Chapter 7 (Part 3)

Even on her way home, Grace could only think about the moment when Leonardo had licked her lips.  

Not just the sensation, but the meaningful look in his eyes as well.  

‘What on earth was that?’  

No matter how much she thought about it, Leonardo had never voluntarily kissed her except when under the influence of the flower.  

While the first time could be considered a medical procedure,  

‘The second time was definitely a kiss.’  

No, honestly, calling it a kiss might be a bit of a stretch.  

But given that nothing had happened between us before, suddenly behaving like that could only mean one thing… couldn’t it?  

‘No, there’s no way. You’re such an idiot, Grace Lowell!’  

What kiss? Seriously.  

Leonardo Fernandez had no intention of pursuing anything with her. If he had, he wouldn’t have suggested pretending the whole thing never happened.  

‘No, the more I think about it, the more infuriating it is!’  

He had enjoyed it just as much that day!  

‘If we’ve already slept together once, sleeping together again isn’t that hard, is it?’  

Yet instead of doing that with me, he had gone somewhere else and come back smelling like some random woman!  

‘Honestly, he’s so useless.’  

Not knowing what was useless, nor what exactly she wanted, Grace grumbled internally. 

Eventually, she sank into self-loathing and covered her face with her hands.  

‘Wow, asking to do it one more time? Really? Are you insane?’  

She had been making excuses, blaming everything on the sorcery, and trying to regain her composure. Yet here she was, having vulgar thoughts over something that couldn’t even be called a kiss.  

To control her wild emotions and thoughts, which felt like they were running rampant as if she were atop an untamed horse, Grace slapped her cheeks hard enough to make a loud sound.  

‘What is wrong with me, seriously?’  

It wasn’t even that time of the month.  

Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind, and Grace stopped her actions. She began counting on her fingers one by one and realized something.  

‘Oh, it’s about time for my period, isn’t it?’  

Her cycle was approaching.  

Finally understanding the reason behind her irrational emotions, Grace nodded to herself but then froze again as an ominous thought crossed her mind.  

‘…Come to think of it, doesn’t this mean Sir Leonardo will… have to experience that too?’  

She shuddered as goosebumps ran down her arms.  

Imagining Leonardo personally handling the bloodied cloths during her period made her want to throw herself into the Eperte River.  

‘Before that happens! Please! Absolutely! This must be resolved!’  

Grace clasped her hands together in desperation. She prayed fervently that the matter would be resolved swiftly, faster than ever before, in the blink of an eye.  

‘Now that we’ve gathered enough data, it should be possible!’  

Above all else, she absolutely did not want Leonardo to witness her in such a state.  

After switching bodies at the appointed time and riding back home on horseback, Grace received Becky’s meticulous care for her bath.  

As she sat on the sofa, catching her breath, Becky handed her a teacup.  

“Young Lady, here’s your tea.”  

The golden tea caught her attention for some reason.  

Grace picked up the cup and took a sip. The subtle sweetness was quite memorable, prompting her to ask Becky a question.  

“The color is pretty, and it tastes good. What is this?”  

At her question, Becky replied as if it were strange.  

“Didn’t you brought it, Young Lady? Mari dried it carefully and gave it to me, so I brewed it into tea.”  

“Me? When did I ever—”  

Grace was about to flatly deny it when suddenly, her vision spun.  

Letting out a groan, she clutched her head. Her stomach churned as if she were seasick, and her heart pounded as though it would burst.  

Only after feeling the excruciating pain did she realize what the tea was.  

It had been made from the Golden Day Primrose.  

“This… isn’t… for drinking…”  

“Young Lady? What’s wrong? What’s happening?”  

Becky trembled in fear at the sudden situation, but Grace couldn’t answer her.  

Shaking from the pain, Grace belatedly remembered that she had brought the flower back from the shelter but hadn’t given it to the family’s mage or doctor.  

The maids, unaware of its nature, had seen the flower their master had taken special care to bring back, dried it carefully, and made tea out of it, thinking she liked it.  

“Ah, seriously…”  

You’re such an idiot, Grace Lowell.  

Muttering faintly to herself, Grace collapsed, causing Becky to scream in panic and run outside.  

“Young Lady!”  

