Olentia and Dimidius arrived at the town house, the grand duke’s residence in Geranium, dragging their tired bodies. They planned to rest first at the residence before moving to the grand duchy.

Bobby, who had been waiting for Olentia’s return at the residence, approached her in shock upon seeing her wounds.

“W-what on earth happened! Did something bad occur at the hunting competition?”

Bobby’s face had turned pale. She was someone who always treated Olentia’s body as preciously as a treasure. So she couldn’t help but be shocked.

But to Olentia, an arrow grazing her arm was really nothing. She had confirmed her self-healing ability long ago in Odor Territory, and thought it would heal quickly anyway.

Olentia, covered in dirt from riding a horse through the forest, said to Dimidius:

“I need to go in, wash up, and rest a bit. Your Highness must be tired too, so don’t work today and rest.”

Not only Olentia, but all the servants knew that Dimidius overworked himself.

Seeing Olentia’s worried gaze, Dimidius nodded obediently.

“As you say, I will rest thoroughly today without attending to state affairs.”

Whether it was just an empty promise or not, Olentia couldn’t know, but she entered the room she used to stay in at the grand duke’s residence with Bobby. As she entered the bathroom connected to the room and threw off her stuffy riding clothes, she felt like she could finally breathe properly.

Today’s events at the hunting competition were truly shocking. Kikozellia had fled after instigating her murder, and the empress’s evil deeds were fully exposed. It was clear that Geranium would be in an uproar for a while.

Olentia couldn’t help but remember Sokol’s appearance at the hunting grounds. He was so sorry towards her that he could barely lift his head. It was the first time she had seen Sokol so broken, and she felt more sympathy than satisfaction. Perhaps it was because they had been close when they were young.

Whether Sokol would hold onto Kikozellia until the end as she went to prison, or divorce her, depended on his decision. That was something she couldn’t predict.

Olentia soaked her body in warm water, except for her injured arm, to relieve her fatigue. Her whole body ached from being so tense while horseback riding.

As she looked at the clear water with rising steam, she remembered the story of Dimidius sprinkling rose petals in the bathtub. When she first heard it from the head butler, she thought it was simply for beauty or ambiance, but she learned that it was because he couldn’t bear to see even his reflection in the water.

How did Dimidius come to hate his appearance that resembled his father’s?

What had happened with James Belial all this time?

Olentia’s mind was filled entirely with thoughts of Dimidius.

After bathing, her body temperature seemed to have temporarily risen. Olentia, with a slightly flushed face, put on a negligee and lay down on the bed. Now that Bobby had left too, she had time to herself.

But her heart was still pounding and her fingertips were trembling. Being threatened with death was such a frightening thing.

How difficult must it have been for Dimidius, who had his life threatened multiple times, even if he didn’t show it?

There was no way she could sleep alone like this tonight.

Olentia got out of bed, put on a robe, and knocked on Dimidius’s room right next door.

The knights saw this scene, but it didn’t matter. No one would say anything about a married couple using one room.

A moment later, the door opened and Dimidius came out in his nightclothes. He seemed to have really come to bed early without working on state affairs tonight. Overjoyed that he had listened to her words, Olentia smiled brightly and said:

“May I come in?”

Dimidius opened the door wide with a slightly dazed look. Unlike her colorful room, Dimidius’s room looked monotonous. There was only a large bed, a velvet sofa, a bedside table, and a bookshelf.

Olentia looked around his room and said to Dimidius:

“After going through such a big event, I’m scared to sleep alone.”

That was half true and half false. Olentia had indeed been shocked by the big event, but she wasn’t so scared that she couldn’t sleep alone. She knew how safe the grand duke’s residence was. Moreover, with even the empress who had been constantly targeting Dimidius now captured, it seemed unlikely that any more dangerous events would occur.

Yet she lied in order to act according to her heart’s desire.

At Olentia’s words, Dimidius hesitated for a moment before pointing to the bed.

“Then please sleep in my bed. I’ll sleep on the sofa. You’ll feel less worried with me in the same room.”

As expected, she knew Dimidius would respond like this. He’d say he’d sleep on the sofa but probably wouldn’t get a wink of sleep.

She didn’t want to make Dimidius, who was already tired, so uncomfortable.

Olentia grabbed the hem of Dimidius’s clothes and led him towards the bed.

“Don’t do that, sleep next to me. Just sleeping together.”

She added that they would just sleep together in case he misunderstood. Though she did have feelings for Dimidius, she had no intention of sharing marital intimacy.

