Rudbeckia shouted in a sharp voice, still covering her eyes with both hands.

“‘Hoo—’? You’re not a child anymore……”

“Can’t you just do it for me?”

Was this a request or an order? Her voice grew increasingly agitated.

“Are you serious?”

Caleb asked once more.

Rudbeckia silently nodded her head.

Caleb placed his lips on each spot she pointed to. Though he merely touched his lips lightly before pulling away, warm breath soon rose.

Her breathing grew rough, as if she had forgotten how to breathe.

As his lips brushed that spot while moving from right to left, Rudbeckia jerked her waist back.

“Ah, sorry…… I didn’t mean to……”

“It’s okay. It’s fine so…… now my neck……”

Rudbeckia swept her hair to one side, exposing her neck.

Caleb firmly tensed his arms and carefully placed his lips only where Rudbeckia pointed.

And gradually moved down to her chest. When his lips lingered on the softly raised mound, Rudbeckia grabbed Caleb’s chin.

“Hah…… I, I think that’s enough now.”

Rudbeckia lowered her hand and exhaled rough breaths as if she had been holding her breath all this time, like taking her first breath after emerging from the water.

Then she lowered the hands covering her eyes and carefully looked at Caleb’s face.

Hair like finely ground lapis lazuli scattered about, navy blue eyes like they had the gem itself embedded in them, intense gaze. A masculine face with distinct features fitting that gaze. Skin slightly tanned from harsh training.

She had read the expression ‘handsome like a sculpture’ countless times in books. How many times had she overlaid Caleb’s image on that phrase?

When his lips touched her forehead, she felt nothing. It wasn’t unpleasant or uncomfortable.

That’s why she thought using a honey trap tactic that involved another man’s lips wouldn’t be strange either.

But it was both a misconception and miscalculation.

The sensation was more horrible and filthy than she had thought.

* * *

Caleb sat beside Rudbeckia and stroked her hair.

It was the same gesture Adele would make while praising her each time she finished reading a book.

His touch was much larger and rougher than Adele’s, but its warmth was exactly the same.

The unpleasant feeling disappeared and though they were in the middle of a battlefield, she felt a comfort as if she had returned home, making Rudbeckia exhale a sigh of relief.

— Smooch

“Oh, the forehead is fine.”

Caleb kissed her forehead over her hair.

“Just accept it quietly when I do it freely. This is to prevent memory surges from happening.”

“By the way, why did a surge suddenly happen? This hasn’t happened once recently……”

When she was young, she had to receive a forehead kiss at least once a day.

But as the years passed, the frequency decreased, and after the war broke out, even being separated for over a month due to different camps hadn’t triggered a surge.

“Aren’t you more curious about how I can calm it down rather than why it happened?”

“I’m always curious about that.”

Rudbeckia said while tidying her hair matted with sweat.

“Ugh. Well, since the real thing succeeded too, now only revenge remains.”

Like waking from a nightmare, she emerged from the surge with a death cry. Her fever was naturally subsiding, and movement was gradually becoming easier.

And thanks to Caleb’s lips…… the horrible sensations had disappeared too.

“……When you said last time that you would use my mother’s legacy, could it be you meant this honey trap?”

“Yes. Her Highness the Grand Duchess said it could be used most excellently after becoming an adult, and that I would definitely not fail. Along with this hairpin.”

As Rudbeckia’s eyes flashed like a beast’s, Caleb felt his blood run cold.

So that’s why she smiled by Greg’s side whom she thought was more horrible than a bug.

After all, she needed to get close to slit his throat.

“Haah…… Really. Just…… Am I nothing in your eyes? Think about me a little.”

“How much do you think I think about you, Cal? That’s why I’m going to slit Greg’s throat first. How about that?”

Fully recovered, Rudbeckia spoke coldly in a dry voice as if she had never shed tears.

He exhaled a deep sigh. His head throbbed. That wasn’t what he meant……

“That’s not what I…… in another man’s embrace, ah, no. No. First just stay here and rest without moving. I’ll bring water to wash and clothes.”

Caleb could feel the urge to nag building up, ready to pour out like a waterfall if he stayed any longer. So, he stood up and left the tent, heading off to gather water and towels to clean her.

Only his footsteps were heavy as he headed to the supply warehouse from the camp lightened by the joy of victory.

“Back then, I should have stopped you more……”

Looking up, he saw soldiers carrying supplies. He watched the giggling, excited soldiers.

