Rather satisfied with that fact, Aer handed the sealed letters to Luke with a light gesture.

“Please deliver these two letters quickly and burn the rest.”

After saying this, Aer gathered only the letters from the academy and stood up.

“…Pardon? All of them?”

“Yes, I’ve already collected all the letters I need, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Yes, understood.”

Luke’s face, which had been colored with confusion, quickly returned to normal.

“Then, what should we do with the gifts?”

“Ah, return the gifts as they are. I’ll write replies for those.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Aer, who had stood up, sat down again and began writing brief replies.

Although it was a bit troublesome, she wrote according to etiquette, starting with simple weather talk, then finishing with a tone suggesting the gifts were burdensome.

Even writing the same content repeatedly was not an easy task. Finally, after writing the last reply, Aer stretched her arms upward.

Her shoulders, arms, and wrists felt stiff.

“Ah, the sun is already setting.”

All she had done since getting up was write replies. And that was only to those who had sent gifts, yet it had taken a considerable amount of time. After thinking for a moment, Aer took out her communication device from her pocket.

As soon as she connected, a voice as tired as hers came from the other side.

-El.

Despite the fatigue, it was filled with affection, making the corners of Aer’s lips twitch automatically.

“Hey. Can you come pick me up right now?”

-Of course.

The quick response without even a moment’s hesitation made the corners of Aer’s lips rise higher.

“Then, I’ll be waiting. Lu.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she ended the communication without even listening to his response. Her ears turned bright red at the nickname she had called someone for the first time.

Though he was someone else entirely, no one was closer to her heart, and her face remained flushed after calling Louis by that nickname.

“…How embarrassing.”

It was more embarrassing than when they shared their first kiss, or even when they touched each other’s marks.

“Phew, I should gather the bags I’ve packed first.”

Aer jumped up from the private drawing room and headed to the dressing room. As she was checking the luggage she had prepared and about to call Luke, the door suddenly burst open.

Startled, Aer peeked her face out of the dressing room to check. Louis, whom she had just hung up on, was looking around the drawing room with a reddened face, then quickly turned his head.

At the moment their eyes met, Aer’s heart trembled. Of course, part of it was from joy, but also because his eyes, revealed for just a brief moment, were glistening with madness.

She was startled, feeling as if she had encountered a predator in the mountains, but his beautiful purple eyes quickly softened.

“El, how could you hang up like that?”

Louis, who had approached her in an instant, said as he interlaced their fingers. As he slowly invaded the space between her fingers with this sensation, Aer just blinked her eyes before giving a belated response.

“…Because I was embarrassed.”

“Haa…”

Louis, who let out a deep sigh, just fiddled with her hand before gently pushing her against the wall.

“Huh?”

Feeling the wall behind her back, Aer raised her gaze. Being about a head shorter than him, she had no choice but to lift her head up, and like him, she just stared silently.

Looking at Aer trapped under his arms and body, Louis felt a strange satisfaction. The thought that he could see Aer trapped in his embrace like this for the rest of his life made him feel his nerves loosening.

“El, call me that again.”

“…W-what?”

“What you just called me.”

“…”

Now that he was asking, she couldn’t say it. Aer’s face grew increasingly red. Louis quietly appreciated her as she flushed from her ears to her neck.

“…Can I call you that later?”

“No, now.”

Louis, who felt like he might forget if this moment passed, firmly rejected her words. He desperately wanted to hear the nickname “Lu” that had brushed past like the wind once more.

He wanted proper confirmation that there was someone who would call him by a nickname.

“…Lu.”

Again, it passed very briefly. Although it was louder than before, it still wasn’t satisfying enough.

“One more time.”

“…Lu?”

“Just once more.”

“Lu…”

Louis’s lips, which had been urging her, somehow came right up to her nose.

“Call me again…”

He stole her lips while asking her to call him. Lightly sucking on her lower lip, he slowly licked the surface of her lips with his tongue.

Then he pressed his lips against hers and moved slowly.

“Call me…”

With each movement of his lips, a subtle sensation bloomed, and Aer closed her eyes and called his name.

“Lu…”

“Haa, again.”

“Luu.”

Each time they spoke, their pressed lips parted and closed. With each breath and fragrance that escaped, Louis became increasingly rough.

The instinct he had been hiding so well was no longer under control. At present, his heart just wanted to swallow her whole.