“What?”

She didn’t understand what he meant by moving. Especially since she felt like she would fall over him because of the small carriage. It was a problem that she called for the cheapest and most inconspicuous carriage since it was supposed to be just her and Leonel riding. Did they expect a man as huge as a mountain to ride in it?

“It’s fine if you stay there.”

“Just, uh…!”

She wanted to ask him to cast magic like Leonel, but she couldn’t continue speaking because her body lifted again. Amelia clenched her teeth at his action of leisurely rubbing their knees together. It meant to stop being stubborn and come over.

“I can’t cast it on others anyway. It involves manipulating the mana inside the body.”

“I’m sorry, Mother.”

“Ah…!”

Eventually, her only option was to sit on Raphael’s thigh by herself. Knowing her hesitation, the carriage shook even more violently.

“We’re still far from arriving.”

Amelia clenched her eyes shut and tried to get up towards him. The pain she felt was more serious than a moment of embarrassment. It was the first time she rode in a carriage with such terrible ride quality. She would probably have a huge bruise the next day.

“Wait a moment…!”

“Be careful.”

However, it wasn’t easy to move inside the shaking carriage. The moment she stood up, she lost her balance and fell over him. If Raphael hadn’t caught her in time, she could have buried her face in his pants in a serious situation.

“It’s a bit embarrassing even for me if you throw yourself at me like that.”

“It’s not like that!”

He’s saying that with an expression that wasn’t embarrassed at all. Amelia’s body heated up at his surprising response. Anyone listening might misunderstand that she threw herself at him because she liked him. His shamelessness in nonchalantly saying such things was unbelievable.

“Sit properly before you fall again.”

The problem was Raphael’s attitude that quickly returned despite her tripping over it. In the end, it seemed like she was the one overreacting.

“I got it.”

Amelia tried to act as if nothing had happened as much as possible. However, the problem was that she was on his knee. Even trying to stabilize herself in the moving carriage caused her to flail helplessly.

“Uh, that’s…”

“I’m fine. It’s good.”

What is this man even saying? Amelia’s body jerked at his action of whispering closely into her ear. It felt like something big was going to happen. She thought maybe continuing to fall hard on the hard surface of the carriage might be better.

“I’ll get down. I want to get down.”

If I make another mistake here… her body was in great danger right now. Her hips were precariously perched on his knee, and her hands couldn’t find their place. If the carriage jolted again, she didn’t know what would happen.

“Just stay still.”

Tsk, there was a sound of tongue-clicking and then her body was lifted into his arms. It was a much more stable position than when she was precariously perched. Amelia blinked in surprise at the sight of herself calmly nestled on his thigh.

“Ah…”

She couldn’t even say she wanted to get down. Surprisingly, sitting on his thigh, she couldn’t feel the jolting of the carriage. It was because there was a hand supporting her stably even amidst the shaking carriage.

“Are you going to keep tensing up like that?”

“I’m fine.”

The problem was that the person she was sitting on was Raphael. It was good that she wasn’t falling on her butt anymore. But to do that, she had to sit on his thigh. If she didn’t put a little strength into it, her body would touch a dangerous place.

“Amelia.”

“I said I’m fine.”

The ride was better than falling on her butt in the carriage, but Raphael’s thigh was by no means a good cushion. She couldn’t sit comfortably because of his hard muscles. No, to sit comfortably, she would have to stick closely to him.

That can’t happen.

“You don’t need to be stubborn.”

Moreover, this man wasn’t even embarrassed, constantly sticking to her and whispering. The hot breath near her neck made her shrink back. He was telling her to relax and lean completely on him. She had no choice but to sit on him, but she had no intention of acting intimately.

“I said I’m fine…!”

“See, you almost slipped again.”

That’s right, as he said, her body almost fell off again because of the shaking carriage. This wasn’t a situation where she could afford to be proud. Amelia closed her eyes tightly and wrapped her trembling arms around his neck. Anyway, it wouldn’t take long to reach Siegfried because of the magic tunnel.

“Good.”

“Please, be quiet.”

She couldn’t understand why he was sticking so close. And he had clearly said he didn’t like the smell, but now he was even inhaling it. He must be completely mad. No matter how hard it was, she should have doubted Raphael when he offered his hand…

“We should go out more often.”

“I won’t. At least not with Your Grace.”

Who decided that they would go out often? She frowned at his ridiculous statement. It was the first time she had been so close to Raphael for so long, so she was tense.

“How far have we come…?”

“Well, I don’t know.”

It seemed like they had left early when they departed, but why was it so slow on the way back? She tried to avoid touching him as much as possible, giving strength to the arms around his neck, trembling. His strong scent invading her nostrils was also a problem. She didn’t understand why this man always smelled so good.

“Ugh…”

His unnecessarily muscular body had no soft spots. The chest muscles she felt when he breathed and the twitching thigh muscles were all too erotic. She tried to keep her body tense to avoid touching him, but it was impossible. Instead, her body went limp and sagged.

She didn’t want him to notice the sweat seeping out from her tension. She just hoped to arrive at Siegfried quickly. And she vowed never to rent a cheap carriage again.

“You’d better just lean on me.”

“Why…”

How many times had she groaned? His voice changed. Not only that, but his body became even harder, making her hips feel uncomfortable.

“We can’t show an undignified sight in front of our son, can we?”

“….”

“I can’t stand it every time you do that.”

When she met his strange golden eyes, contracted like a beast’s pupils, Amelia forgot how to breathe. She had no choice but to obediently wrap her arms around his neck as he said and lean comfortably against his chest.

“……”

Because of their clear size difference, her body was almost buried in Raphael. She couldn’t say anything; she just blinked her eyes and quietly exhaled. She knew what he meant. At other times, she would have said something to him, but she couldn’t. She felt that she shouldn’t provoke him.

The Raphael in front of her was more sincere than ever. If Leonel hadn’t been here, she might have been in real danger.

“That’s unfair.”

While holding onto him and waiting to arrive, she heard a grumbling voice from the front. It was Leonel, who she thought was sitting quietly.

“Leonel?”

“Father is being unfair.”

Raphael, unfair? She didn’t understand what he meant.

“You’re just trying to stick close to Mother.”

How obvious was it that even Leonel noticed? Amelia felt embarrassed and kept clearing her throat.

“Is it unfair to want to be close to your wife? Our son is still young.”

“…I’m not young.”

Amelia held her breath at Raphael’s action of pulling her waist closer on purpose. She thought she wouldn’t have to be so close to him again.

“Really? To me, it seems like you should be on your mother’s lap.”

“……”

Leonel’s face turned red at Raphael’s provocation. It was a new side of him that he didn’t show to her. Leonel always tried to act mature in front of her, as if he had some kind of obsession.

“Leonel. Should Mommy sit next to you?”

Seeing his face like that, she felt she could sacrifice her hips. Even though he was her son, his sulking face was too cute.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

But even trying to move to the opposite side was impossible. Raphael held onto her until they arrived at Siegfried. Moreover, the fight between him and Leonel continued until they reached the castle. She didn’t know how the relationship between father and son had deteriorated.

“Now that we’re here, let go of Mother.”

“Amelia didn’t ask to get down. I’ll carry her to her room since it must be hard for her to walk.”

No, please leave me alone. She didn’t understand why they were arguing with her in the middle.

“Oh, you’ve arrived.”

But the servants’ reactions were somewhat strange. They were acting very urgent and anxious, as if something had happened.

“Your Grace, next time, please give us a heads-up before you go out.”

“What happened?”

Her guess wasn’t wrong; Edward’s face was much more serious than usual.

“Someone from the imperial family has come.”