Breath was laboriously exhaled. Lou’s brown hair was a complete mess.

The emerald-colored curse that was torn into pieces disappeared into thin air. The curse tightly wrapped around her left hand disintegrated at a pace just slow enough for her to catch her breath.

“Just rip it off all at once.”

Lou, unable to bear it anymore, spoke with a furrowed brow, but Hayden mumbled still holding his lips to her hand.

“If I did that, you could lose a finger, or maybe even the whole hand. We can’t have that.”

It was a warning that losing a finger in the process of hastily lifting the curse would be trivial.

Only then did Lou remember, in her haze, that Hayden had once said something like this. She was in too much pain to remember even that.

“It’s better to remove each one carefully and safely, even if it takes time.”

He was taking great care, indeed. Wrapping both hands around hers, he pressed his lips to the most painful spots and delicately removed each one.

“It’s your hand we’re talking about, after all.”

What stabilized her confused consciousness was his intense gray eyes. His low voice reverberated in her hand. She wanted to ask him to remove his lips, but every time he did, the pain disappeared like a lie.

“Your Majesty, could you, your mouth…”

Hayden removed his lips and asked,

“Your mouth, what?”

Lou, about to speak, winced at a sharp pain again.

“Ah…!”

Cold sweat trickled down her body. It had been a short but intense pain when he lifted the curse down to her calf, but now that it started from her hand, she wanted to just cut it off.

How much greater pain would accompany the lifting of the curse on her torso or head? She shuddered at the thought.

Hold on. You’ve been through worse, right? You’ve broken bones a few times, and pain is nothing when you’re training.

But enduring the pain of fractures continuously was no small feat. Whenever Lou groaned, Hayden quickly applied his lips to alleviate the pain.

“Look at me. Breathe while looking at me.”

“Is it, um, necessary to keep doing this, uh, with your mouth?”

“Do you have the mind to feel embarrassed in this situation?” Hayden’s laughter faintly touched her hand.

“It hurts.”

“No, I’ll just bear it.”

Hayden completely removed his face from her hand.

“Ah, aah, euh…”

Lou started to shake violently, burying her body into the sofa. Her already pale face turned ashen. Unbearable to watch. Hayden began to press his lips to her fingers again. Lou gasped for air.

“Do you really, ah, have to, ah, do this with your mouth?”

She was barely able to speak, her voice barely audible. Hayden looked troubled.

“I’m busy lifting the curse with both hands, and the only other body part I can move is my mouth.”

“What about your feet!”

“Feet, you say.” Hayden replied with a look that said that was out of the question.

“I don’t use magic with my feet.”

“What do you mean you don’t? I clearly saw you use magic without even moving your fingers!”

“It’s more effective this way.”

“Effective at what!”

“Look at you now. You have the strength to scream and make a fuss. Isn’t that much better than before?”

His gray eyes curved just above her hand. Lou found his too-close face, which seemed to relish her screams, terribly smooth. Everything about this was strange and irritating. Even amidst the pain, it was.

“……You’re taking advantage like this.”

Hayden looked at Lou’s flushed face. Just looking at it made him smile like a madman. Feeling that showing a smiling face was better than a stern one, he smiled again.

“I can’t deny that I’m taking advantage, but would you consider it more desperate than that?”

“What’s so, ah, desperate, ah……!”

Thud, thud, horrible noises continued to ring out. She knew it was the sound of the curse breaking, but Hayden also frequently flinched, worrying that maybe Lou’s fingers were actually breaking.

“If you were moderately greedy, it would have been easier for me, but you’re not, which makes it hard for me.”
It’s better to keep talking. Even a little distraction helps alleviate the pain.

“You think too much. Now I find myself lost in thought as well.”

His hand was not soft and delicate, like those of high-born nobles or royalty. Calloused from holding swords and pens, burned multiple times from living alone in a cabin. Yet Hayden kissed that hand as if worshiping it.

“Should I have acted weaker when we reached Momentum? Or should I have let myself get hurt more? Or should I have just shown my true self from the start, no matter if you were on guard or not?”

Caught off guard by his unexpected words, Lu momentarily forgot her pain and looked at him. He appeared to be pondering as he observed her.

“I never thought this would be easy, but this is harder than hard.”

Muttering, Hayden pulled her left hand to his cheek. He was still holding her wrist tightly with his other hand to prevent any magic from flowing through.

“Well, that’s what makes it even better.”

“This is improper, Your Majesty.”

Lu tried to free her aching left hand, but she couldn’t move as Hayden had a firm grip on her.