After thinking for a moment, Diana quickly came to a conclusion.

‘I should just stop.’

Raoul looked too anxious right now. The area around his eyes was reddish and his breathing was rough.

‘He’s not excited, he’s flustered.’

Raoul was restless because the wound he had inflicted was much bigger than he thought.

It wasn’t the right timing to reveal the fact that he was possessed and tell the story of his father being the mastermind.

‘Above all, if I reveal it now, he’ll be determined to take me across the sea… That would be troublesome.’

Raoul couldn’t trust the rebels or the emperor. But he didn’t trust his father either.

If he felt there was no chance of winning on either side, he might quickly wash his hands of it and make an extreme choice.

Like before, when he charged straight out of the castle walls with curses hanging all over his body. This time, he might turn his back on the world…

Put nicely, he was loyal and steadfast, but put badly, he was stubborn.

He only knew one path, and the person standing at the end of that path was probably Diana. Probably…

Diana decided to accept Raoul for now, leaving the last bit of doubt as her final stronghold.

With the hand that had been fiddling with her earlobe, Diana slapped Raoul’s cheek.

“It’s okay now, so calm down.”

“I don’t understand. How can I hate you.”

“…I know it’s not now. I guess I was momentarily uneasy because you were acting capricious.”

“I’m sorry… I won’t think and act on my own again…”

“Yeah…”

“So don’t tell me to break up. Please.”

Raoul wanted to fix the cause of the fight they couldn’t finish in the morning.

He threw all the tantrums he hadn’t thrown before to somehow prevent her from saying she was leaving. Diana’s heart softened at the moist eyes and she nodded.

“Okay. But if you feel like leaving me, tell me without hesitation…?”

“Why do you keep saying that? I’m not leaving… I’m not going anywhere.”

Raoul made a promise he couldn’t keep and finally showed tears.

“Crying again?”

“I’m anxious because you’re anxious…”

Diana pulled the large body into a hug while being showered with tears again.

And after a brief moment of hesitation, she prescribed a special treatment that would stop the tears.

“I got it, so don’t cry… If Raoul wants, we can do it like earlier… Will that make you less sad?”

As soon as she finished speaking, the wet eyelashes vibrated. Raoul detached his tightly pressed body and looked down at Diana with a surprised face.

“If you don’t want to, I don’t want to either.”

“…You really don’t want to?”

“…I can endure it.”

Diana whispered softly while rolling her candy-like eyeballs.

“What if there’s no need to endure…?”

“…Are you saying it’s okay if I don’t act like a gentleman?”

His eyes were burning blue and his lips were too red. Diana swallowed once and slowly nodded.

“Wouldn’t it be okay? Raoul isn’t a gentleman, but a wolf…”

Come to think of it, it really seemed okay. It wasn’t just to appease Raoul.

Diana also wanted Raoul to actively subdue her anxious heart.

Their eyes met and Raoul slowly blinked as if asking for permission.

“…You have to tell me if you dislike it even a little.”

“Yeah…”

“I’ll be gentle… So it doesn’t hurt…”

“I know… Now stop talking. It’s embarrassing, oh…”

Diana momentarily grabbed Raoul’s shoulders tightly at the sensation of electricity running up and down.

Soft lips touched the bite mark left in the morning.

Feather-light butterfly kisses continued endlessly like falling cherry blossoms.

When her head turned the other way and his lips moved to the other side of her neck, Diana’s mind became hazy.

Raoul moved her hair behind her ear and placed his lips near there.

Even the cotton-light kisses made her heart flutter wildly.

Diana closed her eyes, feeling the gentle warmth. She could feel Raoul gripping the bedsheet, trying not to let go of the reins of reason.

Even in the midst of her mind wandering from the unfamiliar body heat, Diana was concerned about damaging the guest bed.

‘Raoul can do it…’

Diana slowly caressed the back of his hand with bulging veins while exhaling a slightly hot breath.

“Hold… my hand.”

Raoul slowly intertwined his fingers with Diana’s spread hands above her head while kissing her soft jawline.

When Diana curled her fingers as if urging him, the contact temperature got a little hotter.

Raoul took a deep breath and Diana was completely overwhelmed by the stimulation she was experiencing for the first time in her life.

The lips that touched were rough and soft.

Soon, the chapped lips rubbed slowly against each other, and the souls that escaped with their breaths deeply pulled each other in.

