I swallowed dryly and barely managed to sit on my bed.

I had gone to see Ridit, but I couldn’t even remember how I made it back to my room. My mind was a mess.

‘Alec… Could he really be someone else?’

The feelings he had for me felt so sincere.

I gently clutched my chest.

I couldn’t be certain of his true identity, but the feelings we had for each other were still burning hot inside me.

Since we confessed our love for each other, it felt like a fire had been constantly blazing within me.

A fiery passion.

For the first time, I felt as if a fire of love was breathing inside me.

I stared blankly at the air for a while, then suddenly stood up.

I didn’t want to be alone like this.

It seemed better to confirm things by seeing him face to face.

Looking out the window, I saw dark clouds drifting with the quiet of the night.

By now, wouldn’t he have returned to his room?

I took a deep breath and stepped out of my room.

I felt a bit nervous at the thought of seeing him with such absurd feelings, but I couldn’t ignore them either.

Step by step.

In the silent corridor, the sound of my footsteps barely echoed.

It felt as if I was walking through an abandoned mansion, with each step taken carefully.

Eventually, I calmed myself.

‘It’s okay, Louise. It’s probably nothing. Maybe there’s a reason I don’t know about.’

But why did his room feel so much closer today?

Standing in front of his door, I raised my hand to knock.

After swallowing dryly again, I knocked.

Knock, knock.

Was he in?

Perhaps he had already fallen asleep after drinking too much.

Just as I was about to knock again after a moment of silence, the door suddenly opened, and I saw him.

At that moment, I involuntarily gasped.

His perfectly proportioned figure, like a masterpiece from ancient times, and his strikingly handsome face left me momentarily breathless.

He always had an appearance that could take anyone’s breath away, but for some reason, my heart raced even more now.

“…Louise?”

While I was momentarily at a loss for words, he glanced at me once and opened the door a bit wider.

“You’re still awake.”

“…Yes, and you were in your room too.”

I responded as naturally as I could and stepped into his room. He also moved aside slightly to let me pass.

Thump, thump, thump. I could hear the sound of my heart pounding in my ears. To mask the sound, I asked with a somewhat strained smile.

“Has everyone else gone back to their rooms?”

“Yes. I just came in a little while ago.”

“I see. I hope you had a good time.”

Saying that, I moved toward his bed and sat down. It was the spot I always sat in whenever I visited his room. He, too, pulled out a chair from the console and sat close to me.

For a brief moment, I couldn’t think of what to say, but soon I found the right words.

“I just came back from visiting Prince Ridit.”

He seemed a bit surprised and asked, “Is he well?”

“Of course. We even played a game together. But, there was a bit of an issue.”

“…What kind of issue?”

“Eloise followed me. So discreetly that I didn’t even notice. In the end, I had no choice but to reveal the prince’s identity.”

“…Ah. It’s fine. Eloise must’ve been quite shocked.”

“Thank you for saying that. Honestly, I was worried I might have done something wrong.”

“No, if it had been a problem, Eloise wouldn’t have even made it into the underground without being attacked.”

“Huh? Oh, I see…”

He was talking about his magic. Now that I think about it, there was a time when I doubted him before I knew he could use magic.

Will he reveal his secrets to me again, just like he did back then, so I can understand him?

Even though my mind was filled with doubts, my trust in him remained unshaken. Despite sensing something strange, my heart wouldn’t allow me to doubt him.

“Alec.”

I simply reached out to him and took his hand, pulling him up. His gaze wavered slightly, but he silently watched what I was doing.

Was it just my imagination, or did he seem a bit tense?

Ignoring that feeling, I gently tugged him closer and wrapped my arms around his waist. Resting my head a little more on his chest, he too embraced my back.

“…Louise.”

His deep voice resonated throughout my entire body. It was just a light hug, yet it felt like he was holding all of me, and I needed nothing more.

With a soft sigh, I spoke.

“I wish there were no more secrets between us.”

“…”

“I trust you.”

I hugged him even tighter. I could feel his body tense up slightly, but I didn’t mind. If there was something more I needed to know about him, I was certain he wouldn’t hide it from me.

I was confident about that.

—

[Quest activated!’]

[~Use your skills in the right way!~]

Late at night, long after Louise had fallen asleep.

Alec stepped out of bed and opened the system window once again. Louise, tired from visiting the ice cave and playing with Ridit, had quickly fallen asleep.

But Alec couldn’t sleep at all.

“I wish there were no more secrets between us.”

“I trust you.”

Her words weighed heavily on his mind. And still, a timer was ticking down in one corner of his system window.

[Time remaining: 10:38:47]

‘…Ha.’

He let out a silent sigh and ran a hand over his face. His complexion was already a mess.

‘What kind of quest is this?’

One of his skills instructed him to use ‘Beginner Husband’s Tickle’ and “Beginner Husband’s Warm Touch’ on Louise in the “right way.”

He had no idea what the “right way” was supposed to mean, but he desperately needed a massive amount of experience points and affection points.

After recruiting the Empress as a lieutenant, his experience points had increased by 2 billion, but his affection points hadn’t caught up enough to level him up significantly.

Moreover, the penalty for failing the quest didn’t seem trivial at all.

[If you do not succeed within 12 hours, Wiltsbrook Castle will collapse.]

Could this really happen?

Even if it was just a quest, the idea of Wiltsbrook Castle, his new base, collapsing didn’t seem far-fetched.

‘What kind of absurd quest is this…?’

He furrowed his brow as a thought suddenly crossed his mind.

He recalled how the system had completely transformed Wiltsbrook Castle, which had been covered in dust, cobwebs, and crawling with all sorts of bugs. Could it be that the system really had the power to do whatever it wanted with the castle?

“No way…”

Suddenly, memories of various quest penalties from his past life flashed through his mind.

Even back then, though it seemed unbelievable, all the ridiculous penalties had come true.

If he failed the quest again within the next 12 hours, the castle might collapse.

Alec cooled his head and began thinking about how to complete this quest successfully.

The “Beginner Husband’s Tickle” skill, if used with a very slight current to mimic actual tickling, seemed like it could be used on a person.

Could he use the tickling skill on Louise?

Alec subtly turned his body and looked at her sleeping in the distance.

Right now, she was suspicious of him.

Louise hadn’t interrogated him much yet, but her words before falling asleep were practically a warning.

“I trust you.”

Wasn’t that her way of warning him not to keep any secrets?

He didn’t want to secretly use a skill to tickle her in a situation like this.

TL NOTE: More advanced chapter of this story is already up to the site. Visit dusk blossoms for more advanced chapters and stories