“It’s not that you can’t, you won’t, right?”

At Marina’s sharp retort, Felix sat up. Marina, who had buttoned up tightly to her neck, was on the opposite side of the bed wrapped in blankets.

“Hey. I won’t touch you, so look at me and talk.”

“I…… I, I don’t know.”

Marina slightly wriggled her body in refusal. He didn’t find that hateful either, and rather felt like suddenly hugging and tormenting her, making Felix’s heart troubled.

Still with his top off, sitting on the bed with a wistful heart as if Marina had stolen his power and body……

He thought it would be better to change her mind.

“Wouldn’t just holding hands be a bit difficult? Even if you’re dying of pain like this time, it wouldn’t be right to coldly just hold hands.”

“……”

The squeaking stopped. It was proof that his words were getting through.

Felix himself knew well from experiencing the aftereffects of the rampage drug. If only he could stop the churning power of the sun, he could do anything.

In childhood, when he had no choice but to harm his own body from suffering with the power of the sun, didn’t he feel the same helplessness as back then.

“From now on, Kervic…… we don’t know what else he might do. There might be another situation where you have to endure pain like your body being torn apart like tonight.”

He meant that in such situations, they couldn’t just hold hands because of the contract.

“That’s…… right.”

Marina, who had gotten up disheveled, agreed. She was wrapped tightly in blankets so Felix couldn’t touch her.

Felix pondered for quite a long time whether to laugh or find her cute at that sight.

“But let’s absolutely! never cross the line we shouldn’t cross.”

“What degree is that?”

At Felix’s question, Marina frowned.

“A bit precarious for those under 15 to watch…… Anyway, at an all-ages level?”

“What on earth are you talking about.”

“Ah, no…… haha. You don’t read romance novels.”

Come to think of it, there were always ambiguous points when it came to the progression of skinship between men and women. Moreover, Marina and himself had…… already done something twice.

Thanks to recalling that, Felix’s face and nape also reddened.

“Ahem, moderately like today. And only in urgent cases……”

“There are conditions!!”

Marina shouted after hearing Felix’s words. Felix raised his eyebrows as if asking what conditions.

Marina, with a flushed face, couldn’t answer for a while and just fidgeted with her fingers.

“What. What is it. What conditions.”

“Ki, kissing…… is absolutely not allowed, okay?”

“……Why?”

“I, I’m a beginner……”

At those words, Felix let out a “huh” breath. Looking at Marina with reddened cheeks, Felix felt at a loss.

Why? Because he had never done it once either.

Yet the fact remains that he tried to do that today without thinking ahead or behind……

“Don’t laugh at me! This is how important it is.”

“Ah, yes. I hope Lady Marina takes good care of her lips from now on.”

Felix, feeling annoyed for some reason, grumbled and began picking up his shirt that had fallen to the floor to put it on. Marina didn’t back down and continued setting conditions while still wrapped in blankets.

“I’d like Your Highness Felix to also take care!! of your lips?!”

“Ah……haha. I see.”

Felix felt fatigue washing over him. In this case, wasn’t she the one who had done all the seducing, then pushed him away when he tried to move according to his desires?

But those words were exactly right. Felix closed his eyes tightly seeing his own traces left on the white skin.

‘There’s a limit to being swayed……’

Felix, having put on all his clothes, turned around to look at Marina. She was still sitting on the bed wrapped in blankets.

Though the aftereffect symptoms had subsided with the power of the sun, her face was pale as if she really had caught a cold on top of it.

Felix lightly placed his hand on Marina’s head.

“Don’t worry and rest well.”

“Uh…… yes.”

Marina answered awkwardly at his quite affectionate greeting. As Felix was about to leave the room after those words, Marina hastily added.

“Your Highness! Th…… thank you.”

Felix raised his hand as if he understood and accepted that greeting.

⁕⁕⁕

The next morning.

Kale visited Felix’s office to deliver a report.

‘No matter how I look at it, it’s strange……’

Kale, who had handed over the report, stared at Felix for a long time. It took too long to read one document. Far too long.

That wasn’t all. He would read with an angry face for a while, then suddenly burst into laughter. Next he was blushing, and after that he had a hopeless expression.

‘I definitely delivered a report…… not a novel.’

What could be the reason that Felix, who had been more steadfast than a 100-year-old tree, changed overnight like this?

Kale quickly came to a conclusion.

‘This is definitely because of Marina Enchester.’

No matter how he thought about it, that was the only cause. Kale let out a deep sigh that could sink the ground.