He hated his past self who had ordered that operation to Rudbeckia to save these soldiers and achieve victory.

To send someone precious alone into enemy territory…… knowing full well she would end up in another man’s embrace.

Inside the empty supply warehouse. Caleb pulled out towels and well-washed combat uniforms while acting irritably.

Thinking he was alone, he forgot the dignity of a commander and kicked the dirt floor like a child.

Was it from the moment he first saw her? Or from the moment he kissed her forehead?

Or perhaps after seeing her amazing ability to succeed in every strategy.

Though he didn’t know when she had become so precious to him, one thing was certain: he hadn’t wanted to put her in danger or force her to use a honey trap.

When he learned he was the only one who could suppress her memory surges, he had resolved to protect her wellbeing with his own hands. Yet far from protecting her, he had driven her into danger. He felt self-loathing.

Around when one hole had been kicked into the innocent dirt floor, Caleb moved his feet.

“Coming in.”

When he lifted the cloth and entered the tent, Rudbeckia was sitting very obediently, just as she had been when he left.

“Good to see you behaving well.”

“I’m always loyal to the Commander’s words! I’ll do it, give it here.”

“No. You can barely stand properly. I had them bring some light food here too.”

“Isn’t that…… overstepping your authority?”

“What’s overstepping about it when you’re the vice commander and number one contributor to ending the war.”

It wasn’t wrong. After all, she had succeeded in the assassination and returned.

Caleb began wiping Rudbeckia’s soot with a wet towel.

Even with her peach-like skin exposed before his eyes, Rudbeckia showed no signs of embarrassment.

From childhood they had trained hard together rolling in the dirt, and later bathed together in valley streams. They had cleaned each other’s bodies countless times like this.

But Caleb’s ears were quietly turning red. He clenched his teeth and maintained composure, pretending not to mind, acting nonchalant.

Because the moment even a bit of his feelings showed, he couldn’t gauge how she would react.

He had sometimes imagined moments of confession. While there were happy endings, there were also bad endings where she disappeared without a trace.

“Marriage? I have no thoughts about it. Passing this curse on to children? And do you think I’ll have time for romance before seeing the corpses of my birth father and Adam Perron?”

When they were young…… he wasn’t sure when, but he had briefly asked about marriage. When she wanted to get married, how many children she wanted to have…

She had answered harshly, as if the question itself was contemptible.

* * *

“Zeno, how’s the work?”

“As you can see. Looks like it’ll be done before midnight. Lord Anesio is working hard with the magic technicians.”

After capturing the enemy territory, they needed to secure it.

In children’s games, if a toy was stolen, it was natural to take it back even by force.

How much more so when a nation’s capital was taken?

Moreover, this was a gold mine with enormous amounts of magic stones buried. It was obvious that Fabio Kingdom’s military would be desperate to recapture it.

They had destroyed only what was necessary for infiltration, planning to transform it into Pergos territory as quickly as possible after the war.

The walls that hadn’t been heavily damaged were swiftly repaired and were now being constructed even higher than their original height. The outer surface of the wall was encased in an additional layer of gray stone, split perfectly into half white and half black. It was a material unlike anything he had ever seen before.

“This must be the stone Lord Anesio developed.”

“Hey. Commander. You’re here. How is it, pretty color isn’t it? You can call these stones ‘Natural Shield.'”

Magic technician ‘Anesio.’

Magic was ‘a way to communicate with nature,’ and mages were people who communicated. Magic technicians meant people who communicated with magic stones. Anesio was an old man with a natural talent for developing new techniques by mixing various natural forces into magic stones.

Caleb and Anesio’s relationship began when the Pergos Empire was attacking Sanders Grand Duchy, and he hid the old man who was wandering the battlefield with nowhere to rest in a safe house.

“The Natural Shield will quickly gather light during the day to create fire whenever strong vibrations are detected. At night, I asked it to collect only darkness, completely removing light and warmth from the areas where vibrations are sensed.”

“So if the walls are attacked during the day it burns them to death, and at night it freezes them to death. I’ve seen something similar in 「Advanced Theory of Applied Magic Technology」.”

“Exactly right. As expected, you’re a genius Rud, a genius.”

Rudbeckia felt good at Anesio’s praise. Being called a genius was one of the minor advantages that memory surge gave. The Sanders Grand Duke couple had always praised her too, calling her a genius and smart.