Frost leaned against the railing of the second-floor library terrace, fixing his gaze on what had recently become his favorite sight.

Yuriella, stepping out of the carriage, looked up at him, waving and smiling brightly. The faint shadow at the end of her smile weighed heavily on Frost’s heart.

His wife, always doing pretty things, had sent Airy ahead to inform him of what had happened at Lady Davano’s tea party, lest he worry.

Unable to wait until Yuriella arrived, Frost climbed onto the terrace railing and leapt straight down.

“Your Highness!”

Startled, Yuriella ran towards him, clutching her dress.

Behind her, the burning sunset met the clouds, looking as if a giant firebird was flapping its wings. The red sunset also settled on Yuriella’s long, flowing strawberry blonde hair.

For a moment, as Yuriella’s hair looked like burning red locks, Solas’s image overlapped, causing Frost to close his eyes tightly and shake his head.

What a strange thing to imagine…….

“Are you alright? Did you twist anything?”

Worried eyes quickly scanned Frost’s ankles and knees before meeting his gaze. This too had become one of his favorite sights.

A satisfied smile played on Frost’s lips.

“Hmm. It’s throbbing. And a bit numb too.”

Though he was fine, he pretended to be hurt.

“Your Highness! Even a naughty seven-year-old wouldn’t be as disobedient as you! How many times have I told you not to jump from the terrace when there are perfectly good stairs−.”

Her face, looking up with hands on her hips and furrowed brows, was so pretty that Frost couldn’t resist cupping Yuriella’s cheeks with both hands and pressing his forehead against hers. This wasn’t crossing the line, after all.

“Your Highness……!”

Yuriella’s cheeks flared red. Soon, her neck to the shoulders exposed above her dress turned red as she looked around with large eyes. This too had become one of his recently beloved scenes.

A laugh escaped Frost’s lips, tickling his throat.

Suddenly, Duke Yobel’s boisterous voice flashed through his mind.

[Haha. It seems the newlywed bliss is overflowing. Your laughter has become quite loose, Your Highness.]

The master of the South, Duke Yobel, who was still enjoying a passionate married life even past fifty, had shared various tips and placed a special gift in his arms before leaving.

[‘A Rapturous Night.’ It’s a very precious rice wine made with our family’s age-old secret recipe. Just look at this beautiful color.]

He said that in the warm and bountiful South, cloudy rice wines based on fruits were widely loved.

[The color is truly, beautiful.]

The rice wine of House Yobel’s secret recipe had a lovely, subtle pink hue. ‘A Rapturous Night,’ reminiscent of Yuriella’s hair color, caught Frost’s attention.

[Its beauty isn’t just in the color. This rice wine is sweet and smooth, so even women weak to alcohol can drink it easily without realizing they’re getting drunk. When intoxicated by ‘A Rapturous Night,’ a time of dizzying love arrives that can melt even the most stone-hearted. Hahaha.]

Thanks to ‘A Rapturous Night,’ he had his handsome son Daviao. And it helped bring four beautiful princesses into the world after him, making it a top contributor, he said.

‘Daughters.’

Frost’s eyes, deeply shadowed from being buried in paperwork, curved gently.

As if searching for wine in a vineyard, Frost imagined daughters who looked just like Yuriella toddling around the house, then startled himself.

The house was too dangerous for children to play in.

While waiting for Yuriella, Frost called Leo and ordered him to thoroughly renovate not only the estate in the capital but also the Northern Grand Duke’s residence to make them safe for his daughters to play in.

At the Grand Duke’s strict order to immediately find construction workers, Leo rolled his eyes askance.

[Your Highness. Before worrying about the safety of the Grand Duchesses, perhaps you should first gift ‘A Rapturous Night’ to Her Grace. At the current rate, it seems you’re worrying far too early.] [Hmph. It’s already late even if we start construction now. Stop chattering and get the estimates.]

Leo left to meet the construction workers with a face that said ‘I have much to say, but I’ll let it slide because I pity you.’

“Does it hurt a lot?”

Yuriella’s worried voice broke Frost’s reverie.

“Hm?”

“You were frowning so much.”

