Marina was sleeping on his bed, which was large enough to have plenty of room even with two people lying down. And with an extremely tired appearance at that.

“What, what is this. Why did you even come into the blankets to share your power?”

Felix shot a bewildered look at Marina and reached his hand toward her. He was about to urge her to get up quickly.

At that moment, Felix’s pupils shook rapidly as he discovered something. Marina’s left shoulder came into view as she lay on her side with her back turned to him.

“What are these red marks……”

At first he thought she had been bitten by bugs. But looking carefully, that wasn’t it. Instead, it was traces of something else clinging persistently.

That is, something much larger and more persistent than bugs……

“!!”

An unfamiliar scene floated in Felix’s mind. White and soft skin was before his eyes. Shimmering platinum hair was bothersome. The surging sun power steadily killed that breath, but the sensation of some desire rising within his body to overturn that was vivid. Cozy heat, and somehow, the sound of panting breaths.

Felix’s face instantly flushed red.

‘I, did that?’

It seemed he had lost his reason in a situation where the sun power had already consumed his body. Just in case, Felix bolted upright and examined Marina’s and his own bodies. Compared to his shock, their appearances were quite decent.

However, Felix couldn’t shake off his bewildered feelings. This was the first time in his life that he’s experiencing such a thing. No matter how much he had been possessed by power, for his suspicious self to do such things.

‘I must have been bewitched by something.’

Felix roughly swept his face with one hand. It had been just half a day ago that he proposed a contract to Marina Enchester and was calculating how to test and use her.

But to lose his reason as soon as she extended her hand. That wasn’t the only absurd thing.

‘She definitely clung to me. Marina Enchester……’

He recalled Marina who had nestled in his embrace as if welcoming him rushing toward her, intoxicated by the satisfaction the water power gave. Even in his hazy memory, it was clear.

The refreshing fragrance that willingly burrowed into his embrace while saying no, wait a moment. And even the sun power that was extremely delighted and excited by that reaction……

“Ha…… while the person herself is sleeping with a carefree face.”

With a complicated face, Felix looked down at Marina sleeping with a peaceful expression. Though it was a vague guess, he thought it was because they had both used too much power. After their powers clashed strongly several times, strength rapidly drained from their bodies.

Perhaps that’s why. Marina’s face, sleeping soundly while making wheezing sounds, looked quite gaunt.

“Are you tired…… It seems accepting the surging sun power isn’t easy.”

Felix’s gaze moved to her arms that were thin to the point of being skeletal. He recalled when he had caught the staggering Marina during his visit to the Enchester house.

Though it was a fact he already knew through reports, the feeling of actually facing the completely crumbling mansion was bewilderment itself.

Even Felix, who occasionally visited various parts of the Solium Empire’s capital for urban poor relief, had never encountered nobility struggling with such poverty.

‘So that’s why she came to the ball wearing such a bizarre dress.’

Felix roughly guessed Marina’s circumstances. Momentarily, pitiful feelings completely occupied his heart. He once again etched in his eyes the traces of longing he had left behind.

‘No, what am I thinking right now……’

Felix, who had been looking at Marina sleeping with a harmless face, soon shook his head to come to his senses. Because the thought that Marina might have been instructed by Kervic crossed his mind.

‘If she really approached me under Kervic’s instructions……’

He couldn’t let go of his suspicions about Marina. In childhood, his uncle who supported Kervic had tried to have Felix killed through his nanny. At that time, he was only 12 years old.

Since then, Felix couldn’t trust Kervic and those who approached him. Especially at times like now when the emperor was ill and succession issues arose, and his older brother Kervic was openly threatening his life—he shouldn’t let his guard down even more.

“She might be determined to weaken my heart.”

If Marina was connected to Kervic, she might have lain on the bed herself to strike at his defenseless self. Because in his memory, Marina was already lying next to him.

‘Though there were no suspicious movements of Marina contacting Kervic…… anyway, I should keep her by my side and watch her.’

The reason he originally proposed a contract to Marina was to keep her power by his side and catch Kervic’s tail.

