I looked up at him and said:

“Why does this position feel so familiar when we just started dating today?”

“I suppose it’s a lifelong marriage next.”

“My, what excessive self-confidence.”

His tone carried a strange pressure, as if he was certain I wouldn’t divorce him after six years. That attitude, like an adult dealing with a child, felt disconcerting.

As I unconsciously stiffened, he suddenly stroked my cheek with his thumb and whispered softly:

“Actually, I’ve changed my mind.”

What could this mean? As confusion swept over me, his calm ruby-colored eyes brushed past my cheek as he continued:

“Originally… I was going to wait until you opened your heart.”

“……”

“But then I suddenly wondered, why should I?”

“……”

“I doubted whether someone as insolent as you, who already loves me but denies it, would change even with time.”

His hand was still caressing my cheek. It was then that a subtle force entered his previously careful touch.

“I’m telling you this so you won’t worry, but I will make you the family head. I’ll keep my promise. But you’ll have to pay a corresponding price.”

“……What kind of price?”

At my cautiously posed question, he smirked and replied smoothly:

“The same as I said at first.”

His tone was meltingly soft, completely different from his sharp tone earlier.

“That you maintain our marriage for six years, and raise Elysion. But one more thing might be added. Of course, it’s not a difficult request.”

“……What is it?”

When I asked urgently out of frustration, he smirked and then said, meeting my eyes:

“During that time, never draw a line with me.”

At that moment, I realized what he wanted from me.

“Assel. But as I said earlier, I……”

But I soon realized that was my misunderstanding.

“Who knows? If you whispered that you loved me, even falsely, might I not be able to give you the position of family head?”

“……!”

“I might even k*ll my half-brother to put you on the throne.”

He maintained a nonchalant expression while uttering such brutal words without hesitation. Despite their bad relationship, I couldn’t understand how he could so calmly talk about killing his brother.

I shivered at this alien side of him that I’d never seen before.

Seeing me like this, he curved the corners of his lips and soon whispered,

“Of course, that’s all for later, so focus on me for now.”

“……”

“Shouldn’t you take responsibility for what you’ve done?”

At that moment, his eyes gleamed persistently as he looked at me. My skin trembled involuntarily at his appearance, like a leisurely predator before its prey.

I thought I might have dug my own grave. But such thoughts soon vanished as he gently kissed my forehead.

That gentle kiss descended from my forehead to my nostrils, lips, chin, nape… past my collarbone, and finally dug into deeper places below. Unlike before, there were no restrictions in his movements.

Also, his persistent eyes seemed unwilling to let me go easily tonight.

I had to maintain a calm expression while simultaneously gripping the sheets tightly with my hand.

❀❀❀

The act that began in the late afternoon only ended as dawn broke. We intertwined again and again, watching each other’s breaths rise and fall countless times. Until we finally collapsed, exhausted, having spent all our energy.

More precisely, it was closer to him not letting me go, but I didn’t think he was being selfish.

Unlike the nights with Alex that were just painful, nights with Assel repeatedly made my mind drift far away and then come close again.

Perhaps that’s why. When I woke up, various parts of my body ached. I thought I should go to the trading company, but I wondered if it was possible in this physical state.

I looked to the side for the person responsible for making me like this. But strangely, Assel, who should naturally have been beside me, was nowhere to be seen.

It was at that moment.

Clunk, the sound of a door opening came from afar, followed by a familiar voice:

“Are you awake?”

The sound came from the direction of the bathroom attached to the couple’s bedroom. Since Assel had shown me the entire mansion’s structure before our marriage, I could quickly recognize that this was the couple’s bedroom and that it had a bathroom.

And when I turned my head, I froze at the sight of Assel walking toward me.

He was approaching me after drying his hair with a towel, but he was shirtless. The dense, defined lines showed how diligently he had worked out.

Seeing me like this, Assel made a puzzled expression.

“What’s wrong?”

At his nonchalant question and gaze, my face involuntarily flushed hot.

“Y-your attire……”

“My attire?”

He approached with a testing smirk, and seeing him getting closer, I turned my head away. This man was clearly skilled at teasing me.

“Could you… please… come out properly dressed?”

I spoke with my head turned away. Even without seeing what expression he was making, I could picture it. He was probably grinning while staring at the back of my head.

Sure enough, the voice that followed had a faint trace of laughter.

“Why, suddenly want to maintain propriety?”

“It’s not about propriety……”

“After seeing my body in such detail last night.”

The smooth voice came from close to my ear. The hot breath tickling my skin and the languid voice involuntarily reminded me of last night, making my face even hotter.