He must have been furrowing his brow quite a bit while worrying about all the dangerous structures in the mansion for his daughters who would resemble his wife.

“It’s just, your angry face is so pretty.”

Frost kissed the back of Yuriella’s hand and curved his eyes prettily, smiling as beautifully as he could.

Under fluttering silver eyelashes, blue eyes with a clear intent to seduce deeply pierced her gaze.

Yuriella’s cheeks flushed red again.

When would he be able to naturally gift ‘A Rapturous Night’ to his wife? Could those reddened cheeks be a sign of permission?

As Frost took his wife’s hand and led her to the stairs with careful anticipation, a silver-gray chickadee fluttered down and perched on his shoulder.

Frost frowned. A message from the mage planted in the Imperial Palace, so it couldn’t be good news.

As he held out his hand, the chickadee flew onto Frost’s palm and rubbed its small beak.

Following the movement of its beak, a silvery light formed small letters in the air. It was a cipher resembling ancient hieroglyphs.

When Frost released the chickadee into the air, the letters dissipated with a puff.

“What’s the matter?”

Seeing Frost’s unusual expression, Yuriella asked with a worried look.

“The Emperor’s hawk has gone to the North.”

“The Emperor’s shadow, to the North……?”

A strange light flickered in Frost’s eyes.

His wife seemed to know that the Emperor’s shadows were nicknamed hawks, but appeared unaware that only a select few knew this fact.

Frost hid his surprise and answered calmly.

“Yes. And not just any hawk, but the first hawk, it says.”

“The first hawk……?”

Watching Yuriella’s visibly darkening expression, Frost grew curious again.

Could she possibly know that the Emperor’s first hawk was his most trusted shadow? That couldn’t be.

Even the mage leaking high-level information from the Imperial Palace hadn’t yet uncovered anything about the Emperor’s first shadow.

Unaware of Frost’s gaze, Yuriella chewed her lip anxiously.

The fact that the Emperor had sent his first hawk, Sereno, meant the matter was of utmost importance and absolutely no mistakes could be tolerated.

The Emperor’s hawks, true to their nickname, were not simple guards but an assassin group employed by the Emperor.

Once marked as the Emperor’s target, no matter how deeply one hid, they would be inevitably discovered by their keen eyes. And when their sharp talons dug in, there was no escape from becoming prey that lost its life.

Sereno was the most skilled among them. Even Solas had found him chilling…….

“What could the Emperor be after?”

Yuriella’s mind went blank at the news of the Emperor’s first hawk taking flight, when she had been preoccupied with discussing the sleeping sickness on her way back from Lady Davano’s tea party.

“It must be because of the sleeping sickness.”

“Pardon?”

“I, the primary target, am here in the capital, yet they’ve sent their most skilled hawk to the North. This means the opponent they need to kill or subdue must be extremely powerful.”

Not long after the chickadee had left, a blue-headed finch flew in and delivered an urgent message in the same manner on the Grand Duke’s palm.

Frost let out a soft sigh.

“It seems the Imperial Palace mages have followed the hawk as well. Perhaps their target is−.”

“The black mage Casandra Cabeza……!”

Yuriella exclaimed with a gasp, turning to look at Casandra who had been following them.

“With the public uneasy due to the sleeping sickness, they’ll need a scapegoat. And there’s no better scapegoat than the Empire’s greatest black mage.”

Frost ordered Casandra.

“Casandra Cabeza. Go to your den immediately. With the Emperor, his shadow, and even the Imperial Palace mages mobilized, they’ll quickly realize the pig trapped there isn’t you.”

Casandra bowed her head and accepted the order.

“Yes, Your Highness. I shall depart at once.”

“Wait. Just a moment.”

Yuriella grabbed the Grand Duke’s arm in surprise, shaking it as if to stop him.

“You said even the Imperial Palace mages have gone. No matter how strong Casandra is, she could get hurt.”

“I’m not telling her to fight. I’m telling her to let herself be captured. Casandra. Do you understand my meaning?”

Casandra nodded.

“You want me to resist enough to avoid suspicion, then allow myself to be captured easily, correct?”

“Yes. They’ll be suspicious if the Empire’s greatest black mage is caught too easily.”

