“This woman. You were about to run into that pillar, you know?”

“Hmm, yeah… But I’m so sleepy… yawn…”

She laughed, but her eyes were already closed again.

She was so tired that she fell asleep almost immediately in Yuri’s arms.

Her assigned bedroom was just nearby, but to fall asleep so quickly… what was that…?

Yuri tilted his head in confusion and, carrying Saena, was about to enter the room when he paused.

He sensed a familiar presence and gaze from behind.

Glancing back and smirking, Yuri opened the door and laid Saena on the bed.

Then, he moved to the terrace, opened the door, and stepped outside, de-materializing immediately.

At the same time, a figure rushed into the room in a hurry.

“…Saya?!”

It was Constantine.

He was in a state of confusion.

This situation seemed familiar from the last time…

It was definitely a man’s figure. The one holding Saena and entering the marital bedroom looked very familiar.

Who was this person?

Rushing in and opening the door, he couldn’t find anyone.

How could someone vanish without a trace, avoiding his senses, which could detect even the slightest presence?

An ordinary person couldn’t do that.

What was that person’s identity?

Moreover, he sensed the power of a Guardian Spirit from that person.

‘Could it be another Oathkeeper…?’

The idea of a human-shaped Guardian Spirit had never crossed Constantine’s mind, and given his lack of familiarity, it was a pointless conclusion.

No matter what he speculated, it always missed the mark.

Saena’s face was peaceful, deeply asleep.

She seemed to have felt no discomfort while being carried to the bed.

Seeing this, Constantine felt a strange sensation.

Was it someone she knew? That’s why they could escort her so comfortably, both last time and this time?

If it was someone she knew, why keep it a secret from him? Was there a reason to keep it a secret?

Given Saena’s history of secrets, he couldn’t bring himself to ask her and was left to brood.

However, just the thought that she might have a close relationship with another man made his heart tighten.

A bitter taste rose in his throat.

Sighing deeply, he furrowed his brow.

* * *

After the celebration ended, the couple returned to the Kramer estate.

Thinking they were back to their routine, Constantine seemed a bit off lately.

He would look at her as if he had something to say, but when she asked if he had something to tell her, he would brush it off.

This had happened several times.

Clearly, he had something to say but was holding back.

‘What’s going on with him…?’

Was it because she had spent too much time with her friends during the celebration and neglected him?

She felt a bit guilty. He might be upset but thought it was unmanly to say anything.

“Um, I’m sorry.”

“…For what?”

So, she apologized, but his reaction was even stranger.

“Lately, I’ve been….”

“……”

Why was he avoiding her gaze?

“I was too much, wasn’t I…?”

“……”

After a moment of silence, Constantine met her gaze again.

He looked very serious.

He even swallowed hard, waiting for her to continue.

His serious demeanor made Saena pause and reconsider her words, even though she had meant to start a casual conversation with just a simple apology.

“Now that the celebration is over, I won’t be meeting my friends late into the night anymore.”

“…So if it’s not late, you’ll still meet them?”

“Yes…? Isn’t that right?”

Seeing his eyebrows furrow, Saena was puzzled.

“Don’t you… like it…?”

“……”

Did he dislike her meeting her friends so much?

Saena had never thought he would feel that way. She was surprised by his reaction.

She had never considered that he would dislike her meeting her friends, even if he would sometimes come to pick her up if she was going to be late.

“Did you dislike it all along?”

“…….”

His expression, like he’s carefully choosing his words, looked very troubled.

Is that disturbing?

“…Why exactly?”

She had heard that some men, once married, disliked their wives meeting friends and wanted them to stay at home, but she thought it didn’t apply to him.

Why did he suddenly act like this after never showing such an attitude before?

Perhaps he had grown tired of seeing her socialize so much during the celebration?

“…What kind of relationship is it?”

He even asked what kind of relationship it was…?

“Yes…? A good friend relationship…?”

“Friends…? Do you meet often?”

“…You know how often we meet, right?”

“You do…?”

…Hmm? The conversation felt a bit off.

“How could I know how often you meet with him…!”

“Him…? Are we talking about the same person…?”

Their eyes met, blinking.

“Who are you talking about?”

“Then who are you talking about?”

“My friends. Evian, Floria, Kirsten.”

“…….”

Constantine’s expression seemed to freeze for a moment, then he sighed and rubbed his forehead.

“Now it’s your turn.”

He closed his eyes tightly, then opened them and continued.

“…Four days ago.”

Four days ago? Last week? During the celebration period.

“On that day, I saw a man carrying you into the bedroom….”

“…What?”

A man? Four days ago? What was she doing then?

The pattern was similar throughout the celebration, so it was hard to recall exactly what happened that day.

But it also meant that she had spent the past week similarly.

However, she hadn’t really been close to any man to the point where someone would be called ‘that man.’

They were always the same three, excluding Kirsten, laughing and chatting, eating and drinking, sometimes playing chess, and occasionally taking walks.

“Even if I think about it, I don’t know who you’re talking about. Who exactly is this man?”

She asked Constantine to describe the man’s appearance, and he hesitated, then cautiously described him.

