He wasn’t sure how much time had passed.

It was a deep sleep he hadn’t experienced since inheriting the Covenant.

That satisfying deep sleep also encompassed a dream reflecting his rather sinister inner self.

‘Saena? How?’

She was… completely nestled in his arms.

Saena lay sprawled on top of Constantine, embracing him, while he reclined halfway with his upper body against the long sofa’s armrest.

It was clearly a dream. In reality… there was no way they would be lying together in such a position.

While he was momentarily dazed by the impossible situation, an even more embarrassing situation began to unfold.

She, who had been lying with one cheek against his chest, seemed uncomfortable with her position and started squirming to move higher. She shifted around trying to fit their contours until finally settling with her chin resting on one of Constantine’s shoulders.

“Mmm. Nice…”

For a moment, his heart felt like it dropped.

Nice? What was nice? Was sleeping nice? Was the current position comfortable? Or…

All sorts of fantasies raced through his mind.

Meanwhile, Saena continued burrowing into his arms and turned her head. This revealed her white nape right before his eyes.

The sensation of her soft feminine body was vivid above him.

‘Does this woman know what she’s doing right now…’

As if her recent squirming wasn’t enough to make a certain part of his body very uncomfortable. And yet so defenseless…

Since it’s a dream, does it not matter?

Should he touch her… Should he wake her?

He struggled with the dilemma of wanting and not wanting to wake her, feeling both extremes at once.

‘Haa… This is maddening.’

A sigh escaped without his knowing. Perhaps that breath was too strong.

Saena flinched and slowly opened her eyes.

“……”

Ah, d*mn it.

How should he explain this situation?

No, what did I do wrong? It was a dream to begin with, so why…

While he remained frozen with such thoughts, she opened her mouth.

“Eyes… blue… pretty…”

Her violet eyes, looking dreamy, were themselves dreamlike.

Still, it wasn’t bad that she called his eyes pretty.

His hand naturally rose. Toward that pretty face saying pretty words.

No, perhaps he had wanted to touch her like this since long ago.

He thought holding hands was enough, but why?

His true feelings below the surface of consciousness clearly found hands insufficient. He seemed to have wanted to touch other places too, more, deeper.

Saena, stay still…

His hand cupped her soft-looking cheek and moved like flowing water.

He traced the thin hair that fell at her temple, drew a line following the edges of her ear.

“Ah.”

A pretty sound escaped her lips. If voices had taste, it would be a sweet sound.

Constantine looked at that face as if enchanted.

Like a wary cat finally becoming tame and allowing closeness, she stayed quietly in his arms. Savoring the soft feeling under his hands, he wished this moment would last even a little longer.

Saena suddenly laughed brightly when she flinched, apparently ticklish from his touch.

When she laughs like that…

The dream version of her, with all barriers down, only did adorable things.

He had glimpsed it before, but her smile had a bewitching quality. The usual aloofness that made her hard to approach disappeared instantly, creating an atmosphere like spring suddenly arriving everywhere and inviting him in.

Her prettily curved lips seemed to invite him too. They drew his gaze alluringly with their pink flush.

When she smiles with those pretty lips like that…

He approached those lips, enchanted. He bit them.

He swallowed even the pretty voice escaping from deep in her throat. Cupping the back of her head with his palm, he swallowed deeper, more deeply.

She didn’t push him away. She willingly opened her lips and let out sweet sounds.

Sweet, so sweet.

Though he usually disliked sweets. Really disliked them.

But he couldn’t separate his tongue from her sweetness.

He explored those lips in an ecstatic state and pulled her body tightly against him.

A satisfying dream.

His consciousness, feeling like it had fallen into a jar of sugar, expressed satisfaction.

The effects of insomnia drained from his languid body as it warmed up. And… in that warmth, he gradually let go of consciousness and sank deeper.

If possible, he wished to stay in this state forever… this dream was so welcome.

* * *

“Ack!”

Consciousness surfaced in an instant.

His consciousness, which had been slowly waking to the sensation of the warmth in his arms trying to escape, fully awoke at the scream.

“…My lady?”

Still, he was hazy, and he looked around for a moment.

The office. Himself lying on the sofa. Saena collapsed in an odd position below the sofa.

“…Why on the floor…”

As he moved to get down, Saena lifted her head to glance at Constantine’s face, only to quickly look away.

That expression, blushing and self-conscious, no matter how he looked at it…

“……”

He thought it was just a dream.

“Haa… It seems the dream wasn’t a dream after all.”

