“……!”
Rose flinched, her body stiffening as she looked at me.
She silently stared at the desire gleaming in my eyes.
“…You’re going to do it, right?”
At last, Rose’s mouth moved. Her red lips curved into a sorrowful smile as they parted.
“Yes… I am Your Excellency’s wife, after all…….”
Rose lay back down on the sheets.
Fear washed over her eyes as she looked at me, finally giving way to resignation.
“I will… fulfill my duties as your wife.”
“…….”
I quietly studied Rose’s face. That single sentence from her brought a certain scene to mind.
‘Your Excellency, I have fulfilled my duties. Please let me go now.’
Rose murmured with a hollow face and an emotionless voice. Then, she turned her back without any lingering attachment.
‘Stop right there.’
Dane’s face contorted as he watched her walk away.
‘I said stop!’
Even at his shout, Rose did not halt her steps.
It was a scene I already knew. This was how Dane and Rose’s story ended in the original work.
‘Right now…….’
I had a预感 that if I pushed forward here, my relationship with Rose would go completely astray like this.
No, it was a certainty.
Most importantly, I didn’t want to force myself on Rose while she wore a face like that.
If I was going to do this, I wanted her to be享受 it, even if she didn’t know what to do. To be precise, I wanted her to be happy to spend the night with me.
That was my honest feeling.
“…Huu.”
I let out a hot breath and swallowed a groan. The desire that had flared up to its peak refused to be tamed easily.
I wanted to thrust into Rose right this instant.
But…….
“Your Excellency?”
Rose’s seemingly self-abandoning attitude barely managed to rein in the wildly rampaging desire.
It was a truly, truly difficult task, but—
Seuk.
I finally exerted extreme self-control and stopped my advance.
“…Why?”
A voice, deep and locked within my throat, spilled out.
“Do you really hate it that much?”
A question of whether she hated me that much.
I hadn’t wanted to ask this question, but my pride had been crumpled long ago.
“Why, you ask…….”
Rose answered as if asking something obvious.
“…Because I don’t love you.”
It was a statement with an omitted subject, but at this moment, it sounded like this to my ears.
Like she was saying she didn’t love me.
“…Haha.”
A hollow laugh finally escaped through my clenched teeth.
My body was hot, but my head was cooling down as if doused in ice water.
‘You’ve gone mad, Dane Schmaichel.’
No matter how much Rose pushed me away and rejected me, I still liked her. Rather than seeing Rose get hurt, I would rather be the one to take the damage.
It was a sweet yet bitter realization.
I finally understood that while I could control my body at will, I couldn’t do the same with my heart.
Chok.
Erasing the emotion from my face, I briefly brushed my lips against Rose’s. Only the sweet sensation left an afterimage on my aching heart.
“…Understood.”
If I forced myself on Rose here, I would definitely regret it.
I pictured my future self, indulging only in the physical act while a hollow-faced Rose lay beneath me.
“…….”
Perhaps truly not expecting me to stop here, confusion and relief mingled in Rose’s eyes.
I stared into those eyes of hers, and then—
Chok.
I buried my face in the nape of Rose’s neck. I pressed my lips against her soft skin and sucked hard.
“What are you… nngh.”
“This much should be fine.”
Mottled marks quickly spread across Rose’s pale skin.
I stamped my seal on her as if to say she was mine and couldn’t leave. I wanted to leave my mark on her, even like this.
I felt like I could only be at ease if I did.
“Heugh…….”
Rose swallowed a moan, looking exhausted.
It was likely due to the alcohol, but it also seemed she had expended a fair amount of mental energy from what just happened.
‘Lord, I must be out of my mind too.’
Suppressing the self-loathing that crept up, I pulled my lips away.
I really must have lost my reason just now. Since I had suppressed it for so long, once the reins came loose, it was hard to control.
‘Will she even remember what happened today?’
The desire for her not to remember and the desire for her to remember mixed chaotically within me.
Saeuk.
I closed the front of Rose’s gown and re-tied the knot at her waist. I pulled the blanket up and draped it over her before lying down beside her.
With neat and dry hands, as if nothing had happened just moments ago.
“…….”
Rose simply stared at me with an unreadable expression the whole time.
Then, when I closed my eyes—
Kkok.
She squirmed and burrowed into my embrace.
‘…What is she doing?’
She was pushing me away just a moment ago, yet now she was coming closer.
Still, I felt pathetic for being so delighted that Rose was approaching me first.
Seuk.
I reached out and wrapped my arm around Rose’s shoulder. I hugged her tightly so she would be flush against my body without any gaps.
“Huu…….”
Feeling her warm body temperature in my arms, my battered heart seemed to stitch itself back together little by little.
It would be impossible to return to the perfect state from the beginning, though.
‘I lost.’
No, it would probably be impossible to ever win against Rose. It was a fight with the outcome already decided.
I finally accepted becoming the sweet loser as if in resignation.
Pat, pat.
I patted Rose’s shoulder and forced myself to sleep.
“Your Excellency…….”
Rose’s voice, buried in my chest, resonated against my skin.
“I… know.”
“Know what?”
“That Your Excellency is… hiding something.”
“There’s nothing like th——”
I was about to dismiss it immediately but faltered. It felt as if my mind had suddenly snapped awake.
I pulled my body away and stared intently at Rose.
“What did you just say?”
“Liar…….”
Rose smiled bashfully with her eyes closed. Then, she rested her head heavily against me.
Soon, the sound of her even breathing could be heard.
