The woman’s eyes widened in shock as she asked.

“You want me to set the fire?”

“Yes. Unless you want to see your Tommy die like this.”

Toreso coldly used the boy’s life as leverage to threaten her.

The woman looked between the gasping Tommy and the man, her face filled with helplessness as she shouted.

“You didn’t tell me to set a fire at first. I was just supposed to keep watch. Just to see when that person came, what they did, and observe the young lady’s life!”

She had only received a small amount of money for it.

It wasn’t a lot of money. It wasn’t supposed to be a dangerous job.

She had thought it wouldn’t be like this.

“This is different from what you promised. It’s different!”

The woman screamed in rejection at the thought of setting a fire.

The desperate shaking of her head was almost laughable.

Ha? Now she wants to be a little less bad?

Slap!

Toreso’ large hand struck the woman’s head, turning it sharply. The slap was so hard that her lip split.

The woman looked at Toreso with a face filled with fear again.

“You’ve already betrayed them. There’s no big or small betrayal. Don’t pretend to have morals now.”

“Sniff, sob… Sob!”

“Did you think you could just dip one foot in the mud and pull it out? You should have thought carefully before stepping in. Foolish.”

The woman glared at Toreso with tear-filled, bloodshot eyes. But Toreso didn’t care.

“You… don’t know how terrifying that man, Karl Winger, is, do you? If they find out, you’re dead.”

Toreso scoffed at her, then stood up and extended his hand to her with a grin.

“Get up. It’s time for work.”

As he said, the sun was already rising outside.

* * *

Lumiere shivered at the gentle touch.

The rough fingertips caressed her carefully, as if playing a delicate instrument.

Eyes, nose, lips, forehead, cheeks, neck—his kisses were filled with both greed and affection.

Every time his lips and hands brushed against her, a tickling heat spread through her body.

Lumiere shuddered as if she couldn’t bear it, then burst into laughter at his playful, teasing touches.

‘Stop, please!’

As his lips licked the wound on the back of her hand, which she had been biting, Lumiere surrendered.

‘I don’t want this.’

In response to her resistance, he showered her with more kisses.

Having reunited after a month, he couldn’t let her go.

The longer they had been apart, the longer they spent exploring each other.

His gentle words, gentle touches, and gentle kisses combined to create an intensely stimulating moment.

Despite this, the time they spent holding each other was precious to Lumiere and Karl.

How many days would they have together this time?

When would they be able to love each other without worry?

Pushing aside her anxious thoughts, Lumiere once again pushed Karl’s head away.

‘Stop, Karl. Please! Not there…!’

His lips moved down and circled her instep without any hesitation.

Lumiere shivered and scolded him, but Karl, with a playful smile, had no intention of stopping.

Kisses rained down on her instep and grape-like toes.

Considering his true status, his affectionate advances were shockingly bold.

He said her slender ankles and twitching toes were all so cute and beautiful.

He even found her small hands, stained with charcoal and oil, beautiful and kissed them whenever he saw them.

Thinking back to his first impression, he was an unbelievably loving man.

The cold gaze and indifferent face were still vivid in her mind, but when did he change so much?

‘You’re the one who made me like this, so why ask?’

He didn’t seem to dislike his changed self.

In fact, he smiled happily whenever he met Lumiere’s gaze.

The truth was, Lumiere felt the same.

If it weren’t for this man, if it weren’t for Karl, she wouldn’t have felt this warmth.

He was so precious that she desperately wanted to protect him, her gentle and dear person.

And as precious as he was, the truth hidden behind their happiness was suffocatingly heavy and frightening.

If it weren’t for Karl, she wouldn’t be this happy, but if it weren’t for Karl, she wouldn’t be this afraid either.

Lumiere hugged his head tightly to her chest.

There was nothing she could do for him.

There was nothing she could do for the future he planned and dreamed of.

All she could do was wait behind him.

At that moment.

‘…So what are that man and the king hiding? Are they really cousins?’

A foreign voice intruded.

‘Come on, tell me. Then I’ll give you what you want.’

The voice that had been calmly urging her suddenly changed,

‘…Hurry, speak!’

and clung to her neck, choking her.

Lumiere woke up with a start, feeling chills.

* * *

Karl woke up with a start at the twitch of a hand.

In that brief moment, he must have fallen into a deep sleep, as the throbbing in his head had cleared considerably.

In his now-clear vision, he saw Lumiere sitting dazed on the bed.

She had woken up without letting go of his hand.

“Lumiere?”

Karl called her with a cracked voice.

Lumiere’s hand, which he was holding, trembled and she turned to look at him.

“Karl.”

She smiled.

Like before, she smiled as she called his name.

“…You said you’d sleep without doing anything.”

“Lumiere…?”

“You pervert. Why do you bite my fingers and toes like that? I really don’t get it…”

“……”

Lumiere glared at him and shook her head, then leaned her head on his shoulder.

“I really didn’t say anything.”

She mumbled as if she was proud of herself and hugged his neck tightly.

“Don’t worry. From now on, I’ll protect you…”

…I’ll protect you.

Her voice, swallowed by sleep, trailed off.

Karl waited until Lumiere’s breathing became steady.

When her sweet breaths tickled his earlobe, Karl held the hand that had come to rest on his chest.

“……”

Unlike most noblewomen, her hands were a bit rough.

Drawing required much more work than he had expected.

Tools, paints, and charcoal were not good for the skin, and Lumiere always had small wounds on her hands.

Karl found the traces on her small hands both pitiful and lovely.

He felt sorry because the wounds looked painful, and he loved them because they were proof of her hard work.

The same went for Lumiere’s feet.

How tirelessly must she have run on those small feet?

In places he didn’t know, or at times he didn’t know, she must have worked hard on those small feet.

Thinking that way, each of her little grape-like toes seemed irresistibly cute and lovely.

So he liked to kiss her hands and feet.

Karl kissed each of Lumiere’s fingers as he held them, just like before.

Gently and tenderly.

His affectionate gaze didn’t leave the sleeping Lumiere.

‘I really didn’t say anything.’

Karl’s eyes darkened rapidly.

“…Someone pressured you to say something. Didn’t they?”

It was probably about me.

And if it was someone who had approached Lumiere recently…

‘Landers. What did you do to Lumiere?’

Karl’s gaze grew sharper.

* * *

[As you know, that flower is called Exius.
It’s known as a forbidden flower in many countries, so I don’t know how you got your hands on it.
It’s used to make dangerous drugs or during wars.
Since it’s urgent, I’ll send the necessary ingredients and recipe.
Only our family can make it, so don’t give it to anyone else.
You could be in danger if you’re not careful.
I’ll keep looking for the complete ‘antidote.’
Tamia, always be careful.
I miss you and long to see you.
— From your aunt.

P.S. Did you use ‘that method’?]