Muneme looked at her with genuine confusion, as if she couldn’t understand why she was agonizing over the matter.

“Why not just do it without saying anything? What’s the problem?”

“……”

Her cheeks burned so fiercely that it was pointless to try and hide them anymore. Lowering the hand that had been covering her face, she asked in a pleading voice.

“…Is there really no other way but to sleep with Kailos?”

“At the very least, there must be mucosal contact. The gloves would also need to be taken off. I never said that was the only method. It’s just the fastest way to resolve the issue if you’re looking for a quick solution.”

“Then how would I even know if contact with Kailos is actually effective?”

“You’ll probably feel it yourself better than anyone else.”

She wanted a more thorough explanation, but Muneme offered nothing further. Having said all she wanted to, she turned away and left only a brief instruction on how to sense the mana flowing within her body.

That afternoon, Selonia repeatedly became despondent as she tried to sense the mana inside her after removing her gloves.

Instead of sensing it, her magic surged out of control. It soaked the corner of her bedding and caused the flowers in the vase to grow grotesquely. Panicking, Selonia threw the bouquet out of the window to get rid of the evidence, then shook out the blankets to help them dry. She then collapsed into a crouch and buried her face in her hands.

If she could cause this much trouble just by taking off her gloves for a moment, then three months would be far too long.

Was Kailos truly her only option?

She had agonized over the question dozens of times, but always came to the same conclusion: deceive and exploit him, or confess her circumstances and ask for his help.

But, in truth, there was only one answer.

There was no way she could be so foolish as to declare herself a witch. And so, just as Muneme had said, she would have to go to Kailos and—

“…Do I really have to pounce on him?”

With her chin resting on her knees, Selonia earnestly grappled with the decision. Right. When such an easy path lay before her, was there any reason to take the long way around? All she needed was confirmation that Muneme’s words were true. If kissing him truly stabilized her mana, then she would know how to proceed.

After casting a resentful glance at the empty vase, she rose abruptly. Once she had made up her mind, she always acted immediately — a habit formed long ago. This time was no different. Before doubt could overcome her, her feet were already carrying her towards Kailos’s office.

It was located at the far end of the corridor, opposite his bedroom. The sun had just begun to set, casting long streaks of orange light through the thick forest beyond the windows. Perhaps because it was still early evening, his aide had already left. Thankfully, there was no one standing guard outside the door.

Knock, knock.

She rapped lightly. From within came the low sound of Kailos’s voice. He had been leaning against the window, reviewing documents, but when he saw someone enter his line of sight, he looked up, raising one dark brow slightly.

“Selonia?”

He put the papers down immediately and opened the door, walking towards Selonia, who was standing there awkwardly. Clearly puzzled by her sudden visit, he greeted her warmly, though curiosity flickered unmistakably in his eyes. He had been about to invite her to dinner himself, so her coming to him first took him aback for a moment.

“What brings you all the way here?”

“Kailos.”

She had decided to use him just minutes earlier, but she regretted that decision almost immediately. Despite him being right in front of her, she couldn’t bring herself to reach out to him, not even with the tips of her fingers. Her lips parted as if to speak, then closed again. Finally, she forced herself to voice her request.

“…I have a favor to ask.”

“A favor?”

“Well, it’s just—that is…!”

Selonia tried to speak, but her words caught in her throat. How could she possibly say, ‘There’s a reason, so let’s try kissing first’? The resolve she had carried with her to kiss him the moment she saw him had already crumbled under the weight of embarrassment. Now, it felt impossible to voice the idea aloud.

She should have waited until others were present. Then she could have used the excuse of maintaining the appearance of a loving couple. That would have made things easier.

She had said she wanted to ask a favor, yet she kept hesitating, her expression growing more strained with every passing second. It was only natural that Kailos’s expression tightened as well.

“What kind of favor has you so troubled?”

He asked, his features hardening as though he were preparing for something grave.

Fearing that the situation might take an even stranger turn, Selonia finally forced the words out after a long, agonizing pause.

