“…Damn it.”

His quiet curse slipped out. That faint, hesitant touch of hers had only stoked the fire burning within him.

***

The place they decided to stay was a luxurious inn catering to wealthy merchants and traveling nobles.

The spacious three-story building boasted a restaurant and various amenities, as well as well-maintained trails for guests to stroll along.

Elena had dragged Chase to a secluded corner of one such trail, away from prying eyes.

“Chase, I’m warning you. Stay away from the grand duchess. I get why you’re doing this. I really do. But this is between us. Don’t drag other people into it.”

Elena finally voiced what she had been holding back, her tone laced with anger. But something felt off.

Normally, Chase would fluster and scramble at even the slightest sign of her irritation, yet now, he simply regarded her calmly.

“Between us? It’s only now, when things have gotten this bad, that you’ve decided to think of us as a pair? I thought you despised me enough to make your skin crawl.”

Though his words dripped with bitter self-mockery, Chase didn’t seem like a man wounded by love.

If anything, his demeanor felt mocking. Arms crossed, a crooked smile played on his lips. Unable to contain her frustration, Elena raised her fist.

She intended to leave a matching bruise on the opposite side of his face, which Caleb had already struck. But her plan quickly unraveled.

“…!”

Her wrists were caught in Chase’s grip.

Seeing the frozen expression on Elena’s face, Chase let out a chuckle.

“I’m not laughing because it’s funny. I’m laughing because if I don’t, I might break your wrists. And I can’t do that, can I? No matter what, you’re still someone I once loved.”

“…!”

“Elena, you only have the right to order me around if I’m in love with you. I’d give my heart and soul to someone I love, but for anyone else… you know me. I’m not a generous man.”

“You’re insane…”

“Are you truly unaware, or just refusing to admit it? Elena, my sole focus right now is the grand duchess.”

“…”

“Don’t interfere. Even if it’s you, I won’t forgive it.”

Chase released her wrists with a dismissive motion and turned his back on her.

As his figure grew smaller in the distance, Elena stared at her wrists. His grip had been so firm that vivid marks remained on her pale skin—handprints that looked like shackles.

***

Damn it.

Caleb silently cursed himself countless times. At this rate, he felt he wouldn’t be able to stop. No, he wondered why he even needed to stop in the first place.

Astrid was his lawful wife and sole partner. Yet here he was, unable to hold her properly, playing the part of Elena’s lover instead. It was infuriating.

And now, with the crown prince’s funeral approaching, this was a critical time. The fate of Cliff itself might hinge on these events. Acting on impulse and ruining everything wasn’t an option.

‘Just a little longer. If I endure just a bit more and explain things to Astrid after the contract period ends..’

There was no reason this small, lovely woman wouldn’t understand. However, the sweet temptation of her soft, petite body tormented him. As Caleb wrestled with the stark reality before him and the candy-like allure, the small hand resting on his waist moved up to his chest and pushed him away without hesitation.

“…!”

Though the force was weak, the hand carried a resolute will.

“Stop. Stop this…”

Astrid, using all her strength to push Caleb away, spoke as she gasped for breath. Her strength was barely that of a child’s play to Caleb, but the moment she pushed him, he felt an inexplicable pain.

Shock, sorrow, or perhaps anger.

Caleb couldn’t define the emotions that suddenly overwhelmed him.

He silently looked down at Astrid’s adorable face. Her slightly disheveled golden hair, cheeks flushed peach-pink, and lips swollen as if to say, “I just kissed someone.” Her appearance was unbearably lovely, yet it pierced his heart.

Before he realized it, Caleb reached out to Astrid with his hand. Though his touch was anxious, it was careful.

“…!”

Astrid flinched and froze at the large hand reaching out to her.

‘I thought he was going to kiss me again.’

Instinctively, she stepped back. But Caleb’s touch was calm and composed.

He silently tidied Astrid’s hair and clothing as if nothing had happened. The gesture was plain, as though there had been no misunderstanding. Realizing her mistake, Astrid’s face turned crimson in an instant.

“I-I can fix it myself!”

She tried to pull away out of embarrassment, but before she could, the hand that had been brushing her hair reached her lips.

“…!”

Without a word, Caleb gently swept over her slightly parted lips with his thumb.

“They’ll probably blister by tomorrow. I’ll send ointment through Matilda. Make sure to apply it.”

The fiery tension in the air vanished as if it had never existed, replaced by a matter-of-fact tone that left Astrid feeling deflated and foolish for being so on edge.

‘Even a playful kiss from you shakes me like this. And yet for you, it’s just…’

Even though he was the man she loved, at this moment, Astrid resented Caleb. She despised how he could kiss her first and then act like it was nothing.

It felt as if he was trying to prove to her that she wasn’t truly a woman to him.

“Why are you doing this?”

“…”

She hadn’t meant to ask so directly, but seeing Caleb’s tightly closed lips made it impossible to hold back. Finally, Astrid blurted out the words that had been tormenting her.

“You claim Elena is your lover. But with me, your wife, you think this is acceptable because it’s legal? Two cakes in both hands—is that what you’re going for?”

“Astrid!”

Caleb’s voice turned stern, his face darkening with anger. The soft, tender feelings that had bloomed from their first kiss evaporated like mist.

“…Why are you angry? I’m the one who’s humiliated.”

Tears welled up in Astrid’s eyes as she glared at him. Even though her eyes remained gentle and reddened, making her look pitiful, she herself was unaware of it.

Caleb raised a hand to wipe her tear-streaked cheeks, but Astrid turned her face away sharply, rejecting his touch.

“Don’t touch me.”

“…”

“Even though I love you, I’m not some foolish puppy wagging its tail after being abandoned and called back right away.”

“Astrid!”

“And don’t yell at me. I’ve done nothing wrong.”

“I’m sorry. That wasn’t…”

“Save your apologies. It’s not like I hated it, after all.”

“…!”

Caleb’s expression faltered at the unexpected response, a mix of surprise and unease crossing his face. Watching him, Astrid bit her lip.

He was regretting it.

“At least my first time wasn’t terrible. Now, I think I could handle a second or third. Even if it’s not with you.”

Her words were a childish attempt to wound him. To leave a small scar on his heart, one she hoped would be because of her.

She knew it was petty, but if she didn’t lash out this way, she felt her festering heart would dissolve into nothingness.

“Astrid…!”

Caleb’s face twisted in anger as he shouted, but Astrid lifted her chin and declared boldly,

“Why? It’s okay for you, but not for me? I can date Marquis Chase too—”

Before she could finish, Caleb gripped her small shoulders tightly and growled,

“Listen carefully. Not Chase. Out of all the men in the world, anyone but him.”

“…Why?”

“He’s dangerous. Whether it’s Elena or you, I can’t allow it. Not with him.”

“…”

Astrid’s small shoulders, which had been tense just moments ago, slumped downward in an instant. It felt as though all her strength had been drained away.

‘To him, I’m just someone he has to take care of.’