Chapter 93

Louise later decorated a part of the first floor of the castle with one of the bearskins she had received from the wild men.

Louise, along with the other servants, looked up proudly at the fluffy bearskin.

“This is the first gift of friendship we’ve received since coming to the North,” she said, her eyes sparkling as she clasped her hands together.

Jane, awestruck, nodded in agreement. “It looks so fitting hanging here in the castle. It even makes the place feel warmer.”

“I think so too, My Lady. To have hunted something like that, those wild men must truly be strong people,” James added.

“It seems so,” Louise replied.

Having seen the wild men in action firsthand, Louise knew well how agile and formidable they were.

After admiring the bearskin for a while longer, Louise turned to look at Alec. Just as she did, their eyes met, and Alec’s gaze wavered slightly.

“Shall we go up?” she asked.

“Of course,” he responded.

As he answered, Louise smiled and looped her arm through his. Andrew, standing nearby, watched them with wide eyes, glancing back and forth between Alec and Louise.

“Well, Andrew, you should get some rest too.”

“Ah, yes, My Lady. Have a good night.”

Andrew stepped aside, and Alec gave him a brief nod before he and Louise began ascending the stairs.

He couldn’t help but wonder how she was feeling. Not long after arriving at the castle, she had been caught in a raid by the wild men and had to travel all the way to Mount Kalanysh. Though she hadn’t shown it, the day had likely been exhausting for her, especially the journey back by carriage.

As they climbed the stairs, Louise let out a soft laugh. “I’m so relieved that Kililul was pleased. It’s like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I feel like we’ll be able to handle whatever comes our way in the North now, without worrying about the wild men.”

“That’s good to hear. I didn’t expect them to return, but it seems we have you to thank for that.”

Alec was still surprised that Kililul had come back to give them a gift as a gesture of gratitude. He couldn’t help but think that Kililul might be a more compassionate person than he initially appeared.

“No, I didn’t really do much. You’re the one who carried me through that rugged mountain. You must have been exhausted,” she said.

“…”

Was it exhausting?

He had been a bit anxious about not finding the Hiliberry within the time limit, but carrying Louise had not been a burden at all. In fact, her warmth and the softness of her touch seemed to linger in his body even now, making his heart continue to flutter faintly.

“Louise,” he called softly.

“Yes?”

She looked up at him curiously. They had paused midway up to the third floor when Alec, after glancing around to make sure no one was nearby, spoke again.

“Let me escort you to your room.”

“…?”

Without waiting for her response, Alec gently pulled Louise into an embrace. Her hair fluttered momentarily before settling down, and in no time, they had reached the door to her chambers.

“Alec…” Louise whispered as his hold on her loosened.

She gripped his clothes tightly, gazing up at him with a slightly startled look. He slowly let her go, the warmth of her body leaving his as he stepped back.

“Thank you. You’ve made things much easier for me,” she said with a grateful smile.

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Their eyes met in silence, the atmosphere between them thick with an unspoken tension. Louise’s gaze flickered for a moment as if caught in that strange, intimate feeling. Alec, after a brief hesitation, lowered his head. He felt he knew what she wanted, and he couldn’t bring himself to turn away.

Gently, he wrapped his arm around her and pressed his lips softly to her forehead. He could feel her body tremble slightly. Even though it was just a light kiss, his heart ached with a strange, overwhelming warmth.

But it didn’t last long.

“…Have a good night, Louise.”

“…”

Alec wasn’t oblivious to the disappointment she might have felt as he let her go.

***

“Ha…”

It took him only moments to return to his own room. He opened the window, letting the cold air fill the space as he took a deep breath.

‘What was this?’

His heart was racing uncontrollably, a burning sensation making it hard to think clearly. The mood had been one that shouldn’t have been left alone, yet he still couldn’t fully comprehend the dynamic between him and Louise, the relationship they were supposed to have as husband and wife.

‘Had she gone into her room?’

If it had been mere desire, he might have followed her into her room just moments ago. But that wasn’t what he was feeling. This was something new—an emotion unlike anything he had ever experienced before.

The feeling he had when they rolled through the snow together, that subtle yet profound sense of connection, still stirred restlessly within him.

‘Is this Alec’s feeling? Is this body truly Alec’s?’

Though this body looked just like his own, the emotions were confusing. Would he have felt this way toward Louise even if he hadn’t entered Alec’s body?

It was strange.

Alec tried to think of Louise as he had known her: the elegant way she had sold wool, fooling people with stories of organic farming; the way she had smiled as she refilled his plate with food after Eloise had taken his share; their first kiss at the masquerade ball; the way she had carried herself, neither overly polite nor submissive, when standing before the Emperor and Empress.

The boldness with which she had struck Julia’s cheek without hesitation, the unfiltered honesty she displayed when confessing her loneliness, and the fiery passion that had surfaced when she proposed seeking revenge on the emperor—all of these moments flashed through Alec’s mind.

Her fearlessness, even when facing wild men who could have easily intimidated her, was another testament to her strength.

“Sigh…”

Alec closed the window, letting out a deep breath as he turned around, covering his face with one hand. He needed to shake off these feelings. Thinking about everything that had happened with her only made his heart race faster.

There were so many images of Louise etched into his mind. The memories flooded back, overwhelming him, and even the moments he didn’t consciously recall surged forward, leaving him breathless.

Feeling unsettled, he sank into a plush chair and closed his eyes.

‘This is my heart, isn’t it?’

It was already clear that his body was completely captivated by Louise. Her soft lips, the warmth of her cheek, the sensation of her skin slipping through his fingers, and the way her waist fit snugly in his arm—he desired all of it with such intensity that he felt guilty.

Yet, he hadn’t realized that his emotions were also so deeply entangled with her. He couldn’t pinpoint when it had started, but he now understood that the more he thought of Louise, the emptier a part of his heart felt. This sense of hollowness wasn’t unfamiliar. He had felt it before.

‘…Louise doesn’t even know who I really am. What am I doing?’

With that realization, his chaotic heart began to calm. He slowly lowered the hand that had been covering his eyes and opened them. All of Louise’s kindness, affection, and care had not been for him, but for the real Alec.

Even as he found himself falling for her, Louise still only saw Alec when she looked at him. Was it right to continue in this state? Until now, pretending to be Alec hadn’t troubled him much, but now things felt different.

Feeling more conflicted, Alec decided to check his current status and opened the system window. Pink text appeared in the air before him, but the image of Louise’s forehead, where he had kissed her, remained vivid in his mind. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to focus on his progress.

Thanks to the Hiliberry, his experience points had increased significantly. He had leveled up from 12 to 17. The 70 Hiliberry Cassdain had procured had easily given him 3,500,000 experience points. Now, he only needed 89,000 more affection points and 345,088 experience points to reach level 18.

However, the problem was that he had no idea when the next quest would appear. Until then, his options for gaining experience were limited. He had hoped to find more Hiliberry through Cassdain or Gideon, but they weren’t easy to come by.

‘Come to think of it, the polar bears had HP bars too.’

But to gain the experience he needed for leveling up, he would have to kill hundreds or even thousands of them. The higher his level, the more affection points and experience were required, exponentially increasing with each level.

Alec didn’t want to drive the polar bears to extinction. So what options did he have left?

“…”

At the moment, there was only one.

Alec’s gaze wavered.

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