Lucilia, who had been immersed in an indecent scene, jumped up as if having a seizure.

The chair fell backward with a crash, and the door swung open.

“What happened?”

Her heart beat wildly at Aaron’s unrestrained movements as he approached with large strides.

It pounded fiercely as if about to break her ribs, making her breathing rapid.

Lucilia righted the overturned chair and replied with an embarrassed expression.

“I was just a bit startled.”

“That’s why I knocked, you know?”

Unable to answer that she had been lost in lewd fantasies of rolling in bed with Aaron, she changed the subject.

“I was lost in thought… But what brings you here at this hour?”

“There’s something I forgot.”

“Something you forgot?”

She was glad he had come to see her, and curious about his business.

It would be nice if they could sit together and have tea.

Lucilia quickly pulled out a chair at the table, hoping to keep him there a little longer.

“Let’s sit and talk. I was just about to have some tea.”

Despite her earlier worry that he might be angry about her meeting with Raphad, Aaron didn’t refuse and immediately sat down.

Pressing her index finger against the corners of her mouth that threatened to curl up, Lucilia also took a seat.

She touched the teapot to see if it had cooled.

“It’s still warm.”

The sound of the yellowish tea pouring was pleasant to hear.

As he watched the transparent cup gradually fill, Aaron spoke.

“I was just wondering if you still have nightmares.”

“Night…mares?”

The sound of pouring water abruptly stopped.

Lucilia tried to find where the flow of her memory had stopped, then her mouth fell open.

She was aware that she frequently had nightmares, but she didn’t know that he had noticed.

“Eek! Did I scream in my sleep?”

If Aaron knew about it, she must have been making a commotion in her sleep at Tudra.

Regardless of her will, the unconscious world she met at night dragged her into the most terrible and gloomy pit.

The shouts and hoofbeats of knights desperately trying to kill her tore at her ears.

Thinking that he had witnessed her desperate struggling, her excitedly uplifted heart deflated.

“Judging by your expression, I guess you did.”

“Why do you look so self-reproachful?”

“Because it’s embarrassing.”

Aaron paused while sipping his tea, just raising his eyes to glance at her.

After a moment of silence, he awkwardly tried to comfort the dejected Lucilia.

“You saw people at the banquet who gave you nightmares. I thought you might suffer from bad dreams tonight, so I came to check.”

“I’ll be… fine.”

“I’ll just watch you fall asleep before I leave.”

It was surprising enough that he had looked in on her out of concern for nightmares, but now he would stay by her side until she fell asleep?

He seemed angry during the day, but why he had become so affectionate now was beyond understanding.

Until now, the two had not lived as a normal couple.

Far from spending their wedding night together, they hadn’t even had a warm, comfortable conversation.

She always felt apologetic toward Aaron and was constantly walking on eggshells.

Now it seemed that the distance between them had shortened just a little.

She nodded her head, afraid that if she said it was fine for him to leave, he would go without hesitation.

Aaron then stood up with an expressionless face.

Not understanding his intention, she looked up at him quietly, and he gestured lightly with his chin.

“Lie down.”

“Now? But I’m not sleepy yet…”

“I’m a bit busy.”

She was about to say that he didn’t need to stay if he was busy, but she bit the inside of her lip.

Even though he said he was busy, if she wasn’t sleepy, he could have stayed with her longer.

Lucilia moved to the bed awkwardly.

She got under the covers and closed her eyes obediently.

Since conversation wasn’t the purpose, she suppressed her desire to bother Aaron with unnecessary questions.

After stealing a glance at Aaron pulling a chair closer and sitting down, she kept her eyes closed.

As she remained silent, all sorts of random thoughts popped into her mind.

Should she seduce him now that he had opened his heart a little?

To be a proper wife, she needed to bear an heir.

Aaron was aware of this too, so he might agree if she suggested spending the night together.

But her mouth wouldn’t open readily.

