It was a secret that could never be allowed to come to light. Enough time had passed that even the Imperial Court now seemed to be unaware of it. Selonia was certain of one thing: if Alix had known about it before the regression, he would certainly have exploited it.

Nevertheless, her doubts had not completely faded. She found herself asking the same question yet again.

“…Why are you going this far for me?”

“I believe I already explained that quite thoroughly before.”

The corner of Kailos’s mouth turned up in a smooth, carefree smile. As his broad frame leaned closer, she was overwhelmed by a familiar sense of unease. Recalling his promise to explain everything ‘thoroughly’, Selonia pulled the blanket up over her face.

The more she thought about his words, the more she began to understand why Kailos had reached out to her in the first place. If you harboured doubts about the former Grand Duke’s death and carried a secret bound to your own blood, wasn’t it only natural to see witches differently?

Perhaps both the former Grand Duke and Kailos had wanted to reject the idea that witches were evil by nature.

The Kailos she had known before the regression had walked an entirely different path. Yet, just as she herself had changed after returning to the past, perhaps a shift in circumstances had awakened something different within him as well. Seen that way, it was not wholly incomprehensible.

The chill that had settled in her body earlier faded, replaced by a slow returning warmth. Selonia lowered the blanket she had been clutching and made her decision.

“All right. I’ll trust you. The truth is, I’m having some problems. Whenever I let my guard down, magic suddenly starts to burst out of my hands.”

“So that’s why you’ve been wearing gloves constantly.”

Kailos nodded quietly, as if he finally understood her insistence on never taking them off.

“Yes. The reason I came to the North was to find a way to stabilize my mana. I thought that if I could find a witch, I might get some help—so I’ve been wandering around.”

Although she didn’t mention that it was memories from before the regression that had led her straight here, he seemed to grasp the situation anyway.

“Was the witch you were looking for the old woman named Muneme?”

Selonia nodded. Now that everything was out in the open, there was no reason to hold back. Just moments ago, Muneme’s words had been proven true. Although she hadn’t fully understood the significance of her power resonating with Kailos’s bloodline, finding out that the strength of the ducal house stemmed from witches had clarified everything.

“Muneme said that you could help stabilize my mana, Kailos. Will you help me?”

“What do I need to do?”

Without hesitating for a moment, Kailos inclined his head. Selonia swallowed hard, clenched her fists, and steeled herself.

“I need contact.”

“…Is that why you kissed me?”

Realization dawned in his eyes as one brow lifted. For a fleeting moment, his voice almost sounded… disappointed. I must be imagining it, she thought, and hurried to explain more clearly.

“To be precise… I need mucosal contact.”

It seemed to strike him at once. Kailos fell silent, seemingly at a loss for words. Selonia’s ears burned crimson as she continued, unable to meet his gaze.

“I—I was told that’s the only way tangled mana can respond to each other and circulate properly. Muneme said there’s a power in the ducal bloodline that can resonate with my mana.”

“…Ha.”

Kailos let out a short, incredulous laugh and looked at her. The emotion blazing in his violet eyes was so intense that she couldn’t decipher it at all.

‘Does that mean he doesn’t want to?’

Well, it was understandable. After dancing around the issue and hesitating, she suddenly started talking about mucosal contact and bodies coming into contact with each other — it was bound to sound strange.

“Um… if that’s not okay, then would it be all right to just kiss again? Like before?”

She had realized it moments earlier: the tingling sensation in her palms had gone completely. Muneme had been right: Selonia herself would notice the difference the most.

Before she kissed Kailos, magic had burst from her hands unprompted. Afterwards, there had been a distinct change. The sensation of tangled mana loosening and flowing smoothly once more, settling back into place, brought her a quiet thrill after all the anxiety she had endured.

Even by her own standards, suggesting they sleep together had been far too abrupt. But kissing? They had done that once already. A few more times shouldn’t make a difference, should it?

However, when the man who usually agreed with her without hesitation fell silent and uncertainty crept into his expression, Selonia began to feel uneasy. She had completely forgotten that less than a day ago she had almost snapped at Muneme, insisting it was impossible to sleep with someone who wasn’t her actual lover.