To do that, he resolved not to easily succumb to Marina’s power like this time. He shouldn’t do that……

“Mmm……”

Perhaps because Felix’s gaze looking down for a long time was uncomfortable, Marina tossed and turned, curling her body small. Then her beautiful platinum hair poured over her face. Felix unknowingly swept Marina’s hair behind her ear. Their powers naturally intertwined again between the ear and fingers that touched.

“Uh…… mm. ……don’t.”

At the muttering sound, Felix brought his upper body close to her. However, the words that flowed from Marina were neither clues about Kervic nor sleep talk uttered while intoxicated by sleep.

“Don’t…… kill me.”

‘……Don’t kill me?’

It was a voice that sounded desperate. As if feeling a chill, the line of her shoulders curled up round looked pitiful. With her expression also frowning greatly, Marina moved her lips several times while muttering.

Please, he couldn’t just pass by those words asking him not to kill her. Felix watched Marina, who had fallen back into sleep, for a long time with a hardened face.

⁕⁕⁕

She helplessly came to her senses from the sunlight pouring through her eyelids.

Strange…… the room at the Enchester house didn’t get sunlight this well. Moreover, the texture of the sheets softly embracing her body. Her body even felt light, as if she had quality sleep for the first time in a long while.

Suddenly, black hair came into her view. No one in our family has black hair…… huh?

“You seem to have slept well? I suppose your mind became comfortable thinking about writing the contract?”

“Uh, uaaaah! Why are you here?!”

She screamed without realizing it and bolted upright. He seemed not to have expected her to spring up like that.

— Smack!

His and her forehead collided directly. With a tremendous sound.

“Uaaaah, aaaah……”

“Ugh! Even though you saw someone was right above you…… ha, are you still not fully awake?”

“Ahhugh, hic.”

Felix continued grumbling about something. But she just kept her head down with both hands clutching her forehead. Since she kept doing that, Felix seemed worried and spoke to her with a somewhat deflated voice.

“……Hey, does it hurt a lot? Are you dizzy?”

“I don’t know…… ahhugh.”

“Lift your head a bit. Let me see if there’s a bump.”

She slightly pulled her body back with a reluctant attitude and refused his touch.

There were reasons for her acting like this.

First was that her forehead that collided with his really hurt too much. So much that tears immediately streamed down as soon as they collided. But how is this person’s skeleton made that his forehead doesn’t hurt even after colliding?

And the decisive second reason.

‘I’m embarrassed, so embarrassed……!!!’

Because the shock of their foreheads colliding made her suddenly recall what situation it had been before falling asleep.

To sleep in the same bed with a man who might kill her in the future! Moreover, while neutralizing the sun power and whatnot, doing this and that……!!

“Huaaaah……!!!”

“Marina Enchester! Does it hurt a lot? Come to your senses, look at my face.”

With an urgent voice, Felix grabbed her shoulders and slowly lifted her head. Though his touch was very careful, because he held her firmly so she couldn’t escape, she had no choice but to look directly at his face.

When she opened her tear-moistened eyes wide, she immediately made eye contact with the handsome-eyed 19+ rated dark romance novel protagonist.

‘What, what is this. Why is he so handsome……?’

Mysteriously deepened eyes, hair slightly wet as if he had just washed, red lips.

Lips, lips!! She felt her left shoulder burning hotly. Th, that thing had tormented her shoulder!

In the panicked situation, she was unknowingly moistening her lips with her tongue.

“No bump formed. Looking closely, you seem fine? Then, how did it feel to climb onto someone else’s bed and sleep sprawled out?”

“Yes, what?”

Cold words sprang from his mouth as he stared piercingly at her face.

She rolled her eyes around. Before she knew it, he was already dressed neatly in clothes, standing and looking down at her with a clean face as if he had never suffered from the sun power.

Ah, could this be that kind of thing? Doing everything and then shutting his mouth as if nothing happened?

“Is that the only thing you’re going to ask, Prince Felix Benedict Solium?”

“Why. What more should we talk about here?”

Damn it……

She turned her head toward her left shoulder with her lips protruding. Sure enough, the skin color had changed to red and purple. He surely doesn’t mean to pretend not to know about this, does he, 19+ rated dark romance novel male protagonist? I’m going for an all-ages rating, you know?

“Hmm, right. We should talk about that too……”