“Ha.”

Carlo’s sigh echoed through the dim void.

He was leaning against his propped-up pillow, looking down at Lea.

She had started breathing softly not long after lying down.

Carlo closed his book with a thud, his gaze fixed on the sleeping Lea.

She still didn’t move at all.

“…Ha?”

He let out another incredulous laugh as if wanting her to hear, staring intently at her, but the woman who had already departed for dreamland didn’t budge.

So… someone could fall asleep in less than five minutes after lying down.

So, she could sleep so peacefully without caring at all whether he was beside her or not.

“……”

Carlo looked at her hair flowing softly from the pillow to the bed, then at her slender shoulders exposed above the blanket.

“Sleep… well, I see?”

He spoke mockingly and turned his head to look at his book again with a displeased expression.

Then he slightly furrowed his brow.

When did I close the book?

“……”

Come to think of it, he couldn’t remember where he had left off.

He couldn’t recall which sentence he had read or what that passage was about.

Aimlessly flipping through the pages, he squeezed his eyes shut and leaned his head against the headboard.

“Mmm…”

Just then, there was a faint rustling from the other side as the sleeping woman turned to face him.

He looked at her quietly with cold eyes lowered.

Her cheek, pressed against the pillow, looked soft.

For a moment, the corner of his mouth twitched.

It was because he recalled his contact with her that morning.

The soft feeling of her cheek came back to him, causing his fingertips to twitch.

I know this is crazy.

“……”

It’s terrible how much I want to keep teasing her.

It was a completely useless act, and moreover, something she would dislike.

Good grief, he had never bothered with such unnecessary actions in his entire life.

As the memory of Lea’s sharp, contemptuous gaze from that morning flashed through his mind, Carlo firmly closed his mouth and opened his book.

Yes, the problem was that the beds were placed side by side.

This woman never leaving his sight was just making his heart waver slightly, not completely shaking it.

He needed a solution.

“Huh…?”

When I opened my eyes, pale sunlight was seeping through the thick curtains.

Seeing no one on the other bed, I rubbed my eyes sleepily and got up to find Carlo already dressed and putting on his jacket.

“…Did you sleep well?”

When I casually greeted him, he cast a glance at me.

With an expressionless face, he stared at me for a moment before deliberately curling up the corners of his mouth a beat late.

“I slept well. Very well.”

“Ah…”

I nodded glumly, then lowered my gaze at the unnatural scene that suddenly caught my eye.

“…What is this?”

I was looking at the pillows and cushions placed between the two beds.

There’s no way I put them there while sleeping.

…Ha, are you drawing a line now?

At my question, filled with bewilderment, he approached with heavy steps, fully dressed.

“Did you deliberately block this?”

“Yes.”

“Afraid of what I might do? This is too much.”

“You don’t know why I did it.”

“I do know! You’re putting up walls. I’m not the type to pretend to be asleep and cross boundaries!”

“……”

“What do you take me for.”

Knock knock—

As soon as I finished speaking, a knocking sound rang out, and I stopped looking at him and faced the door.

“Come in.”

Carlo watched me silently, seemingly at a loss for words.

As usual, Medlin entered the bedroom with Morgan and Helen.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning.”

I answered their greeting and pulled out the pillows placed between the beds.

“Are you going out today?”

Carlo asked me, but I continued removing the remaining cushions without looking at him.

“Yes, I’m going to December.”

“With whom.”

“With Medlin and Odin.”

“Joseph too.”

“Yes, Joseph too.”

“Don’t get too friendly with him.”

I suddenly looked up, wondering what he meant.

He was still standing next to my bed, looking down at me.

As Morgan and Helen opened the curtains, light penetrated one section at a time, making his handsome face even more vivid.

Why isn’t he leaving and just staring at me?

“…Why?”

“You look upset.”

“I’m not? I feel very refreshed right now.”

“No, you don’t. You look extremely displeased.”

“……”

Is he mocking me? I don’t understand his intention in asking when he clearly knows the reason.

I had no intention of crossing any boundaries, yet he stuffed all these pillows between the beds, and now he’s asking why I’m upset—I really have nothing to say.

It’s too petty to enumerate all the reasons.

“I’m not upset at all.”

“Why would you be upset that I blocked the beds with pillows?”

“……”

“Why are you angry about that?”

“…It’s not exactly pleasant. It makes me feel like I’ve been mistaken for a pervert.”

His eyes curved slightly.

“I hadn’t even thought of it that way.”

