Chapter 8.4

So much time passed, breathless, that it was impossible to count how many times they cl*maxed.

It couldn’t be helped.

The moment Kallion realized Agnes was his first, he wanted to fill her with only his mark, even more.

The carnal pleasure Kallion felt when he learned no other man had ever touched her was beyond words.

By the time dawn crept in, Kallion finally let Agnes go.

Exhausted, Agnes lay in Kallion’s broad arms, listening to his story.

The story of how he had loved her alone for eight years.

“What? That kid was you?”

Agnes had never imagined it, not even in her dreams.

That Kallion had been in love with her for a much longer time than she had with him.

“Do you remember?”

Kallion seemed happy that Agnes hadn’t forgotten their past.

“Of course I do. But I never thought that kid was you……”

It was only natural she hadn’t recognized him.

He was so different now.

The weak-looking boy was nowhere to be found. Only the strong-looking swordsman was before her.

“I’ve liked you since then. All along.”

Hearing that calm confession, Agnes felt happy. She could feel his sincerity in every word.

But there was still something on her mind.

It was the existence of the fiancée she had seen during the day.

‘……I should ask.’

She didn’t want to keep hiding things and causing misunderstandings.

Agnes gathered her courage and spoke.

“Kallion, I heard you have a fiancée……”

That was what had made Agnes so troubled today.

If his fiancée was a noble, and Agnes was a commoner—

Even if they promised a future together, the best Agnes could hope for was to be a concubine.

For the sake of his family, she couldn’t stop him from having a legitimate wife.

If it really had to be that way, what should she do? As she waited for Kallion’s answer, such worries floated up in her mind like clouds.

“There’s no such thing.”

Kallion’s firm answer swept away all the worries in Agnes’s mind like a gust of wind.

“What? But I saw you with someone from the Department of Administration. Together.”

“I went to turn her down.”

Kallion emphasized, full of certainty.

“I’m not getting engaged.”

He said the engagement was already settled. There would be no marriage with Rowena.

Finishing his story, Kallion smiled at Agnes.

“Are you jealous? I’m glad.”

Chup—

He kissed Agnes’s plump lips. The sensation of their soft flesh touching made him feel even happier.  

Of course, hearing the answer that would come from those lips would make him even more delighted.  

Kallion gazed at Agnes with eyes full of anticipation. Soon, her lips, which had been moving slightly, parted.

“No, that’s… Yes, that’s right.”

Agnes did not deny it. Because it was true.

“I feel the same. When I see you with another guy, I feel like I’m going crazy.”

She was pleased by his possessive reaction.  

Once again, that pleasant, ticklish feeling spread in her chest, and Agnes’s face flushed like a blooming flower.

Kallion observed the change in Agnes’s expression. Her face looked more relaxed than before; there was no sign of anxiety.  

If that was the case, it was time for him to ask his own question.

“Now, you answer me.”

“Answer what?”

“Why did you only watch me from afar, even though you liked me?”

It was an easy question.  

Wasn’t it obvious? Kallion was everyone’s beloved.  

Besides, unlike Agnes, he was a noble—the heir to an Earl’s family, no less.

Agnes hesitated and answered.

“I’m a commoner. You’re someone I could never approach. Honestly, I’m still worried. The moment we graduate from the Academy, we’ll end up…”

“Because you’re a commoner? That doesn’t matter to me. I don’t care.”

His answer was unwavering and firm. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t happy about it.  

However, even knowing Kallion wanted to reassure her, Agnes shook her head.

“That’s something only a noble can say.”

A noble who had never experienced being in the shoes of a commoner wouldn’t know.  

They had never felt the vast, towering wall that existed between commoners and nobles.  

At the Academy, the two of them might be equals, but the moment they entered society, a wall higher than anything would rise between them.

Agnes was afraid of that.

But Kallion acted as if such things weren’t a problem at all.

“Then I’ll give it up. Things like noble titles.”

“What? No!”

Agnes answered reflexively.  

She had just heard Kallion’s story from the past eight years. That was something that could not happen.  

Wasn’t the position of Young Earl something he had worked hard to protect?

“My mother is the one who wanted it anyway. I never did.”

“Still, that doesn’t make sense.”

Giving up his title because of her? That was unthinkable.  

Suddenly, Agnes felt a little regret. Should she go find Professor Repel tomorrow and say she’ll join the Imperial Research Bureau even now?  

She wasn’t sure, but that seemed like the fastest way.  

Even if it was just a single-rank title like Baronet, if she could manage that, maybe she could stay by Kallion’s side…

“Well, I mean it, but…”

At that moment, Kallion’s voice cut off Agnes’s thoughts.

“Actually, I have an idea.”

Kallion’s words about giving up his title were all sincere.  

For him, being able to be with Agnes was far more important.  

But there was an even better way. It was a plan he’d thought of during all those years of secretly loving Agnes.

He smiled and met Agnes’s gaze.

“What is it?”

Agnes had no idea.  

Was there really a way to solve the gap between their social status?  

No matter how she thought about it, joining the Imperial Research Bureau still seemed like the fastest way.  

Or maybe, was Kallion also thinking about the Imperial Research Bureau?

Agnes focused on him.

“Listen. So…”

Kallion began to explain the plan he had in mind.  

And after hearing all of Kallion’s story, Agnes—

“…What?”

Her eyes widened in surprise.  

It was a concept she had never even considered approaching. There had not been a single precedent for it in the empire.  

However, it was certainly possible in reality. Agnes thought so, too.  

But the empire was a class society.  

If the Imperial Family opposed it, wouldn’t even this be impossible?

Agnes voiced her concern.

“In theory, yes, but wouldn’t the Imperial Family oppose it?”

But Kallion, with a confident attitude, declared he would make it happen.

“I’ll make it possible.”

Chup—  

Kallion hugged Agnes tightly and kissed her forehead.

“Promise me you’ll be with me forever. Then I’ll definitely make it happen.”

“…Yes, I promise.”

A smile appeared on Agnes’s lips.  

The embrace that held her was so warm.  

Agnes found this change amazing. The person she once thought was so bright and intense that approaching him would be disastrous was now so close, right by her side.

Agnes was no longer a shadow hiding from the sun.  

Now that she had come to know the gentle warmth of sunlight, she never wanted to leave it.  

She believed, without a doubt.  

Kallion was her sun.  

She wanted to be with him for the rest of her life.  

That was what Agnes wanted more than anyone.

She felt that living without Kallion would be impossible.

“I love you, Agnes.”

Kallion’s heartfelt confession rang softly between the two of them.  

As he uttered this simple confession, Kallion’s heart was overflowing.  

He wanted Agnes more than anyone, and he had waited for her.

Eight years of waiting.  

He would never let go of the precious feelings, the precious love he had gained at the end of it all.  

Forever, for a lifetime.