“…Ah!”

Suddenly, she remembered seeing Yuri a few days ago.

He had appeared when she was so sleepy she was about to bump into something.

When she realized who the man was, Constantine asked more carefully.

“…Who is he? I’ve seen him once before….”

The look on Saena’s face almost made her laugh, but she held it back.

She didn’t know when he had seen him before, but it was definitely Yuri causing trouble again.

If he could make himself invisible to Constantine, he could have done so, but he deliberately let him catch a glimpse. Yuri had always disliked Constantine from the start.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t tell you about him.”

Her admission, essentially acknowledging that she had kept the existence of this man a secret, made his pupils dilate.

Saena, on the other hand, thought to herself.

What was he so anxious about?

“Did you suspect me all this time?”

“That….”

His gaze shifted away, and he tried to evade the question.

“Did you think I was cheating on you?”

“Not exactly….”

Her routine and range of activities were quite predictable. If she were cheating, it would be hard to hide.

And they both knew this.

“Maybe I thought you might rely on someone more than me….”

That thought had driven him crazy.

Why do people, once they have something, never feel satisfied and always want more?

At first, he was content just to have her by his side.

Then, he was grateful just to be married to her.

Now, he was anxious that her heart might not be his.

Anxious that she might leave him.

“Hmm… Maybe sometimes.”

And now, Constantine was facing a situation where his fears might have come true.

“Constantine, it’s a bit different from relying on someone… but I do love him.”

She deliberately used the word “rely” to downplay the relationship (she disliked relying on anyone), but even saying she loved him…

Love? Him…?!

Constantine was greatly shocked by her words.

“T-Then… do you not love me anymore?”

Shocked, he stammered, his voice trembling.

“No, of course not.”

“Then you love both of us…?”

The concept was incomprehensible to him, and he asked, filled with confusion.

“Hmm… I guess so?”

“…….”

“He’s irreplaceable to me, just like you.”

Feeling a bit annoyed that he had suspected her, Saena was deliberately being vague.

But seeing Constantine’s face, now on the verge of tears, she stopped.

She couldn’t keep teasing him, so she chuckled and called out a name.

“Yuri.”

The name that suddenly came out of her mouth made Constantine flinch.

It was a name he had heard before, though he didn’t like it.

A name that once haunted his thoughts.

The name she called out in her sleep when she was brought to his mansion during a snowstorm.

The name she called out as if asking for a goodnight kiss, her face close and intimate.

The name she called out while crying during the Awakening period.

That name was Yuri.

And now it was being said again?

So, it had been him all along…?

But she had clearly said she didn’t have a man at the time.

“Yuri? Aren’t you going to come out?!”

Saena’s outburst, filled with irritation, seemed to break through his negative thoughts.

Suddenly, a form began to materialize beside her.

It was a familiar presence. A wolf with wings. Yolly.

Why was Yolly here? Was he trying to summon Yuri through Yolly?

“Not Yolly, I said Yuri!”

Hmm? Suddenly, it didn’t make sense.

Yolly had a formal name, Yulis, but who was Yuri?

Even though they were both oathkeepers, it didn’t make sense to Constantine, and about twenty question marks appeared over his head.

“This is a rare phenomenon, so I didn’t mention it.”

“…….”

“Yolly can materialize in human form.”

“…What?”

Only then did Yolly’s face, full of complaints, change.

“…….”

No… This was unbelievable.

A human-form Guardian Spirit?

And Yolly was Yuri?!

Yuri. Yolly. Yulis. Now that she mentioned it, the names were similar.

“Is this true? Human form?”

Until now, no Guardian Spirit had ever taken human form.

Not in any of the records in the Tower, nor in the stories of other Oathkeepers.

“Huh….”

And now, he was learning that it was possible to take both human and animal forms!

If this became known, the empire would be in an uproar again.

“…He seems to dislike me….”

Even when Yolly was in animal form, he didn’t seem to like Constantine, but now, in human form, it was clear.

His human face made his emotions easy to read, and it was filled with obvious dislike for Constantine.

“Maybe… it’s because of his feelings for you?”

A Guardian Spirit’s emotional systems were different from humans, but Yuri, being in human form, might not be so different.

“Maybe?”

As an older brother, he doesn’t like his younger sister’s husband, so he does have feelings.

Saena hinted that Yuri should manage his expressions, but he ignored her.

“Can Guardian Spirits have such… feelings?”

“Such feelings?”

“Feel romantic… feelings towards you….”

“Eh?! What are you talking about?”

Her reaction, as if she had heard something chilling, made Constantine feel awkward.

“Look! His face!”

Saena brought her face close to Yuri’s and shouted.

While he didn’t like her getting so close to him, he started to carefully observe the face as she suggested.

Hmm? It felt familiar…

As Constantine, who had been glaring at Yuri like he’s facing a rival, gradually relaxed, he tilted his head in confusion.

“It’s similar, isn’t it?”

“…I see. You do look similar, like….”

“Siblings?”

Yes. If Saena had a brother who looked like her, he would probably look like that.