The mansion, shrouded in darkness, was deathly quiet. The two people who stepped out of the carriage walked straight into the main building’s lobby.

Vivianne, still wearing Kian’s jacket, held his hand. Or more precisely, she was unilaterally held by him.

Kian hadn’t released her hand since he had taken it to escort her out of the carriage.

“Welcome home, Master.”

Matilda came out to the lobby to greet them. Though the greeting was for her master, she looked at Vivianne with a slightly flushed face. She seemed curious about small details—how the date went, whether the opera was enjoyable.

Until just before their departure, Vivianne had promised to tell her everything about how enjoyable it had been when they returned.

But somehow, even recalling the day’s events felt overwhelming. That’s why she found it difficult to meet Matilda’s gaze.

“Prepare bath water in my room.”

“Yes, I’ll arrange it right away.”

Kian commanded indifferently, then began climbing the stairs while holding Vivianne’s hand. He maintained his usual quick pace, which Vivianne struggled to match.

Perhaps it was the aftermath of their brief but intense mating? Or maybe from wearing high heels for too long? Her knees ached, and her legs trembled.

Sensing this, Kian stopped halfway between the first and second floors and looked back.

“Do your legs hurt?”

Normally, she would have spoken up first or readily admitted to the pain. But today, she only wanted to rest quickly.

“No, I’m fine.”

Vivianne lowered her gaze while telling this uncharacteristic lie.

As they climbed the remaining stairs, Kian had nothing particular to say. Following him silently, they soon reached the fourth floor.

When they arrived at his bedroom, which now seemed natural to her, Vivianne hesitantly spoke up.

“Um, Kian. I’ll sleep in my room tonight.”

“Why?”

“I’m a bit tired.”

Had he not expected this response? He remained silent for a moment.

He stared blankly at her somewhat pale face, then finally released her hand.

As soon as her hand was free, Vivianne fumblingly unbuttoned the jacket. After returning it to him, she headed toward her own room located deeper in the hallway.

Though she hadn’t done anything wrong, her heart pounded inexplicably, and her steps quickened.

As she opened her door and looked back, for some reason, Kian hadn’t immediately entered his bedroom but stood watching her.

“……”

Vivianne gave him another brief nod and entered her room.

* * *

The entire day had been a series of endurances. Perhaps that’s why intense fatigue washed over her the moment the tension released.

How strange. Though she was too exhausted to move a finger, her mind became increasingly clear rather than foggy.

She wished she could just fall asleep quickly.

The inability to do so made it even more painful.

Shortly after entering her room, Matilda came by. While helping her undress and bathe, she carefully asked if Vivianne was feeling alright and whether anything had happened.

Her throat tightened at Matilda’s concerned voice, so she just shook her head. Honestly, she couldn’t bring herself to explain everything from meeting the fiancée onward.

Matilda, perhaps sensing something amiss, didn’t press further.

After meticulously drying Vivianne’s wet hair, Matilda cautiously offered to sleep together, but Vivianne declined, saying she wanted to sleep alone.

After Matilda left, she remained alone in the empty room.

Sleeping alone like this had become rare. Since the night of the full moon and the side effects she experienced, she usually slept either in Kian’s bed or with Matilda.

But tonight, neither option appealed to her. Though she had always lived confined and desperately chasing others’ warmth had become her daily routine, perhaps her complicated feelings made her want to be alone tonight.

She didn’t seem to have an appetite.

Yet she felt hungry. An unbearable emptiness gnawed at her.

‘…Right. Chocolate.’

And almost out of habit, she thought of something sweet. Vivianne opened the chocolate box she took from the drawer and stared at it blankly.

Come to think of it, Kian always picked one and fed it to her after they mated.

‘Should I eat one?’

Maybe it would satisfy her hunger a little. Captivated by this thought, she picked up a chocolate and put it in her mouth. As the sweet taste spread in her mouth, her mood seemed to improve slightly.

Perhaps she had gotten too excited about being called beautiful. There was a time when she thought just being able to watch him would be enough, then she wanted to touch him. Even after being embraced by him and mixing their flesh countless times, she wanted more of him.

This time, she wanted to convey her feelings. And after conveying them, she wanted him to respond with the same emotions.

If she hadn’t stopped there, what would have come next?