“But……. Casandra could die. The Emperor’s hawks are cruel. No one who’s been dragged to the Imperial Palace has ever seen the light of day again.”

Seeing Yuriella’s reddening eyes, Casandra clenched her fist, overcome with emotion.

“I, Casandra! I will show my loyalty to Her Grace through death!”

“Casandra…….”

Yuriella let go of Frost as if pushing him away and approached Casandra, grasping both her arms tightly.

“I didn’t save you so you could die. I need your skills while you’re alive.”

“Her Grace…….”

Frost looked down at his now empty arm and glared at the black mage sulkily.

“Even if you want to die, you can’t, black mage. The Emperor will need your living testimony to corner me.”

Frost approached Yuriella and pried her hands off the black mage one by one, placing them back on his empty arm before finally smoothing the wrinkles between his brows.

“Does it have to be Casandra who gets captured?”

“The Emperor is likely aiming to kill two birds with one stone. Frame the black mage to quell the public unrest caused by the sleeping sickness, and extract a confession implicating me as the mastermind to strike at me as well.”

“Then shouldn’t we help Casandra escape? Without Casandra, they can’t write a false confession either.”

Frost couldn’t take his eyes off his wife’s clear, transparent red eyes full of worry, and gently stroked her hair to reassure her.

“We need more information on what they’re plotting. We must find out the motive behind the sleeping sickness. To wake the patients and wipe away their families’ tears, we need to dig deeper and gather evidence.”

Yuriella slowly nodded and turned to look at Casandra worriedly.

“Don’t worry, Your Grace. I will return safely and remain by your side.”

Before sending Casandra to the North, Frost called the Archmage and asked him to place magical safeguards on the black mage as a precaution.

Concerned for Yuriella, who must be trying hard to calm her anxious heart, Frost hurriedly finished his work and hastened his steps to the sleeping chambers.

But Yuriella wasn’t in the room.

She had said she would retire early tonight since there was an Imperial ball tomorrow.

Frost expanded his senses widely, concentrating on where Yuriella might be now.

He felt her presence on the rooftop of the annex.

Thinking of his wife sitting alone on the rooftop on a dark night with neither stars nor moon, Frost’s heart raced as he rushed to the annex.

As Frost hurriedly climbed the stairs, he heard Yuriella’s singing voice.

“When night falls in the little forest, our baby goes to sleep. Without having scary dreams, my love falls asleep. Sleep well, my baby. Sleep well, my love~.”

Frost stopped in his tracks.

It was the lullaby he had sung to Yuriella.

Frost slowly, carefully climbed to the rooftop so as not to startle his wife.

Unaware of Frost approaching, Yuriella sang softly.

“I will guard your night. That garden surrounded by beautiful edelweiss. I will find you there~.”

Frost quietly sat down beside her.

Yuriella turned and smiled faintly.

“Oh. It’s the Grand Duke!”

For some reason, Yuriella kept laughing.

“Grand Duke, you’re mean. Drinking such delicious wine all by yourself.”

Frost, who had been staring blankly at Yuriella, fixed his gaze on the wine bottle in her hand. That’s……!

“Grand Duke, you’re mean. Really mean.”

The pink ‘A Rapturous Night’ was sloshing only at the bottom of the bottle.

She must have been quite depressed after sending Casandra to the North. But that wine…….

“Yuriella. Did you drink all of that strong wine by yourself?”

“Grand Duke, you’re mean. Hiding delicious wine and drinking it alone.”

Repeating what she had said before seemed to be his wife’s drinking habit. He must never let her drink in front of other men. How could even his wife’s drinking habits be so lovely and adorable?

“Grand Duke, you’re mean. Really mean.”

“Yes. I was mean. I’m sorry. Now let’s get up. You need to sleep well for tomorrow’s Imperial ball−.”

Frost froze, unable to continue speaking.

Yuriella’s pale, slender fingers reached out and gently cupped his cheek.

Her unfocused red eyes drew closer and closer.

On a dark night with neither stars nor moon.

The lips of his wife, intoxicated by a rapturous night, softly landed on Frost’s dry lips, which had frozen stiff.