“Haaaaah……”

“Kale? Is something wrong?”

At Felix’s question, Kale dropped a bomb.

“I’ll stop the data investigation related to Marina Enchester here.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Historically, only one bloodline remains in the Solium Empire that can handle magic. Only the imperial family who can use the power of the sun, right?”

“Didn’t ancient documents say there were mages in other places besides the imperial family too.”

“As you know…… old documents were already lost due to civil war and foreign invasions. Mages also disappeared over time.”

Kale deliberately made a mischievous expression and delivered the finishing blow.

“I can’t find any more data.”

“That’s not the answer I wanted.”

“You can’t ask me to find something that doesn’t exist in the world! If you’re that curious about the identity of that water power, why don’t you ask Lady Marina instead. If she received some proposal from Kervic, then she’s a spy!”

“You know. She doesn’t know much about her own power either.”

“She might be pretending not to know. You could torture her until she spits out what she knows.”

Kale shouted “bah!” at Felix’s reaction. However, Felix firmly shook his head.

“Do you see me as someone who would torture a frail young lady? Kervic might have done that…… but I’m not. She seemed to have gotten much thinner from the rampage aftereffects. I wonder if she’s eating properly……”

Felix, who had been muttering, shut his mouth tight. Seeing his firm expression, Kale shook his head.

“Your Highness. I’m asking not as a subordinate, but as a childhood friend. Why exactly are you acting like this?”

“What?”

“Lady Marina. Honestly, she’s not a trustworthy person. It’s dangerous to keep her so close!”

Before visiting Felix’s office, Kale had heard from others about what happened at dawn. That Felix had gone to see Marina who was groaning in pain.

The atmosphere in the separate palace was very different from usual. Everyone was making a fuss saying something good had happened. It was because Felix, who had acted like a stone, was gradually becoming like an ordinary person who laughed well and knew how to worry about others.

‘They said he visited Lady Marina’s room and even personally attended to her……’

Kale, who knew about their contract, didn’t make a fuss like the others. It seemed Felix had willingly shared the power of the sun to calm Marina Enchester’s power after she took the rampage drug.

‘The very person who was angry just a few hours ago seeing evidence of dark magic?’

Whatever conversation he’d had with Marina Enchester, Felix returned to his office with a flushed face and silently got back to work. Kale thought it wouldn’t be excessive to bind and interrogate Marina Enchester, but he figured Felix would take care of it himself.

But……

‘Could it be that he’s fallen for Marina Enchester’s schemes?’

Kale’s thoughts grew like a snowball. It was suspicious that she readily admitted to being Kervic’s spy, and it was strange that the upright Felix had softened.

‘Marina Enchester—could it be that he has feelings for her?’

If so, that would be terrible. Especially if Marina was involved with dark magic.

Loyal Kale couldn’t leave Felix alone.

“Don’t you know well about dark magic, Your Highness? That powerful dark magic that casts curses is completely opposite to the power of the sun, so even the previous emperors watched it most carefully! Weren’t you suspecting that power was connected to Marina Enchester?”

“……”

“Lady Marina, she was in collusion with Kervic. Perhaps it might be a trap.”

“It’s too sloppy to be a trap. Besides, she seems to be threatened by Kervic.”

At the statement that seemed to defend Marina Enchester, Kale hesitated.

Had the thing he was worried about already happened?

Felix had never opened his heart to anyone for a long time. The person he opened his heart to after so long happened to be the most suspicious person.

“She might have approached pretending to be an innocent lady. You haven’t fallen for a honey trap, have you?”

“Do you think my heart has become that weak?”

At Felix’s resistance, Kale remained silent and affirmed his words. It was Felix who snorted at his reaction.

“What nonsense…… In this situation, the person most wary of Marina Enchester would be me.”

“Even if it’s a contract, aren’t you too immersed in acting like lovers in love? Embracing her here and there to calm the power of the sun……”

“It was to neutralize the power! There was no other choice.”

Seeing Felix shout angrily, Kale’s forehead twitched. It was because Felix’s face was burning as he shouted, making him feel unfamiliar for a moment.

“Why are you frowning?”

“Because you don’t seem like the person I knew. I wonder if you’re really the same Prince Felix who was so passionate about not letting anyone close and suspecting people……”

“Stop the nonsense. I’m not doing this because I like it either.”

Seeing Felix answer cleanly, Kale decided to be mischievous.

“You’re not doing it because you like it? Just from what I know, you’ve been embracing several times…… You were almost n*ked at the ballroom and lying together on the contract day.”