Chapter 13 (Part 1)

Grace was only able to free herself from Leonardo’s embrace the next morning, rubbing her aching back.  

As she struggled to sit up on the bed, she pounded her sore body with her fists and glared at Leonardo, who entered the room.  

“You’re unbelievable. How can you keep going, feeding me potions every time our bodies change?”  

She added, grumbling, ‘Weren’t you the one who said it’s bad for the body and we shouldn’t do it?’ 

Leonardo laughed as he placed the food he brought in front of her and kissed her forehead.  

“I couldn’t help it since you seemed to enjoy it so much, Sir Grace.”  

At his response, Grace looked up at him with an incredulous expression.  

“Wow, seriously. Look at you saying that with a straight face.”  

Last night, whenever Grace tried to escape the bed, saying it was too much for her, Leonardo would pull her back relentlessly.  

Whenever she showed even the slightest excitement, he would cling to her again.  

By the end, he had gone so far that all that came out of him was clear liquid, as if there was nothing left.  

‘He didn’t even go that far last time.’  

Of course, she thought to herself that despite the repeated acts, she kept experiencing climaxes and was just as intense.  

‘That was purely a physical reaction because Sir Leo kept touching me!’  

So, it was entirely Leonardo’s fault.  

Pretending as if she’d never had such thoughts, Grace pointed to his lower body with her chin and said,  

“What is that thing made of? How does it not tire out?”  

Referring to Leonardo’s unyielding manhood, which was so sturdy that it was almost terrifying, Grace asked, and he shrugged.  

“Isn’t it just the same as any other person?”  

At his words, Grace emphatically shook her head, clearly disagreeing.  

Piercing the steak he had brought her with a fork, she said,  

“Absolutely, absolutely not. No way.”  

Her voice carried such conviction that Leonardo tilted his head curiously.  

Then, as if he’d been deceived, he said,  

“You said it was your first time… Was it not?”

Muttering with a desperate look, as if he were about to cry, Leonardo made Grace grab her head with the hand holding the fork.  

Seriously, what was wrong with him?!  

“Ah! Seriously! What are you talking about! It wasn’t! It wasn’t! If anything, you’re the one who’s not a first-timer!”

Grace shouted, then groaned as she supported her aching back with her hand.  

Perhaps feeling guilty, Leonardo cast a healing spell on her and replied,  

“I swear it was my first time.”  

“I was a first-timer too, okay? This is only my second time!”

When Grace shouted back, Leonardo tilted his head again, counting on his fingers before saying with genuine confusion,  

“But no matter what, the number of times you and I have been together must be at least more than twice, Sir Grace.”

At his words, Grace flushed red, unable to contain herself, and yelled,  

“It’s just a figure of speech! A figure of speech!”  

Her face turning crimson, even her shouting was so adorable that Leonardo let out a light laugh and sat beside her.  

As Leonardo sat next to her, Grace slapped his thigh with her palm and said,  

“You find it fun teasing me, don’t you? You haven’t stopped since yesterday!”  

At her words, Leonardo burst out laughing.  

He took her hand, which was hitting his leg, and placed a spoon in it, saying,  

“Instead of wasting time, eat and regain your strength.”  

At his words, Grace reflexively started eating the soup but narrowed her eyes and said,  

“Just so you know, I can’t do it anymore.”  

“Yes, I understand.”  

“Really?”  

“Yes.”  

Even after asking several times, Grace, still looking doubtful, sighed and stabbed her fork into the now-cold steak.  

“Life really is unpredictable.”  

At her words, Leonardo wrapped an arm around her waist, buried his face in her shoulder, and brushed his lips against her neck as he said,  

“I think so too.”  

Because he kept pressing his lips against various parts of her body, Grace couldn’t tell whether he was responding to her or just speaking vaguely. She glared at him with a cold expression.  

Since last night, after they had been together, Leonardo had been acting like a wild horse let loose.  

No, calling him a wild horse was almost a compliment.  

