Her heavy eyelids trembled. As her long eyelashes moved slowly, Arne’s red pupils were revealed.

‘Cedric?’

Above Arne’s forehead, she could see Cedric, who had his head against hers. He had his eyes closed as if he was praying. Because he was supporting Arne’s neck and waist without any gaps, she could not move and just stared blankly between his deepened brows.

Like the moon revealing itself between the clouds in the pitch-black night sky, Cedric’s red pupils appeared between his black hair. He just looked at Arne’s red pupils until the moonlight slowly floated down and poured over him.

“Are you conscious?”

His low, simmering voice was more hot than cold. The suppressed sound that seemed to leak out seemed almost angry.

“You.”

In the quiet night, only his low voice resonated in her ears.

“Are you alright?”

Because their foreheads were touching, his burning red pupils were too close. Perhaps that’s why, her chest, which had been slowly rising and falling began to speed up. She moistened her dry lips and opened her mouth.

“I… huh.”

But as soon as the smell of blood filled her mouth, she was unable to speak. Cedric’s brows furrowed instantly.

“It’s alright. Don’t speak.”

“……”

Arne slowly closed her mouth. She couldn’t feel any strength in her body, she was continuously coughing blood, and she could feel the familiar pain, had she really caused a mana surge?

‘I must have looked terrible. It must look unsightly during a mana surge.’

Arne tried to straighten up and move away from Cedric. Cedric’s brow deepened but he did not stop her. The moment she tried to remove her hand from Cedric’s chest, veins bulged over the back of Cedric’s fist clenched into a fist. The moment her hand completely detached, Arne was engulfed in unbearable pain.

“Haah, huh.”

It was pain incomparable to the feeling of her lungs burning from not being able to breathe. It really felt like she was going to die. As Arne collapsed, Cedric’s grip tightened on her hand, and the pain subsided as if it were a lie.

“This is, huh.”

“Don’t speak.”

Arne looked up at Cedric questioningly. She was hurting as if she was going to die but the pain suddenly disappeared.

“How did this, cough, how… hmph.”

Her following words were muffled by Cedric’s firm grip. His thumb pressed against Arne’s lips, crusted with blood.

“Don’t speak. I know what the situation is. It seems a mana surge occurred. And….”

Following his fingers that crushed his lips, the blood that had not yet coagulated spread over her pale face as red as oil paint.

“I did a bit of first aid. You haven’t been unconscious for too long and you will recover, so just stay like this for a bit.”

Slowly blinking her eyelids, Arne soon nodded her head. She didn’t know well but the pain subsided the moment Cedric’s hand touched her, so it seemed he had done something.

“For now….”

Bang, bang.

Cedric’s words were interrupted by someone roughly knocking on the door.

“Lord Cedric, it’s the Knight Commander. An assassin has broken in. Are you okay, Lord Cedric! I’m coming in.”

Cedric briefly furrowed his brow and dropped a blanket over Arne’s head. At the same time, the door opened.

“I dared to enter, fearing you might be seriously injured and collapsed like before… Lord Cedric! Are you alright? What is all this blood…”

“I’m fine. How many assassins are there?”

“Two in total. The knights are currently in pursuit. But we need to administer first aid…”

“I’ve already taken care of the first aid. Send a letter to Grandma Theresa and focus on chasing the assassins for now.”

“…Understood. This time, we will definitely capture them alive and reveal who is behind this through interrogation.”

As the shadow of the candle moved away quickly, the sound of the door closing was heard.

‘Cedric, you’ve been targeted by assassins recently. Several times.’

Arne blinked slowly as she looked at Cedric.

“La…”

When their eyes met, Cedric thought she looked like a snow rabbit peeking its head out of a snow hole in the north. The way her red pupils shone, nestled in the white blanket, resembled that.

“Lord Cedric, do… do these things happen often?”

“Enough! Don’t make me repeat myself!”

Arne’s shoulders shook as his withered eyes glowed menacingly again. Her breathing became irregular from the surprise of his loud voice.

‘Was I too presumptuous? Maybe asking about assassins, which could be highly confidential, is overstepping for a mere lady.’

“I’m sor…”

“Enough!”

Arne closed her fluttering mouth. Her sparkling red pupils dimmed and faded away.

She looked just like a frightened rabbit hiding back in its hole, making Cedric sigh deeply.

‘This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.’

Cedric, ruffling his hair with one hand, slowly met Arne’s eyes again.

“Lady.”

Arne’s pupils trembled anxiously. Cedric, biting his lip, slowly stroked the reddened area around her eyes where he could feel her dried tear marks.

“Speaking also consumes energy, which you’re supposed to conserve. You are truly in a dangerous condition right now.”

Her pupils widened in surprise, shining with confusion.

