Chapter 3

Erhen thought to himself.  

If he were to die right now, he wanted her face to be the last thing he saw.  

Even as his breath came up to his throat, threatening to stop, he couldn’t let go of his consciousness until he saw Charlotte.  

“Excuse me?”  

How strange.  

As his vision blurred, seeing Charlotte’s shocked face made it easier to breathe.  

After a year apart from her, Erhen finally felt at peace.  

***

Charlotte froze completely as she faced Erhen’s unrelenting actions. Unlike her stiffened state, Erhen grew bolder in exploring her.  

Erhen, who had been gently caressing her cheek, placed his hand on the bed and raised his upper body. This caused Charlotte’s head to naturally tilt back.  

Their positions became even closer. Startled by the unfamiliar sensation, Charlotte tried to pull her head back.  

“Y-Your Grace!”  

But it was no use.  

Erhen firmly held the back of her head, refusing to let her escape, and once again intertwined their breaths. As their lips pressed together deeply, Erhen persistently held onto her, refusing to let her flee.  

He was relentless.  

He explored every corner of her mouth with determination, wrapping his arms around her waist as if to delve even deeper. It was as though he feared this dream might vanish, as though he would never let her go again.  

“Stop!”  

Charlotte, who had been gasping intermittently, finally pushed against his chest with all her strength.  

The sudden separation left them both catching their breath, their faces close enough to feel each other’s warmth. Embarrassed by the compromising situation, Charlotte hastily rubbed her lips with the back of her hand.  

It was only then that Erhen seemed to come to his senses. He wiped his lips with his wrist and looked at Charlotte with a confused expression.  

“……”  

“……”  

Their uncontrollable gazes met.  

But only briefly.  

Charlotte, flustered, quickly scrambled off the bed and ran to the door.  

Bang! The door slammed shut with a loud noise as Charlotte stepped out.  

Covering her mouth with both hands, she hurriedly walked down the hallway. Only after putting a considerable distance between herself and Erhen’s room did she lean against the wall, gasping for air.  

Her heart pounded wildly.  

“Viscountess?”  

The voice that brought Charlotte back to her senses belonged to Philip, who was on his way to Erhen’s room.  

Carrying a stack of documents, Philip asked with a puzzled expression,  

“Is something the matter? Your face is red….”  

“N-no, I mean, yes, there is.”  

“Pardon?”  

Charlotte steadied her breathing.  

“His Grace, the Duke, has awakened.”  

At her words, Philip let out a shocked gasp and ran toward Erhen’s room.  

Watching him disappear into the distance, Charlotte walked toward the terrace.  

The cold air enveloped her as she stepped outside and opened the terrace door. Her lips trembled. She had almost lost her composure. She had almost clung to him.  

She couldn’t breathe.  

“And yet, why is he so good at kissing…?”  

A long sigh escaped her lips, visible in the cold air.  

Perhaps because she had stepped outside without even grabbing a blanket, her head quickly cleared as the cold seeped into her skin.  

As her thoughts cooled, Charlotte bit her lip.  

What bothered her wasn’t the absurdity of her first kiss being taken in such a manner. It was the question of why Erhen had kissed her while calling her name.  

Erhen Rosenheim. He was her ex-husband, with whom she had ended a contract marriage and divorced a year ago.  

“He must have been out of his mind.”  

There could be no other reason. There shouldn’t be.  

After all, she had left the Duke’s household with a firm resolve back then. 

Why now?  

Since he had mentioned something about a dream before the kiss, perhaps Erhen, once he regained his senses, would think of the entire incident as a dream.  

That would suffice.  

If she didn’t bring it up, it would be as though it never happened. And if she erased it from her memory, it would be fine.  

Just as she had managed to live well after leaving the Duke’s household following the divorce.  

As she stepped off the terrace to call for a doctor, Charlotte resolved herself once more.  

Even so, she struggled to suppress the new question that kept surfacing in her mind.  

Why, in that moment when our breaths intertwined, had I been unable to reject him?  

***

After Charlotte left the room, Erhen, who had been absentmindedly touching his lips, suddenly felt a sharp pain in his abdomen.  

The pain made it clear that this was reality.  

He held his breath for a moment to endure the pain, and as it subsided slightly, he began piecing together his fragmented memories.  

On his way back from completing a mission assigned by Michael, he had been ambushed by unidentified assailants.  

There were about thirty of them, including two mages. They weren’t the kind of ragtag bandits one might encounter by chance.  

They were an organized group, attacking with precision as though they already knew his abilities and weaknesses.  

After a fierce battle, Erhen was the only one left alive.  

From the corpse closest to him, he tore off a symbol that might provide a clue about the mastermind behind the attack.  

