‘…Guardian Spirit. It’s not something to envy.’

She found herself reflecting on how she had thoughtlessly envied him until now.

“Did it… hurt a lot, when they carved this?”

He drew in a sharp breath and suddenly turned around to grab her wrist, looking down at her. His blue eyes were filled with confusion and trembled slightly, but he didn’t look away from her.

Those eyes seemed to answer yes.

“Does it still hurt now? Is that why when someone touches…”

“No.”

Constantine responded as urgently as her rushed question.

“It’s fine. It doesn’t hurt. Just…”

“……”

“Don’t you find it… creepy or disgusting?”

He asked as if Saena’s opinion mattered most of all.

“Rather than that…”

“……”

“I realized that having a Guardian Spirit isn’t all good.”

“……”

“And how much… obligation Your Grace bears as a duke of the Empire.”

While others might envy his wealth and rights as Duke Kramer, looking closely, his life seemed worse than that of most counts or marquises.

Barely three to four hours of sleep, endless wars with demonic beasts, rough life at the border, spending more time in barracks than in bed.

Now if she had to choose between Count Debov and Duke Kramer, she could pick the former without hesitation.

Duke Kramer. He clearly seemed to be living a life more burdened by duties than rights.

“As just one imperial citizen, I want to thank you.”

“……”

“I see now that my life without danger until now wasn’t free.”

Even if it was just lip service, Saena wanted to say something. Hoping her sincerity would somehow be conveyed, she raised her head to meet his eyes.

Then she was startled.

His expression was strange.

Even in the darkness, his gaze seemed to boil with something unidentifiable, appearing both ferocious and on the verge of tears. His stiffened lips also looked both angry and as if he was barely holding back a contorted expression.

“You… you……”

“Cons…?!”

In an instant, he wrapped his arms around her neck and waist, consuming her lips.

He locked their lips deeply as if to devour her entire lower jaw, and as though that wasn’t enough, he tilted his head to invade even deeper.

His tongue reached so far in it could almost lick her vocal cords, stimulating her deepest parts before capturing her tongue.

“Hnngh, uh……”

His long fingers spread along her neck before digging into her scalp. The pressure of his fingertips massaging the back of her head sent tingling sensations like touching intimate places.

Despite his hold on her, Saena reflexively grabbed his shoulders to balance her tilting body.

Unable to find a grip on his bare skin, she reached over his shoulders, clutching at his back to hold on. Her palms slid against the cool, firm surface, and in desperation, Saena dug her nails into him.

A low rumbling sound escaped his throat before he easily lifted her by the waist and laid her on the bed.

The nightgown he had changed her into last night instantly rode up to her thighs, exposing her bare legs, and his thick thigh immediately pressed between them.

“W-wait, mmph!”

She kicked her legs and hit his shoulders.

Constantine explored her mouth frantically, like someone who had lost all reason.

“Constantine!”

Saena called his name loudly as soon as she managed to turn her head and free her lips.

“Hah.”

Seemingly finally coming to his senses, he froze and pulled away from her.

“Haa, haa.”

Saena raised her upper body while catching her breath as if she had just sprinted across a field.

“…I’m sorry. I, again……”

Constantine’s entire face contorted and he withdrew.

It was Saena who quickly grabbed his hand with an audible snap.

“Where are you going?”

“…You’ll feel unsafe with me nearby.”

“What are you talking about?”

“……”

He seemed to be trying to make excuses while mumbling something about being a beast, but it wasn’t clear.

“You’re bleeding. From your back.”

Saena had come to her senses when she felt wetness while stroking his back earlier. That’s right — why had he taken off his shirt in the first place?

“I haven’t looked at your wound yet.”

“…Is that why you stopped me?”

He resisted her attempts to turn him around as he asked.

“Don’t you find me repulsive?”

“What?”

“Is it really alright if I touch you? This back……”

He looked at her with anxious eyes, waiting for her answer.

“Isn’t it disgusting? I……”

Ah, he had misunderstood.

Saena hadn’t stopped him because he had pounced on her like a beast. Though the afternoon’s events had been shocking, knowing the reason made it surprisingly easy to forgive him.

“Why did you think I would hate you?”

“…That.”

“So you did realize you went too far this afternoon?”

“…I’m sorry. Even with two mouths… I would have no words.”

“Will you do it again?”

“No. Never, ever again, I promise.”

“How can I trust that?”

His eyes wavered at her response.

He wrapped the bed sheet around her disheveled form and spoke very softly.