Hearing Becky’s footsteps fade away, Grace closed her eyes.  

‘What’s going to happen to me now?’  

At least last time, Leonardo had been by her side.  

The throbbing pain blurred her consciousness. Grace decided to just let go and surrender to the darkness.  

And so, the world went black.  

***  

Leonardo clutched his chest as a sudden pain surged through him while he was reading.  

It was a pain unlike anything he had felt before.  

‘What’s going on?’  

Without even considering the possibility that Grace might have drunk tea brewed from the Golden Day Primrose, he closed the book he had been reading.  

The pain radiating from his heart grew increasingly severe.  

‘Did something happen to Sir Lowell?’  

If not for the curse and sorcery that bound them, there would have been no reason for him to think of her just because he was in pain.  

Leonardo turned off the reading lamp and leaned back on the sofa.  

It wasn’t quite time to sleep yet, so he thought he’d finish reading the documents once the pain subsided.  

“—That was the plan.”  

Leonardo stared blankly at the scene before him, which resembled the one from the dream he had once had.  

A field filled with blooming Golden Day Primroses stretched endlessly, with nothing but flowers and sky. And someone who shouldn’t be there.  

“Sir Lowell.”  

At Leonardo’s call, the figure with pink hair fluttering in the wind smiled softly, her eyes crinkling.  

It was an illusion created by the spirit of the Golden Day Primrose, or perhaps the spirit itself.  

Knowing for certain that it wasn’t real, Leonardo could only remain vigilant toward the figure standing before him, smiling. How could he accept it when he didn’t even know what it was?  

“Don’t come any closer.”  

If he got involved with it, he would once again find himself helplessly entangled in physical intimacy, succumbing to pleasure.  

It had happened last time, and it would happen again today.  

The thick floral scent filling the air as soon as he woke up here made it nearly impossible to keep his sanity.  

“I don’t want to mix bodies with you.”  

At his words, the figure tilted her head.  

With an innocent expression, she began walking toward Leonardo but suddenly stopped, as if something felt off, and looked around.  

However, upon confirming that there was no one else but her, she resumed walking toward him.  

“Stop right there.”  

Leonardo instinctively knew that if he delayed even a little longer, he would end up entangled with her again, moaning uncontrollably, just like last time.  

And he absolutely did not want that.  

‘I don’t want to mix bodies with anyone other than Grace.’  

Even though it was just a dream and no one would know, that was how he felt.  

He didn’t want to later make excuses like saying he was under the influence of the flower, or that it was just a dream and he acted on a whim, or that he just wanted to possess her body.  

Even if it was just his stubbornness, that was all it was.  

Like someone trying to protect their chastity, Leonardo spoke again, his face rigid.  

“I warned you not to come any closer.”  

At his cold words, the figure resembling Grace flinched and stopped.  

And then, voices echoed.  

[What an amusing child.]  

[Let’s let him go! Let him go!]  

[It’s the first time we’ve seen a human like this!]  

Dozens of voices overlapped, each saying whatever they pleased, creating a cacophony.  

Leonardo tried to maintain his composure as he slowly backed away, putting more distance between himself and the figure resembling Grace.  

He didn’t want to experience losing control of his body as he had in the previous dream.  

[Fine!][Fine!][Fine!][Fine!]  

As if agreeing in unison, the voices shouted simultaneously.  

The echoing voices caused Leonardo to cover his ears. Just as he was about to say something,  

“—What is this now?”  

Something unbelievable happened.  

The figure, which had been moving like a puppet with lifeless eyes and the sole purpose of engaging in intimacy, suddenly displayed “will” and “spoke.”  

Her gaze, filled with confusion, was fixed on him.  

“…Sir Lowell?”  

“Could this be… a dream?”  

The “Grace” tilted her head in confusion and looked around.  

After surveying her surroundings, Grace pressed her temples as if she had a headache.  

Then, frowning, she looked at Leonardo standing before her.  

“It’s you again?”  

Muttering complaints about what this dream wanted from her, Grace strode toward him.  

The closer she got, the more the faint scent of roses filled the air.  

A scent that shouldn’t exist here.  

“What the hell do you want from me?”  

Grace grabbed Leonardo by the collar and pulled him toward her.  

Startled, he blinked.