He.

The guardian—D’hiver Keith.
Commonly known as Duke Keith.

He was a transcendent being who lived an eternal life, possessing power beyond anyone else. A ‘monster’ feared by all—and revered just as much.

But whether he was the kingdom’s guardian, a monster, or whether I was a Psyche—none of that mattered to us.

They say people recognize those who are like themselves.

Though the years we had lived were vastly different, he was someone who understood a loneliness much like mine.

At thirteen, I had been alone.

With him, I became two.

I was no longer lonely.

But looking back, it wasn’t as though there had been no signs of something strange even then.

To me, who had lived as nothing more than a burden, his castle felt like paradise.

Perhaps that was why, even after so many years had passed, I still remembered the first day I stepped into it with startling clarity.

I remembered his back as he led me.

I remembered the short strides that didn’t match his tall frame.

I couldn’t forget the pale golden hair that fell out of place with every step nor the broad back I had wanted to rely on.

And so, the last place we arrived at was a room deep beneath the castle.

D’hiver stopped before an old, worn brown door.

At a glance, it was nothing special.

And yet, the moment I stood before it, a chill crept down my spine.

From within, something grotesque—something overwhelming—seemed to seep through.

It wasn’t difficult to tell that this was no ordinary place.

“This is…”

For the first time, D’hiver wore an unfamiliar expression.

As if troubled.

Then, in an unusually careful voice, he whispered—

“Even if it happens to be open… this is the one room you must never enter.”

“When you go in, what happens?”

The moment I asked, D’hiver’s expression hardened—so suddenly and so fiercely that I wondered if I had imagined it.

“If you enter, you’ll be cursed. A terrifying curse. So…”

In the next instant, as if nothing had happened, he smiled brightly again.

“No matter what, don’t go inside.”

For a fleeting second, I thought I saw a faint blue shadow along his jaw, like stubble catching the light.

But I didn’t question it.

I simply followed his words.

I wandered through every corner of the castle—but never, not once, did I step into that room.

And when winter came again, he left my side.

The king had died without warning.

As the guardian of this land, he was bound to fulfill the ‘pact’ he had made with it.

“I’ll be back.”

Before leaving, D’hiver stroked my hair and gifted me a small white cat.

“Think of it as me… and take good care of it.”

I nodded, holding the tiny cat in my arms.

All I could do was watch him as he walked away.

Worrying—what if he never returned to me, like everyone else?

“Miss.”

The one who stayed by my side as I waited endlessly for him was Suki, who had come to this castle as a Psyche fifty years ago.

Just as Blanche once had, Suki cared for me deeply.

And I, in turn, relied on her like another mother as I waited for D’hiver’s return.

Five years passed like that.

The year I turned seventeen—an adult.

Time flowed peacefully and abundantly within his castle.

It was a time when I was slowly learning about the world and gradually forgetting his face.

One night, deep into the quiet hours, I fell asleep and within the lingering shadows of an old nightmare, I felt a presence I did not recognize.

It startled me. Nothing like this had happened in nearly five years.

Slowly, I opened my eyes and met the gaze of a dark figure sitting at the edge of my bed.

“Who…?”

“Shh.”

The figure pressed a finger to my lips.

After glancing around quickly, he leaned in and whispered in a low, pleasant voice,

“…Be quiet. Suki will scold us. She’ll say no one is allowed to enter a lady’s room without permission.”

As if the thought alone was dreadful, his body gave a small shiver.

Then, in the darkness, I thought I saw his eyes curve.

A voice, heavy with longing and tenderness, called my name.

“Violette.”

On that sorrowful night, his cold, large hand came to rest against my cheek.

His touch was careful—gentle.

A trembling thumb traced along my face—my cheek, my cheekbone, the corner of my eye, the line beneath my ear, the curve of my jaw.

My tightly pressed lips.

Then—a voice, shaking with years of restrained longing, fell over me.

“I can barely recognize you now. You’ve grown so much… and it’s only been five years.”

“Is it… really you, Lord Keith…?”

My eyes burned as I called his name.

I reached out, brushing his cheek.

Unlike the first time we met, his skin was rough—worn by hardship.

“Is it really… you?”

“My name.”

He pulled me into his arms with ease, his lips close to my ear.

The warmth of his breath—so alive—wrapped around me.

“You promised you’d call my name.”

I nodded.

My eyes, filled with longing, trembled.

“You… came back?”

Unlike everyone else who had left me, he had returned.

Clinging to his broad chest like a child, I whimpered softly,

“You’re not… going to leave again, are you?”

“No. Where would I go?”

He pulled me closer once more.

