange.

A kind of ache. Why would a certain day come to mind, the day she spent the night with Kahar in a small cabin?

A terrible night, watching Kahar suffer from the killing sickness.

After that night, the companion ritual took place.

The sound of water rose and fell like waves. At some point he went quiet, and Meliciel pulled down a thin blanket and took off her shoes.

Slipping into soft slippers, she felt the fatigue melting away.

Meliciel sat back down and reached for the teapot. It was warm and fragrant tea.

One sip. Two sips. With each swallow, her body loosened.

She became aware of the man’s arm extending past the partition and quickly cast her eyes down.

Shhhh. The sound of the shower was growing louder. It felt like being stranded somewhere in the world.

Each time Kahar moved his arm, small sounds of water tapped the surface.

Perhaps now was an opportunity.

She was not yet Grand Duchess, but there was no particular issue with being intimate with him at any time.

So even now…… no, no.

No matter how urgent it feels, not now.

Meliciel was startled by her own reckless and bold thought, shook her head, and knocked over the teacup.

“Ugh…….”

Fortunately the cup did not break, but the remaining tea spilled over the back of her hand.

Meliciel rose from her seat. She planned to step out under the eaves and stretch her hand out to cool it.

“What happened?”

“I’m just going to get some air for a moment.”

“That would be a problem right now.”

“I only want to cool my hand. The tea spilled on it…….”

“In that case, come here. There’s cold water.”

Kahar called Meliciel over to the bathtub where he was. But she was not brazen enough to go near him.

“It’s fine.”

Meliciel moved toward the door.

She approached and was about to open it when the sound of vigorous splashing came from behind.

She turned in surprise, and Kahar was coming toward her with only a towel draped loosely around his lower half.

“You really don’t listen.”

“Why, why are you coming out like that?”

“Should I come out with nothing on?”

Kahar took her hand. He looked at the reddened back of her hand and let out a low sigh.

He reacted exactly like someone looking at a troublesome child, and Meliciel felt heat rise up her neck.

“……Let go.”

“Go outside. Everyone will be completely bare and running around out there.”

“……Pardon?”

“I’m saying they’re bathing in the rainwater. They’ll assume you’re inside with me and won’t come out. Understand?”

Kahar moved and placed her hand in a round basin. Cold water wrapped around her skin, and Meliciel winced at the pain that rose on its own.

“The Grand Duke is just as bare…….”

Meliciel murmured softly and, without thinking, let her gaze travel from his chest down to his navel. Water droplets ran down his chest and along the line of his waist.

Her eyes stopped at the particularly prominent towel. Meliciel squeezed her eyes shut.

His laughter scattered like darkness.

“Seems like you approve. You keep sneaking looks.”

“Please don’t say strange things.”

“Isn’t it your gaze that’s strange? If you’re that curious, go ahead and take it off to look.”

The low voice was absurdly enticing.

If she really pulled that towel away, would they move to the next step?

She was not a child. She knew well enough what happened when a man and woman on the verge of marriage got caught up in a charged atmosphere.

But this was Kahar. He was probably just teasing lightly.

And it was not yet the right time. To conceive his child, she needed to act carefully.

Kahar was angry with her, and he would not mean it sincerely.

“I think it’s fine now.”

“Right. It looks better.”

Kahar released Meliciel’s hand. She drew it back, dried it with a towel, and looked at him.

Kahar leaned sideways with one hand braced on the washstand, his hair wet and pushed back.

His features looked even sharper than usual. He was noticeably thinner in the face than a year ago.

Because of Viviana’s death, no doubt.

“You’re angry with me, aren’t you?”

Drip. Drip. The sound of falling water blended into the rain.

“I understand well enough what kind of warning the Grand Duke wants to give me.”

Kahar used Yulina and Shalon, Valt and Erik, to warn Meliciel.

Not to defy him.

“So…….”

“You want me to let it go and treat you kindly?”

“Not exactly, but either way we can’t keep going on like this forever.”

“No.”

Kahar lifted Meliciel’s chin with his fingertips.

“I want to make you more angry.”

“Grand Duke.”

“Using a person’s illness as a weakness is not something you should do. Don’t you think so?”

Meliciel had nothing to say. She rolled her eyes to the side and finally let them fall shut.

“I was desperate.”

“Because you needed to marry me to escape that hellish ducal house?”

It was not wrong, but it was not the whole of it. Meliciel did not answer.

Instead, her breathing grew short and tears welled up.

The Viviana this man loved…… killed my child.

That fact kept nagging at her, kept aching in her chest…….

She resented him, and blamed him.

The sound of the rain kept disrupting her thoughts.

It rained like this the day that child died too.

Meliciel could not lift her trembling eyelids again and collapsed where she stood.

She held on for a long time.

***

Meliciel dreamed of a long-ago memory.

She was looking out from the second-floor window of a cabin set on high ground.

The Nail of God tribe, invaded by raiders, was burning to ash.

The tribe’s home, built up over hundreds of years, was destroyed in less than half a day.

Meliciel stared at the sight blankly.

The tribe that bound her was falling apart.

‘Is this really the end?’