Her plump lips parted, and Callios’s mouth closed over them, leaving no gap whatsoever.

Rosie tried to pull away, but Callios clamped his hand around her jaw, holding her immobile. Each desperate, ragged breath she tried to exhale was consumed by him. Their tongues twisted together as if alive, pressing and curling inside her mouth.

The more she writhed, the more calmly Callios bore down on her. She could not move; she felt as if she had been struck clean through. All her senses seemed to collapse into her lips alone.

Whenever she parted her lips, however slightly, Callios deepened the kiss, opening his mouth wider to take more of her in. Between her trembling fingers, she could feel the length and firmness of his interlaced fingers. Everything burned hot: here, there, everywhere.

This was the first time she had touched him since being brought back from the dead. Initially, he had kissed her with a clinical calmness, almost as if it were a form of treatment, but he gradually became bolder. His strong jaw tilted, his throat moved and his tongue pushed deep inside to coil around hers.

“Mmph…”

Even when she tried to turn her head away, Callios wouldn’t let her go. He chased after her, refusing to let anything come between them.

Her head spun and tingled. Saliva trickled from the corner of her mouth, which she couldn’t close.

This unfamiliar, wet sensation caused Rosie to knit her brows. How long had it been since she last kissed Callios?

She could barely remember. They had only ever shared bodies. At some point, she had started to reject his kisses altogether.

Her strength finally gave out and her body went limp. Once she had relaxed, her breathing slowly returned to normal.

Nevertheless, Callios continued to kiss her for a long time before finally pulling back. Still pinning her beneath him, he asked in a worried tone.

“Are you feeling a little better?”

He had only released her lips; the rest of her body was still trapped beneath his, held firmly in his arms. Rosie panted softly and glared up at her husband.

She reached out, grabbed a pillow and swung it at him with all her might.

“Get away from me. Now.”

Thud!

White feathers burst into the air as the pillow exploded. Despite its weight, Callios didn’t so much as flinch. His face remained perfectly expressionless, as if she had hit him with a puff of air.

He looked at Rosie with an odd expression.

“So you know how to do things like this?”

Rosie gripped the pillow tightly, her eyes filled with venom.

“You didn’t know? I can do much worse.”

“I see. I thought you were someone who didn’t get angry at all.”

Rosie was the only one hurt by swinging the pillow. She felt a heavy sting in her hand and arm.

‘It feels like I hit a block of steel.’

Her whole body was throbbing, but she refused to let go of the pillow as she glared at Callios.

Callios hadn’t fully released her yet.

“I told you to let go.”

Callios spoke calmly and held out his hand.

“I’ll release you once you calm down. Give me the pillow. You’ll only hurt yourself.”

“…I’m calm now.”

“That’s not what it looks like.”

His gaze dropped to the pillow that she was gripping so tightly that her knuckles had turned white. Finally, Callios forcibly pried her fingers open.

Noticing the dark circles under her eyes, he frowned.

“Get some proper sleep. I know it looked suspicious earlier, but it wasn’t what you think.”

“…It wasn’t? Really?”

She asked uncertainly.

Callios’s brow twitched. Looking as though he had been unjustly accused, he repeated firmly,

“I wasn’t going to break my promise. You were crying in your sleep, so I tried to wake you.”

She must have been crying because of a nightmare.

Only then did everything become clear. The storm of emotion subsided and she regained her cool headedness. She had thought it was just a continuation of the nightmare.

Rosie cleared her throat and asked quietly.

“So it really was a misunderstanding?”

“Yes. Do you distrust me that much?”

Yes. I do.

Rosie stared wordlessly. Callios let out a long sigh. Then, with a stiff expression on his face, he grabbed her blanket and pulled it up in one swift motion. He pulled it up to the bridge of her nose and said flatly,

“Stop talking nonsense and sleep.”

But Rosie still couldn’t easily trust him. Who knew what he might do while she was asleep?

Her wary stare made Callios bristle.

“I really won’t do anything. I swear on the family seal.”

It was only then that some of Rosie’s tension eased. Swearing on the honour of the Benedict family was something she could believe in.

Rosie slowly closed her wide, alert eyes. Surprisingly, the warmth of the blanket washed over her, and she was overcome with exhaustion. She pulled the blanket up higher and turned her face away from Callios’s gaze.

‘It’s fine. This time, I will change the future. I have to.’

Her consciousness was rapidly fading when she heard his low murmur.

“What kind of dream did you have….”

Callios’s murmuring voice faintly brushed past her ears.

***

The next morning, Rosie opened her eyes and immediately turned her head towards the empty space beside her.

Of course, he wasn’t there.

Callios had never slept in after they had slept together. He was probably out on the training grounds early, as usual. Or doing some work.

But when she lifted her tired gaze towards the ceiling, she froze in shock. She remained in that stretched, half-yawning position, completely stiff.

