The carriage sped quickly through the night.

Nergal gazed at the moon rising in the night sky for a moment before raising his hand to rub between his eyebrows. He had stayed awake for three, no, now four days with barely any sleep. Yet he found it ridiculous that his tasks kept multiplying rather than decreasing.

‘It can’t be helped.’

The state documents that had multiplied like breeding rabbits while he was in Lagash were problematic, but above all, the fire incident that occurred in a corner of the capital three days ago exhausted him most.

‘For something prepared in a hurry, it ended well.’

That night, the house of the traitor Shulat burned to ashes without a single pillar remaining.

Fortunately, because it stood in a remote location, the fire did not spread to other houses, and people discovered four bodies burned beyond recognition. Three were presumed to be Sirha and her two younger siblings who had lived in the house, but when the security forces pondered who the fourth body might be, they found a piece of metal among the unidentified remains.

Though melted, the security forces immediately recognized what it was by its distinctive luster. It was a badge of the Imperial Knight Order.

Since special minerals prevented forgery, even in its distorted state, it confirmed that the deceased was an imperial knight, and naturally, this fact promptly reached the imperial palace. There was no need to assemble all the knights to identify the missing person. It was Kilim from the 3rd Knight Order.

“Damn it! I clearly told everyone to stay in the palace! How is it possible that someone was out playing around?”

The commander of the 3rd Knight Order shouted in anger at his knights. In truth, even during emergencies, the commander knew that knights would discreetly come and go from the palace, using their judgment. He had simply turned a blind eye because they came from noble families.

“And now you cause this kind of problem?”

Moreover, the 3rd Prince whom he had supported recently lost ground. If other imperial family members who saw this as their opportunity attacked him by holding him responsible, they would crush them like the 9th Knight Order in no time.

So the commander of the 3rd Knight Order admitted his negligence in management but firmly stated that this was entirely Kilim’s independent action.

With the commander drawing the line so clearly, the other knights behaved no differently.

They blamed everything on Kilim, fearing implication. Since it wasn’t exactly a lie, they testified without hesitation.

“Kilim was drinking in the Knight Order after being reprimanded by superiors. Then he said he needed to blow off steam and left without permission…”

“He did frequently visit that house. He told us he had a good relationship with the eldest of that house…”

“We tried to stop him! But Kilim was so stubborn, and he would become violent when things didn’t go his way…”

On top of that, the Prime Minister’s Office notified that they would launch an investigation, claiming this incident related to the retrieval of the Holy Sword. As the matter escalated to that extent, Kilim’s family also firmly decided to quickly settle the matter of their dead son.

Thus, everyone quietly buried the deaths of four people due to the fire as they watched each other cautiously. It satisfied the 3rd Knight Order, Kilim’s family, and, though they didn’t know it, the Prime Minister’s Office as well.

‘Shulat’s siblings will live in the south.’

They all received new identities. He had given them plenty of money, and since the eldest, Sirha, showed great intelligence and the younger siblings would grow up quickly, they would all live in hiding, using their wits.

‘Ir would feel relieved to know.’

Ir had cherished all the knights of the 9th Knight Order like family. The family of the youngest member of that order. She must have burned with anger seeing those young family members being toyed with. That’s why she tried to kill Kilim, even knowing the danger.

He didn’t resent Ir for acting alone. He just regretted that he couldn’t prepare a little faster.

‘Why did I become Prime Minister?’

Hadn’t he decided that whenever Ir wanted something, he would do everything for her? That’s why he had seized power so greedily. But because he had done nothing for himself, everyone regarded him as a being without desire. He found it amusing. If they had seen inside him, they would have felt terrified. Everything Nergal possessed existed to serve only one person.

Nergal’s heart raced as the villa came into view.

‘I wonder if she’s awake today.’

Ir no longer suffered like when he had found her in Lagash. She simply slept deeply, lying motionless like someone completely exhausted.

Out of concern, he wanted to stay by her side, but soon Ir would need to enter the palace annex with him. For that, he needed to completely renovate the annex where he had been staying, which is why Nergal commuted between the palace and the villa every day.

Though spring social season seemed quite distant, time remained scarce. He would need to work harder to achieve the perfection he envisioned.