‘It’s understandable to be shocked. Even though she has exceptional magical talent, she’s not a knight but a noble lady, so it’s quite understandable to be frightened at the prospect of encountering an assassin.’

Although the lady’s spirit was exceptional, assassination was a different matter. Cedric touched her tear stains with a much softer voice.

“Lady, were you scared?”

Arne looked at Cedric as if she heard something unbelievable.

“Did you cry? Are you still in pain? A physician will arrive as soon as dawn breaks. Grandma Theresa is trustworthy; she will protect your honor even if the situation comes to light, and her skills are excellent so you won’t suffer any longer.”

Arne’s expression changed strangely as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Then Cedric chuckled and continued,

“I’ll also send a letter to a mage friend. Perhaps healing magic might make things better. Or is there anything else that’s bothering you?”

“No. You’re being too kind. Why are you doing all this for me? Do you believe now that I’m not an assassin?”

Cedric’s gaze lingered on her red pupils, tear stains, dried blood scabs here and there, marks of strangulation, the shattered mana core, and the vivid purple patterns extending below her chest from the mana surge.

“…I believe you are not the assassin. And I promised to protect your honor and well-being. My words about silence and taking responsibility for your healing were all sincere.”

Their eyes locked. Arne opened and closed her mouth several times before finally speaking.

“…Thank you.”

“……”

Cedric remained silent for a while as he felt a slight dampness on his fingertips.

“You…”

Crash.

Simultaneously with the sound of a window breaking, Cedric wrapped his arms around Arne and drew his sword. His blade pointed towards a man in a black mask.

“It seems the real assassin has decided to pay us a visit.”

As Arne lifted her head from Cedric’s chest, her eyes met with the assassin adjusting his dagger. The sound of sharp metal cutting through the air rang out, and at that moment, Cedric tightened his grip on Arne’s waist and twisted their bodies.

Their lips nearly touched as they closed the distance in an instant. A strained groan escaped through Cedric’s clenched teeth. Gradually, strength filled his hand gripping her waist. Soon after, something hot and moist was felt. Arne’s pupils slowly widened.

“Cedric!”

A long cut from a dagger remained near his hip bone, exactly at the spot of the scar seen on their first night together.

‘Why, why does the same wound appear here?’

Besides, his body, where she touched, was becoming excessively hot too quickly. She could even see the sweat droplets on his nape, maybe the dagger was poisoned.

‘…Maybe I should use magic.’

That’s when Cedric lifted Arne’s nape. His low voice resonated in her ear.

“That won’t do.”

“What.”

“What the lady is thinking right now.”

As Cedric twisted his head, his gaze met Arne’s red pupils. His lips curved up gracefully.

“You’re enchanting, yes, but I refuse to deal with a corpse.”

“……”

“So, stay here a bit longer.”

With one hand, Cedric tightened the white blanket around her and with the other, he readjusted his sword. Simultaneously, the assassin’s dagger flew towards them again. Cedric’s sword fiercely retaliated as he deflected the dagger and aggressively pushed the assassin back.

“…Cedric, with your skills.”

Arne bit her lip. If she hadn’t been protected, he could have easily avoided that wound. He suffered in his past life because of the paralyzing scent that was secretly mixed with the sleeping scent for treatment.

Arne hastily scanned the room. A peculiar scent flowed from a jar on a high shelf.

‘That one!’

She rushed towards it, and the jar, barely within reach, eventually lost its balance and fell. Unaware if the sharp crash drew attention, she quickly covered it with the blanket she was wearing to instantly cut off both the spark and scent.

“Now we’re…”

Just as Arne breathed a sigh of relief and turned around, a blade swung by a masked man shone as it descended above her head.

“Don’t interfere!”

Facing the descending blade, Arne felt she couldn’t escape. Just as she was about to speak, wrapping her mana core, the assassin collapsed onto the floor with his abdomen pierced.

“I told you, no.”

“……”

“What the lady was thinking just now.”

As Cedric withdrew his sword, a scream escaped from the assassin. A gaze filled with murderous intent and resentment turned towards Arne.

“If it weren’t for you, the paralysis poison would have fully spread! I should have killed you from the start.”

Cedric kicked the assassin’s abdomen again with a frown, turning his curses into groans.

After walking past the assassin, Cedric silently tied him with a black ribbon that he had pulled from Arne’s dress. His gaze was as cold as his icy knuckles.

‘Is he angry because I tried to use magic? Or because I moved when he told me to stay still?’

As if on cue, Cedric finished tying the ribbon just as the door opened. Behind him, the assassin who had mustered all his strength before dying raised his dagger.

“Lord Cedric! An assassin has headed this way!”

“Die!”

Cedric’s palm landed above Arne’s red pupils. Then, a familiar and hot liquid splashed over her face.

“You’re late, Knight Commander.”