Kalintz let out a long breath and stared at the ceiling.

Then, making every effort not to look down, he pulled the robe closed around her. That was apparently not enough, because he pulled the blanket up and covered her all the way to the top of her head.

Half-asleep, Blair felt the weight of it and grumbled.

“Mmm…… don’t want to.”

Kalintz clicked his tongue briefly at the complaint and tugged the blanket back down. A clear, unguarded face appeared, wearing a small, peaceful smile.

The sight of someone being this completely defenseless left him oddly unsettled.

“Blair.”

He looked down at her without a word.

Curling red hair was scattered across her forehead. Kalintz reached out quietly and brushed it aside. The soft feeling against his fingertips lifted his mood in a way that was almost embarrassing.

She must have been dreaming something. Her fine lashes fluttered now and then. Each time, he pressed a finger lightly to her cheek, and the peaceful rhythm of her breathing would return.

A small laugh escaped him at the sight, and Blair moved her lips and made a small murmuring sound.

“……”

Without thinking, the finger at her cheek drifted lower.

His fingertip grazed the softness of her lips. He pressed his thumb gently against them, and through the slight parting of her lips, a glimpse of soft, damp flesh appeared.

“……I really have lost my mind.”

A warmth spread from his fingertips, deep and aching, and Kalintz let out a helpless laugh.

He should have pulled the blanket over her head after all.

He drew the blanket up once more and tucked it carefully to her chin. Then he watched her sleep a little longer before making his way back to the sofa.

❀❀❀

“Ugh…… my head.”

Blair woke to a splitting headache. Her blurry vision landed on red velvet.

A bed……?

Come to think of it, her body was sunk into something soft. And something heavy was pressing down on her neck.

“What is this, it’s suffocating……”

She twisted and turned her head, and the words died in her throat.

Good heavens. What is this.

Kalintz’s face was right in front of hers. Extremely close. The heavy weight pinning her down was his firm arm.

And his robe was nowhere to be seen. There was not a single thread covering his upper body.

So right now, she was pressed flush against a half-n*ked Kalintz in the same bed.

Close enough to count his eyelashes, Blair held her breath and rapidly moved her eyes, trying to piece together her memories.

They talked about Vivian, had a few more drinks together……

Everything after that went abruptly hazy.

The fragments that surfaced were sparse. Him carrying her to the bed. The stifling feeling of a blanket over her face. Things like that.

But why was a completely undressed Kalintz in front of her.

Blair turned over every possible explanation in her head and carefully lifted his arm. She felt the firm, defined muscles beneath her fingers.

“Why is it so heavy. What could a prince possibly need all this strength for—”

“Quite a few things, actually.”

“……!”

A low, rough voice cut in without warning, and Blair froze.

“Carrying someone who drank too much to bed, for instance.”

She glanced sideways and found dark golden eyes staring straight at her.

“……Good morning, Your Highness.”

Blair covered her embarrassment with a shameless greeting. Kalintz let out a disbelieving laugh.

“Naturally.”

There was a faint edge to it, but Blair did not bother asking. There were more pressing matters right now.

“So…… what exactly happened last night? I mean, why are we in the same bed…… and why are you dressed like that.”

Surely not.

Even drunk, she would not have forgotten something that significant.

But if something had happened between them, even the smallest chance……

Blair’s green eyes darted quickly. Watching her, Kalintz said flatly,

“What. Did you think I’d take advantage of someone who was drunk?”

At his blunt words, Blair startled and shook her head.

“No, of course you wouldn’t do anything that shameless. Ahem. I was just wondering why you’re undressed.”

At that, Kalintz stared at her for a moment, then sighed and opened his mouth.

“Right. It is strange that only I’m undressed. You should take yours off too, Blair.”

“What? Take off what?”

Blair yelped in alarm.

“Did you forget the contract clause? Physical contact is only permitted in official settings—”

“When necessary, and only within appropriate limits. I haven’t forgotten.”

“Then why……”

Blair looked at him with wary eyes.

“The maids will be coming in soon. A couple who spent their first night together, sitting up fully dressed, would look suspicious.”