“…I’ve realized that you getting hurt is more frightening than me getting hurt.”

“……”

“Rather than hurt you… I would prefer to wage war.”

He spoke in a low voice while very carefully brushing away the hair that had fallen on her forehead.

This time, Saena’s pupils trembled.

To go as far as mentioning war…

Though it seemed like an excessive expression, it didn’t sound like a lie.

He had always been such a reliable man to her until now.

Though she had cried in his office, scratching the floor until her nails nearly came off, it wasn’t really because he had hurt her, but because he had forcefully pushed her to an unbearable extreme of cl*max against her will.

When that state of heart-bursting tension continued for hours without rest, it became no different from violence.

The repeated forced climaxes stole away her strength and reason, and being driven relentlessly in that tight position from behind without letting her sleep left her able to do nothing but cry while being shaken like a doll.

And unlike the previous nights, it had been an extremely unpleasant experience.

Even with abundant pleasure, s*x without consideration was not just unpleasant but nauseating. The higher her trust in him had been, the more shocking it was when that aspect crumbled.

It was so terrible that it brought back memories of George Hollander, where there had been no consideration at all, let alone pleasure, only degradation and filthy acts.

‘However…’

There was a clear difference from George Hollander.

First, Constantine acknowledged his wrongdoing and knew how to apologize.

Though the possibility of recurrence remained to be seen, he seemed to know how to reflect on his actions. Well, he didn’t seem the type to say one thing and do another, so there was more weight given to believing he would keep his promise that such things would never happen again.

And above all else, learning about the understandable reason of the ‘pattern’ made his words believable.

‘Or do I just want to believe it?’

What happened in the office certainly wasn’t something that should be easily forgiven.

Yet with Constantine, Saena found herself forgiving him with an ease she couldn’t understand herself. Why?

Perhaps it was because she could understand the cause and effect of his actions. It had been incomprehensible given his usual character…

Constantine was a man who had saved her multiple times, a benefactor who had rescued her life when she could have fallen back into the abyss.

Moreover, through her experience with time, she knew he was a man who kept his word, so she believed he would keep his promise that such things would never happen again.

Saena exhaled like a sigh.

“Will you treat me preciously?”

She turned her gaze from the distance to meet his eyes and added.

“No, even if not preciously, at least treat me with consideration. I deserve that much, don’t I?”

She was his wife, wasn’t she? The Duchess of Kramer, right? You hadn’t married by force, had you? So…

“…You are precious. You are more than–”

But at her request, he made an expression that seemed like he’s about to cry, which didn’t suit his large frame.

“You are precious.”

Constantine slowly took her hand and pressed his lips lightly to her fingertips. Like a knight showing reverence to his lady, just like that.

“I’m sorry. It’s because I’m lacking. That lack… keeps making me into a worthless man.”

What could he possibly be lacking compared to her?

Saena was looking at her hand that he had taken when she was startled again. Seeing the blood stains on her fingertips reminded her of what she had forgotten.

“Ah right, your wounds.”

Again, she had been distracted from treating his injuries.

“It doesn’t hurt much.”

“How can it not hurt when you’re bleeding?”

Saena made a stern face and turned him around to examine the wounds. After carefully cleaning the wounds, she touched the surface while he kept flinching. Fortunately, there didn’t seem to be any glass embedded.

With that, treating the wounds was quick. With a bit of the Kramer family’s special potion, the wounds healed like they were washed away.

When she was about to leave, he hesitantly held her back.

“Can you sleep here?”

“……”

“…I’ll just hold you, nothing more.”

Why did his request, asked with drooping eyes, sound so pitiful?

Saena thought for a moment before nodding.

There wasn’t much time until sunrise anyway, so it seemed fine to lie down for a while.

“……”

“……”

Lying side by side in his room, on his bed, was a strange experience.

Usually, they slept together in her room, and they had never just lain quietly like this.

Every time, she would fall asleep at some unknown point after being overwhelmed by him. They had never just lain side by side like this, listening to each other’s breathing.

Constantine kept his word about just holding her. Though judging by the thing that was repeatedly poking her b*tt, his lower half seemed to have different ideas. While he seemed embarrassed and moved his lower body back slightly, it still protruded enough to touch with the slightest movement.

With memories of their previous encounter still uncomfortably fresh, Saena turned her body the other way. As they faced each other, she could see his face, still awake.

Unlike his body, his eyes showed no hint of l*st. Seeing those eyes somehow made her feel reassured and made her smile, so Saena gave a slight grin.

And then she fell asleep at a speed that surprised even herself.