And his body too, of course.

He had been laid up in bed for days with an injury, yet the firm lines visible through the gap in his robe had not softened in the slightest.

“For someone who claims otherwise, your eyes are awfully honest.”

Kalintz smiled quietly and stepped out onto the terrace where Blair was standing. He set his glass on the railing and leaned against it beside her.

“So. How exactly did you talk it through with Lady Miller.”

“I told her to pledge her life to me. Instead of to Duke Brienne.”

Blair answered with a sideways glance at Kalintz, who had moved close.

“Lady Miller’s word alone isn’t enough to prove Duke Brienne’s guilt anyway. We need to at minimum find the alchemist who made the forbidden potion and establish clearly that Duke Brienne was behind all of this.”

“If we can track that person down, it’ll be very hard for him to wriggle out of it. Even for Willer Brienne.”

Kalintz nodded and murmured.

“And that alchemist is probably……”

“The one who makes the ‘Leaves of Youth’ sent to your father. Most likely the same person.”

Blair agreed with Kalintz’s words.

“I think so too. You said the formula is slightly different from what’s available on the market, didn’t you?”

According to Ariela, the Leaves of Youth delivered to King Rubens had no problem with its ingredients on its own.

However, it had been formulated so that when taken together with a specific substance, it would cause problems with memory.

“That’s right. Long-term use alongside an herb called plume causes memory loss and delirium, and then one day the person dies without warning. And Father has always taken plume for his respiratory condition.”

“It’s insidiously clever.”

If Blair hadn’t arranged to secretly swap out the tea just before leaving for Valia, King Rubens’s condition would still be deteriorating in real time.

“Altering the chemical composition of the tea that way is also beyond ordinary skill, so it’s very likely the same person who made the substance used at this hunting competition.”

Kalintz rubbed his chin as he murmured.

“But can Ariela really find the alchemist with just that insignia? Lady Miller only received it from Duke Brienne and didn’t know who it belonged to.”

Even so, Ariela had taken one look at the insignia and said she had a rough idea, then rushed off.

“Apparently the engraved text on the back tells you roughly when the alchemist was appointed. She said it looks like someone who was expelled from the royal court a few years ago.”

“Will she find them quickly?”

“Hard to say. We’ll have to wait.”

At that, Blair let out a long sigh. It was frustrating, but this was a time for waiting.

A moment later, Kalintz asked again.

“So what do you plan to do with Lady Miller now?”

In truth, she had been involved in a plot to assassinate a prince, and no one could fault an immediate punishment.

But Blair had asked Kalintz to leave the matter of Lady Miller to her, and he had agreed readily.

“I told her to keep it secret from Duke Brienne that I found her out.”

Kalintz raised an eyebrow with interest.

“You’re planning to use her as a double agent.”

“Yes. If Brienne finds out Lady Miller was caught by us, he won’t let her live. The same goes for her elderly mother.”

Kalintz nodded in agreement.

“You said Lady Miller used to be a maid who worked in the Valian royal palace.”

“That’s right. Apparently the noble she served was involved in a rebellion. Everyone connected to it was rounded up and purged, but she managed to escape.”

She had disguised her identity somehow and crossed over to Eiron to build a new life, and eventually caught the eye of Viscount Miller and even married him.

What she thought was a finished escape came to an unfortunate end at the Founding Festival, when Count Roman attended and recognized her.

“She probably never imagined the Count would still remember the face of a young maid who worked in the royal palace.”

“He may have been planning to spirit her away and sell her into slavery. He’s the type who funds brothels.”

Kalintz said it in a cold voice.

“Anyway, Count Roman tipped off Duke Brienne, and after that it was the same as always with the Duke. He tracked down both her and her ailing mother hiding somewhere in Valia, and used them as leverage.”

Willer Brienne was rotten to the bone.

Blair quietly clenched her jaw, and Kalintz reached over and took her hand gently.

“Can you trust her? You could be putting yourself in danger.”

“I’m not trusting Lady Miller. I’m trusting her selfishness and her anger.”

The selfishness that would drive her to do anything to protect her own life and her mother’s. And the anger toward Duke Brienne that had bled through her composure.

Those were the things Blair was trusting.

“If you say so, I’ll bet on it too.”

Blair looked at Kalintz with a slightly surprised expression.

“I thought I’d get another lecture or two about how dangerous it is.”

“Whatever decision you make, I trust it now.”

Kalintz smiled and quietly brushed her cheek. Blair’s face went warm again almost immediately.

“Sh…… shall we go in? It’s gotten a bit chilly.”

The mood had turned suddenly tender and Blair quickly straightened up from the railing. But Kalintz was one step faster.

“Chilly? Your face is this red.”

Blair found herself looking directly into Kalintz’s eyes, a smile playing at his lips as he stood squarely in front of her.

“That’s because your face is so close……!”

“You said you see it every day and it doesn’t affect you.”

“Th…… this is different because—”

Out of arguments, Blair rolled her eyes away to escape the gaze pouring down on her.

“If my face gets this reaction every day, your body must be even worse off. You’ve barely seen that.”

“Wh, what do you mean, body?”

Blair asked in alarm at the shameless remark. But Kalintz’s face was perfectly serious.

“You said it yourself. Do it all you want.”

“Pardon?”

Blair blinked for a moment, then remembered those were the words she had said back in the cave at the hunting grounds, and her face went red.

“I told you not to take it back later.”

“Wait…… hff.”

Blair’s flustered protest was cut off by warm breath.

It wasn’t only her words that were stopped. She instinctively tried to step back, but the terrace railing was right behind her and there was nowhere to go. She was completely trapped.

He seemed displeased that Blair kept squirming, and pressed closer, the exchange of breath growing more intense. Swept back by the relentless warmth, Blair ended up half-perched on the railing.

The railing was wide enough that it wasn’t dangerous, but the open air at her back made her body go rigid.

“It’s all right. You won’t fall.”

Kalintz held her back firmly and whispered. In the brief space between parted lips, Blair’s shallow breath escaped.

“Even so……”

“If you’re scared, hold me tighter, Blair.”

Kalintz pulled her closer, his hand sweeping down her back, and Blair’s spine prickled. Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. A low, rough sound rose from his throat.

“You said hold on tight.”

Kalintz let out a breath like a sigh and kissed her deeper.

Crash—

The wine glass Kalintz had left on the railing fell to the terrace floor with a loud clatter. A sharp, sweet scent spread instantly through the warm night air.

Blair was kissing him back just as deeply now.

“Haah. Blair.”

His gold eyes, heavy and dark, poured into her with a hunger that asked for more. Blair pulled him closer and whispered against his ear.

“Let’s go inside.”

They stepped into the room, breath still mingling, and the air filled at once with a dense, warm heat.

“Blair.”

Kalintz whispered her name, gently gathering the hair spread loose across the white sheets.

Blair tried to answer, but the hot lips at the curve of her ear kept dissolving her words before they could take shape.

Instead of speaking, she ran her hand along his shoulder blade. Her fingers traced the lines made more sculpted still by the moonlight, and the breath curling against her ear grew rougher.

Kalintz moved with intent, tracing slowly down over soft skin.

The dizzying sensation made Blair call his name again and again in a voice gone soft and unsteady, and each time she did, Kalintz met her eyes with his own undone.

“Kalin……tz.”

Through the longing calls that came again and again, Kalintz left his mark on every part of her. His gaze, his breath, his hands reached places they had never touched before.

At the unfamiliar sensation, Blair instinctively drew back.

“It’s all right. I won’t hurt you, Blair.”