Ariel passed through the portal and landed in the garden of Macglier Castle. Chief Mage Hemington Blue, who had been waiting for them in the garden, approached her.

“Just a moment.”

Ariel extended her hand to stop him from coming closer. It was time for the dark mages to come out.

Ariel tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and waited for the three dark mages.

Whirrr-!

The portal swirled, and soon the dark mages appeared one by one.

“……!”

Hemington Blue’s eyes widened.

They really did it. These people.

He hadn’t expected much from the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Atlan. He thought they would soon return, overwhelmed by the demonic beasts.

But as time passed and the night grew darker without the portal opening, he began to worry that something had gone wrong.

Then, the portal opened, and the Grand Duchess appeared, bringing with her three dark mages with dazed expressions.

Hemington looked back and forth between Ariel and the dark mages.

“Where is the Grand Duke?”

In response to his question, Ariel pointed to the portal.

Whirrr-!

The portal swirled loudly. Leopold, with a worried expression, walked out quickly.

Seeing that Ariel was safe, he sighed in relief and hugged her tightly.

“El.”

“Why are you so worried?”

Because he was holding her head, her face was pressed against his chest, and she mumbled her words.

Was it because the tension eased upon arriving at the castle? Or because they had achieved what they wanted?

Leopold buried his face in the crown of her head and smiled.

Hemington and the three dark mages stood awkwardly, unable to interrupt their reunion.

It doesn’t take 30 minutes, not even 10 minutes to travel through the portal. Is there a need for such a deep greeting?

Hemington Blue raised an eyebrow.

“Leo-!”

Ariel stepped out of Leopold’s embrace. As if he had never held her tightly, he gently released his arms.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Hemington spoke to Leopold.

But Leopold had nothing to say to him.

He planned to inform Kaiser that he would interrogate the dark mages.

‘If it turns out that they are connected to Noah Diaz, I must also insist that their custody be handed over to me.’

Leopold’s eyes narrowed.

“I wish to see King Macglier.”

“…….”

It was late.

He might already be asleep. Going to the king’s chamber now would violate royal etiquette.

Hemington hesitated.

Leopold’s eyebrows furrowed.

“It seems that the fact we exterminated the demonic beasts and captured the dark mages is a trivial matter to the Kingdom of Macglier. In that case, I have no problem releasing them again.”

He roughly dragged the dark mages, intending to push them back into the portal.

Ariel watched the situation with her arms crossed.

‘I want to finish this quickly and rest.’

She touched her eyebrows.

Her body wasn’t tired, but the excessive mental strain had left her feeling mentally exhausted.

“Ah… I’m sorry. I will report it immediately. Please, come inside first.”

The Grand Duke exuded an overwhelming presence.

Hemington, feeling the immense dignity and charisma that even his master, King Kaiser of Macglier, did not possess, quickly bowed his head.

“What should we do with these men?”

“It would be best to imprison them in the royal palace dungeon for now. I can’t drag them around with me.”

“Yes, understood.”

Hemington gave instructions to several mages standing nearby. He ordered them to guide the Grand Duke and Duchess to the king’s reception room and to imprison the dark mages.

“Your Highness, please follow this person. They will guide you to the reception room.”

“Make sure those men are thoroughly watched so they can’t escape.”

“Do not worry. The royal palace dungeon is equipped with a magic circle that nullifies dark magic.”

Leopold nodded.

Ariel approached and took his hand.

His hand, with prominent veins, tightly held her slender, white hand.

***

Not long after they arrived at the reception room, Kaiser entered.

“Everyone, leave us. Even the attendants waiting outside.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The head attendant and Hemington left the reception room, closing the door behind them.

Kaiser waited until all signs of life had disappeared before finally speaking.

“I have been waiting for you.”

“There were more demonic beasts than expected. It took some time to deal with them all.”

Leopold leaned back deeply into the sofa.

“Thank you sincerely. We couldn’t have managed on our own.”

“Seeing it firsthand, I fully understand your situation.”

If Liese Clark hadn’t captured a dark mage, they wouldn’t have found the dark mages’ hideout.

They would have barely managed to defeat the demonic beasts and return.

However, by some stroke of luck…

Thanks to bringing Evan and his wife to Macglier, they were able to easily bring all the dark mages as well.

“Why did you want to meet with me?”

“I want to interrogate the dark mages.”

Kaiser realized that the tone was not one of seeking permission.

It was a notification. A notification that he would interrogate them personally.

However, he was not offended at all. The position of the Emperor of Atlan warranted such authority.

“And… let me say this in advance. If necessary, Atlan might need to take custody of them. Well, it’s not certain yet. And we won’t take them all. Just that guy named Khan. One will suffice.”

“I understand. You may do as you wish. The Kingdom of Macglier is well aware that it cannot exercise any rights over this matter.”

‘He is quite reasonable.’

Leopold nodded, satisfied with Kaiser’s response.

“The carriage to take you back to the mansion is already prepared. Since it is late today, will you interrogate them tomorrow?”

“Let’s do that.”

Leopold, noticing Ariel looking tired, quickly wrapped up the conversation and stood up to leave.

He then took her hand to help her rise comfortably from her seat.

“Would you like us to send the carriage for you tomorrow?”

“No. We will come on our own.”

He was concerned that if the carriage arrived early and waited at the door, it might disrupt their rest.

“Understood. Thank you sincerely for today.”

Leopold nodded and, holding Ariel’s hand, left the reception room.

As they exited the castle, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She leaned against his chest as they walked and soon stopped.

“Leo. You’ve worked hard. Let’s go rest, together.”

Then she lifted her head to meet his gaze and stood on her tiptoes to press her lips to his.

In that moment, the fatigue that had followed him like a dark cloud vanished completely.

“Yes. To do that, we need to get on the carriage quickly.”

Leopold wrapped his arms under her and lifted her up.

In the dim twilight, his desire for her flickered.

***

The horse pulling the carriage picked up speed. The wheels clattered, and the carriage swayed side to side.

However, the two entangled bodies had no intention of stopping what they were doing.

As Ariel languidly leaned back on his thigh, her slender neck extended. He supported her waist firmly with his arm and buried his lips in her neck.

Breathing heavily and planting kisses on her soft skin, his lips showed his determination to inhale all of her intoxicating scent that dulled his senses.

Ariel’s clear eyes were clouded with pleasure.

When they had boarded the carriage, her delicate fingers had been wrapped around his neck, but now they were clutching his soft hair.

Her lowered eyelids trembled, and her plump lips panted with excited breaths.

“Leopold…”

On that early summer night, her voice pierced through the humid air.

Her moist voice made his stomach churn.

He wanted to hear more.

His name, spilling from her lips.

“Leo…”

Yes, my El.

Forgetting to respond to her call, he lifted his face from her neck and grabbed the nape of her neck with one hand.

He pulled her face close and devoured her parted lips.

He sucked and licked her tongue roughly.

Her hand, gripping his dark blue hair, tightened.

Ariel erased all the complicated thoughts from her mind.

The events of the day and the suspicion that Noah might be related to the dark mages faded far away.

At this moment, all that remained for her was the joy and complete affection that Leopold bestowed upon her.

Ariel gently closed her eyes, which had been slightly open.