The confident face of Birgita, who had declared herself as the new saint, flashed through Lucilia’s mind filled with a sense of loss.

Could it be that he’s protecting Birgita?

Everything fit together, but she didn’t want to acknowledge it. Just thinking about it made her eyes well up with tears.

“Then are you currently guarding His Holiness the Pope?”

What a foolish question.

It was such an obvious action that even a child could see through it.

Her face burned with embarrassment for pretending to be fine when she clearly wasn’t.

She wanted nothing more than to pour out her grievances to Raphad.

But Aaron didn’t welcome the current situation, and Raphad likewise didn’t welcome meeting with her.

‘So I should stop trying to learn more and leave it at this.’

As she silently wished him well and was about to quietly leave, Raphad responded in a monotone voice.

“I am guarding Saint Birgita.”

Just as she had expected, and her energy drained completely.

So it was true.

She had nothing more to say.

At that moment, Aaron’s palm touched her shoulder.

The way his index finger gently caressed the round tip of her shoulder was incredibly suggestive.

It was too sudden to be possessiveness, and Aaron wasn’t the type to be jealous.

‘He must have thought I was lingering with attachment to Raphad, who had become Birgita’s man.’

“We agreed to return home early. We have things to do at home.”

‘Did we have things to do?’

As she tilted her head in confusion, his hot breath covered her nape.

He brought his lips close, almost touching but not quite, and whispered. Though he spoke softly, there was no way Raphad, standing right in front of them, couldn’t hear.

“We’re still newlyweds. Have you forgotten already?”

“……”

“Save your entertainment for me.”

Aaron’s earlier comment about staying here only providing entertainment for others had transformed into something different when paired with “newlyweds.”

A rosy hue spread across Lucilia’s pale cheeks.

Covering her flushed cheeks that resembled pink flower petals, she hastily bid farewell to Raphad. She couldn’t stay any longer out of embarrassment.

“I don’t know when we’ll meet again, but take care. Don’t get hurt.”

“Lucilia.”

As soon as she uttered words of concern for her former holy knight, Aaron cut her off.

Both Lucilia and Raphad flinched when he called her name so familiarly, but Aaron remained as calm as a place after a storm has passed.

The longer they stayed, the more Aaron’s words would expose her.

He might make Raphad imagine the night life of a saint.

Raphad might envision the former saint moaning in the arms of the young baron.

“A-alright. Let’s go quickly.”

She had no mind to continue conversing with Raphad.

She didn’t even have time to ask Aaron why he was saying strange things about being newlyweds.

Her face felt so hot it might explode, and she was desperate to cool down.

Lucilia walked quickly while fanning herself with her hand.

* * *

Aaron had been in his study for hours.

Earlier at the banquet, he had discussed important matters with the king.

Recently, the Mrangel tribe had broken through the defense line and kidnapped women.

Afterward, they burned them and hung the bodies on poles.

It was the same punishment given to Demre’s guard captain who had been bribed with money.

Although the incident occurred in a region beyond Aaron’s reach, it was a clear provocation.

Thus, the king made his decision.

“The time has come to fulfill our long-cherished wish. We will conquer Mrangel.”

War would soon break out. The plan was to discuss the timing of the expedition with Gorenzo, the general of the allied forces, during their stay in the capital, then return to Tudra to prepare thoroughly.

“But you know what? You really! Haaah…”

Lucilia had suddenly invaded his thoughts.

Thinking about her made his blood boil.

It was incredibly irritating that his heart was stirred by a woman when war was imminent.

The duke and the holy knight who had been hovering around her.

Though he disliked those two, undoubtedly Lucilia had the greatest influence in provoking his irritation.

She showed deep friendship and gratitude to the duke, and longing and joy to Raphad Blio.

“Both of them with their fair complexions. Tsk!”

The well-bred duke was one thing, but why was even Raphad, who trained under the sun every day, so spotlessly clean?

Aaron rubbed his chin and examined his face reflected in the window.

No matter how he looked at it, he was far from having clear skin.

“Why cry in front of a holy knight who can’t even marry?”

To be precise, her eyes had reddened, but what Aaron perceived was completely different.

The image of his wife with tears welling up had already grown in Aaron’s mind into the form of a woman hanging on another man.

“Watching from the side, it looked like she was about to shed tiny tears. If that’s the case, why not just run away hand in hand with that holy knight?”

And how did he look during all this?

Afraid of revealing his jealousy, he flinched and averted his gaze whenever his eyes might meet Lucilia’s.

