This time, she nodded vigorously.

“Ah, it must be suffocating. Let’s start with getting your body comfortable. If you do it again, just don’t be too upset.”

Rue shook her head again. What did it mean this time? Hayden, looking at her pale but bright face, spoke earnestly.

“Are you not upset?”

Again nodding her head, she smiled brightly. Hayden, slightly narrowing his eyes, smiled too.

“What does this mean again?”
Sure, this is what it means. Rue extended her hand, tightly cursed, towards him.

At the fingertips where the curse lingered, tiny cracks were forming. It wasn’t just in one place; cracks simultaneously started from the tips of all five fingers. Hayden quickly wrapped his hands around them as if they were trying to run down.

“You really don’t listen. Stop.”

Although the content was reproachful, his voice was very gentle. He pulled her hand towards him and kissed it.

It doesn’t hurt at all, so it’s okay, right? Rue drew ‘It doesn’t hurt’ with her lips, but Hayden persistently kissed each cracked fingertip.

“I understand what it means. But does someone who woke up after six days do this?”

There was a sound of lips touching at the fingertips, gently sucking. Touching, touching, almost biting as the teeth stood erect. Rue calmly turned her gaze away and tried to pull her hand away, but she couldn’t overcome Hayden’s strength.

“I don’t care at all about my thoughts.”

With a mix of playfulness and resentment, he looked at Rue, kissing her lips at each joint of her fingers.

Every time they touched, Rue’s shoulders twitched, but she didn’t push him away. Finally, Hayden, who reached the palm of her hand, mumbled with lips stained.

“Don’t think about helping until you can live a normal life. And don’t talk for a while. Just sit quietly and rest. Got it?”

Even while speaking, countless kisses poured out. She couldn’t meet his gaze, but Rue nodded her head.

“It’s a promise.”

Got it! Rue nodded her head again. Hayden, who smiled briefly, finally took his lips off her and hugged her.

“Thank you.”

The severe pain swelled up and subsided.

“Now I’m barely coming to my senses.”

It was a dry comment that he didn’t need to ask if he was worried enough. Rue raised her hand and placed it on his back. Even with that small gesture, Hayden felt relieved. She laid her face on his broad shoulders.

“Don’t let this happen again. Once is enough.”

I can’t do it anymore. His voice and Rue’s shoulders soaked in.

Hayden didn’t say much more. He just hugged Rue tightly, forgetting the fear he felt for the past six days.

She’s alive. Nothing major went wrong, and she didn’t fall into eternal sleep. She returned to his side. He knew it would be like this, but a vague sense of anxiety had gripped him all along.

Rue noticed that the large hand embracing her was trembling slightly.

It was the first time she had seen a man who hardly showed any signs of hesitation so anxious. Seeing his face mentally tormented, even though he had never been physically exhausted, made her heart ache. ‘He worried a lot.’ Even just looking at his emotionally distressed face, Rue could feel what kind of pain he had gone through in the past six days.

‘He couldn’t sleep properly because of me.’
People are cunning. Even though I now think I have the right to be by her side, after repeatedly pushing her away, I wonder if it’s okay to do this now.

However, in front of Hayden, who was yearning for her like this, I couldn’t hesitate. At least, I wanted to tell him that he wasn’t alone, gazing at her from a distance. I wanted to convey my feelings.

She turned her head and raised her face a little.

Then, their lips met where they could reach.

Hayden, whose lips froze on her chin, stiffened as he looked at Rue. The slightly enlarged gray eyes were completely fixed on her, and his large hand quickly enveloped the back of her neck. He never missed the opportunity she gave him.

“Am I… okay?”

After asking briefly, as soon as Rue started to smile slightly, he urgently, but gently, kissed her.

Carefully accepting the lips that moved cautiously as if afraid of making more mistakes, she closed her eyes. In the moment of thinking that Hayden, who was desperately seeking permission, was cute, her body suddenly leaned back slowly, and in an instant, the bed touched her back.

“Huh…?”

Firm and huge, but Hayden, who didn’t put any weight on her, tilted his body. He skillfully grabbed her waist, pulled her completely, and then focused on the kiss.

It was a completely different gentle and sweet kiss from the rough and intense kiss they had shared on that day, mixed with confusion, heat, and strong liquor. Carefully and tenderly, as if sinking deep into the embrace, he kissed her cautiously, as if gently embracing the most delicate being.

“Rue.”

No, Hayden, despite his efforts, finally poured kisses all over her face and nose in a daze. Rue continued to laugh amid that. Cute.

“Rue, I love you.”

Suppressing, but finally spilling out, Rue opened her mouth to respond, but Hayden prevented her from answering again by kissing her once more.

“Later. Once your throat is better, you can listen later. I love you.”

His large hands wrapped around her cheeks and gently stroked them.

“I’ve waited and lived all this time just to see you again. So please, don’t get hurt or feel pain.”

His extremely masculine and stubbornly low voice pleaded gently to her alone.

Rue raised her hand to wipe Hayden’s tired eyes. He even grabbed that hand, kissed her lips again continuously.

“Take a break for a while. By my side.”

Warm hands closed Rue’s eyes. It means grow up. The one holding Rue just offered gentle and uneasy protection.

‘Grow up already? Already?’

That won’t do. When Hayden lowered the hand covering Rue’s eyes, she smiled wryly.

“I knew you’d do that. Rue never listens to me.”

‘You’ll be fine later.’

She said slowly with her lips shaped like that, and she laughed happily.

“Do I purposely do this knowing that I’m weak to you?”
The astonishing Hayden asked the smiling her.

“Yeah… intentionally doing this, right? Don’t you have a better idea?”

Rue shook her head. Not at all!

“I need to rest.”

She shook her head again.

“Alright. What should we do? I can’t help.”

Hayden cut in before she could answer. What to do. I need to find out what happened during the past week. Rue opened her hands and reached out.

‘A newspaper!’

Hayden, with a very awkward expression, slightly avoided eye contact. Avoiding eye contact? This is a bit strange.

“Well… I’ll read it to you.”

Read it to me? Why? Rue narrowed her eyes. Hayden chose an article from the newspaper brought by the nurse. This one is not good either, and that one is a bit awkward. Watching him hesitate for a moment, Rue immediately snatched the newspaper from him.

“Rue. Reading newspapers is still…”

When her firm hand rose to stop him, Hayden gave up even trying to stop her. He wasn’t someone who could win against her from the start. Besides, she looks pretty and needs to be listened to well. Hayden looked at Rue, who was reading the dense newspaper with wide eyes, with a complex expression.

How can someone who was unconscious for a week be so beautiful? She was so beautiful and kind that it was obvious she would be horrified by what he had done.

“Execution…? They all got killed?”

“Rue, you shouldn’t talk.”

This is why I didn’t want to show it. The newspaper had news prominently featured about those involved in the recent assassination attempt on the emperor being executed one after another.

Hayden tried to take the newspaper away from her, pretending to be indifferent. However, Rue gently patted his thick arm with eyes full of concern. It meant she understood that it was tough.

Hayden immediately hugged her with a pitiful expression.