Queen Leparda Vesvium.

She was the sister of the Duke of Baiton — Henrik’s liege lord — and the reigning Queen of Prisada. She was almost as tall as any man.

She was more than just the queen, too. Everyone who bore the name Vesvium — known as the Eagles of the North — was broad-shouldered and powerfully built.

His formidable father-in-law was no exception. Nor was his steadfast wife.

If the woman standing before him truly carried Vesvium blood, she would be at least a palm taller.

‘Yes. She could not possibly be this small and slender.’

Of course, that comparison only held true next to the Vesviums. Sveta Luce was not particularly small.

She was of average height for a woman — perhaps even slightly shorter — but there was something distinctly delicate about her.

Perhaps it was her large eyes. When she looked up, she seemed daring, almost defiant. But when she lowered her gaze, the impression shifted completely.

Her rounded eyes made her appear timid and almost childlike.

Those soft, clouded eyes lingered on the trampled flowerbed.

“Viscount Meriner, who could have crushed the flowers like this?”

“A damaged garden can be restored quickly. Please do not worry too much.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course. There are several gardeners employed here.”

Reassured, Sveta nodded.

After giving the ravaged flowers one last glance, she turned back to Henrik.

“But what brings you here?”

“I came to deliver a message to His Grace. It seems this is already our second meeting in Czernok.”

“The second?”

Sveta tilted her head slightly.

She did not expect him to make a mistake. This must therefore be a reference to an encounter she could not recall herself.

“May I borrow your handkerchief for a moment?”

“Yes, of course.”

Although the request seemed out of context, Sveta handed it over without hesitation.

Henrik unfolded the handkerchief and folded it diagonally. Then, as though it were a mask, he raised it to cover the lower half of his face.

Only his eyes remained visible.

The warm impression he had given off before sharpened instantly.

Curving his keen brown eyes gently, he asked.

“Do you remember me now? We met like this.”

“……”

Instinctively, Sveta took two steps back.

Something surfaced from the dark sea of her memory.

Fragments she had once believed unrelated began to connect.

“That night…”

Yes, it had been like this.

She had encountered a man dressed exactly like that at the baron’s estate.

It was a night without moonlight.

A sudden shout. A heavy thud.

Startled from her bed, Sveta rushed downstairs.

There, she froze, holding her breath.

“H–huff… huff…”

Beside her adoptive mother, who lay collapsed and gasping, stood an unfamiliar man.

‘Was she attacked? What should I do…?’

Sveta shrank back in fear.

The intruder entered the baron’s study and returned carrying a candlestick with a still-burning flame. He lifted her mother’s eyelids and checked her pulse.

Then he turned to Sveta and nodded firmly.

It was as though he was telling her that everything would be all right.

She took a cautious step towards him.

In that instant, their eyes met.

The masked man’s eyes curved into a quiet smile.

Without letting that smile fade, he vanished into the darkness.

From that night on, her adoptive mother became increasingly nervous. Soon after, Dalia began searching for a new place to live.

And so they came under the duke’s protection.

She had never imagined —

— that the masked intruder from that night had been Viscount Meriner.

Sveta blinked, unable to hide her disbelief.

“The intruder… who slipped into the baron’s estate.”

Henrik folded the handkerchief neatly before answering.

“That was me.”

“Why would you do such a thing? And why are you telling me now?”

“Well… I have a feeling you will soon discover the reason yourself.”

Taking back her handkerchief, Sveta said quietly.

“Please just tell me, Viscount.”

“Let us create a secret between us.”

“…A secret?”

“If you uncover why I did it, come and find me.”

The more she spoke with this man, the more questions arose.

Yet strangely, she felt no discomfort.

Instead, she found herself wanting to solve the riddle he had offered.

“How would I find you?”

“Every afternoon at two, I take tea at the coffee house on Renan’s Univern Street.”

“But…”

‘I am not allowed to go out.’

She could not finish the sentence.

Henrik’s gaze had shifted past her shoulder, and he suddenly bowed his head.

When she turned, Aiden was approaching.

His green eyes were as cool as ever—but Sveta could sense the flicker of displeasure beneath them.

“I shall take my leave.”

Henrik withdrew at a pace that was not impolite, yet swift.

As Sveta turned from watching his retreating figure back toward Aiden, she was suddenly lifted into the air.

An arm, hard as timber, wrapped firmly around her waist.

“Your Grace?”

“Do not look at him. Look at me.”

A soft kiss began at her forehead and trailed slowly down the bridge of her nose. An impatient breath slipped between his red lips.

He kissed her with relentless intensity, as though sealing a mark into place.

***

The humid sea breeze stirred the sheer curtains.

