Cedric’s brow furrowed in a peculiar way. He ran his hand through his wet hair and took a deep breath.

‘I can control this.’

The first training Renigrad’s heir receives is to control demonic energy. Demonic energy can become the most powerful force, but if not controlled, it exacts a heavy toll.

Like his grandmother’s death.

Demonic energy affects not only oneself but also those nearby. The lady who had first seen Cedric had rushed into his bedchamber, asking for a hug.

When lightly possessed by demonic energy, the simplest solution was holy water. Fortunately, there was plenty of holy water. This space was originally a villa solely for purifying Cedric’s demonic energy.

Cedric gathered some holy water and approached Arne.

“You’re still here?”

Cedric’s low voice came from right behind Arne as his large hand easily opened the drawer.

When she turned her head, their gazes met, and it felt as if they were burning. Arne’s face turned red as she realized her attire. Cedric simply took out a few scrolls from the drawer and handed them to her.

“Ah…”

Cedric always did everything effortlessly. No matter how hard Arne tried, he achieved what seemed out of her reach with ease.

Even with the chair, standing on tiptoe, and stretching her arms, she had barely managed to reach it, but he did it so easily.

While she thought it was impressive, she also felt envious. She felt embarrassed, as if she was struggling over something trivial.

“I’m sorry. I tried to get it quickly.”

“…….”

Since Cedric had taken it out so easily, her words felt like an excuse. And since he said nothing, she felt like she needed to explain more.

“Cedric, you took it out easily, but… I couldn’t reach it.”

“You must have been uncomfortable because you couldn’t reach it. That’s my fault. I’m so used to the drawers being at my height that I didn’t consider it. I’m sorry.”

Arne blinked slowly. She didn’t expect an apology.

“Your legs seem to be numb. Are you okay?”

“…….”

For a moment, Arne’s face turned as red as an apple. Her toes curled. It was improper for a lady to show her bare feet.

If it were Cecil, she would have mocked her, saying she walked barefoot because she was born an orphan. Calling it vulgar.

‘I didn’t mean to. What if he thinks I’m vulgar?’

Arne said nothing and just clutched the hem of Cedric’s shirt, which she borrowed, tightly. Then realizing she was wearing Cedric’s shirt, she didn’t know what to do.

Seeing her face, neck, chest, and exposed skin turn red, Cedric turned and opened another drawer. A large coat was draped over Arne’s body.

“I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

Cedric carefully dressed her in the coat, tying the string at the neck tightly.

The only sound was the rustling of the fabric in Cedric’s hands. Arne looked at Cedric’s gaze. It was different from the contemptuous looks she had often received.

“I thought you would think I was vulgar. Because I didn’t follow the noble etiquette.”

“You have no reason to be ashamed. You were just trying to get something from a high place.”

“…….”

“People from the north are large. I’m quite large even among them. It’s natural that a drawer made for me is out of your reach. Rather…”

As Cedric met Arne’s clear gaze, he pulled the hood of the coat down deeply. A gaze like that was troubling.

“Cedric… I can’t see.”

Seeing only her red lips moving was also troubling.

“Cedric?”

“…….”

Cedric lifted the hood to reveal only her eyes, tying it tightly.

“…….”

“……The night air is cold.”

His awkward excuse followed her clear gaze.

“…It’s hard to breathe.”

“…….”

When Arne tugged at the ribbon Cedric had tied, it easily came undone. Arne’s eyes blinked slowly as she took a deep breath.

“…….”

“May I tie it myself? It’s hard to breathe.”

“Go ahead.”

Cedric withdrew his hands and hid them behind his back. He tightly gripped his wrist with the other hand.

‘There was no need to tie it so tightly.’

It was excessive. Cedric had never considered himself impulsive or someone who’s easily tempted.

‘Is it because it’s the full moon?’

It was a reasonable hypothesis. On full moon nights, he stayed alone in this hot spring, so he had never known what it would be like to face a beauty.

‘If so, it’s a bit dangerous.’

Cedric gripped his wrist tightly. He took a step back. In that brief moment, Arne’s hand, which was tying the ribbon, paused. However, she soon finished tying it without any trouble.

“Cedric, I apologize for the inconvenience today. I will now…”

At that moment, red mana wrapped around Cedric like the demon’s mischief. This time, she hadn’t seen it wrong. It was the same phenomenon as with Vivian.

