By the time Clodine returned to the castle where she was staying after an unexpectedly long outing, assisted by Hiles and Merian it was already well past sunset.

As she walked through the castle toward the room Ahazan had assigned her earlier that day, she could feel the tension she had anticipated filling the air, both inside and out.

It was, in part, the very atmosphere she might have expected perhaps even desired after leaving impulsively out of frustration and defiance.

And yet, her heart sank.

By now, her instincts had grown sharp enough to sense danger.

After climbing several flights of stairs and passing through dim corridors lit by flickering candlelight, she finally reached her room.

Standing guard at the door was Cal Regerson, his expression far more rigid than usual.

The sight felt so natural that, for a moment, it seemed less like Clodine’s room and more like Ahazan’s.

Without asking where she had been or whether anything had happened outside questions that would have been expected Cal spoke only a single sentence.

“His Majesty is inside.”

Clodine turned to look at Hiles and Merian behind her.

Both wore expressions filled with worry. It was clear they had much they wanted to say but given the situation, neither spoke.

“You’ve both had a difficult day because of me. Get some rest now.”

Only then did Clodine feel a twinge of guilt for having caused them unnecessary concern through her inability to control her emotions.

With an awkward expression, she bid them goodnight and turned away.

Passing by Cal, she opened the door and stepped inside.

Ahazan stood before the large window, his back turned to her.

His broad frame was striking but before she could even take it in properly, the air in the room seemed to press down on her, heavy and suffocating.

She closed the door behind her and remained standing where she was, unable to approach her gaze fixed only on his back.

A moment later, his voice broke the silence.

“…That’s a relief.”

It was just a short sentence.

But it felt as though a blade of cold steel had flashed before her eyes.

A chill ran down her spine.

Before continuing, Ahazan tilted his head slightly to the side. The pale moonlight traced a sharp, cold line along the edge of his face.

“I was just about to turn the entire village upside down when you didn’t return, no matter how long I waited.”

He spoke those terrifying words as casually as if they meant nothing.

Then he turned fully, his gaze locking directly onto Clodine, who still stood by the door.

“What would you have done if they suddenly turned on you and took you hostage?”

His tone wasn’t accusatory, nor was it scolding.

It sounded like an ordinary question one asked out of simple curiosity.

But Clodine couldn’t respond so lightly.

Because beneath those words, she could clearly sense the violence he had so carefully concealed.

“And what if they had poisoned your food with something lethal?”

It was clear now Ahazan already knew where she had gone, who she had been with, and what she had done.

She had expected as much, but facing it directly still left her overwhelmed by just how thorough he was.

Clodine frowned deeply, shaking her head as if genuinely fed up.

“Looking at you now, even if something like that had happened, it seems you wouldn’t have died so easily.”

At her words, Ahazan let out a quiet scoff.

Dragging the hem of his long coat across the floor, he slowly approached her.

Clodine held his gaze without wavering as he closed the distance between them.

The resentment she had felt earlier surged back to the surface.

At that moment, she no longer cared what would happen next.

Standing right before her, Ahazan lowered his gaze, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked down at her.

Then, as if to prevent her from glaring up at him defiantly, he grasped her chin and tilted her face upward.

“Do you still hate me enough to want to die?”

His voice was completely flat.

It revealed nothing, no trace of what he was feeling.

Clodine steadied herself, determined not to yield no matter what came next, and answered him.

“Whether I hate you enough to want to die… or only enough to endure does that even matter?”

Unlike him, her voice was filled with emotion.

Only after the words left her mouth did she realize she had spoken as if complaining to him.

She quickly reined in her tone and added, with a quiet sense of resignation,

“What I mean is… is there anything left between us that could possibly change?”

And just like that…

their conversation circled back to where it had been earlier that day.

The truth that was both obvious and painfully difficult:

That unless they faced the past directly…

unless they confronted the wounds they had left unresolved there was no future that could ever change.

If Ahazan insisted on turning away from it until the very end, then it was a problem Clodine could never resolve on her own.