Whether he understood Olentia’s words or not, Dimidius pulled back the blanket on the bed and said:

“I sleep without my mask. As before, I don’t want to show my face to the lady.”

Ah, was he still refusing to sleep in the same bed after all?

Olentia looked up at Dimidius with a dejected face. Even if she had to sleep alone in the bed, she didn’t want to leave the room.

Olentia tried to persuade him:

“I like Your Highness’s face. I always want to see it.”

She spoke honestly, but Dimidius let out a deep sigh. He turned off all the lights in the room and slowly removed his mask.

“You’ve already seen my face, lady. I don’t understand why you say you like this ugly face.”

Was he calling it ugly because it resembled James Belial?

In the pitch darkness, Dimidius seemed to find the courage to remove his mask. Olentia swallowed hard and looked at Dimidius’s face without the mask. Dimidius turned his head away as if uncomfortable with her gaze, but Olentia’s eyes sparkled as she looked at him.

Olentia lay down at the edge of the bed and patted the space next to her.

“Come here!”

Dimidius swallowed a sigh and lay down next to Olentia, looking up at the ceiling. Though it was a wide bed, it felt narrow with his large body in it.

Olentia turned to face Dimidius, clutching her pounding chest. It was to see his face that she couldn’t usually see to her heart’s content.

Dimidius’s nose bridge was high and smooth, as if sculpted, and his lips were full, making her want to touch them. But she was disappointed that she couldn’t see his red eyes properly.

Olentia carefully poked his shoulder with her finger.

Then Dimidius, who had been breathing particularly roughly, slowly turned his body towards Olentia. Olentia and Dimidius’s faces met head-on.

By now her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and Dimidius’s red eyes were clearly visible. While people in the Bonus Empire considered red eyes ominous, Olentia did not.

Looking at Dimidius’s trembling eyes, Olentia said:

“Your Highness’s eyes are as majestic as the sun, and as lovely as a rabbit’s eyes.”

Dimidius’s pupils suddenly dilated. He coughed, as if surprised.

“What are you saying? These eyes, majestic and lovely? They’re considered ominous eyes.”

She had thought Dimidius would think so too. That’s why he only tried to hide his face.

But Olentia hoped he would finally forgive his own face. It wasn’t his fault that he was born resembling James Belial.

Olentia carefully placed her hand on Dimidius’s face. She felt his soft skin.

“Your Highness has done nothing wrong. So love yourself. All of you.”

Perhaps the first person one should love before loving anyone else is oneself.

Dimidius was silent for a while, then placed his hand on Olentia’s. Dimidius’s hand was always warm.

It would be so nice if he could understand her feelings. Even if it didn’t quite reach him, Olentia could say the same thing dozens, no, thousands of times.

“Your Highness is beautiful.”

At that moment, Dimidius’s face drew closer to her. As his breath poured over her face, Olentia was so surprised that she squeezed her eyes shut. Her heart was pounding as if it would burst.

But soon Dimidius moved away from Olentia. He looked back at the ceiling and said to her:

“Thank you for speaking so kindly, lady. I won’t forget those words.”

For a moment, she thought he was going to kiss her.

Olentia swallowed hard and pulled the blanket up to her neck. Why did Dimidius start to kiss her and then stop halfway? Unnecessary thoughts began to form in her mind, one after another.

Was it burdensome? Or was his feeling not yet strong enough for a kiss?

Olentia tried to close her eyes and sleep. She couldn’t spend the night wide awake when she was already tired.

Dimidius couldn’t get Olentia’s words out of his head.

‘Your Highness’s eyes are as majestic as the sun, and as lovely as a rabbit’s eyes.’

To her, they seemed like the sun, and sometimes like a rabbit’s. When Dimidius was young, he once thought that roses were as beautiful as his and his mother Lilith’s eyes. But when Olentia said something similar, he felt his heart melting. It felt like the most touching words he had ever heard.

No one had ever told him he was beautiful. They only said he was ominous because he had red eyes.

Could he really love all of himself, as Olentia said?

To love this face that resembled his father James Belial, it seemed the memories of the past would need to be diluted. It might be possible if a long time passed and Olentia stayed by his side. For the first time, such hope arose.

Dimidius looked at Olentia, who had closed her eyes and was breathing evenly. Unlike before, she seemed unable to fall asleep easily. There was still tension left on her face.

Should he be happy about this?

But Dimidius only wished for Olentia to sleep comfortably.