‘Why is he… here?’

Callios was sitting by the bed, looking down at Rosie. Morning sunlight reflected off the bridge of his high nose and his subdued eyes remained fixed on Rosie.

For once, he hadn’t left.

His sharply defined face looked unusually serious.

He lowered his head slightly and examined the corners of Rosie’s eyes closely. At some point, his large hand descended, brushing her cheek and the skin around her eyes.

Startled by the unwanted touch, Rosie slapped his hand away before she could think.

Callios narrowed his brows at her rejection and murmured something.

“Just as I thought! Your eyes are swollen.”

Of course they were. She had cried last night. Sharing a bed with Callios had made the nightmare seem even more real.

Rosie pressed the swollen area with the back of her hand and replied coolly, thinking so.

“I must’ve shown you quite an unsightly face.”

“Not unsightly at all. If anything, I’m just more curious why you’ve been like this lately.”

Rosie paused and slowly lowered her hand from her eye.

What was this? When had he become capable of saying something like that?

She blinked, dazed, then shook her head hard.

‘No. Comfort? Don’t be ridiculous. This is the normal reaction.’

She had gotten so used to his harshness that even a small gentleness made her misread him.

‘Don’t misunderstand. This time, stay smart. Please.’

Rosie, resolute, spoke calmly.

“I told you—I want to stop trying for something that won’t happen anyway.”

But Callios, whom she had expected to give up easily, proved to be more persistent than she had anticipated. With his lips firmly shut, he suddenly grabbed the nearest pillow and moved it out of her reach.

She wondered why he had done that until the words that followed made her stare.

“Maybe… if we try harder, it might work.”

Did he think she would throw another pillow at him?

Rosie let out a quiet, involuntary laugh.

‘Effort’ had become the funniest word in the world to her.

“I doubt that. We tried for years and nothing happened.”

Well, nothing until this timeline. She had conceived easily, but he still didn’t know that.

Before he could dwell on the subject any longer, Rosie hurried to change the topic.

“Anyway, I’m sorry for hitting you by accident at dawn, Your Grace. I thought you were about to break your promise, and I reacted without thinking…”

“For the record, it truly was a misunderstanding. Stop saying pointless things and come have breakfast.”

Breakfast?

Rosie, who had raised her arm, turned to him in shock. She could count on her fingers how many times they had shared breakfast during their entire marriage.

“You actually have time today?”

“…Come out when you’re ready.”

Callios didn’t respond and left the room.

What on earth was going on? He was always at the training grounds at this time.

Rosie bit down on her lip. The more she thought about it, the more unsettled she felt by his recent changes.

‘I changed, and so did Callios.’

The more boldly Rosie pushed forward, acting in ways that were completely unlike her old self, the more Callios began to act differently, too.

Rosie felt hollow inside. When she used to spend every day agonising over how to fit in with him and the people of the ducal household, nothing like this had ever happened.

‘Try harder? Don’t make me laugh.’

The corner of her mouth lifted into a cold smirk. If anyone should try harder now, it was them.

After Jenny had finished dressing her with elegant care, Rosie headed downstairs. Just the thought of breakfast with everyone already made her chest tighten.

‘If those two are there, I’ll just ask them to send my meal to my room instead. I—huh?’

Rosie stopped the moment the attendants opened the doors for her.

It was far too quiet.

Glancing around the long dining table, she realized that the silence was unusual. Usually, either Pante or Isabella would have been there. But Callios was the only one present, sitting at the head of the table with his back straight and composed. No one else was present.

Still stunned, Rosie allowed the attendants to pull out a chair for her and took a seat.

“Is Her Grace deciding to take meals separately now?”

She had assumed that they would think she was being defiant and tighten their grip on her these past few days. Rosie had steeled herself for that, so this was unexpected.

Callios answered simply.

“No. I spoke to her.”

“To your mother? You, Your Grace?”

Rosie blinked in surprise. He nodded.

“I told her it would be better if you and I ate separately for the time being.”

“…Did she say anything?”

“She didn’t like it, of course. But she agreed.”

Of course, the duchess must have had plenty she wanted to say. However, she wouldn’t have dared raise her voice to the head of the household, so she must have remained silent.

Rosie couldn’t help the small, satisfied smile that tugged at her lips. Seeing this, Callios’s expression gradually relaxed, too.

“You’re that pleased?”

“Was it that obvious?”

She didn’t even bother to hide her delight now.

Callios murmured, as though he were speaking to himself.

“I should’ve done this sooner.”

When I misheard it, it almost sounded like regret. Given how differently he’d been acting lately, he must have been thinking a lot, too.

Rosie gave a cool smile and trimmed the crust off her bread, as she always did. Callios, who had been watching her in silence, suddenly spoke up.

“Do you have time today?”