‘Ah, that man is my husband.’ 

 If not, he wouldn’t be lying there in such a seductive pose saying ‘Please eat me up!’ 

 Once that thought settled, her mind became much more at ease. 

 “Can’t we just talk from here?” 

 “Ah, so watching is your preference.” 

 At his words, I suddenly came to my senses. 

 He must have prepared all this, but I’m not responding properly…… he probably feels bad? 

 My husband-to-be seems to have quite unique tastes. 

 “……I didn’t expect to meet like this for the first time.” 

 “Come closer. Your voice is too soft to hear well.” 

 At his gentle voice, I awkwardly approached the bed. 

 ‘But that voice sounds somewhat familiar, like I’ve heard it somewhere before……’ 

 Though his face wasn’t clearly visible, up close I could see his sharp jawline, high nose, and seemingly moist lips. Because of that, I couldn’t think of anything else. 

 My mouth went completely dry. 

 ‘I-I’m nervous.’ 

 Why am I like this? I should be happy to meet my husband, but this situation still felt awkward. 

 I sat on the edge of the bed facing him. 

 Seeing no reaction even when I waved my hand, he apparently couldn’t see. 

 “I’d like you to untie the ribbon now.” 

 “Right! I should untie it…… just a moment.” 

 I tilted my head and tried to untie the pretty ribbon bound around the man’s wrists. 

 But the ribbon that should have smoothly untied seemed to have some magic on it, as it automatically retied itself prettily. 

 “We have a problem.” 

 “……Problem?” 

 Should I tell him? Should I not? 

 After briefly contemplating and realizing several attempts were futile, I confessed. 

 “It keeps tying back into a ribbon. It’s nice like a present but……” 

 This would make the wedding night difficult. But still, it’s the wedding night! I couldn’t take my eyes off his appearance and beast-like muscles that weren’t hidden even in the darkness. 

 “Ah……” 

 At that moment, the man seemed to realize something and pressed his lips together. 

 He appeared briefly flustered before quickly pulling up the corners of his mouth. 

 “Ah, I think I know how to break the magic. However, I’ll need your help.” 

 “……What? But I tried to untie it and couldn’t?” 

 “Like how a princess or prince needs a kiss to confirm love. Perhaps if we need a kiss too, would that make sense?” 

 “Is this position alright?” 

 “You seem to want to enjoy this game more, but I’m not fond of pretty ribbons like this.” 

 As he raised his upper body, his face came very close. 

 Startled, I pulled back and ended up falling back onto the bed with a thump. 

 “Seems you’re quite impatient.” 

 “Ah…… Ah! That’s not it, this is a misunderstanding!” 

 “Then I should live up to your expectations.” 

 Though it must have been hard to see my face in the dark, he found my lips perfectly for a kiss. 

 The ribbon that had been prettily tied around his hands came undone as if by magic. I ended up in his embrace as his arms wrapped around my waist, and we exchanged breaths. 

 Led by the cool scent lingering at the tip of my nose, we began to explore each other. 

 Through hazy vision, I could see him with his sparkling eyes. 

 Clinging to his broad chest, I began taking in every detail of him one by one. 

 Suddenly a large hand covered my eyes, enveloping my vision in darkness. 

 “I’m jealous that only you get to look.” 

I melted once again at those words. So following his words, I kept my eyes closed as we slowly felt and caressed each other. 

 Where the nose was, where the lips were. 

 Carefully mapping and feeling each other with fingertips. The trembling transmitted clearly. 

 “Kiiing.” (Looking at you carefully, you really are a pervert, Master.) 

 Zeno jumped up seeing my reddened face. Then he backed far away from me. 

 “It’s nothing!” 

 “Woowoo.” (Master is really bad at lying.) 

 Zeno shook his head and left the room. Saying he couldn’t share space with a pervert. 

 What still puzzles me is that I definitely went to the house marked on the capital’s map. 

 I fled in the night by carriage with the map Isabelle gave me, so how did I wake up in the North? 

 ‘He probably won’t answer even if I ask.’ 

 I pondered alone before shaking my head. Well, what does it matter now? 

 If I had recognized it was Cedric that night, would our relationship have been different? 

 ‘I am a bit curious.’ 

 I lay on the bed blinking. 

 “Ah, I’m sleepy again……” 

 Though I tried to think more, drowsiness overcame me and I couldn’t fight my heavy eyelids closing on the bed. 

 ❖ ❖ ❖ 

 “Tweet tweet!” (Open the door! Open the door!) 

 “Mmm.” 

 I frowned at the sound of tapping on the window early in the morning. 