“I didn’t know you were so insatiable, Sir Leonardo Fernandez.”  

At her blunt tone, Leonardo chuckled.  

Caressing Grace’s back with gentle fingers, he said,  

“I didn’t know this act could be so enjoyable either. It’s only after meeting you that I realized I might be a pervert, Sir Grace.”  

At his words, Grace pushed his face away with her hand, saying,  

“Stop it and back off a bit. I can’t eat like this.”  

“Sir Grace, you mustn’t skip meals. I’ll step out for a moment.”  

At his words, Grace hesitated for a moment.  

Thinking of the Pla, which had brought them together last night, she hesitated before saying,  

“Be careful.”  

Reading the concern in her words, Leonardo gave her a bright smile.  

After he closed the door and left, Grace lay down on the bed with an exhausted face.  

Her back ached, and her lower body still tingled faintly, as if Leonardo’s manhood was still inside her, sending a mild sensation of arousal.  

“Even a beast wouldn’t go that far.”  

Pouting, Grace muttered to herself and closed her eyes.  

Her entire body was covered in marks Leonardo had left throughout the night, and she could feel the cloudy fluid he had released dripping down whenever she moved.  

Realizing it was s*men, Grace bit her lip slightly.  

‘Ah, contraception. We didn’t do anything about it.’

It only occurred to her now that they had recklessly indulged themselves without thinking, but Grace closed her eyes and placed her arm over them.  

It would be a lie to say it didn’t bother her, but she didn’t want to think about anything right now.  

As sleepiness crept in, Grace yawned long and pulled the blanket over herself.  

“Grace—oh.”  

By the time Leonardo returned a short while later, she was already asleep. Chuckling softly, he cleared the food from the bed and adjusted her position. He found a pillow and placed it under her head, carefully tucking the blanket around her. Then he gazed at her peaceful face for a long time.

The marks of their intense night were still evident on Grace’s body, and his cloudy remnants lingered as well.

‘It would be troublesome if she got pregnant now.’  

Just in case, he had mixed a contraceptive into the potion he gave her at the start. But since they had done it several more times after that, he couldn’t be entirely sure.  

Leonardo discreetly cast a contraceptive spell on her.  

‘When I learned this spell at the academy, I wondered why it was necessary, but it turns out to be useful.’  

A child is always a blessing.  

But a child born under unexpected circumstances should never become a source of resentment.  

Leonardo brushed her damp hair back with his hand and, for some reason, slipped into bed beside her.  

He removed the pillow he had just placed and let her head rest on his arm.  

‘There’s still some time left.’  

Holding Grace in his arms, he gazed at her.  

The red mark he had left on her neck the night before stood out clearly.  

In this state, he wouldn’t suggest leaving this place immediately.  

For now, he would stay here with Grace, like lovers enjoying a secret rendezvous, before returning.  

Then, no matter what happened or what anyone said, he would have the strength to imagine a future with her.  

Leonardo thought of the note he had read this morning and closed his eyes.  

[Flowers attract bees and butterflies. But sometimes, pests come too.]  

Among the many words written on the white paper, the word “pests” stood out to him.  

Even though he knew there was more written below, he couldn’t bring himself to read it.  

But he also knew too well that it wasn’t something he could avoid. Gritting his teeth, he forced his gaze downward.  

[Are you a bee or a pest?]  

Upon reading that sentence, Leonardo realized that Amelia wanted to test him.  

Not just how well he handled problems, but also how he would remove the obstacles in their path.  

‘I need to hurry.’  

To do so, he first had to persuade Caleb Martin, who had recently been avoiding eye contact with him.  

‘He’s probably wary of me saying something unnecessary.’  

These days, Caleb often looked at him as if he were dealing with a troublesome younger sibling.  

But he couldn’t avoid facing him forever. To establish the new tower, he needed Caleb’s help.  

Leonardo sighed and hugged Grace tighter.  

The warmth in his arms was too precious.