Then, he looked up at the pale crescent moon shining in the night sky.  

The frigid cold and the blood he had lost were overwhelming. His mana was nearly depleted, and his mind was hazy.  

In that state, only one thought came to him.  

That was where his memory ended.  

“……”  

The space around him was unfamiliar. It wasn’t the Duke’s estate or a hospital.  

The bedding was pristine white, and the furnishings in the room were luxurious yet not overly ornate.  

The design was elegant and simple, perfectly in line with Charlotte’s taste.  

If that was the case, the answer was clear.  

The sight of Charlotte watching over him and the kiss he had shared with her—they weren’t a dream.  

“Ah, I’m insane.”  

Having grasped the situation, Erhen muttered a curse under his breath.  

***

“Are you all right, Your Grace?”  

Philip burst into the room without hesitation, his voice shrill with concern.  

Seeing Philip’s reddened eyes reminded Erhen of the ambush, cooling his head. After a moment, he spoke.  

“…It seems I’ve caused you worry, Philip.”  

“Not at all. I’m just relieved to see you awake.”  

Philip, determined not to show tears in front of his superior, steeled his expression.  

“And from now on, please reconsider going out alone.”  

At his words, Erhen chuckled. Despite his amusement, Philip’s expression remained serious.  

“I’ll think about it.”  

“Please make sure you do!”  

Philip bit his lip, frustrated by Erhen’s nonchalant tone and expression.  

After a brief pause, Erhen continued the conversation.  

“By the way, how long was I unconscious?”  

“You didn’t wake up for a week.”  

“A week… What progress has been made during that time?”  

Philip, though exasperated by his superior’s immediate focus on work, found it oddly reassuring—it was just like the Duke of Rosenheim.  

He replied without hesitation.  

“Yes. Evidence of your battle was found in a forest not far from here. The symbol found on the corpses matches the one discovered in your clothing.”  

“And?”  

“We haven’t identified the mastermind yet, but we’re monitoring the Imperial Restoration Faction as the primary suspects. That’s where the investigation stands for now.”  

The so-called “Glorious Rebellion,” which successfully overthrew the tyrant Emperor Rufus, led to Michael ascending to the throne and downgrading the empire to a kingdom. This was a decision made to adapt to the rapidly changing political landscape of the continent.  

Once a magical powerhouse that dominated the continent, the Rohadin Empire had seen its reputation decline due to a mysterious decrease in the number of mages.  

People naturally began to believe that the age of magic was coming to an end. In response, neighboring countries started investing in science to counter magic, leaving Rohadin unable to maintain its strength as an empire.  

It could no longer serve as the continent’s suzerain state.  

Instead, Michael chose cooperation. His swift actions as King freed the people of Rohadin from the looming threat of war with other nations.  

However, factions nostalgic for the era of the tyrant still existed.  

“They were professionally trained. They weren’t just a ragtag group.”  

“We’ll continue the investigation with that in mind.”  

Philip then reported on the events of the past week while Erhen had been unconscious.  

During this, a doctor entered the room, guided by Lida. It seemed Charlotte had called for the doctor before leaving.  

The doctor introduced himself briefly and began examining Erhen.  

“Your Grace, your constitution has allowed for the recovery of all critical injuries and internal wounds, but the abdominal laceration still needs monitoring.”  

In fact, over the past week, Erhen’s severe injuries had healed at an astonishing rate.  

He possessed a remarkable healing ability, a unique trait often found among mages. This regenerative power was proportional to the mana stored within his body.  

As the most powerful mage in Rohadin, Erhen possessed extraordinary mana reserves.  

“I understand.”  

“You’ll be able to resume normal activities soon, as long as you don’t overexert yourself. However, I recommend at least a month of complete rest.”  

Because Erhen’s mana had only recovered to less than half of its usual capacity, the doctor prescribed a month-long recovery period.  

While the doctor conducted his examination, Lida stood silently beside Philip. Philip, noticing that Charlotte wasn’t with them, asked quietly.  

“Did the Viscountess not come with you?”  

“No. She said she needed some time to think.”  

“Hm. I suppose anyone would have a lot on their mind in her position.”  

Philip nodded knowingly with a faintly indifferent expression.  

It had been a year since Charlotte and Erhen divorced.  

After the divorce, Erhen, Philip’s superior, had thrown himself into work like a madman. Meanwhile, Charlotte seemed to have naturally faded from memory.  

Not that Charlotte had done anything to rekindle their connection.  

And yet, here was Erhen, suddenly appearing at his ex-wife’s home, covered in blood.  

Philip, who had already suspected something from Erhen’s obsessive work habits, now felt certain of it.  

Raising his voice slightly, Philip asked,  

“Where is the Viscountess? I have something important to tell her.”