“How fortunate I am… that it’s you.”

“Mm…”

He kissed her softly, parting her lips and sucking gently on her lower lip. At the same time, his other hand wrapped around her waist. Saena gripped his forearm.

Unlike when he would press his lips to hers urgently, this kiss was soft and earnest, yet it evoked stranger emotions.

How to describe it? A feeling of being loved? Of being cherished?

And while trying to understand these unfamiliar feelings, Saena missed her chance to mention that she had already met the nanny.

A heavy knock sounded through his fist, and shortly after, the door opened.

“Young master?!”

“Nanny.”

“Young master! Oh my! You’ve come to see me!”

The nanny exclaimed in a voice full of emotion, clearly not having expected Constantine’s visit.

“Come in! This nanny will brew you your favorite tea.”

“Nanny. I haven’t come alone…”

As Constantine’s large frame stepped aside, the nanny could see Saena behind him.

“I came with my wife.”

“Oh my, the Madam came as well!”

“You heard about our marriage in the capital?”

“Yes. Nadia told me. I was so happy!”

Saena carefully composed herself and greeted her politely.

“Nanny. Let me formally introduce myself. I am Saena Kramer. I’m very pleased to meet you. Today I came with His Grace.”

“I should be more grateful that you’ve come to visit again. Please, come in.”

A question appeared on Constantine’s face.

“Do you two already know each other? Saena, have you been here before?”

“Yes. Actually, I discovered this house by chance while taking a walk before. And the nanny offered me tea…”

“……”

Constantine made an expression as if he had been stabbed in the side. However, that expression quickly disappeared.

“I see. Let’s go in.”

“Yes.”

The impression of the house being cozy and homely but not cramped changed completely once Constantine sat down. Unlike before, the interior now felt full. Strangely, it seemed to have become cramped.

The nanny bustled about, preparing the brazier and tea implements.

“Nanny, shall I brew it?”

“No, Madam! Today I’m feeling very well. Please let me do it.”

“…Alright.”

Though she didn’t look particularly better than before, given how strongly she insisted on doing it herself, Saena couldn’t press further. Still, feeling somewhat worried, she watched the nanny, though her expression at least looked happy.

On the other hand, Constantine’s expression as he watched the nanny showed an inexplicable bitterness that made Saena slightly puzzled.

“It’s well-steeped. Please try it.”

After some time, the nanny placed cups before Constantine and Saena with a very satisfied expression.

“I’ll enjoy it.”

Saena picked up the teacup and took a slow sip.

“Wow. It’s delicious.”

Though Saena was quite skilled at handling traditional tea implements herself, this was somehow different.

“It’s really clean-tasting. The temperature is perfect too.”

“That’s because I’m so familiar with these tea implements and this tea. I’m glad it’s to your taste.”

Perhaps because this was a formal introduction, the nanny’s tone of speech was noticeably different from before. It was much more polite and formal. Feeling awkward about asking her to speak more casually, Saena decided to simply go along with it. In response, Saena also adopted a formal tone.

“How is it, Your Grace?”

Though he wasn’t usually very talkative, he seemed even more quiet than usual, so Saena deliberately asked Constantine.

“…It’s good.”

“Isn’t it? It’s really delicious.”

“It makes me happy to see you enjoying it.”

The nanny, who had been watching Constantine drink his tea with what seemed like a pitying expression, suddenly asked,

“Are you… are you sleeping well?”

Seeing how she asked about sleep this way, she must know well about his insomnia.

But Constantine didn’t answer. Glancing at him, Saena saw he had frozen like a statue.

“Sleep? Yes. He sleeps well.”

Thinking it was very strange, Saena answered instead.

“Does he really sleep well?”

“Yes. Though I heard he had insomnia, he’s sleeping well these days.”

If anything, she was the one lacking sleep.

“Really? Oh my…! Thank goodness. Thank goodness!”

The nanny went beyond tearing up and actually cried. She cried while laughing.

Saena was flustered and searched her pockets, but since she hadn’t brought a handkerchief, she held the nanny’s hand instead.

“Our poor young master… Madam, please love him dearly. Just that alone would leave me with no regrets even if I were to die right now.”

“Don’t cry. You’ll lose your strength. I’ll do as you say.”

Though she didn’t understand why the nanny was crying and calling him pitiful when others would envy him, Saena did sometimes find Constantine somewhat pitiable herself.

And Constantine was even more frozen than before.

“When he was young, he loved sweet chocolate bonbons and cream puffs.”

