Elliope’s eyes trembled slightly, startled beyond belief. 

As if acknowledging that she had only just woken, Kallian looked at her with his usual emotionless gaze and resumed tearing at her dress. 

“A moment, Your Grace?” 

Instinctively, Elliope reached out and took his hand, as if to stop him. But her strength was so weak that if Kallian had decided to push her away, he could have easily brushed her off without any effort. 

Instead, Kallian stopped and looked directly into her eyes. His gaze was penetrating, as if he wanted to dissect her completely – just as he had stared at her earlier when he had opened the carriage door. 

Unconsciously, Elliope swallowed hard, her throat bobbing nervously. 

“I believe I mentioned earlier that I would be excusing myself.”

Kallian said slowly, his deep voice breaking the tense silence. It seemed that was what he had said earlier, though she hadn’t caught it in her drowsiness. 

“But, Your Grace, this is…” 

“In this state, it’s difficult to properly examine the wound.”

Elliope opened her mouth to argue but stopped herself. He was right. 

The black dress she had worn was made of a slightly clinging material that couldn’t simply be lifted up. To check her wound, the dress would need to be removed entirely. 

The mere thought of undressing in front of Kallian made her shiver slightly, a mix of embarrassment and tension coursing through her. 

Of course, this wasn’t the first time this man had seen her bare body—yet it still felt like the first. After all, he was the same man who had once gazed at her n*ked form with such hunger that it seemed as if he might melt from the intensity.

‘Even so…’

Back then, it hadn’t been a situation where her clothes were deliberately removed in an orderly manner before they fell into each other’s arms.

The mere thought of undressing herself in front of him, or even imagining him undressing her, made her ears burn with heat.

Just the idea of standing before him, stripped down to nothing but her undergarments, left her flustered and overwhelmed.

When she considered it that way, perhaps this was Kallian’s own form of consideration—an effort to ensure she wouldn’t be fully exposed before a knight she barely knew.

“…Go ahead.”

She said at last, removing the hand that had been blocking his. Not knowing where to place her hands, she fumbled awkwardly in the air until Kallian guided them to rest on his shoulder.

Rip.

The sound of her dress being torn echoed in the small hut.

As the dagger cut through her dress, goosebumps spread across the back of Elliope’s hands. Even though her bare legs were now exposed to the warm air, she couldn’t shake the feeling of a strange chill creeping over her.

Rip.

At last, the side of her dress was fully torn, creating a long slit along the seam. Kallian pushed the fabric aside, revealing her bare leg as he examined the wound.

“The wound isn’t too serious.”

His gaze following the cut as it extended from the outer thigh toward the inner thigh.

Every time his eyes moved over the wound, Elliope felt a peculiar tension, her body instinctively tightening in response to his proximity.

“Still…”

Kallian continued, pulling something closer to him.

She glanced over and noticed a large, shallow bowl filled with water. Beside it sat a small metal flask, the kind knights typically used to carry alcohol.

Soon, Kallian returned with a clean cloth he had soaked in water and began wiping down her leg. Each time his large hand pressed through the cloth, the sensation grew increasingly strange for Elliope.

“…….”

By the time his careful touch made her leg instinctively flinch, Kallian uncapped the flask and dampened the cloth with its contents. The alcohol was evidently strong, as a stinging heat spread over her skin the moment it touched, even reaching the sensitive inner part of her thigh.

Even though she understood it was for disinfecting the wound, Elliope found her head lowering little by little, unable to meet his gaze. She could feel his fingers moving gradually closer inward, increasing her discomfort and tension.

When he finally finished cleaning the wound, Elliope exhaled a long sigh of relief. Surely now she could relax.

It was just as she lifted her head, thinking the ordeal was over, that he spoke again.

“For the last step.”

Her eyes met his vivid blue gaze, steady and direct as he remained positioned close in front of her.

“Allow me to trouble you one more time.”

“…Your Grace!”

Elliope let out a stifled cry, bordering on a scream, at what happened next.

Without hesitation, Kallian lowered his lips to her exposed thigh.

The intense heat of his body transferred to her pale, soft skin, trailing from the outer side of her thigh toward the inner part.

And it wasn’t just a simple touch of his lips. He was firmly sucking on her skin, as if he were a vampire drawn to the small wound, intent on drinking her blood.

“K-Kallian, Your Grace!”

In her shock, Elliope instinctively called out his name in a sharp voice, forgetting entirely that he hadn’t even introduced himself in this lifetime.

Yet, Kallian didn’t falter, continuing to press his lips against her skin and draw it into his mouth. Everywhere his lips touched and his tongue grazed, it felt as though fiery blossoms were blooming across her flesh.

As Kallian’s face moved closer, so deeply that his well-defined nose was nearly brushing against her most intimate area, Elliope instinctively raised both hands to cover her mouth.

“…Hnnng.”

The sensation of his warm breath near such a sensitive spot sent a shiver through her body, and she feared she might accidentally let out a sound resembling a moan. Her hands pressed so firmly against her mouth that her already pale skin turned even whiter. The position caused her chest, now pressed against her bent arms, to push upward noticeably.

At that moment, Kallian shifted his gaze, his eyes meeting hers directly.

“…….”

Beneath her trembling lashes, Elliope’s slightly tear-filled eyes stared at him, wide and unfocused, as if caught entirely in the moment.