But I didn’t want to be swept along by his pace. I tried to reply in a deliberately calm voice:

“……Isn’t the same true for you?”

By now, Assel had narrowed the distance and was sitting next to me. After throwing his towel into a rattan basket near the bed, he met my eyes.

That explicit gaze stirred memories of last night’s intensity, scrambling my thoughts. Moreover, his well-maintained body further stimulated such memories.

The vivid memory of last night—being underneath him and continuously making embarrassing sounds—made me lower my head. At that moment, the corners of his lips curved, and a casual voice flowed from between his lips:

“……I wonder.”

“……”

“I was too busy looking only at your face.”

Saying that, he lowered his head to meet my gaze. The moment I met his red eyes, I turned my head to hide my flushed face, but he was more persistent than I thought.

“……!”

He grabbed my hand and then pinned my arm to the bed. My weight naturally shifted downward, creating an awkward position that was neither sitting nor lying.

When I raised my head in surprise, Assel’s red eyes were there. Was it just my feeling that I glimpsed something sinister in his eyes…?

But both Assel’s gaze and his current posture were almost on the verge of pouncing. While I thought he might be dangerous—

“Hmph!”

Without warning, his face drew closer, and suddenly he strongly captured my lips. The force applied at once dissolved my awkward posture, and the sensation of the soft bedspread directly transmitted to my back, covered only by a thin silk nightgown.

I had finally become completely immobilized. Like a butterfly caught in a spider’s web.

His tongue entering my mouth was hot. But not burning hot like yesterday. Whether because I had become accustomed to this act, or because our relationship had eased.

There was a sense of leisure now. But that didn’t mean there were gaps in his actions.

He tied up my tongue, tightening and releasing repeatedly, not even allowing me the luxury to catch my breath. As if honey had been applied to my lips, he tasted them countless times.

The explicit sound of him continuously sucking and slurping penetrated my ears. It was a primal action requiring no special technique, but was it because of his gaze fixed on me? This situation felt incredibly *rotic.

Before I could recall that I was being swept along by his pace, I gradually became accustomed to his movements.

How long did the light kissing and slurping continue? Gradually gaining speed, the kisses became increasingly wet.

When I came to my senses, I was clinging to his collar, unable to handle the pleasure.

❀❀❀

Levedi’s body was like an instrument. An instrument that jumped and made sounds when he plucked its strings.

“Hmmph……”

Proving this, Levedi continuously made lewd sounds while clutching his collar as if it were a lifeline. The hand gripping his collar was white and small. So small compared to his that it was like a baby’s hand. Her frail physique pleading toward him looked pitiful yet strangely stimulated his desire to conquer.

Assel’s eyes, gazing at Levedi, darkened with desire.

“……Hmph.”

A crushed sound flowed from between Levedi’s lips at Assel’s movement, which embraced her more strongly. Was that sound sweet? Were her lips sweet? Or was it everything?

Perhaps this woman herself was made of sugar—everything about Levedi was sweet. This was something he had felt countless times last night, and this moment was no exception.

He wouldn’t have any regrets if time stopped right now. He wanted to monopolize this woman all for himself. Even a single piece of her breath.

She was so beautiful. If someone looked at her with l*stful eyes, he would feel like plucking out those eyes, and even that wouldn’t be enough.

Some of the wise kings he had studied in history books during his youth became tyrants who ruined their countries, obsessed with a single woman. He didn’t understand it then…

‘Now I’m starting to understand a bit.’

He wanted to do anything to win her heart. If he couldn’t win her heart, at least her shell had to be his.

Because that was better than losing her.

He wanted to hide her in his bedroom so other men couldn’t see her, making her look only at him.

He wanted her to breathe only in his arms, to make beautiful sounds like now.

“……Hah.”

But that couldn’t be.

Assel deliberately suppressed his dark desires and slowly stroked Levedi’s cheek, smooth as a porcelain doll.

Suddenly such a question arose. If she knew he was having such bad thoughts, what expression would she make?

Would she leave him? If she left, he felt he would go crazy. And even he couldn’t guarantee what would happen after that.

By the time the kiss reached its cl*max, Levedi’s cheeks were flushed red. Even though Assel concluded the kiss with a light peck, a strange yearning was felt in her blue eyes as she looked at him, still holding his collar.

“Assel……”

The prim and proper lady who had complained about his shirtless state earlier was nowhere to be found.

He loved how she could be extremely conservative and strict, yet in bed, she couldn’t resist his mischief and gave in to pleasure.