Yet despite Clodine’s justified resentment, Ahazan never lost his cold composure.

“Even if you hate me enough to want to die… I can still make you want me.”

His voice was low, almost sinister, as his cold, dry fingertips traced slowly down her neck.

Startled, Clodine instinctively shrank her shoulders and stepped back, trying to put distance between them. But it was a futile attempt Ahazan pulled her back in by the waist as if to say there was no escape.

Seemingly satisfied by her reaction to his touch, he lowered his head deeply and whispered against her ear.

“You know the feeling… don’t you? Even when you hate yourself for it, you still end up wanting it again… unable to resist.”

Clodine knew all too well what he wanted and what he was about to do.

That was what made it unbearable.

Desperately, she tried to push him away with both hands, fighting not to be swept away by his dangerous, precarious temptation.

But, when his hand brushed over her bare shoulder,

When his firm grip around her waist slid to her shoulder blades,

When the solid press of his body pinned her chest tighter than any corset ever could Clodine felt as though she might collapse, overcome with the urge to cry.

“You already know what it feels like.”

As if he could read every thought in her heart, that single sentence sent a violent ripple through her.

“Stop, Ahazan. I don’t want this… I don’t want to be entangled with you like this.”

Even as Clodine looked up at him with pleading eyes, begging him to stop, Ahazan’s gaze remained cold like someone whose anger had yet to subside. He pressed her further, as if punishing her.

“Is that so?”

It was less a question and more a challenge.

His lips pressed firmly against the back of her neck, leaving a deep, lingering kiss. The cold touch and the heat that followed stirred her senses relentlessly.

He already knew exactly what would make her weak.

Any half-hearted resistance would only fuel his resolve.

Overwhelmed by the dizzying sensation, she bit down hard on her lower lip and forced strength into her trembling legs.

“No matter what… you shouldn’t lie.”

But no matter how hard she tried, the moment his low voice brushed against her ear, her strength faltered, her body threatening to give way.

Perhaps he had expected that Or perhaps, as if they were already bound together as one, he could feel the storm of sensations coursing through her Ahazan lifted her effortlessly and seated her atop a low cabinet nearby.

“Say it again. That you don’t want me.”

Even as Clodine’s arms had already wrapped around his shoulders, pulling him closer, he spoke with cruel amusement.

“Though I doubt you can.”

Yet it wasn’t only Clodine who was consumed by unbearable longing.

The desire burning in Ahazan’s eyes was just as intense.

No, It had begun with him.

No matter how fierce her own longing had become, it could never surpass the depth of his.

Reason, which urged her to reject him and instinct, which pulled her to cling to him strained against each other between them.

And so the night stretched on endlessly,

until morning finally came.

***

Through her closed eyes, the morning sunlight flickered softly.

Clodine stirred, her body heavy and sore, burrowing deeper into the blankets before slowly forcing her eyes open.

The first thing she saw was Ahazan, standing by the window, leaning casually as he sipped his tea.

He looked as though he had been awake for quite some time perfectly dressed, even wearing his gloves.

“What are you doing over there?”

Unlike him, Clodine had just woken, with nothing covering her but a thin white blanket.

And yet, instead of reacting with embarrassment, she spoke naturally.

Ahazan studied her quietly before his lips curved into a faint smile.

“I was thinking.”

His gaze met hers, as if answering her unspoken question.

The golden morning light shimmered across her skin, making her look like a statue of a goddess brought to life upon the bed though she seemed unaware of it.

“I was wondering… if it might be alright to spend the entire day in bed with you.”

At his shameless remark, spoken so boldly in the bright morning, Clodine snapped fully awake and sat up.

Wrapping the blanket tightly around her bare body, she looked unexpectedly endearing.

Ahazan, unlike the night before, softened his gaze and smiled.

For a brief moment, silence lingered between them.

Clodine hesitated then, as if making up her mind, spoke in a quiet voice.

“…I’m sorry for alarming everyone yesterday with my unplanned outing.”