“……”

“Then I’ll make it up to you.”

“What?”

He returned with a calm expression and bent his upper body.

In that puzzling moment, he brushed my messy hair aside.

“I’ll greet you. Briefly.”

Before I could blink, his lips landed on my cheek.

My heart sank to my feet.

The warm sensation on my cheek froze my body hair.

His hand gently gripping the back of my head applied pressure, and my mind went blank.

After quietly removing his lips, he sighed and stared at me with an inscrutable face.

My heart raced like a runaway train, thump, thump, thump.

I could feel my face turning red, but I didn’t dare try to hide it.

His eyes seemed to have much to say, yet also looked like they would say nothing.

Eventually, his gaze cleared as if something had been erased.

I was probably staring at him blankly.

“I gave advance notice, and mentioned the time.”

“……”

“I wonder if that’s enough.”

As I took a deep breath to understand his meaning, Carlo straightened up.

“But doing it this way is quite bothersome. Giving prior notice.”

I could see the servants on the other side, turning their heads away with flushed faces. My mouth opened automatically as I belatedly realized the situation.

“I’ll be back.”

He stroked my head once more, saying he needed to visit the papal office, and left the bedroom.

Medlin and the maids, after seeing him off, hurriedly turned to look at me.

I was unconsciously touching the cheek he had kissed.

Is this a greeting?

“…Why suddenly a kiss.”

As I muttered in bewilderment, Medlin smiled, apparently having heard me.

“Perhaps it’s because you were sulking? To appease you.”

“What?”

I looked at Medlin as if it made no sense, then quietly closed my mouth and recalled the moist, soft sensation and his affectionate attitude.

Then, with a softening heart… the thought crossed my mind: should I get angry sometimes?

I had a reasonable suspicion that I might really be a pervert after all.

“December. It’s been such a long time.”

Odin stuck his face out the carriage window, enjoying the breeze with delight.

After glancing at Joseph and Medlin sitting across from me, I whispered softly in Odin’s ear.

“Joseph doesn’t seem to want to come with me. He hasn’t said a word the whole time.”

“Of course that guy doesn’t like you. He thinks you caused the attack. Even though it was brief, the Grand Duke was attacked, so his honor as the commander of the royal guards was tarnished.”

“Ah…”

If his honor was tarnished because of me, it made sense that he wouldn’t like me.

Though I didn’t do it myself, this body committed the act, so there was no point in denying it—no one would understand…

Joseph, who had been sitting upright and gazing indifferently out the window, looked at me as if sensing my gaze.

“Is something wrong?”

“Ah, no.”

As I quickly shook my head, he resumed looking out the window with an expressionless face.

The speeding carriage passed through Mertid Square and entered between small villages scattered here and there. Soon, a large iron fence came into view, and our speed gradually decreased.

I think I caught a glimpse of a sign saying “December Center” as we passed through the open gate.

“Are we almost there?”

Joseph nodded in affirmation.

“Yes. It’s just past the walking path.”

I admired the spacious walking path and forest, large enough to accommodate two or three buildings.

Finally, as the carriage stopped in front of a white building, I tidied my clothes in preparation to get out.

People were gathered at the main entrance.

“I guess they were notified of my arrival in advance.”

“Of course. Wherever you go, you should give the other party time to prepare.”

As Medlin answered cheerfully, the carriage door opened.

“Welcome, Your Highness.”

Amid the polite greetings, I took Joseph’s hand, who had disembarked first, and stepped down the carriage stairs.

Everyone was smiling warmly at me.

However, I felt uneasy due to a suspicious atmosphere I couldn’t quite place.

A feeling that something was contrived. Faces that seemed to be hiding something…

Just as my eyes were about to narrow at the strange tension in the air, the man with the brightest smile approached me.

“It’s been a long time, Your Highness.”

A man with prominent bulging eyes and dark circles underneath revealed his yellowish teeth as he smiled.

“My! A lion! I’ve only heard rumors, but to think you actually travel with a lion!”

“His name is Lo—”

His name is Odin. Just as I was about to use honorifics out of habit, Odin thumped my arm.

“Shoulders back, chin up! Be arrogant, be arrogant!”

“Ah.”

“Don’t forget that behind you stands Odin, the founder of Hedegen.”

He’s right in front of you. Even in your arms.

Unable to respond due to the disconnect between his words and actions, Odin continued, growling even more fiercely.

“Now, show them how magnificent the Grand Duchess of Hedegen is.”