‘I also need to bring in new people…’

While Seviti and a small number of maids sufficed at the villa, the annex demanded more. Seviti would always stay by Ir’s side, but other hands would need to manage the large annex. Other imperial family members would certainly send their people.

‘They won’t send assassins, so it’s not dangerous, but…’

The problem would arise when Ir wanted to kill someone.

‘I wish she would trust me more.’

Then he could do everything for Ir. More perfectly and ingeniously.

While thinking this, the carriage entered the villa. As Nergal stepped out of the carriage, he saw Seviti waiting for him outside.

“Seviti? Is something wrong?”

“No, not at all! Lady Ishtar woke up two hours ago.”

“Ir? How is she?”

“She said nothing hurts. And she ate a meal as soon as she woke up.”

Only upon hearing that she had eaten did Nergal feel relieved. Seeing Nergal’s expression soften, Seviti smiled even more brightly and said:

“And she’s waiting for Your Highness now.”

***

Knock knock.

When Ir knocked on the door, after a moment, Nergal’s voice came from inside, telling her to enter.

Opening the door and stepping in, she smelled the heavy scent of wood along with the distinctive dry smell of paper. A refreshing fragrance mingled between them.

It was the scent that Ir recognized as Nergal’s. This scent had always filled the Prime Minister’s office whenever she entered.

Perhaps because Nergal was the only person who came and went there. The study in the villa carried an even stronger scent than the office in the palace. Because of this, Ir sensed Nergal’s presence more vividly.

As Ir entered, Nergal, who had been standing by the window, turned around.

“I heard you’re feeling better.”

“I’m fine. I just ate a lot because I was starving after sleeping for three days straight.”

When Ir answered with a smile, Nergal smiled as well. But seemingly not satisfied with just her assurance that she was fine, he approached closer to Ir. He raised his hand and touched her cheek.

As he cupped her soft cheeks with his palms and lifted them slightly to examine her from different angles, Ir recalled the gazes of others who had looked at her until now.

From the auction house to Vativira, the many gazes directed at her during that time. Among them, distinguishing the gazes of men required no effort. They contained a sticky desire that made her feel uncomfortable just by meeting them.

She had thought Nergal’s gaze matched the others. He too had initially stared at her so persistently that he seemed ready to devour her with his eyes. Clear desire shone in his eyes then.

That’s why she had felt comfortable. Although unfamiliar because she had never directly experienced it, she had seen enough of men’s desire for women to know how she should act.

The communication of desire that Ir had observed in the palace took a very simple form. Actions that resembled animals in heat. Disheveled, panting, pouring out. That was all.

The receiving party didn’t particularly need to do anything. They seemed sufficiently satisfied if one just remained still while letting out moans and excited breaths that came as inevitable physical responses. So when Nergal said he wanted her body, she thought he asked for something truly trivial.

But now, she wondered if he really wanted her body.

Nergal didn’t immediately undress her, nor did he kiss her and grab her br*asts. He just looked at her quietly, lightly squeezing her cheeks. His gaze, which didn’t look away for even a moment, showed relief and satisfaction. It lacked the clouded eyes that people in the palace showed after climax. This gaze, which looked at her more clearly than ever…

Nergal continued to hold Ir’s face for quite some time. Then, reluctantly lowering his hands, he said:

“I also heard that from Seviti. Let’s sit down first. I’m sure you’re curious about what happened to Sirha and her siblings…!”

Nergal couldn’t finish his sentence. Suddenly, Ir rushed forward and pushed his body. Nergal, who fell back onto the sofa right behind him, looked at her with a puzzled expression.

“Ir?”

While he called her name wondering why she suddenly acted this way, Ir climbed on top of him. Then, just as Nergal had done earlier, she held his cheeks with both hands.

Ir looked into Nergal’s surprised eyes.

She could see desire. But something deeper lurked beyond that. Something she couldn’t quite identify. Clearly, an emotion dwelled in Nergal’s depths that she didn’t know how to reciprocate.

After contemplating for a moment, Ir moved.

She pressed her lips against Nergal’s without hesitation.

‘He helped me.’

He had helped her with something he could have ignored, putting in considerable effort. So she wanted to give him what he wanted.