“When others are around, we’re supposed to look like lovers, aren’t we? I thought… maybe we should have more intimate contact.”

It was a barely coherent excuse, but not entirely unreasonable. After all, it would look strange if lovers mad with passion kept their distance and acted awkwardly around each other. Nevertheless, she had never imagined that she would be the one to make such a suggestion, which only served to make her burn with embarrassment.

“Intimate contact.”

Kailos repeated her words, his voice dropping even lower. Did they mean what he thought they did? Intimate contact? As she said, it would indeed be strange for an engaged couple to be so careful to keep their distance.

It wasn’t that he failed to understand. He had been holding himself back because, despite standing on the same side as him, Selonia had seemed uncomfortable around him for some reason, and he had wanted to respect that. He had never expected her to raise the subject herself, and he was unsettled by the surprise.

Unaware of the storm of thoughts running through his mind, Selonia continued, her words hesitant and unsure.

“Yes. Um… we shouldn’t look awkward to others. I thought it might be better if we seemed closer than we are now…”

“For example?”

‘For example?’

Selonia, who had been staring fixedly at the floor, jerked her head up at his words. At some point, his eyes had drawn much closer, gleaming with a playful light. Startled, she widened her eyes as he leaned in, closing the distance bit by bit.

“Like this, perhaps?”

As he spoke, his warm, soft lips brushed her forehead.

Moments earlier, her heart had felt as though it would fall straight through the floor, but now it beat so violently against her ribs that it felt as though it might burst from her chest. Her fingertips trembled at the sudden contact. A strange, tingling sensation spread across her palms, causing her to clench her fists tightly as her vision wavered.

She knew exactly what this feeling meant. She had experienced it too many times to mistake it.

Coming without her gloves, just to test whether contact with Kailos would calm her mana, had been a terrible mistake.

“No—no, not like that! Like this!”

She cried out, hurriedly wrapping her arms around his neck just as magic threatened to erupt from her hands. Squeezing her eyes shut, Selonia tiptoed towards his startled face, praying all the while that the magic spilling from her palms would go unnoticed.

Her crimson lips brushed briefly against his slightly parted ones in a soft peck before pulling away. She barely had time to register the warm, damp sensation before glancing over his shoulder and seeing the color drain from her face.

As if mocking her desperate wish for a spell that could turn objects to dust or make them vanish, a glowing mass of light — almost the size of a flower vase — bounced energetically around the office.

The memory of the day her magic first erupted flashed through her mind — that same light had almost burned her house down.

‘You idiot, Selonia Brienne.’

What had possessed her to come barging in to see Kailos without a plan?

She reached out frantically, pleading desperately, but no matter what she did, the light hit the edge of a bookshelf and bounced back into the air.

Crash!

With a sharp, shattering sound, the frost-covered window shattered upon impact. Shards of glass glittered in the crimson sunlight, scattering like sparkling snowflakes. Watching the disaster she had caused unfold before her eyes, Selonia was overcome with despair.

She had hoped that Kailos wouldn’t see it, but as soon as the light bounced off the bookshelf with a loud bang, he turned his head.

“….”

His gaze flickered briefly towards the shattered window before returning to Selonia. The biting cold of winter poured in through the hole in the glass, mingling with the office’s once-warm air. Yet the situation itself felt far more chilling than the winter wind.

Still frozen with her arm outstretched, Selonia could only stare back at him, unable to read his expression. The air seemed to grow colder with each passing second, and cold sweat trickled down her spine.

“Well, just now, that was—ugh!”

She was on the verge of grasping at any excuse she could think of when Kailos, who had been silently observing her, interlaced his fingers with her stiff hand and gently lowered it.

Before she could say another word, he captured her quivering lips with his own.

Warmth flooded her senses as his lips pressed against hers, firm and unyielding. A heated breath slipped between them, cutting off her words entirely. Startled, she parted her lips without thinking, and, as though in response, he drew her closer. He wrapped one arm around her waist, deepening the kiss and holding her fast.