“Ah…”

Saena unconsciously looked down to check her hands that had touched the floor, then gasped. She suddenly started hiccupping.

“H-hic.”

Because Constantine had let her go and stepped back, his n*ked body came explicitly into her view.

Setting aside his tightly packed muscles glistening wet… that formidable…

“……”

Noticing Saena’s dazed gaze, Constantine also became aware of his n*ked state. He could also recall what he had been doing in the bathroom before she came in. And that he had been completely caught.

…D*mn it.

He looked around hurriedly to cover at least his important parts. Seeing cloth nearby, he hastily grabbed it and wrapped it around his waist.

However, it was a decorative cloth from the table. Because he suddenly pulled it away, the items on the table crashed down. There was also a flower vase which shattered when it hit the floor, sending fragments flying.

‘You stupid fool! Think, think…!’

Constantine hastily embraced her again and moved far away.

“…..”

And then he immediately fell into self-loathing.

Having contact with him was worse than being cut by glass.

What was he thinking, repeatedly acting like this?

“…Constantine?”

No, actually, he already knew the answer.

This woman was looking up at him with moistened eyes…, he wanted to touch her…

Torn between an impossible wish and the desire to get closer to her, his insides churned, making him close his eyes instead.

‘Pathetic bastard, piece of trash…’

After cursing himself thoroughly, he felt slightly more clearheaded. Constantine gathered his scattered composure and steadied his breathing.

When his eyes slowly opened again, there was no trace of the earlier wavering in them.

“I apologize for the unsightly display.”

Stepping back respectfully, Constantine spoke in an even more polite voice. As if the subtle tension that had flowed between them moments ago had never existed, he unilaterally apologized.

“The list of things I need to apologize for keeps growing.”

“Ah, no. I made a mistake… I came to greet you.”

Though startled by the sudden change in atmosphere, Saena managed to respond somewhat civilly.

“Have you had dinner?”

“…No, not yet.”

“Then, shall we eat together?”

And another sudden shift.

He hadn’t initiated anything lately.

She should be happy normally…

Though his expression was gentle and his voice soft, Saena felt more coldness than before.

“You don’t want to?”

“…No. That’s not it…”

Though there was no need to refuse…

“Yes. Dinner… sounds good.”

“Alright. Shall we meet at the dining hall downstairs later?”

“…Yes.”

Why? Something feels off, but I can’t pinpoint what exactly.

Saena closed her mouth and stared at him intently for a moment.

“We should clean up the floor.”

However, Constantine naturally avoided her gaze while scanning the floor.

“Should I call a maid?”

“No. I can do it. Be careful not to step on any glass when leaving.”

If it seemed like his words of concern somehow felt like a dismissal, was that just her imagination?

“…..”

Seeing her hesitate to agree, he asked.

“Should I carry you out?”

What?

Though the question came naturally and gently, it still felt oddly strange.

Perhaps half sincere, half empty words.

‘No, I’m fine.’

His tone suggested he already knew she would answer this way.

“You’re soaked, thoroughly.”

And he added more.

Constantine looked down at Saena while brushing back his disheveled long hair.

His silver hair, slightly darker from being wet, cascaded down his back. She could see water droplets falling from the ends, trailing down his muscles.

“I mean your dress.”

Saena, who had been watching those water droplets’ path as if entranced, suddenly snapped back to reality.

The dress? Of course it got wet when he carried her after just coming out of the bath.

But what’s with that line and that tone?

Saena became flustered on her own.

That casual gaze, those lips still curved gently…

She wanted to erase that painted-on gentleness from his face. She now looked up at Constantine with eyes that held a hint of resentment.

“Ah, yes. I’m soaked, thoroughly.”

If he thought she would hurriedly flee in embarrassment…, she wanted to break that expectation.

“So about that…”

Saena slowly took half a step closer while looking up at him.

“I have a favor to ask.”

“…..”

While his expressionless face remained fixed, his chest muscles twitched slightly when she drew near.

“I’ll come visit later tonight…”

When Saena took another half step closer, his eyes wavered slightly.

“Could you undress for me?”

“…Pardon?”

Finally, he flinched and stepped back.

“I want to see.”

Her purple eyes looked up at Constantine’s blue ones moistly, without blinking.

“T-that’s not…”

His blue pupils shook wildly and grew hazy.

“Not… possible.”

“It’s not?”

Unable to bear her gaze as she looked up at him with an expression pleading him to grant her request, he turned his head away.

“But…”

“……”

“I really need to see the pattern on your back, Duke.”

“…Pardon?”

He looked at Saena again as if he had misheard.

“I’ve started making progress with the translation, that’s why I absolutely need the Arlesian grammatical system on your back.”

