“That’s not it. Is your body alright?”

“Do you want to check?”

I gave him a sly smile as I reached out to wrap my arms around his neck. The height difference was so great that I had to stand on my tiptoes.

Before my arms could encircle his neck, my feet lifted off the ground.

[No way…! Aren’t you tired of being so close all the time? For the sake of those watching, please restrain yourselves.]

Raum complained.

Of course, I didn’t pay any attention to his advice.

We were in the middle of enjoying another sweet moment together when suddenly, a ringing sound filled my ears, and my senses started to dull. I knew what was coming.

As expected, amidst the ringing, I heard Pinion calling me.

‘F*ck…’

It was already time for me to return to the mortal world.

Knowing it was futile, I held Shahar even tighter. Shahar also seemed to sense the impending short separation.

“I don’t want to go.”

“But don’t you have family and friends you love waiting for you in the mortal world?”

“You talk as if you’re not my family. And what’s wrong with saying you don’t want me to go just once?”

When I grumbled, Shahar gently stroked my cheek to comfort me.

I knew that he didn’t want to let me go any more than I wanted to stay. But he still felt guilty that I had to spend half the year in the Underworld.

I didn’t care what happened to my body above ground. I just wanted to stay by his side forever. But I swallowed those words, knowing they would only make Shahar sad.

At last, the moment of parting came. With the brightest smile I could muster, I kissed him.

“See you soon.”

* * *

The first thing I saw upon returning to the mortal world was the Emperor.

Seeing his smooth face made my mood plummet instantly. Because of him, I didn’t even have time to savor the lingering feelings of our farewell.

“Damn it…”

“Good morning, Lou.”

Pinion, noticing my bad mood, smirked mischievously. It seemed he was just pleased to have separated Shahar and me.

Without responding, I got up from my seat.

My body, moving for the first time in a while, felt as heavy as a stone. If I hadn’t been wearing a light summer dress, I might have stumbled embarrassingly in front of Pinion.

Despite the light attire, Enril’s lair maintained a comfortable temperature year-round, so I didn’t feel cold at all.

But the season must have already turned to winter.

Just as I was thinking about rummaging through the lair for something to wear, something warm settled on my shoulders.

“Wear this. Winter came earlier this year—”

Pinion, who had been pretending to be kind as he fastened the coat, suddenly paused.

“What is it?”

Wondering if something was wrong, I followed his gaze and felt embarrassed.

Pinion was staring intently at my neck.

“What are you looking at…?”

Quickly regaining his composure, Pinion let out a cold snort, as usual.

“Even though you’re no longer newlyweds, you two still seem to get along well.”

Some things deeply etched into the soul occasionally left traces on the body. Especially marks left by the King of the Underworld. Because of this, Shahar always tried to restrain himself as the time for me to return to the mortal world approached. But he failed every time.

“You should worry about yourself. I’m tired of listening to the ministers complain every time I go to the imperial palace. How long are you going to leave the Empress’s seat vacant?”

“I didn’t expect nagging from you too.”

“Who was it that repeatedly said that a royal marriage is a sacred duty, not a personal decision?”

“Ha, you only remember things at times like this.”

Ignoring Pinion’s response, I stepped out of the lair.

Immediately, a flood of sensations hit me all at once.

The sound of spring water flowing beneath the frozen surface, the pale light of the winter sun reflecting off the snow, the cold air stinging my nose—every sense felt so sharp and vivid that it was almost overwhelming.

Pinion’s platinum hair, in particular, was blindingly bright.

Seeing me struggle to keep my eyes open, Pinion chuckled.

“What’s wrong? Too handsome for you to look at?”

“Drop dead.”

At my words, Pinion bent over, laughing heartily.

He must have been driven mad by the excessive workload.

In truth, every time I saw him, his face was growing paler. His only redeeming feature, his radiant beauty, was now overshadowed by dark circles.

‘Well, it’s not my concern.’

Despite my strong refusal, Pinion ended up having me ride in his carriage.