She couldn’t force Aaron, who had come to see her, into bed and make him sick of her.

It seemed better to let it go for today.

As her thoughts continued to wander, her consciousness faded to black.

Aaron smiled wryly at Lucilia, who had fallen asleep much earlier than he expected.

Then he directed a sneer at himself for having crept into her bedroom.

“What was I expecting in this situation?”

He still maintained his guard against her. To be honest, he wanted to stop pretending to monitor the accused witch.

The more he faced Lucilia, the more his heart stirred.

The feeling of using her made him feel unclean.

When had he become so soft…

He felt sorry for her, worried she might get hurt, and felt he should stay with her.

That’s how his heart gradually loosened.

The dream of sharing love like other couples and greeting the morning in brilliant sunshine had seeped into his heart.

“I thought she’d fall asleep later.”

He had intended to warn her not to think about meeting Kel and Raphad.

She was bold enough to kiss him first when drunk, but timid when it came to cutting ties with men.

How annoying.

“Should I just take her?”

Maybe she wouldn’t look elsewhere if I left marks claiming her as mine.

After grumbling at the innocent Lucilia, Aaron cursed his pathetic self and lifted her arm.

Rolling up her sleeve revealed a scar from a knife.

Seeing it made him angry again.

Upon receiving the report, he had belatedly ordered the arrest of the beggar boy. But by then, the boy was already dead.

Judging from Lucilia’s actions, she seemed to have bought time for the boy to escape.

He deliberately didn’t tell her because he didn’t want to see her self-reproachful face.

“You should be careful. You keep getting involved in these situations, making me feel like I need to protect you.”

Though he would have to modify some of his plans, he was already half falling for her, being drawn in.

‘Do you know that it’s becoming harder for me to ignore your pitiful expressions?’

“Even if you can’t be happy, please continue to live as you are now.”

* * *

After the banquet, there wasn’t much left to do in the capital.

Aaron concluded his journey in the capital with a few official gatherings and secret meetings with the king and his inner circle.

Until they arrived at Tudra, and for some time afterward, his relationship with Lucilia wasn’t bad.

Strictly speaking, there was no change in his expression or tone. He remained as solid as a rigid rock.

Still, thanks to the not-so-brief time they spent together, he occasionally asked if she had eaten, and when she had nightmares, he somehow knew and would wake her up to offer water.

Whether he didn’t find her attractive or felt uncomfortable, they didn’t have *ntercourse. But even without physical union, she didn’t feel disappointed.

She had hope that as they gradually approached each other like this, someday he would open his heart.

Was it a sin to harbor such hope?

A whip of unbearable power struck Lucilia’s life.

On the morning of exactly the seventh day after arriving at Tudra, Baron Artnal passed away.

People were more eager to find the cause than to mourn the deceased baron.

Even while knowing heart disease was the cause, they were instinctively desperate to find something more sensational.

What added fuel to people’s instincts was the testimony of a maid.

“I’m telling you, I saw it! When the young master went on patrol to Demre, I clearly saw the mistress in front of the baron’s bedroom with my own two eyes.”

“Did she really cast a curse?”

“How else can you explain this situation? Even the physician said that although he had a chronic illness, it wasn’t severe enough to cause sudden death. That’s what he said during the examination two days ago.”

That became the spark that spread rumors far and wide, to the point where even the maids who entered Aaron’s bedroom were gossiping.

The maids waiting outside the bedroom until Lucilia woke up whispered among themselves.

“If the young master casts her out, execution is just a matter of time.”

“Right. They haven’t even consummated the marriage yet.”

“Even if they’re married, how could he touch a cursed woman? They say it’s no coincidence that dark clouds have covered Caldman because the false saint wasn’t executed.”

“I heard that too. They say war is coming soon?”

Lucilia held her forehead at the horror stories that flowed in through the door.

If Aaron had been in the bedroom, they wouldn’t have dared to speak such nonsense so fearlessly.