Diana closed her eyes tightly, turning her head to follow Raoul’s movements.

It felt like her brain was melting…

Every place they touched was hot. It felt like rolling a boiling fireball on her tongue.

I thought it would be nice just to hug him, but there’s something even better…

When Diana wrapped her arms around his neck, his closed eyelids opened and hazy eyes slowly revealed themselves.

“I love you…”

The words that followed were inaudible.

The heat of first love conquered the two.

Thump, thump.

The deep resonance that started from the heart caused a tidal wave in the blue eyes.

Ah, this must be why people fall in love…

That night, Diana floundered in the ocean named Raoul.

Thump, thump.

Thump, thump.

The pleasant trembling, incomparable to before, continued all night.

Raoul couldn’t easily leave even after Diana fell asleep.

Diana, who had been breathing beautifully until just now, felt like a dream, so he felt like he had to hold her hand tightly.

He laid on the bed and kissed Diana’s hair. No matter what, the deep anxiety in his heart wouldn’t go away.

Diana, who had doubted that she would get tired of him or be disappointed and leave his side, wouldn’t leave his mind.

The drooping shoulders, defeated, the eyes that had somehow lost their color as if she had given up…

It looked like a wound that had festered and burst open over a long time.

Raoul’s heart ached, feeling that his plan to join the rebels had left a huge scar on Diana’s heart.

He had only wanted to become a man worthy of Diana, who gave to him unsparingly… but the world didn’t easily allow even that.

All Raoul could offer Diana right now were promises with no guarantees.

Pathetic…

In a few days, he would have to leave the castle and carry out operations again according to orders, and he had to find out the location of the holy relic with Ayla, even though he knew Diana would be anxious.

In that process, the anxiety and sadness Diana would feel were vividly imagined, and his feet wouldn’t move at all.

All of this was for “us,” but if Diana became exhausted and battered in the process, everything would be meaningless.

Raoul looked at the snow falling white behind the tightly drawn chiffon curtains and thought.

If only the snow would pile up higher and trap Diana in the Homern Duchy… So that he could have even just a few days to make up for it.

Diana yawned, unable to hide her fatigue.

Yawn.

Perhaps because she was drowsy with sleep, her mouth opened wide without knowing it was embarrassing.

As soon as her lips closed, Raoul naturally stamped a kiss on her lips, as if it were an extension of last night’s long lovemaking.

Diana also responded casually with a “smooch,” then suddenly came to her senses and covered her flushed face.

“I haven’t even washed up…”

“So what.”

“Are you leaving now?”

“I can come back tonight. If you’ll be here for me.”

Diana rubbed her eyelids and nodded.

“I see. Then today will be the last day… I think I’ll leave for the estate in the afternoon. I can’t put it off any longer.”

As soon as she opened her eyes, Diana worried about Lu first.

No matter how much of a Lycan with strong wild instincts, Lu was a baby estimated to be at most six years old. He needed adult care when sleeping and eating.

Diana immediately frowned, forgetting that Raoul was in front of her.

Once she started thinking, the image of Lu starving and clutching his stomach naturally came to mind.

‘Is he eating well? What if he cries loudly or starts a fire because I’m not there…?’

Of course, Lu was a good child who kept his promises well. However, not keeping that promise didn’t make him a bad child.

Rather, it was largely Diana’s fault for neglecting the child for a long time.

Diana was about to send Raoul away and pack her bags.

Raoul pulled Diana, who had put her knees out of the bed, into a hug and made a regretful sound.

“You can stay a few more days.”

“No. I have to go and see soon. We can see each other next time. I don’t know when that will be…”

Raoul muttered anxiously, not letting go of Diana who looked busy.

“Why are you in such a hurry? Is there someone you miss at the castle?”

The face buried in his chest looked up startled. There was a bit of displeasure in the eyes looking down.

Come to think of it, Raoul doesn’t know that Pysar left. The engaged knight rode off not long ago…

Diana pondered for a moment and opened her mouth.

“…Well, actually… There is one person I miss.”

Diana chuckled and nodded.

It was meant to tease him, but Raoul’s shocked expression wasn’t exactly pleasant.

Diana, who patted his back as if comforting him, thought of the lovely Lu and continued in a bright voice.

“…Don’t be surprised? Actually, there’s a baby at the castle. A very cute child.”

Raoul moved his eyebrows and tilted his head.

A baby?