What a pathetic bastard…

The more he thought about it, the more infuriated he became.

In the midst of his anger, Aaron thought of Raphad, who was no less pathetic than himself, and snorted derisively.

“No, wait, he didn’t even show up that day. Disloyal bastard…”

Claiming to have protected the saint with complete loyalty. If so, he should have risked his life until the end.

Even though he knew perfectly well that anyone helping the accused witch escape would be executed, he felt betrayed by Raphad.

But what if Raphad had actually appeared at the monastery and rescued Lucilia?

In his current state, he would be so blinded by jealousy that he wouldn’t be able to sleep.

“Jeal…ousy.”

Aaron was shocked by the word that flashed through his mind.

“Me? Feeling something like that?”

Ah, how wounded his pride was.

Aaron abruptly stood up and closed the curtains so forcefully they might tear.

Only when the angry face reflected so nakedly in the glass was covered did his heaving chest settle down.

* * *

The sun had already set.

Aaron, who had mentioned being newlyweds, had remained in his study the entire time.

The overall atmosphere of the villa seemed no different from usual, but there was a strange, chilling flow of air.

Unlike the Tudra mansion, this smaller villa housed only those personally selected by Aaron.

Maids, butlers, guards—all of them.

Since there was no risk of rumors leaking out, Aaron used a separate bedroom.

If he had intended to monitor her, he would have shared a room, but here he had already forbidden Lucilia from going out, so there was no need.

She had thought he was too busy to see her, but it turned out he had been taking short naps in another bedroom.

It seemed he had chosen comfortable sleeping arrangements since he didn’t need to personally keep an eye on his wife’s movements.

Today too, they would spend the night in separate rooms, but why did she feel so uneasy…

“He definitely looked angry. Was it because of His Grace the Duke? He’s just an old acquaintance.”

In fact, it was awkward to even call him an acquaintance.

That relationship only applied when she was a saint and he was royalty; now they had become uncomfortable with each other in many ways.

As her fingers tapped her cheeks more rapidly, deep furrows formed on Lucilia’s forehead.

“Or was it because of Raphad?”

That’s even stranger.

How could romantic feelings develop between a holy knight and a saint?

“Raphad is truly a real friend. Though not anymore.”

Accepting reality made her feel depressed.

She had wanted to maintain a friendship with Raphad for a long time, if with no one else.

She had to accept that this was as far as it could go, since their positions created a barrier that neither could cross to the other side.

“Sigh… I hope the young baron doesn’t misunderstand.”

Honestly, if she put herself in his position, it was certainly an unpleasant situation.

How many years had she spent with Raphad?

It would be terrible if he suspected her of improper conduct.

Once the seed of doubt sprouted, it would grow into a large stem and spread. Then it was obvious that no matter what she did, he wouldn’t trust her.

“I really need to be careful from now on. It’s right to organize my surroundings for my husband’s sake.”

In truth, there wasn’t much to organize.

Kel was naturally outgoing and would wink and joke playfully with anyone. He wasn’t the type to stop just because someone told him to.

As for Raphad… he had already cut ties with Lucilia from his side.

In any case, she had to assume she would rarely meet either Kel or Raphad again.

Depressed by needless worries, she picked up the hair ornament Aaron had prepared for the banquet. Then she held the red jewel against her silvery, moon-haloed hair.

Though she had lived without want until now, living in the monastery had kept her far from luxury.

But after dressing up carefully this morning, she felt her heart stirred by material desire.

“I understand why nobles are so passionate about adornments. It’s so beautiful that you never tire of looking at it. That’s why they spend fortunes buying jewels.”

It was something she could never imagine with her own spending habits. But when she thought of it as Aaron’s gift, the hesitation weighing on her chest disappeared.

Thinking of him caused turbulent waves in her calm heart.

They say men shower gifts to win women’s hearts…

“Who would have known gifts could stir a person’s heart like this.”

She kept chuckling involuntarily.

Lucilia recalled their contact at the banquet.

When his large palm enveloped her slender waist, she had felt a tingling sensation in her lower abdomen.

She couldn’t even imagine how many times more stimulating it would be when they shared carnal desire.

As if invisible fantasies contained sparks, fire ignited immediately upon recalling them.

Not just her face, but her entire head felt like it was being worked by bellows.

Would the day come when Aaron would change…

Would the cold aura eventually disappear, replaced by passionate heat of pleasure?

Just as she was losing herself in thoughts of the ecstatic moments she might share with him, there was a knock at the wooden door.

Knock knock-.