Without hesitation, Arne reached out to Cedric. But Cedric fiercely struck her hand away. The force caused Arne to slip off the chair.

“Lady!”

“…….”

The sound of the chair bouncing and rolling on the wooden floor filled the room.

Cedric, who had wrapped his hand around the back of Arne’s head, supported her as he stood up.

“Are you okay, lady?”

“…….”

Arne really couldn’t understand Cedric. He would gently put the hood on her, but never close the distance between them.

He made her vulnerable with his kind touch and then coldly pushed her away. It hurt to be caught off guard. It really hurt.

But then, he held her again as she fell. Why not just leave her be?

Arne’s face contorted.

‘Did he remember and become cold?’

Rein had said that when the successor of Renigrad was wrapped in red mana, it meant they had returned.

‘Is that why he pushed me away so coldly?’

True to his name as the War Demon of Renigrad, her wrist was burning hot. The truth hurt more than her wrist.

It was a clear rejection.

Arne knew that look well. It was the same look Bianca had when she pushed her away, saying she would catch a disease from a dirty orphan. A clear warning not to touch her.

“Lady, your wrist…”

Cedric closed his mouth. It couldn’t be okay. At that moment, all he could think about was not letting the red mana engulf her.

“La…”

Cedric closed his mouth again. Arne’s eyes slowly filled with tears. They wavered as if they would fall at any moment, but she bit her trembling lips desperately. She looked hurt.

‘Damn it.’

But the words that came out of her mouth were unexpected.

“Have you returned too? Cedric.”

Her gaze was strangely different. A suppressed voice leaked out.

“Why did you do that to me?”

Arne bit her lip again. Otherwise, the words buried deep in her heart would spill out.

Why didn’t you send a letter?

Why did you bring back the dragon’s heart?

Do you know that you have a daughter, named Vivian?

Her heart ached, and she couldn’t speak.

“I’m sorry, lady.”

Lady? Not wife, but lady. Arne felt a sudden loss of strength. So Cedric hadn’t regressed.

“I can’t explain, but it wasn’t intentional.”

“What is this red mana?”

Due to Cedric’s control, the red mana, or rather the demon’s mana, that had enveloped him, was now only flickering from the hand touching the ground. But Cedric kept his mouth shut. He couldn’t carelessly reveal the secrets of Renigrad.

Realizing he had no intention of explaining, Arne bit her lip. She then hugged Cedric and grabbed his hand, where the demon’s mana was burning, with her other hand.

Cedric, momentarily distracted, realized too late that she had grabbed his hand where the demon’s mana was burning.

“Lady, what is this….”

But the demon’s mana subsided. Literally, the demon’s mana that had enveloped Cedric melted away like snow. Cedric was speechless; he’s experiencing this for the first time.

‘Why is the demon’s mana subsiding?’

Cedric looked at Arne in disbelief.

“Lady, do you perhaps possess holy power?”

“…No.”

Arne felt strange. This red mana, it wasn’t just ordinary red mana. It was more like the demon’s mana than that of a mage.

Arne remembered the demon’s mana she had felt before. But it had never felt like this. Touching this mana made her feel strangely excited and heated.

‘Moreover….’

Arne let go of Cedric, whom she had been hugging. His solid body felt overly sensitive through the single layer of his robe.

The contact with his lower abdomen felt stiff. It was dangerous. The red mana that had seeped in slowly stirred and heated her entire body.

Thud. When something snapped, an overwhelming, hot, and erotic sensation surged, causing red demonic energy to burst from Arne.

“Ah….”

The immense demonic energy filled the space instantly, and Cedric couldn’t take his eyes off Arne.

He had only seen such a sight once before.

At Cedric’s coming-of-age ceremony.

The day he first unleashed the demon’s power, unable to control or restrain it, helplessly swept away by its immense power.

‘Damn, I definitely controlled it, so why, how?’

As Cedric bit his lip and reached out to gather his mana, the demonic energy, which he thought was ending, exploded as if it was just beginning.

Cough.

Cedric’s body, collapsing over Arne, was scorching hot. The more their bodies touched, the stranger it felt.

Arne struggled to speak through her ragged breaths, feeling excited, heated, and a peculiar heat was pooling in her lower abdomen.

“Ce, Cedric….”

But as Cedric slowly lifted his head, Arne’s moving lips stopped.

Through his thick eyelids, his red pupils flickered. The moment their eyes met, her breath caught. She swore she had never seen such a face before.