 After days of being fed and sleeping like I was being raised in captivity, my body felt notably heavier. 

 ‘What a ruthless man……’ 

 Cedric ate every meal with me, personally feeding me. 

 As I lay in bed opening my eyes, the sparrow’s chirping pierced my eardrums. 

 “Tweet! Tweet tweet!” (Hurry and open the door!) 

 “……Alright! Alright, stop knocking!” 

 I jumped up from the bed and went to the window. When I opened it wide, both the sparrow and hawk flew into the room. 

 “Screech!” (You tell me to bring news but then just lie around sleeping!) 

 The hawk landed on the table and burst out angrily. I shrugged apologetically. 

 “Sorry, I’ve been sleeping more lately.” 

 “Tweet tweet!” (What’s this, Claire’s gotten lazy.) 

 The sparrow flew onto my head and chattered. When I raised my hand, it lightly hopped onto my finger. 

 “Did you have a good trip to the capital?” 

 “Screeeech.” (The Emperor has started making sailing ships. And it seems he’s ordered a search for Princess Isabelle.) 

 “What else?” 

 “Screech!” (He’s going to send people to the North!) 

 “To the North?” 

 I gently stroked the hawk’s head while asking. It seemed a bit late to be sending people. 

 “Screech!” (They’re coming with divine beasts!) 

 “What?!” 

 I jumped up from my seat. 

 I hadn’t expected them to come with divine beasts. They’ll probably head to Codran Forest first before barging into the Grand Duke’s mansion. 

 “Zeno.” 

 “Woowoo.” (Why are you calling? Going to ask for another troublesome favor?) 

 “The imperial family is coming. You’re in the most danger. Isabelle too.” 

 “……Grrrr.” (Now what.) 

 Zeno looked at me with sparkling yellow eyes. 

 “Now that Isabelle’s consciousness has returned, it’s dangerous. Fortunately her magic outburst has calmed, but we can’t keep her here forever.” 

 “Woof!” (Don’t tell me you want us both to stay in the forest?) 

 “Of course not.” 

 We need somewhere more secretive than the forest. 

 “Grrrr.” (If you’re thinking of burying me in a monster trap……) 

 “Tweet tweet!” (Oh my! Claire you’re too cruel.) 

 “Screeeech!” (Brutal!) 

 The sparrow and hawk that had been perched on me instantly flew to Zeno. Six eyes stared at me trembling, filled with contempt. 

 While I had considered the monster trap, they didn’t need to look at me with such cruel person-judging eyes. 

 “I-I wasn’t thinking that.” 

 “Grrrrrrr.” (Lies. Master is a liar.) 

 “……Fine, sorry.” 

 I quickly apologized. The sparrow and hawk stayed firmly attached to Zeno, not coming to me. 

 Their defensive stance made me feel hurt, as they seemed determined never to come near me again. 

 “That’s too much, I give you special treats! And comfortable spaces!” 

 “Tweet tweet!” (That’s not yours Claire. It’s His Highness’s!) 

 “……” 

 They weren’t wrong. So I kept my mouth shut and stared at the three animals looking at me. 

 ‘A place no one can find…… somewhere to hide…..’ 

 There is one. The secret room in the Grand Duke’s mansion. 

 It wasn’t a place with particularly good memories for Cedric. 

 ‘It’s strange that I even know about it.’ 

 Cedric was an adopted child in the Grand Duke’s mansion, and he had to endure harsh training to become the perfect Grand Duke. 

 When he did something wrong, he was locked in that secret room waiting for the door to open. Cedric followed his father’s words without complaint. 

 As a result, he became a Grand Duke that no one could ignore now. 

 The mansion’s secret room was known only to Cedric, and he sealed it after his father died. 

 I couldn’t touch that wound. 

 “Let’s move Isabelle first.” 

 “Woowoo.” (Where to?) 

 “There is one place. It’ll take a while…… but we need to move at night to avoid being seen. Will you help?” 

 At my words, the sparrow and hawk gasped and fluttered their wings. They flew urgently to the window, away from Zeno, saying,

 “Tweet tweet.” (She’s going to bury us.) 

 “Screeeech!” (Let’s run away. Claire was planning to fatten us up and eat us after all!) 

 “No! Come back!” 

 I reached out my hand, but the sparrow and hawk immediately flew into the sky. 

 I sighed deeply while staring emptily at the sky. Zeno watched me and shook his body as if mocking. 

 “Woowoowoowoo.” (Suddenly became a witch.) 

 “Yeah, I became the villain.” 

 “Woof. Woof!” (So where is this hideout?) 

 A place no one knows about. However, there was a place that I, Cedric, and Isabelle knew of.