“Ah…!”

Magnus grabbed her shoulders and gently pushed her down.

With a thud, she lay on her back on the bed, unable to bear the intense gaze of the man in front of her, and tightly closed her eyes.

Watching her eyelids tremble, he slowly moved up over her and held her.

He quite likes the moment when her cheeks turn red.

He also liked that the kiss was still clumsy, and even breathing depended on him.

When she couldn’t bear it and reached out to grab his clothes and cling to him, he sometimes felt a dangerous thrill.

He likes how she follows him as he pulls.

Even when he firmly grabs her waist and pulls her close, she just stares at him blankly with her reddened eyes.

Knowing how fierce these eyes can become when mocking or angry at people, at that moment, she looks at him with a face as docile as can be, like an innocent and naive child.

Like tree roots intertwining, he pushed his hand between her fingers and interlocked them tightly.

It’s indescribable how lovely her wavering gaze looks.

As he holds her hand that clumsily grasps back, he now had to try not to let his desire be felt by her.

“Haa, haa…”

When he allowed her to breathe, she clung to him, roughly gulping in oxygen.

‘It would be nice if she’s mostly like this.’

It would be nice if she clung to him for everything, demanded everything from him, requested everything from him.

‘It would be good if she was half mixed with the Serena from that time.’

That side was too honest and straightforward to be a problem, while this side is problematic because she’s too self-abusive and keeps her mouth shut.

Does she know how much it stimulates the dark parts of a person when she clings without a single complaint even to their persistent kisses?

Sometimes Magnus felt as if he had become some kind of beast.

Suppressing his hand that wanted to move on its own, he grabbed her waist with the hand that wasn’t interlocked.

He kissed her again as she was panting for breath.

Her clumsy attempts to match his movements were incomparably lovely.

‘…Truly. I don’t want to let her go anywhere.’

Recently, he came to understand his father, the previous Duke, very well.

Because he sometimes thinks he wants to impulsively do the actions his father used to show.

To be honest, Magnus didn’t know about burning love or emotions that felt like his heart would burst.

He had lived trying not to feel things that could greatly shake a person’s emotions.

So even if it was love, he didn’t feel like he would die without the other person or that he would completely stop eating and drinking without them.

Sometimes when he asked someone or read it in novels, they would describe love as something tremendously burning and hot.

But for Magnus, love wasn’t like that. It wasn’t such a hot thing.

If this emotion he’s feeling for Serena now is really love, he wanted to name love as ’37 degrees Celsius’.

When they’re together, his body becomes a little warmer than usual, but when it’s gone, that coolness feels particularly cold.

Magnus had been learning to control his emotions for quite a long time since childhood.

It was unavoidable.

The ducal family was born with madness for generations, and until an heir is born, they have to live a life not knowing when that madness might explode.

So the previous Duke, his father, always took him to wander in the battlefields.

He taught him how to release the madness and how to control it.

Live normally, but never truly be emotionally shaken.

If there is such a thing as a boiling point for people, Magnus was living a tiring life where he always had to control his emotions to just below that boiling point.

That’s exactly who Magnus von Kelahinum is.

So, the 100-degree line was very important to him.

He tried not to get excited about anything, and now he could hardly feel changes in his emotions.

That’s why Magnus didn’t think he would ever truly love someone.

He never thought there would be someone he liked just by looking at, someone whose lukewarm warmth he liked when it was transmitted.

Even if it doesn’t burn as hot as fire, Serena was sufficiently imbued in him.

Now Magnus’s heart would pound when she even thought about leaving.

When it seemed like she was casually preparing for a farewell, he would unknowingly have love on his lips.

Because when he did that, she would waver slightly for a moment and then tightly close her mouth.

‘What should I do to make her want to live together?’

How can I make the thought of leaving disappear from this small head?

“Ah…!”

Startled by the small sound, Magnus slowly kissed her as if caressing her, fumbled with her lips, and then slowly pulled away.

“You… perhaps, did something happen?”

Serena asked with a slightly surprised expression.

It was understandable as the atmosphere was different from usual, more subdued.

“Ah, I just remembered something from the past.”

“Memories from the past…?”

Magnus chose his words carefully.

He decided to bring up the story of the past somewhat impulsively to her, who was unexpectedly soft-hearted.

“Yes, you’ve heard that I have madness, right?”

“Ah, um.”

Serena looked cautious and then nodded with her reddened, plump lips.

‘…I want to do it again.’

Magnus thought shamelessly.

He opened his mouth while fixing his gaze on her lips.

“When I was 7, I went on a rampage for the first time. So I was dragged to the battlefield with my father, that is, the previous duke.”

“…7 years old?”

“That’s right. It was around that time.”

Magnus kissed her neck.

Surprised by the sudden contact, she rolled her eyes a bit but didn’t push him away.

‘This much is okay, it seems.’

Magnus slowly figured her out and continued speaking so she wouldn’t get bored.

“I killed a person for the first time.”

“……”

For him, such stories weren’t particularly painful memories.

His father, the previous duke, had left his beloved wife at the mansion for years and worked as a mercenary with him, going through all sorts of dangerous situations for his sake.

If you think about it, it was quite a good memory, and parental love.

Naturally, it wasn’t a painful memory.

But Magnus now instinctively knows that Serena will be moved by such stories.

He doesn’t feel particularly guilty.

Because Serena also seemed to be hiding a lot from him.

“More blood splattered than I thought, covering my whole body, and people didn’t die instantly but died painfully, convulsing.”

“……”

“Do you know what I thought then?”

“Uh, no.”

Serena carefully shook her head.

It was because his heavily sunken voice and immersed gaze seemed different from usual.

He reached out and slowly moved along her spine.

Although she flinched and shrank back, Serena didn’t avoid or shun him.

She seemed to be simply surprised by the touch on an unfamiliar place.

‘…The range of allowance is wider than I thought.’

He thought as he fiddled with her waist with his fingers.

Yet, without changing his expression, he faithfully opened his mouth.

“I thought… it was enjoyable.”

After saying that much, he glanced at Serena’s reaction.

He was a bit startled even after saying it. Serena seemed a bit surprised, but her expression was quite calm.

Magnus unknowingly moved his Adam’s apple, swallowing his tension.

‘I made a mistake.’

He didn’t mean to say he enjoyed killing people.

Magnus blamed himself for his stupidity.

Even if he was dull, he could at least distinguish words that the other person would find unpleasant.

“…Um, I see.”

But Serena was strong.

That is, mentally speaking.

After a long time, unable to find the right words, she slowly uttered just that much.