It was truly unexpected, and it was fortunate that Demidius had some interest in the amphitheater. Still, Ollentia hoped that someone watching the guide would show some reaction.

Ollentia, who had never been to the Valiel territory, imagined the cold northern landscape.

“It must be very impressive when it snows at the ancient amphitheater.”

Demidius matched his pace to Ollentia’s and walked slowly.

“It would probably look warm when it snows. It’s usually quite barren.”

“Is that so? Does His Highness also like snow?”

Ollentia liked snow. The sight of white, pristine snow piling up was truly beautiful. Of course, she couldn’t see it often in the Imperial Capital. That’s why it felt even more precious.

But then, the conversation stopped for a moment. Demidius seemed lost in thought, gazing into the distance. Ollentia’s heart skipped a beat.

‘Did I do something wrong? Is that it?’

When Ollentia was worrying by herself, Demidius spoke.

“I’m thinking of unimportant small memories now. Let’s stop. I neither like nor dislike the snow.”

His voice was slightly subdued. Suddenly, it seemed that small memories that had come to mind were somewhat related to him.

‘I have such memories too. Memories related to Soko. There was a time when he was surprised when I gave him a scarf during a sudden cold spell in Jerald. It was my first time knitting, so it was a mess, but Soko wore it for a while.’

Thinking about that time made her feel strangely emotional. Even though they were completely estranged now, there were still good memories from the past.

Thinking that he neither liked nor disliked such memories, Ollentia felt a strange tightness in her chest.

Ollentia finished her tour and said as they left the circular amphitheater.

“You’d better hate it or like it. It’s more comfortable that way.”

It didn’t matter if she was being meddlesome. Ollentia wanted to be of some help to Demidius.

Demidius, who had remained still for a moment as if deep in thought, followed Ollentia.

They arrived at the Odor Perfume Museum on a hillside.

Standing in front of a distiller where petals were turned into oil, Ollentia subtly sniffed the woody scent that she always felt from Demidius.

What kind of perfume was this? The deeper and more seductive it smelled, the better.

In curiosity, Ollentia widened her eyes and asked him.
“What perfume do you use? It seems to suit Your Highness well.”

Upon hearing this, Demidius chuckled unexpectedly as if he had heard something surprising.

“Are you complimenting me now? That’s unexpected. I’d like to hear it again.”

“Did you always think I was rude or ill-tempered?”

“I thought it could be possible, especially since you dislike me.”

‘Dislike me? Is it because I dislike His Highness?’

Ollentia pondered for a moment. She didn’t have such strong feelings for him to dislike him. To reach a point of dislike, emotions would have to accumulate to a degree where they couldn’t be reversed.

Ollentia quickly clapped her hands.

“What are you saying? I don’t dislike you. Just when Your Highness says something naughty! That’s the only time I feel a bit awkward.”

“Is that so? In that case, I should restrain myself in the future. I don’t want Lady to dislike me.”

She couldn’t figure out how this conversation had taken such a turn. Demidius’s sincerity in not wanting to be disliked seemed genuine.

Ollentia felt a strange sensation, so she entered the perfume sample preparation room, trembling slightly. Dozens of brown bottles were displayed on the shelves.

As she looked around the room, Demidius said to Ollentia, “Lady emits a fresh floral scent. Do you know that?”

Ollentia was puzzled because she didn’t use perfume separately.

“I don’t use perfume. Do I smell like something? What is it?”

Ollentia, feeling somehow self-conscious, raised her arm to her nose and sniffed. She couldn’t quite determine it herself.

Usually, a floral scent was considered a pleasant fragrance.

But when Demidius said that she smelled like flowers, she felt strangely uneasy.

‘Did I ever think that His Highness disliked me?…’

The sensation of smelling a floral fragrance made her feel as if vines with blooming flowers were twining around her legs, as if flowers were sprouting from the floor. For a moment, she had such a vision.

‘No, I shouldn’t attach any meaning to it.’

Ollentia quickly regained her composure. She didn’t want to be a person who wavered back and forth at his words.

After a while, Ollentia and Demidius explored the area where they could personally blend and process perfumes before heading outside.

If they walked straight ahead, they could see the Centmi River. There were many flowers and trees along the way, making it a pleasant walk.

Ollentia held Demidius’s hand with her fingers interlocked and walked slowly. In truth, she had many questions she wanted to ask him, but she hesitated about whether she should.

‘I volunteered to be the guide today because I was curious about why His Highness needed divine power. I wonder if he’s staying at the Odor Viscount’s residence longer because of me, who possesses divine power.’

Ollentia’s thoughts were as tangled as a jumbled skein of thread.

However, she couldn’t be a person who could hold her tongue to the end. Ollentia stopped walking for a moment in a dense thicket and looked at him.

“Your Highness?”

But Demidius seemed a bit odd. He suddenly started breathing heavily, placed his hand on a tree, and shivered. She couldn’t discern his expression, but his chest heaving up and down wasn’t a normal occurrence. It was undoubtedly a sign of pain.

Ollentia hurriedly spoke to him, sounding anxious. “I’ll call the carriage this way! Just wait a moment!”

However, Demidius suddenly grabbed Ollentia’s arm and pulled her close. Ollentia was dragged along, helpless.

“Why, why are you doing this? What’s going on?”

She couldn’t understand why he was acting this way when they needed to prepare the carriage immediately.

But even as he breathed heavily, Demidius spoke to her with precise pronunciation.

“Right now, what I need is Lady, not a carriage.”
Those words made her heart flutter for a moment. Ollentia swallowed her saliva and looked at him.

“Me, you mean?”

“You said you were curious about why I needed divine power. It’s because of this. Because of this sudden pain.”

Demidius removed Ollentia’s glove and grasped her hand firmly as if he couldn’t let go. His large hand enveloped Ollentia’s small hand entirely.

In that moment, Ollentia couldn’t help but think of a dream where her masked husband appeared.

‘Even in my dreams, I remember giving divine power to my husband like this…’

Could it be that even dreams with her husband were precognitive dreams?

Ollentia looked at their joined hands with a shocked expression. Seeing Demidius in pain, she couldn’t harshly reject his earnest request.

“This doesn’t make any sense. Why would I… with His Highness…”

‘Marriage, you mean? Doing all this for that!?’