“Really? But he doesn’t eat any sweets now…”

To think he had such a phase. Chocolate bonbons and cream puffs… Weren’t those such cute and round desserts?

“Yes, he doesn’t eat them anymore… Won’t even look at them…”

The nanny burst into tears again.

Saena was very flustered again, unable to understand why she was crying so mournfully at this point.

“Nanny.”

Constantine finally spoke.

But rather than being sympathetic, his tone carried a warning, as if telling her to stop there.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. This nanny is inadequate…”

Not knowing what was what, Saena just held the nanny’s hand tighter and patted it.

“Don’t cry. It’ll affect your health. His Grace is worried.”

This was effective. The nanny tried to stop crying, holding Saena’s hand and taking deep breaths.

“Yes. I shouldn’t cry on such a good day. Of course not.”

Still, she seemed to have lost strength, looking more drained than before.

“You should lie down. You look tired.”

Saena supported the nanny to the bedroom. The nanny didn’t refuse, seeming to agree.

The strange thing was that Constantine didn’t help and remained still. Though he twitched like he’s about to stand up, he ultimately didn’t rise. He just blankly watched as Saena supported the nanny to the bedroom.

It was very unlike him.

Though it didn’t matter since Saena could support her easily given how thin she was, it was still strange.

“To see our young master married before I die… I’m so happy. I have no regrets even if I die right now.”

The nanny said as she lay on the bed.

“Why do you keep talking about dying? You should gather your strength and live longer.”

“I know my own body. I just worry… that young master will torment himself with needless guilt afterward…”

Guilt? Why would he feel guilty?

Because he tried everything to cure the nanny’s illness but failed?

Though one might feel self-loathing if they couldn’t cure a loved one’s illness despite having enormous wealth and power, the word ‘guilt’ seemed odd unless…

Unless he was somehow the cause of the nanny’s illness…

“If you’re worried about that, why don’t you stay at the main castle so you won’t collapse alone suddenly?”

“No. No.”

The nanny firmly declined.

“Please tell His Grace… that this nanny was truly happy and joyful watching him grow up…”

“…Yes. I will.”

After speaking words that could almost sound like last words, the nanny fell asleep, seemingly having run out of energy. She wore a faint smile on her face.

‘Her condition looks very unstable… why does she insist on staying in this remote place and refuse to leave?’

It made no sense. Would Constantine know the reason?

Closing the bedroom door with various questions in mind, Saena was startled.

He sat with his elbows on both knees, fingers interlocked, upper body bent forward looking at the floor, and somehow it seemed as if deep shadows had fallen only where he was.

As if he might disappear at any moment, consumed by suffocating depression and deep darkness…

“…Constantine?”

Saena hurriedly approached and grabbed his hands. She felt him flinch under her grip.

His blue eyes were clouded when he raised his head. The slow response as his focus gradually settled on Saena seemed like his consciousness returning to reality after drifting somewhere else.

“Sa, ya…”

Suddenly, he embraced her and buried his forehead in her neck. Seeing his unstable demeanor, Saena guessed,

Perhaps he was so sad because the death of his nanny who was like his mother was approaching.

“The nanny will be alright.”

“……”

“She said she was very happy while raising you.”

“……”

He didn’t answer.

He just held her tighter.

* * *

“Ah!”

That night, Constantine embraced her more intensely and urgently than usual.

As soon as they finished dinner, he carried her in his arms and headed to the bedroom. And as soon as the door closed, he drew the blackout curtains and extinguished all the lights the maids had lit.

He was in such a hurry that he didn’t even think to remove her dress, just lifted the skirt. He tore off the undergarments she wore underneath and immediately lowered his head.

“Co-Constantine– ah!”

His movements seemed to know exactly how to make her wet the fastest.

“I’m sorry. Haa, I’m in a hurry…”

Driven by urgency, he didn’t do any f*replay, and instead entered her with a fervent intensity. Throughout the night, he moved rhythmically, murmuring her name in a hushed voice.

“Saya, haa… Saya.”

“St-stop… ah.”

With half-glazed eyes, he took her like an unbridled colt.

Even then, his hands and lips were gentle as if touching something precious, while below the waist he was merciless, making her feel like she was alternating between hot and cold baths.

Around midnight, Saena’s inner thighs were already trembling and tired from being spread open continuously, and she wanted to stop, but Constantine seemed strangely desperate that night.

Seeing him like that, she couldn’t bring herself to push him away and endured until finally, at some point, she lost consciousness.