His voice, heavy with regret, wrapped around me with quiet warmth.

“I’m sorry. I said those things… and then left.”

“No… it’s alright.”

“No. It isn’t. I didn’t want to go—but I had no choice. You know that. It was the pact.”

It was as though the words I had never managed to say had reached him, that because of him, I had lived a comfortable and gentle life in his castle…that unlike the nightmares of my hometown, I had been protected by warm people, cared for, and had waited for him in happiness.

As if he understood it all, he pressed his forehead lightly against mine.

Only then, wrapped in that approaching warmth, did I truly feel it, that he had returned to my side.

“I’m late… but now it’s time to keep my promise to you.”

“Your promise?”

“I told you I’d become your love. So now, I’ll stay by your side—until the day your life comes to an end.”

After five years, the embrace I returned to was nothing but warm.

Like a child seeking affection, I burrowed into his arms, pouring out all the words I hadn’t been able to say before—and everything that had built up over those five years.

The dark night deepened.

As we spoke in hushed voices, I grew tired and at some point, I drifted off to sleep in his arms.

And then, morning came.

“Miss, it is time to wake. This morning, you are to have breakfast, then arrange flowers in the garden. After that, you planned to practice the piano.”

It was Suki’s voice.

When I didn’t respond from beneath the covers, she approached the bed and pulled the blanket back.

“Miss? Are you still aslee—oh, heavens!”

She screamed upon discovering another person beneath the covers.

Startled awake by the sharp cry, he frowned and pushed himself up.

Suki’s reaction was only natural.

“W-W-Who are you?!”

“That’s a bit harsh. It’s only been five years, have you already forgotten me? Don’t tell me you’ve gone senile.”

“M-My lord? Is that truly you? When did you return?”

“Last night.”

“If you had returned, you should have come to me first! Do you not know how many matters require your attention? Why would you come to the young lady first—! W-Wait, my lord!”

Suki’s shrill voice rang out again.

As if used to such scenes, he simply ran a hand through his disheveled hair, unfazed.

“How many times must I say this? One must not enter a lady’s chamber without permission! Why do you never even pretend to listen? If you continue like this—!”

“Suki.”

With a single word, he gently cut off her endless scolding.

“I know.”

At that calm, assured reply, Suki seemed momentarily at a loss for words.

Still clutching the blanket, she stiffened, her lips moving soundlessly—before turning her gaze to me, nestled close beside him.

“Miss!”

“…Yes, Suki.”

“No matter that he is your lord, for the sake of your reputation, you must send him out! You are now a proper adult—you must think of such things. Do you understand?”

“Yes… I understand.”

I lowered my head slightly as I answered.

Suki was kind, albeit a little peculiar, so it was easier to simply go along with her.

Then, in the spring, when I turned eighteen and not long after his return, Suki, who had stayed by my side for five years, quietly closed her eyes.

Just as Blanche had left me once before, Suki had simply reached the end of her time.

Starting with her, everything that had once been with me began to disappear, one by one:

Even the smallest things — the cat D’Hiver had given me and all the things that had become important in my life during the five years he was gone.

In the end, only he and I remained in this vast world.

But somehow, that was enough.

Unlike the others, he promised he would never leave me.

Eager to be loved at eighteen, I followed him — the one who had promised to be that love for me.

He was the only reason I survived.

Thanks to his devoted care, I had become an archmage by the time I turned nineteen.

Throughout it all, he was always by my side.

Just as Blanche had once been my entire world when I was a child, he came to fill that role as I grew up.

D’hiver Keith.

“Violette.”

And then, that summer—unusually hot—

“I can’t live without you anymore. So… spend the eternity I have left with me.”

He knelt before me willingly,

“Will you become Violette Keith?”

and proposed.

I took his hand with joy, unable to do anything but love him completely.

We had gone from being monsters and Psyche to becoming husband and wife, recognized by the divine.

D’Hiver was a meticulous husband.

He held me with both passion and care.

It was a night like any other, yet for some reason it felt different.

“I don’t think you understand how long I’ve waited for this day.”

D’hiver twisted a strand of my loosened hair and pressed a kiss to it.

Seated above me, he smiled—a faint, fleeting smile.

“I’ve never been this happy in my life.”

The hands that undressed me were as gentle as they had been on the first day.

By contrast, the hand that grasped my soft chest was unmistakably greedy.

His heated fingertips toyed skillfully with my hardened n*pple and each subtle movement sent shivers rippling down my body.

“…Really?”

My voice trembled as I asked.

D’hiver sank his teeth lightly into the nape of my neck.

His voice, low and hushed, was thick with desire.