So he had acted freely, indulgently, but it wasn’t a dream.

He didn’t know what to say at all.

Embarrassed and at a loss, he held his forehead. The feeling of his usually cool skin heating up felt strange.

How should he handle this situation?

“…Was it… unpleasant?”

He asked without being able to look directly at Saena, who had just turned her head away avoiding his gaze.

He carefully controlled his tone to convey as much politeness as possible.

“I apologize. It was my mistake. I understand if you never want to face me again. Like a madman, I acted without regard for your wishes…”

He wanted to tell her he never meant to treat her carelessly. If only his sincerity could reach her.

“I understand if you don’t want to come anymore from now on. However…”

“……”

“Please, I hope you don’t think I meant to treat you carelessly.”

Saena’s lips moved as if to answer his apology.

Constantine’s gaze naturally went to those lips. Seeing those lips like red fruit, the sensation of biting and sucking them suddenly came back to him, striking his heart.

“……”

D*mn it. What use were excuses, apologies, or formal speech?

His mind was filled only with the desire to taste those lips again, all other thoughts vanishing.

As if that wasn’t enough, when he saw Saena moistening her lips with her small tongue, his reason snapped slightly.

His body leaned forward reflexively, trapping her as he grabbed the backrest.

It wasn’t a mistake.

Even now, he wanted to touch her, to devour her.

“No, I take it back. It wasn’t a mistake.”

That vivid sensation. Thinking about it now, the feeling was so deeply etched that it seemed absurd he had thought it was a dream.

Now that he knew the taste, it was even harder to endure than when he hadn’t known at all.

“If you dislike it… push me away.”

No, please don’t push me away.

He pulled her close and deeply devoured those soft lips.

The sweet flesh completely enveloped his tongue.

* * *

The time afterward was literally sweet.

Even exploring and investigating her lips and mouth thoroughly like licking a doll made of sugar wasn’t enough. Hours of tasting weren’t enough. It felt like he could stay pressed against those lips all night, all day long.

In reality, they did spend half a day kissing. He only came to his senses when Saena’s stomach growled.

Her swollen lips marked the passage of time.

The problem was that even seeing those plump lips only made them look more tempting.

Kissing her brought a different kind of peace beyond the physical sensation. Her touch alone brought tranquility. But with kissing, that tranquility seemed to deepen.

He couldn’t explain it exactly, but it felt like becoming peaceful not just on the surface but deep inside.

It felt like the moisture she gave spread throughout his body, making him moist deep inside.

Caligo’s voice was hidden deep down, and even when they briefly separated their lips, it couldn’t dig into his mind.

But as always, happiness is short-lived.

The iron wall that seemed to have melted rose again firmly.

“I’m anti-marriage.”

Anti-marriage. It was unusual, even unfamiliar.

In all his life, he had truly never met someone who called themselves anti-marriage.

Even Constantine himself, though thoughts of marriage would vanish when he thought about having to marry, have descendants, and inherit this useless Guardian Spirit, had never thought of himself as anti-marriage.

No, to be honest, it would be more accurate to say he had lived pushing aside any thoughts about marriage’s possibility or impossibility altogether.

“……”

Anyway, he found himself at a loss for words, not knowing what to do.

On top of that, she was downplaying her own charm and even telling him that he didn’t need to feel responsible just because they had kissed.

‘I’d rather she asked me to take responsibility for whatever it is.’

There had been so many women who tried to make him take responsibility for all sorts of things, but he never thought he’d end up in the opposite position.

But based on what he knew of Saena so far…

‘If I back off here, it’s over.’

While he stepped back, the iron wall would grow higher and thicker, and their points of contact would disappear. He absolutely did not want such a situation.

“Do you dislike dating too?”

“Rather than disliking it…”

He gradually lowered his conditions.

“Are you not willing to even try?”

As long as she didn’t distance herself from him, he was willing to accept any form of relationship. He didn’t consider his usual standards or boundaries for relationships at all.

He would lower himself again and watch for opportunities to get closer.

“I’ll hold your hand. Whenever you need it. That much is perfectly possible even between friends.”

In the end, it ended with friendship.

If they’re friends, holding hands would be the maximum. The day he could bite those sweet lips again might never come.

‘But…’

He had no choice.

For Constantine, whatever that position might be, having a reason to stay by her side was more important. He tried his best to appeal his existence to her.

He finally understood how a peacock felt spreading its feathers and showing off, trying desperately to be chosen by a female.