Only then did Blair understand what he meant, and she gave a flustered nod.

“When you just say take it off without any context, of course I’m going to panic.”

“And not because your imagination was running wild?”

Blair pretended not to hear him and carefully sat up under the blanket. Then she angled herself so he could not see and worked at the robe’s knot under the covers.

“……That’s strange. Did I tie it like this?”

Kalintz’s body gave a slight flinch, but Blair was too focused on getting the robe off to notice.

She pulled the white nightgown free and held it in her hands, thinking for a moment before speaking.

“Should I…… tear this a little?”

“What?”

“It would look more convincing, wouldn’t it. If we’re going to deceive people, we should do it properly.”

The perfectly serious expression and tone left Kalintz speechless.

“Ha. Do I really look like that much of a savage to you?”

“How would I know. I have no idea what you’re like in bed.”

It was a remarkably bold thing to come out of such a small mouth.

After a night of endlessly doubting his own patience thanks to her, Kalintz pressed his fingers hard against his furrowed brow.

❀❀❀

“Hey, did you hear?”

“Hmm? Hear what?”

From the farthest corner of the palace’s grand library, two gossipy librarians whispered to each other.

“Their Highnesses’ first night!”

The newlywed royal couple’s wedding night had been the hottest topic among the palace staff for the past few days.

“Oh, I only heard it was incredibly passionate.”

“You have no idea. Apparently Her Highness the Princess Consort’s nightgown was left in tatters.”

“Really? Good heavens!”

They giggled with their voices lowered as much as they could, but Blair, quietly reading in the corner, heard every word perfectly.

A moment later the librarians left, and Lucia appeared from a distance carrying a few books.

“Your Highness, I brought the books you asked for…… but why are you smiling like that?”

Lucia asked, looking at Blair’s satisfied expression.

“Oh, nothing. I just heard something amusing.”

Though what had actually been torn was not the nightgown but the robe she had worn over it.

Well, it doesn’t matter.

All that mattered was that the rumor of a passionate wedding night had spread. That was enough.

Lucia tilted her head at Blair, who was smiling to herself, but the books were heavy, so she quickly set them down on the desk.

“Are you going to read all of these?”

Lucia looked at the books, each one impressively thick.

“The Founding Festival is a few weeks away. With so many foreign dignitaries coming, I should at least have a grasp of the surrounding nations’ affairs.”

She had a general sense of the current state of things, but past history and events were important information in relations between nations as well.

And there’s the matter of the Valia Duchy that I’m particularly curious about.

After hearing Kalintz’s story about Vivian, Blair had been quietly shaken.

She had never imagined that behind the image of a flawless crown prince lay the shadow of a mother with a pathological obsession with her own child.

It could not be helped, she supposed, but what had made Vivian that way was ultimately the royal marriage between the Kingdom of Eiron and the Valia Duchy.

If only the late King Karl hadn’t died so suddenly……

Rhea, the sole grand ducal lady of the Valia Duchy, on the eve of her royal marriage to King Karl. Rubens, thr*st onto the throne after his brother’s death. Vivian, his lover and betrothed.

The three of them had been tangled into something terrible by King Karl’s death.

And yet the royal marriage had gone forward. In the name of the ceasefire agreement between the two nations.

But was that truly all there was to it. I heard Queen Rhea herself strongly opposed the marriage.

In other words, at least among those directly involved, not a single person had wanted it.

But someone must have benefited. Someone like……

Just then, a lavish carriage passed by outside the window.

The carriage of House Brienne, which had amassed enormous wealth and seized power in a single stroke when the war with the Valia Duchy ended.

❀❀❀

“Pardon? Duke Brienne?”

Tilda looked up from the tea she was steeping at the table, eyes wide at the sudden topic.

“He obtained the exclusive trading rights for dargon from the Valia Duchy…… that was after Queen Rhea became a frons, wasn’t it?”

Blair said, furrowing her brow. Several history books and records were spread open in a mess across her desk.

“You’ve been buried in history books lately. You’re talking about the Kashut Dispute, aren’t you?”