Inside the emperor’s warm carriage, I dozed off like a sick chicken.

At some point, I found myself lying on someone’s lap. The hand stroking my hair was very gentle and careful.

In my sleep, I called out the name of the one I was most familiar with.

“Shahar…”

A happy smile naturally appeared on my face.

The hand that was caressing my hair suddenly stopped. I felt something was off, but before I could realize it, I fell into a deeper sleep.

* * *

“Wake up.”

A light shake on my shoulder made me snap my eyes open. Looking out the window, I saw that we had already arrived at the mansion.

“You were sleeping so soundly, you wouldn’t have noticed if someone carried you off.”

Pinion said, not hiding his look of wanting to carry me off immediately.

I knew I shouldn’t have ridden in his carriage.

Feeling creeped out, I hurriedly got off the carriage without even thanking him.

My parents, who had been waiting for me, rushed over.

“You’re back, my daughter!”

“How have you been? Nothing unusual happened, right?”

After exchanging greetings with my parents, I also greeted Iscallion, who was standing a bit further away.

“It’s been a while, Lou.”

He no longer had the air of a boy but now exuded the presence of a young man. Standing with my parents, he looked as if he had always been part of our family.

“It’s cold out here. Let’s go inside. I’ve ordered them to prepare some warm tea.”

“Sounds good.”

As we entered the mansion, the servants greeted us warmly.

A nearby attendant took my coat.

“This doesn’t seem to be your coat, miss. What should I do with it?”

“Throw it in the fireplace and use it as firewood.”

I answered absentmindedly, not even looking at the attendant’s face because my parents kept talking to me.

“And what about this?”

Cold fingers, like those of a corpse, pressed against the back of my neck. It was where Shahar had left his mark.

Startled, I turned around to see Michalis grinning shamelessly.

“What, what is this…!”

“He’s the new attendant. Come to think of it, this is the first time you’ve met him.”

My mother, unaware of anything, explained.

“An attendant…?”

Michalis responded nonchalantly to my shocked reaction.

“Yes. My name is Michalis. Please take care of me, miss.”

“What are you up to?”

I glared at Michalis, lowering my voice so my mother couldn’t hear. Having visited the mansion several times, there’s no way my parents wouldn’t remember him. He must have hypnotized them to introduce himself as a stranger.

“You should change your clothes first, Lou.”

Just in time, Iscallion grabbed my shoulder and led me away. He naturally covered the mark on my neck.

“Mmm…”

Iscallion, who had escorted me to my room, pointed at the clear mark on my neck.

“Did your husband do this?”

“Well, sort of…”

“Marks like that are made by pinching or biting. Is your husband bothering you?”

He looked like he would storm into the Underworld if I said yes.

Having lost all his memories, he had no knowledge of such matters. Even though I knew his intentions were pure, I couldn’t help but blush.

“It’s not like that. Uh, it happened while playing around.”

“Playing? Do couples usually play like this?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Because they’re married…?”

Iscallion squinted his eyes at the mark.

“I don’t like it.”

“You’ll understand someday.”

I awkwardly changed the subject with a smile.

“By the way, since when has that attendant Michalis been working here? And didn’t a woman with a similar vibe to that attendant come here?”

Speak of the devil, Janet appeared just as the words left my mouth.

“Oh my, Master. No, Lou. You’re back sooner than I thought? I expected you in mid-winter. The Emperor must have been quite desperate to separate you from the King of the Underworld.”

“…”

“Why are you looking at me like that? Can’t you at least pretend to be happy to see me?”

“Why are you here? You left the capital two years ago, didn’t you?”

“Hm? Didn’t you know? Starting this winter, the Duchess has decided to sponsor me.”

“What?”

“You know, since I’m from the countryside and my family is humble, I don’t know much about the capital’s atmosphere. But when I told her I was your friend, the Duchess kindly offered to help. I’m just grateful.”

Janet flashed a sly smile. Her entire being exuded sensuality, making it hard to believe she was a naïve girl from the countryside.