“Rose.”
When I bolted upright, Rose’s body slid down limply. She seemed to have completely relaxed and fallen into a deep sleep.
“This is maddening.”
The few words Rose had thrown at me created ripples in my chest like a stone thrown into a lake.
‘Don’t tell me…….’
The surface of the lake surged violently.
To calm it, I couldn’t fall asleep until late into the night.
It was a long night.
**
The next day, at the entrance of the Black Oak Forest.
Massive tents and pavilions for each noble house had been set up. Along with the sound of horn pipes, the bannermen of each house raised their flags and lined up.
They were gathered to participate in the hunting tournament.
“Hmm.”
Arikx dismounted from his horse and cast a glance at Dane, who was standing behind him.
‘Something is off.’
Dane’s aura was unusual.
Outwardly, he looked the same as usual—expressionless with a cold wind blowing around him. However, Arikx, who had observed him closely for a long time, could tell.
‘Why does he look so exhausted?’
The last he had seen was Dane taking his staggering, drunk wife away yesterday.
Could it be…….
“Phew.”
Arikx quietly gazed at the distant mountains.
Yesterday, he had joked about him exerting himself in bed or whatnot, but seeing Dane genuinely exhausted, a myriad of emotions crossed his mind.
‘They say dry firewood burns better.’
Just as Arikx was making a misunderstanding that wasn’t quite a misunderstanding—
“Brother!”
Beatrice appeared, dressed in her riding habit.
True to a heavy drinker, she looked completely refreshed despite drinking that much yesterday.
“Are you participating too?”
“Of course. Dane is here for the first time in a while, so wouldn’t I have to compete with him?”
Beatrice approached closer and lowered her voice so only Arikx could hear.
“But doesn’t Dane’s face look a bit strange?”
She whispered secretively and motioned with her eyes toward Dane and Rose, who was standing next to him.
“Do you think he fought with Rose because of the drinking yesterday?”
“It’s your fault.”
“It really isn’t! Rose said she wanted to drink!”
Beatrice protested loudly as if feeling unjustly, but Arikx simply ignored her.
“Ah, what should I do. Should I go and apologize? I wasn’t the one who fed her the alcohol, but still, out of common decency.”
“Drop it. Don’t go scratching where it doesn’t itch, just pretend you don’t know.”
Arikx dissuaded the pacing Beatrice and stepped away.
“Stay here. I’ll go check on him.”
Dane was standing very close to Rose’s side, whispering something to her.
Unlike yesterday, Rose was wearing a dress that covered her up to her neck without a single gap. Dane smiled as he lightly touched the area around her neck.
‘He’s always been like that, but he really doesn’t care about the eyes around him at all.’
Dane’s insensitivity was newly surprising.
As Arikx walked, people bowed their heads in respect. Because of that, Dane quickly noticed Arikx approaching.
“Hold on a moment.”
He left Rose alone for a moment and started walking toward Arikx.
Seeing that, Arikx formed a bittersweet smile.
‘What on earth does he take me for?’
Dane’s intentions in moving were too obvious.
He was blocking Rose from Arikx’s line of sight and coming out to meet him first to prevent them from talking directly.
‘Don’t you dare show interest.’
That action of Dane’s was preposterous and audacious, but at the same time, it was quite intriguing.
‘It’s a bit cute, but is that really necessary?’
I couldn’t understand why he was so fiercely guarding his wife. I could only guess—did he spread honey on her body or something?
“Greetings, Your Highness.”
Dane strode over and offered a light bow. The moment I saw his face up close—
“-!”
Arikx detected an anomaly.
It was a face that looked like a volcano about to erupt, bubbling and boiling over, while at the same time precarious like a levee on the verge of collapsing.
He was suppressing it with extreme self-restraint, but I could see something surging up, trying to break through the surface of Dane’s face.
It was an expression I had never seen before.
“Nothing out of the ordinary?”
“…Yeah.”
Dane’s answer was subtly slow.
There was definitely something. It didn’t seem like he was simply exhausted.
“Did you sleep well?”
“No.”
“Why? Don’t tell me you’re nervous about today’s hunt.”
“…Huu.”
He sighs?
Arikx felt bewildered.
This was the guy who wouldn’t make a single peep even when running dozens of laps around the training grounds or swinging a sword until his arms were ready to fall off.
‘Something must have happened with his wife.’
That must be why he couldn’t say anything and was just agonizing over it alone.
Seeing him like that with a deeply troubled face, I felt both pity and a desire to punch him for being so cheesy.
‘Wow, look at this guy.’
The urge to tease him billowed up like clouds.
But if I teased him now, Dane would never bring it up again.
“Do you have some kind of worry?”
When I asked calmly, suppressing the itch at the corners of my mouth—
“Forget it, you don’t need to know. I’m going ahead.”
Dane answered with a sigh and retreated. It was because he spotted the King’s procession.
‘What a waste.’
I could have secured a lifetime’s worth of teasing material.
Arikx cast a regretful gaze at Dane’s retreating back.
[The more peaceful the era, the sharper the blade must be. Today, prove the blood that flows through your veins!]
The King, who had stepped onto the podium, began the opening declaration. The voice amplified by a sound-amplifying Magical Device resounded loudly.
[I shall bestow the glory of the kingdom upon the most valiant hunter. I permit the hunt!]
Waaaaah!
The crowd stomped their feet and cheered.
Kung!
Following that, the Royal Court Magician struck the ground with his staff, and with a resonant sound, the barrier over the forest was activated.