Her face, looking as if she might cry if he continued, was maddeningly s*xy. He too desperately wanted to fulfill her desire. But he firmly shook his head.

“……Why.”

Eyes mixed with disappointment and puzzlement turned toward Assel. Assel pulled her into his arms as if to comfort her. As their bodies pressed together, her heartbeat became louder.

“You seem very hungry.”

At these explicit words with clear intent, Levedi’s cheeks instantly turned red. But even while embarrassed, she didn’t deny it, and he lightly kissed her nape.

Moving again to her collarbone and the mounds, his sequential kisses resembled a mother bird bringing food to her baby.

Levedi’s body, wriggling underneath him as if about to bounce up, deeply craved him.

But Assel had to ignore that signal.

After a final kiss on her eyelids covering eyes clouded with desire, he whispered,

“Someone came from the imperial palace yesterday.”

Levedi’s eyes widened.

“The imperial palace……”

When she asked with eyes somewhat regaining their color, Assel answered while stroking her long silvery hair that was almost purple,

“His Majesty the Emperor asked when he could meet.”

“……Perhaps today?”

Like a woman whose main occupation was business, her gaze changed at the mention of work. Her large, slightly upturned cat-like eyes were filled with intelligence.

A woman whose appearance in the bedroom and at the desk was so different. No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t help but fall for her.

“An appointment is set for three hours from now.”

After glancing at the clock, Assel answered, and Levedi made a surprised expression. She also seemed a bit embarrassed.

“Ah. And I didn’t know that……”

“No, I started it first.”

Her hair, soft as silk threads, played in his grasp, but when he released his strength, it slipped through his palm.

Assel grabbed Levedi’s hand and raised her upper body.

“But by His Majesty……”

At that moment, Levedi opened her mouth as if remembering something. At her thoughtful gaze, Assel tilted his head.

“Are you acquainted with His Majesty?”

“No. I’ve just seen him a few times at parties. My father introduced us. Just greetings, nothing more.”

“Of course, as a minister, he must meet with His Majesty daily.”

“But they’re not that close. My father wants to retire.”

Assel nodded. He could guess the background without hearing more.

His brother, Yulisius, was cold enough to push even his own brother, Assel, to the battlefield to maintain his throne, but among the people, he was praised as a wise ruler.

Because he was an Emperor who cared for his people more than anyone and worked day and night for them. Regardless of background, if someone was talented, he would try to bring them to his side.

That’s why he must have elevated Levedi’s father, the Count of Ophelia, to the position of minister.

Considering that House Ophelia had an extremely aristocratic and conservative disposition, it was quite a radical measure.

But it also made sense. Count Ophelia had a sensitive temperament and would complement Yulisius’s shortcomings well—having a macro perspective but not taking good care of those around him.

“I didn’t know your father felt that way.”

“Yes. But are you… okay?”

Her gaze, looking at him with concern, was soaked in worry.

“Okay as in……”

“Your relationship isn’t good, right?”

Levedi blurted out as if frustrated, and Assel momentarily lost his words.

❀❀❀

After blurting it out, I thought “oops” and hurriedly corrected myself:

“I mean… not that it isn’t good, but that it probably isn’t good.”

Of course, the Emperor who sent thirteen-year-old Assel to the battlefield couldn’t have a good relationship with him, but making hasty judgments about family matters could also be rude.

“People were saying that… if I’m wrong, just ignore it……”

He didn’t answer for a while. Wondering if I had really misspoken, I was beginning to feel intimidated.

“……How did you know?”

At his sudden question, I lifted my chin and widened my eyes. At the same time, he looked quite surprised. As if he hadn’t expected me to know such things.

“From the newspapers.”

The corners of his lips turned up.

“I see.”

What’s this? Confused by his unexpected reaction, I stared at him blankly, and he returned my gaze with a smile in his eyes and said,

“You’re right that our relationship isn’t very good.”

“……”

“I’m happy you’re showing interest in me.”

Looking at him speaking as if genuinely pleased, I felt embarrassed.

‘That wasn’t my intention in bringing it up……’

“But, Levedi. You don’t need to worry so much.”

“How can I not worry?”

He chuckled and shook his head. It was a refreshing laugh as if there was nothing to be concerned about.

“You said it yourself yesterday.”

“……What?”

What was he trying to say? Just as I was feeling puzzled, he lowered his gaze and said,

“That in this world, there are families worse than strangers.”

“……Ah.”

“Since they were like strangers from the beginning, it’s not that uncomfortable.”

“……”

“Also, I am the Empire’s hero. Even His Majesty the Emperor cannot cut off my head without justification.”