Bathed in the pale light of dawn, Sveta slept softly.

Propped on one elbow, Aiden lay beside her, watching.

“Let us create a secret.”

“Come find me.”

It was fortunate he had discovered that man from Prisada attempting to charm Sveta.

‘Henrik Meriner.’

The heir to House Meriner had been sent by the Duke of Baiton to investigate corruption in Baron Luce’s court.

The Duke of Baiton had granted him permission to move freely through Czernok, but only due to a personal request. The Duke had been prompted to seek help in bringing those responsible to justice after a close friend of the Duchess had fallen victim to human trafficking.

Rumors that Baron Luce’s hidden dealings were tied to trafficking had been circulating for years.

‘It seems he is trying to learn something from Sveta because of that…’

Since Aiden would never permit it openly, the man had chosen to approach her with feigned familiarity.

He had even attempted to lure her out.

“I take tea every afternoon at two at the coffee house on Renan’s Univern Street.”

There was no chance of that happening.

That coward from Prisada would never see Sveta again.

A coffee house? He could shut it down — or simply buy it outright.

A faint crease of irritation appeared on Aiden’s otherwise calm brow.

He did not want to think about it any longer. Pressing two fingers to the bridge of his nose, he forced the thoughts away.

But only for a moment.

Through the smallest fracture in his restraint, the thought surged back. Henrik Meriner’s voice lingered — sharp, persistent, and maddeningly clear.

“Let us create a secret.”

A secret.

“Ha…”

A dry breath escaped him.

Sveta hadn’t rejected the suggestion.

In fact, she had asked how she could find him.

Why hadn’t she refused? Why?

The question he could not bring himself to ask her forced him to sit up.

‘Does she intend to meet him? If so—why?’

Frustration tightening his chest, Aiden ran a rough hand through his hair.

“Mmm…”

The mattress shifted and Sveta stirred.

He gently brushed the strands of hair resting on her pale cheek aside.

For a moment, as he watched her lips moving softly in her sleep, his thoughts stilled.

Moonlight spread across the distant sea, filtering through the gap in the curtains.

The glow pooled along her smooth collarbone.

Aiden’s gaze followed it lower.

“……”

He felt a sharp heat gather at his core.

Another sigh escaped him.

Again.

Once more, he found himself in this state while she slept with such innocence.

With practiced restraint, he rose from the bed and moved silently towards the bathroom.

***

“…Summon the nobles listed here. Exclude the Marquis of Matwood.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

At the low voice near the doorway, Sveta stirred awake.

After issuing his order to the aide, Aiden approached the bed.

“Will you sleep longer?”

“…No.”

“I will not be going out on inspection today. I shall remain in my study, so you may come whenever you wish.”

Still heavy with sleep, Sveta answered softly.

“Yes…”

After pressing a kiss to her brow as she shifted beneath the covers, he left the bedchamber.

Not long after, Madam Nora entered carrying a basin of water.

“My lady, the weather is lovely again today. Did you sleep well?”

“I did.”

Sitting up, Sveta washed her face lightly. As she smoothed the cream Madam Nora handed her over her face and neck, she asked.

“Madam… do you remember the night an intruder broke into the baron’s estate?”

“Of course. Lady Luce collapsed that night, and there was quite an uproar.”

“Was anything stolen?”

“Hm…”

Madam Nora’s gaze drifted toward the corner of the ceiling as she searched her memory. After a long pause, she tilted her head.

“Now that you mention it, it is strange. Nothing was taken.”

“Then what was the purpose of the intrusion?”

“That is odd, indeed. There was nothing particularly valuable in the study.”

“……”

“And Baron Norian turned the place upside down several times afterward, claiming he was searching for something.”

“That’s right, isn’t it?”

Madam Nora lifted a navy dress she had prepared.

“Turn around, my lady.”

As Sveta slipped her arms into the sleeves, Madam Nora began fastening the long row of buttons down her back.

Meanwhile, Sveta organized her thoughts.

‘Viscount Meriner did not fail to steal anything. He simply did not find what he was looking for.’

After Baron Luce disappeared, Sveta rarely slept through the night.

The baron’s study was directly below her room and, with no soundproofing between the floors, she could hear whenever someone entered it to search it.

This is why she was not overly startled when she encountered the masked viscount that night.

He had not been the only one.

Many others had come after midnight — men sent by Baron Luce’s elder brother, Baron Norian. They searched with quiet desperation, as though chasing something that could not be allowed to vanish.

That ‘something’ was hidden in the baron’s secret library.

‘That must be why he spoke to me in riddles.’

Only now did she begin to understand why Viscount Meriner had approached her.