‘One more.’

He said up to two was fine.

As soon as the chocolate in her mouth melted away, she couldn’t resist putting another one in.

Sweet and bitter.

Just like her thoughts of Kian.

Their hearts couldn’t move at the same pace. She had started liking him first. She had set out ahead of Kian, and she had never once stopped. Perhaps it was natural that they couldn’t walk side by side.

So, she couldn’t blame him for not feeling the same way she did.

‘Just one more.’

I understand that much. I understand, but…

How could she escape this hunger? Should she match his pace? Or should she stop and wait?

Would that even be possible?

I don’t know. I really don’t know.

Her chest felt ready to burst with these complicated emotions. He had told her to eat only two, but even after the third one, she felt woefully unsatisfied.

‘I’ll have just one more.’

No sooner had the impulse struck than another chocolate slipped into her mouth.

It was piercingly sweet. Almost sickeningly so.

Just like when she wondered if Kian’s attention was affection and got excited, or sometimes doubted if it was hypocrisy.

If she continued like this, would she eventually understand his heart? That moment seemed impossibly distant.

Vivianne kept stuffing chocolates into her mouth, seemingly addicted to the sweetness.

One more.

Just one more.

Just one last one.

…More.

Not many left now.

Since it’s come to this, should I finish them all?

Vivianne continued eating the chocolates one after another. Before she knew it, she had emptied the entire box, but her mood hadn’t improved.

Right. Perhaps this was a hunger that couldn’t be satisfied with something like chocolate. Kian would scold her if he knew, but right now, she simply couldn’t resist that sweet compulsion.

Maybe it was because she had suddenly eaten so many sweets, her eyelids grew heavy. Her stomach felt queasy from eating so hastily, but she craved sleep even more.

When she closed her eyes, sleep washed over her like a lie.

* * *

Her consciousness was hazy. Her head felt ready to split from someone’s mumbling voice.

“…It seems her body is strained from an overdose.”

It was a middle-aged man’s voice. A voice she had heard somewhere before.

Why do I feel so sleepy even while sleeping?

Her entire body felt like it was sinking. Though she tried to open her eyes, she kept losing strength and couldn’t move.

“I never imagined this would happen so suddenly. I should have watched over her more carefully.”

A woman sobbed, seemingly deeply worried.

“What if something goes wrong? I should have… I should have just forced myself to sleep with her despite her refusal.”

The voice was soon consumed by sobs. The hand stroking her forehead felt somewhat desperate.

After sniffling, the woman began speaking again, almost pleadingly.

“She needs to recover. But… Vivi’s body is naturally weak, so I’m terribly worried about whether she can recover well. It hasn’t been long since she was seriously ill, too.”

Yes, this is definitely… Matilda’s voice.

“I’ve given her herbs for detoxification, and her condition seems to have stabilized, so please don’t worry too much.”

“Doctor, please take good care of Vivi.”

Matilda begged. The man’s voice also sounded familiar, and she realized it was Larson’s physician.

“So… no matter how urgent, you should never take more than the prescribed dose.”

Incomprehensible words buzzed in her ears.

“Taking more doesn’t make it more effective. Medicines can become poison when exceeding the set dosage. If we had discovered this a little later, it could have been disastrous.”

“I’ll be very careful when she wakes up. Will our Vivi really be alright?”

Matilda kept asking about her well-being, still anxious despite the explanation.

“Well, there have been occasional cases where people mistake this for chocolate and overdose. We used the same antidote then too. That patient had no major problems either, so please don’t worry too much.”

“That’s such a relief. Thank you, Doctor.”

“Although she’ll recover, it would be best not to take any medication for a while. For now, avoiding strain is the best course. Even after the patient wakes up, using other methods would be…”

The physician hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“…This may be somewhat awkward to convey, but it concerns the patient’s well-being. Please explain this well to Duke Larson.”

Perhaps her head was foggy.

It felt like a nightmare.

Yes. Since her eyes wouldn’t open, this must be a nightmare.

I need to wake up.

This isn’t reality.

So I need to wake up.

As she drowsily opened her eyes, her blurry vision gradually became clearer.

“My goodness…! Are you conscious? Vivi?”

She saw Matilda’s face, drenched in tears.