“…Are you serious?”

Kailos, who had been at a loss for words, finally spoke, running a hand roughly through his hair. His voice was low and hoarse, sounding as though it might break at any moment. A chill crept over her. She reached for the blanket she had taken off, her eyes wavering as she finally realized that this was his bedroom.

“I—I am serious. I mean it.”

“D*mn it. Selonia.”

Kailos let out a rough laugh and crossed his legs. The moment she said ‘contact’, blood rushed south. Resisting the urge to act on her request immediately, he took a deep breath before speaking again.

“Is there truly no other way besides touching me? If it’s something you’d have to force yourself to do, then I don’t want to compel you.”

It was a request that favored him far too much. Now that he understood why she had kissed him — to stabilize her mana — he couldn’t easily accept her plea. Once he started, he wasn’t sure he would be able to stop, even if she asked him to.

“At the moment, there’s almost no other option. And… I don’t dislike it.”

Noticing how warm his bedroom felt, Selonia moistened her lips. If she had hated the idea, she would never have stormed into his office and tested the waters with a kiss. Besides, the kiss they had shared unaware that the knights were about to burst in hadn’t been bad at all.

“……”

In response to her answer, Kailos fell silent. He didn’t speak for a while. Selonia thought she heard the armrest crack under his grip, but she was too preoccupied with waiting for his response to pay it any attention.

Now, he was biting down hard on his lip.

‘Is it really that unpleasant for him?’

Glancing at him, Selonia’s shoulders slowly slumped.

“Is it really that unpleasant?”

“Unpleasant?”

Kailos stood up and ran a hand through his hair. He strode straight towards her, bending at the waist as he went. His sleek black hair slid smoothly down his back with the motion. He brought a hand to her flushed ear, toyed with its small curve, and covered it easily with his fingers.

“Hah…”

“K-Kailos?”

A primal sense of danger made Selonia hunch her shoulders. She felt like prey that had been frozen in place just before being caught by a predator.

“Do you have any idea how much you’re provoking me right now?”

“I—I—ngh…!”

‘Provoking? What did I even do?’

She tried to protest, indignant—but his lips, now so close, brushed softly along the corner of her mouth, stealing her words.

Kailos lifted her chin with a single finger and leaned down again. His full lips closed gently around her swollen lower lip and bit down before pulling away. As she worried her lip between her teeth, she heard him whisper.

“Like this?”

“Th-that’s—”

“Ah. You said mucosal contact. Then that just now won’t do, will it?”

The corners of Kailos’s eyes curved gently upwards. He was clearly smiling, yet the violet gleam in his eyes hinted at danger. Selonia was captivated by his handsome face and mysterious purple eyes. She stared at him blankly until he tilted his head and devoured her lips hungrily.

“Mm—mmh…!”

The kiss — far richer and more intoxicating than the one they had shared in the office — quickly overwhelmed Selonia’s senses. His heated tongue slipped between her parted lips with practiced ease, stirring the sensitive warmth within. It was as though a single experience had taught him exactly how to move in order to make her respond.

He coaxed her stiff, unsteady tongue into motion, gently entwining it before drawing it in and lingering, as though savoring its taste. Each time their lips parted, a thin, silvery strand stretched between them, catching the dim light. His tongue traced carefully along her teeth before pressing firmly against her flushed lower lip and pulling away.

As Selonia gasped for breath, Kailos brushed a light kiss on her chin and moved his lips lower. Guided by him, she soon found herself reclining against the sofa with her legs crossed, struggling to steady her breathing. Each time his warm, lingering mouth traced the slender line of her neck, a deep, unfamiliar heat pooled low in her body.

“Shall I tell you another secret, Selonia?”

Kailos lifted his head and traced her collarbone with his lips and teeth. Looking down at her, he wore an openly lustful expression.

‘Another secret?’

As she swallowed hard, regretting the loss of his warm lips, he leaned close to her ear and whispered softly.

“Whenever I look at you, I get hard like a dog in heat.”