“Even if the f*replay isn’t long, that’s fine. Oh, but I’d like to make the part where I take care of you as long as possible. That’s all I’ve been thinking about since I first saw you. I want to see the look on your face when your body heats up…….” 

“…Ha.”

“Why are you sighing all of a sudden?” 

“Because you’re suddenly saying such absurd things.” 

“Absurd? But we’re married, Lucian.”

Lucian, who was about to reply, suddenly found himself at a loss for words. *Married.* Damn it, she was right – they really were married. But still… 

“Even married couples have an order to follow, right?” 

“What order?” 

“We haven’t even held hands yet and you’re already talking about… that.” 

“No, Lucian. We’ve already kissed.”

“Pardon?” 

“Don’t you remember? When you first woke up. Actually, I kissed you while you were asleep, and at that moment you were so aroused… it was like a temple pillar…”

Was she really bragging about that now? 

In an instant, Lucian’s expression turned dangerously cold. Noticing this, the Demon Queen quickly added, her face showing a hint of regret. 

“All right, I’m sorry. Relax, don’t look so angry.”

“…….”

“Ah, I forgot you were embarrassed by this kind of talk.” 

“Didn’t you just say you’d be considerate to me?” 

“All right, all right. I’ll be generous and let this one go, OK?”

Lucian didn’t even know where to start arguing, so he decided to keep quiet. He saw no point in continuing this conversation, which felt like a toy in the hands of the Demon Queen. 

“We don’t have to do this. You can just hold me every night while we sleep. That’s fine, isn’t it?” 

Wanting nothing more than to end this situation, Lucian let his guard down again. 

“If it’s just that…” 

Without realising it, he blurted out an answer, only to suddenly freeze. 

‘Wait, what did I just say?’  

Why had he so casually accepted her request to sleep in each other’s arms every night when they hadn’t even held hands? Lucian opened his mouth to protest, but it was too late. 

“Really, Lucian?” 

The demon queen smiled brightly at him, her expression blooming like a flower, and suddenly took his hand. For a moment, Lucian froze, as if he had been ambushed. 

This was very different from the few times he had made contact, mentally prepared. Lucian wasn’t the kind of person who could handle such unexpected closeness with a woman. 

Her hand, touching his for the first time, was small and soft. 

Instead of intertwining their fingers, she gently cupped the back of his hand in her palm, emphasising the difference in size between their hands. 

He had thought such tiny hands were only for children. Even with her hand fully extended, she couldn’t encircle her own fist. Her hand barely covered half the back of his. 

“Promise, okay?” 

The reason Lucian couldn’t immediately correct her excited words was exactly that. Probably anyone in his position would feel the same way. 

“No take-backs, okay? Alright?”

How could he crush her excitement when she looked so genuinely happy, almost childlike? At least Lucian wasn’t the kind of person who could be so cruel. 

“Thank you, dear!” 

It wasn’t until the demon queen threw off the blanket and leapt into his arms that Lucian came to his senses – but by then he had already crossed a river from which he could never return. 

“I’ll be good to you too.” 

She nuzzled her cheek against his chest like a puppy. The n*ked figure from earlier was gone, now replaced by a black slip dress. 

“I put clothes on because I thought it might make you uncomfortable.”

The sensation of her skin brushing against his through the thin fabric made Lucian clench his fists. He wanted to shout at her to move away, but… 

“I did well, didn’t I? Hm?” 

The words never left his mouth. At that moment, Lucian had no justification to push the demon queen away as she nestled in his arms. 

“Hurry up and praise me.” 

She closed her eyes quietly, like a cat waiting to be petted. Was wearing clothes in the bedroom really something that deserved praise? The thought rose to the tip of Lucian’s tongue, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it. 

“Aren’t you going to praise me?” 

As he lingered in silence, the demon queen’s face grew visibly disappointed. Finally, reluctantly, Lucian raised his hand. Lightly, as if brushing dust from a bookshelf, he stroked the ends of her hair. 

Even this stiff and awkward gesture made her smile and she hugged him even tighter. 

Even through their tightly pressed bodies, Lucian could feel the weight beyond. For a moment he froze like a statue and then a faint trace of fatigue flickered across his face. 

‘It is over.’ 

The moment he had accepted the condition of sleeping in each other’s arms every night, he had unconsciously allowed this too – to go beyond holding hands and into a full embrace. 

As soon as he realised this, it felt as if the blood in his veins had gone cold. But as a man dedicated to the Divine, he couldn’t take back what he had said. 

Finally, Lucian lowered his gaze, resignation etched into his face. 

“All right, so could you please let go of me now?” 

“Mhm, OK. Can we go to bed now?”

“Right now?” 

“It’s late, Lucian.” 

“It’s not time for sleep yet…” 

As Lucian tried to find an excuse to escape, his gaze shifted, but his expression darkened like an overcast sky. Outside the window, the crimson moon was already shining brightly. 

“Let’s sleep now. That way we can take a walk in the morning.” 

“A walk?” 

“Yes. Since this is your first time in my castle, I would like to show you my favourite place to walks.” 

“…….” 

“You’ll come with me, won’t you? Hm?”

At this point there was really no way out. 

“All right.”

Lucian murmured softly as he finally rested his shoulders against the bed. Though it seemed as if he had deliberately laid down to escape her, the Demon Queen immediately burrowed under his chin, like a young animal seeking the warmth of its mother. 

“I feel so happy when you hugs me.”

“…….” 

“Do you feel the same?” 

Instead of answering, Lucian let out a long sigh. Perhaps because of their proximity, her breath felt warmer than usual. 

“Go to sleep. Didn’t you say we were leaving early in the morning?” 

“A little chat before bed can’t hurt, can it?” 

“I feel a bit tired.” 

“You just said you were fine.” 

“Now that I’m lying down, I’ve changed my mind. Please get some sleep as well, Your Majesty.” 

Cutting the conversation short, as if trying to escape, Lucian closed his eyes. He heard a muttered “Tch…” from his arms, but pretended not to notice and didn’t react. 

“Well, I guess I have no choice.”

“Good night, Lucian.” 

The whispered words brushed the back of his neck, tickling him. He barely managed to fight the urge to shift his shoulders. 

Even as she silently slid her arm under his shoulder, pulling him into a tight embrace that nestled under his chin, Lucian concentrated on keeping his tension from showing. 

Because of this, Lucian was unaware of something – he had already allowed her to use the embarrassingly intimate term of address that he had so firmly told her not to use. 

“See you tomorrow, dear.”

Lucian had no idea that he was about to fall into the Demon Queen’s plan. 

Soon the soft sound of her steady breathing rose from his arms. 

If she had moved even a little, he would have taken the opportunity to push her away, but she slept quietly without a single restless habit, clinging to Lucian like a cherished soft toy. 

Her hair brushed against his chin, tickling and irritating him. Lucian could not sleep at all that night.