“……”

“As you know, before… I tried to write it down but kept getting distracted. Um, you know?”

“……”

Saena took another bold step toward Constantine, who seemed to have frozen up somewhere.

“Please? I’m asking you.”

Constantine flinched and took another step back before answering.

“Alright.”

His painted-on expression from earlier had cracked.

Looking at that expression made her feel strange.

‘Are you satisfied now?’

No, I’m not sure.

But I think it’s better than doing nothing.

‘Save that smile for when you find someone you want to seduce. It’ll work like a charm.’

Why did Rupert’s words suddenly come to mind?

Though she didn’t fully believe those words, Saena somehow felt like smiling. Not just with her eyes, not just with her mouth, but with her whole face—she wanted to smile like that.

“Thank you.”

A gracefully beautiful curve bloomed across Saena’s face.

“Then I’ll… come to your room tonight.”

Constantine’s expression froze. No, it was as if someone had stopped his biological clock—he seemed to stare at her without even breathing.

Saena slowly lowered her eyelashes and quietly added.

“And drinking hard liquor before meals isn’t good for you.”

This time, Saena turned away without checking his reaction.

So she couldn’t see.

How his expression crumbled right after she left the reception room.

* * *

And that evening,

Saena tried to control her mind that kept wanting to become unsettled.

Deliberately avoiding eye contact, she tried to maintain a scholarly mindset by focusing intently on the paper, pen, and writing materials placed on the table.

‘This is for research. So…’

Though she had spoken more provocatively to draw out his reaction, she actually did need the pattern system.

“Shall we begin?”

When she looked up at Constantine while gripping the pen tightly, he asked with a somewhat expressionless face.

“Should I undress?”

“…Yes.”

“Understood.”

Constantine began removing his top.

The sound of fabric brushing against fabric seemed unusually loud. Feeling as if even the sound of swallowing would echo outside, Saena touched her throat.

“I’ve undressed.”

“Yes…”

Saena carefully gathered the writing materials neatly arranged on the table and finally raised her gaze.

The first thing that caught her eye was his shoulders and chest that seemed twice her size.

His strong neckline and straight collarbone, thick chest muscles and perfectly symmetrical six-pack abs, the curves of his arms that looked thicker than her legs, and his relatively slim waistline.

She was momentarily flustered by the man’s exposed bare skin.

Perhaps it was because she had expected to see his back first.

“What’s next?”

“…Pardon?”

“Should I turn around?”

Saena’s gaze, which had been lingering around his navel, moved upward at Constantine’s words.

A neat and static expression.

Once again, he seemed to have put on another layer and returned to being the composed adult.

“…Yes. I need to examine your back.”

As he slowly turned around, a broad back spread out before her eyes.

Looking at his sleek shoulder blades and well-defined V-shape, she thought his bone structure itself was quite beautiful.

Why did these details catch her attention more than the actual patterns engraved there?

“Then… I’ll start.”

“Alright.”

Saena struggled to compose her emotions and started with the arm, which looked simplest.

At first, it was difficult because strange thoughts kept coming to mind when looking at his half-n*ked body (even though it was just his back), but as she focused on each section of the patterns, she gradually became absorbed in just those areas.

The characters were both familiar and difficult. There were many overlapping parts and many grammatically incomprehensible sections. Especially with many new characters, there were numerous unfamiliar phrases.

‘…Why is this character used like this?’

She hadn’t noticed before, but as she concentrated on copying them down, most sections were impossible to interpret even with known characters.

Some sections were even difficult to copy.

But leaving the research for later, she diligently copied down what she could see.

“Let’s stop here.”

“…What?”

Deeply concentrated, Saena stopped writing when he turned around.

“This isn’t the only day we have.”

“Ah, right.”

More than an hour had already passed.

“Let’s do the rest another day.”

“Yes…”

Saena hesitated before gathering the scattered papers.

Constantine tied the belt of his robe’s with an unwavering expression, swept back his slightly loosened hair, and greeted her with an ambiguous almost-smile.

“Good night, Saena.”

“…Yes. Good night, Duke.”

* * *

The next day arrived.

After spending a day like any other, night fell and Saena gathered her writing materials. It was time to go to his room again.

All day long, Saena had struggled with emotional ups and downs.

The reason…

‘I’m really strange…’

Last night, his seemingly relaxed demeanor had irritated her to the point of annoyance. She didn’t know why.

When he was aggressive, she felt swayed by his forcefulness, and now that he’d stepped back, she found herself alone and anxious.

‘What am I expecting from him that makes me feel this way?’

The real problem was feeling bad without knowing why.

Saena let out a short sigh and opened the connecting door.

“You’ve come.”

He was already waiting.