Kallian’s eyes, however, remained inscrutable, betraying no emotion or thought.

For a long moment, their gazes held, the tension between them palpable.

And then—

“……!”

Kallian gave one final, intense pull on the soft flesh of Elliope’s inner thigh. The pressure was so forceful that it left a deep red mark and faint impressions of his teeth on her pale, delicate skin. Elliope’s thigh quivered uncontrollably in response.

The flames from the fireplace flickered wildly, casting erratic shadows over her exposed leg and Kallian’s face, which was pressed against it.

‘What kind…’

What kind of meaning was behind those eyes?

The shifting shadows momentarily obscured Kallian’s gaze, yet Elliope couldn’t shake the strange sensation that his eyes were silently demanding something from her. It was a curious, unsettling feeling that lingered.

Smack.

With a damp, drawn-out sound, Kallian’s lips finally detached from her skin. He had lingered there so long that a thin string of saliva stretched between his lips and her thigh before breaking.

Kallian spat into the bowl, the contents mixing with the orange-tinted alcohol. A faint reddish hue trickled from his lips, carrying with it a subtle trace of darkness.

“If there was poison, it’s been removed now.”

Only then did it dawn on Elliope—he had drawn out any lingering poison from her wound.

“It’s late.”

“…….”

“We’ll leave tomorrow. For now, rest here.”

With that, he exited the hut, likely to keep watch for the night. Elliope was left alone in the silence of the hut.

***

She sat in a daze for hours, her thoughts drifting aimlessly. Then, suddenly, a faint whisper of clarity emerged in her mind—a realization.

‘A solution.’

The way he had looked at her—the chance to live a life different from her past one.

‘Maybe.’

A sudden thought, as sharp and striking as lightning, sent her bolting upright. Just the possibility of it compelled her body into motion.

Elliope reached into the hidden pocket of her dress, pulling something out and placing it in her mouth.

She opened the door and stepped outside, only to find no sign of Kallian. But the moment she took her first step forward—

“Where are you planning to go?”

Kallian emerged from the darkness, his hand smoothly closing around her wrist.

His grip was gentle yet unyielding, his expression hard. His fiery eyes bore into her with an intensity that made her freeze in place.

“We will depart tomorrow morning—”

Before Kallian could finish speaking, Elliope suddenly pulled him close and kissed him.

“……!”

A soft sound escaped as their lips parted slightly, deepening the kiss. In that moment, what Elliope had been holding in her mouth slipped into Kallian’s, mixed with her saliva.

Their tongues tangled awkwardly, a hesitant yet bold act. For Elliope, it was a moment of immense courage. She noticed a subtle crack in Kallian’s usual composure, a faint furrow in his brow.

Smack.

As Kallian’s lips had done on her thigh earlier, Elliope’s lips parted from his with a faint, wet sound. It wasn’t intentional, and the unplanned intimacy left her face burning with embarrassment. Even so, she stood her ground, gripping his shoulders with trembling hands.

“…Your Highness, the Princess.”

Despite standing there for what felt like a long time, nothing changed. Elliope’s eyes reflected a mix of confusion and relief.

“What exactly did you do?”

Kallian’s firm, measured tone made her feel almost lightheaded, as though she were drunk—despite not having had a single sip of alcohol. Unable to stop herself, she answered truthfully.

“…It was a sleeping pill I had taken.”

“…….”

“It seems it doesn’t work on you.”

“I was trained from a young age to consume poisons on behalf of the Grand Duke.”

His words were calm, but his gaze lingered on her, slow and deliberate, as though he were trying to read her thoughts. His eyes, though still sharp, lacked the cold indifference they once held, replaced by something deeper and more inscrutable.

He thought that those emotionless eyes might be an opportunity. After all, he pressed himself against him, creating space below. Even if it was just because of the circumstances at the time, he believed there was still a possibility.

Elliope thought that Kallian’s unreadable eyes might present an opportunity. After all, he had pressed against her, creating space beneath. Even if it was due to the circumstances at the time, she believed there was still a chance.

Most of all, she couldn’t forget the look in his eyes when he was sucking the poison from her leg.

‘If things were like they were in the previous life…’

Before entering the grand duke’s estate, if Kallian could bring himself to hold her—or at least pretend to. If he wouldn’t take her and run away, perhaps she could be the one to take him and escape instead.

‘It would be such an unfair burden on him.’

To betray his will and share a bed with a woman he didn’t want, not once but twice.

Still, this time, she was determined not to let things go too far. Her plan was simple: once Kallian fell asleep, she would undress him, remove her own clothes, and lie beside him. Even without intimacy, the situation would appear convincing enough.

She intended to marry him under these circumstances and grant him a divorce when the time was right. That was why she had gone so far as to give him a sleeping drug.

“It didn’t work, did it?”

A sudden urge to laugh welled up in Elliope, tickling her chest. It was the same uncontrollable laughter she had experienced in her previous life, right at the end.

As her breathing became uneven, Kallian calmly tilted her head back, just as he had earlier while they were riding together.

“Breathe.”

“…”

“Look at me and breathe.”

He commanded again, his voice low and firm. At the sound of his growling tone, Elliope, panting heavily, spoke impulsively.

“Kallian Icerick. If you want me to breathe…”

Elliope, panting heavily, blurted out impulsively.

“Take my virginity.”