Raoul strode across the hallway with angry strides.

With large strides, he arrived at Diana’s bedroom like the wind.

Behind him, a blood-red sunset was swallowing the earth as it passed over the western mountains. Raoul’s heart was also boiling like that.

‘Wanting to confess at a time like this, am I really a fool.’

He wanted to vomit out his heart that had been beating rapidly like a seizure since earlier.

Various emotions were swirling inside it.

Love that had grown too big to handle, self-reproach for making Diana sad, self-loathing about his status as a slave, and anxiety that he might lose Diana were all tangled up, making his head hot.

Knock. Knock.

The door opened before the knocking sound rang three times.

Raoul hugged Diana, who was wearing a thin negligee, as she was.

The door closed and silence came. Only Diana was in the bedroom dyed red.

Raoul preciously hugged Diana, who had become smaller, without even thinking that he had grown up.

“Did something happen?”

A feather-light and high-pitched voice rang near his heart.

When he loosely released his hand raised behind her back, the face buried in his arms was revealed.

Soft down stood on surprised skin, and innocent eyes trembled with worry.

Lovely.

Raoul wanted to kiss that innocent face right away.

“Raoul…?”

When Diana blinked her eyes slightly, her umbrella-like long eyelashes danced as if greeting.

Raoul looked at her as if enchanted and pulled her small head back into his arms.

“Diana.”

“Yes.”

“Diana…”

“Yes. Why do you keep calling me? I’m really worried, can’t you tell me now? What did father say?”

The pretty hand trapped in his arms went over Raoul’s waist.

The gently patting hand was filled with affection and concern welling up from the depths of the heart.

“I’m leaving for Bihern Gorge in a week. If I go now, I don’t know when I’ll be back.”

The delicate body stiffened rigidly.

‘What did I just hear?’

She released her arms and looked up at Raoul.

“Are you serious…? Bihern Gorge?”

“…Yes. I just heard it too.”

“It can’t be…”

It felt like someone had hit her head with a hammer.

‘The High Priest has already received an oracle, it’s earlier than the original.’

The hand gripping Raoul’s arm lost strength on its own.

“You can’t leave so suddenly like this…”

The brown eyes began to get damp like rain-soaked ground.

Raoul, who finished explaining the situation, caressed her flushed eyes and met her gaze.

“It’s sudden for me too. But if the prophecy received by the High Priest is true, I’ll go even if no one tells me to. If the capital collapses, even nearby Arnel can’t guarantee safety.”

A gentle gaze fell on Diana’s dejected head.

Raoul gently grabbed her soft cheeks and lifted them up in front of him.

“I won’t make you wait long.”

“Okay…”

“I’ll come back so fast that you’ll wonder when I even left.”

“Alright…”

“I’ll keep sending letters too.”

Diana was newly worried about Raoul, who had lost his ferocity.

In the past, he was close to being a cold-blooded person who wouldn’t shed a single drop of blood even if stabbed, but now it was different.

He was docile like a beast that had lost its wildness after being tamed by human hands.

Impatience was evident in the hand tugging at the tunic top.

“You don’t have to send me letters, just promise me you’ll come back safely.”

“I swear on the honor of my clan.”

Diana stroked Raoul’s cheek and met his eyes. It was a funny sight with both of them grabbing each other’s cheeks.

“You can’t act like such a good boy there.”

“…Good boy?”

“Yes. Don’t let your heart grow weak and always put your safety as the first priority. Include that in your oath too.”

Raoul was lost in thought for a moment and raised his eyebrows slightly. Anxiety was lingering in his dark eyes.

‘Diana seems to think of me as an extremely good person. She might faint from surprise if she knew I only act nice in front of her.’

Sometimes it was good to pretend to be a weak animal. He didn’t care as long as he seemed lovable.

He soon smiled while pressing her soft cheeks as if kneading them.

“I’ll only think of us, so don’t worry.”

Raoul, who had been staring at Diana for a long time, tilted his head.

Soft nose tips brushed against each other as if greeting. Raoul whispered while looking at her eyes that were wide open like a rabbit.

Before Diana could question the word ‘us’, Raoul lifted her body up first.

“I want to spend time alone with you, even if it’s just before I leave. Stay with me until I depart.”

“For the whole week…?”

Diana thought of her monastery service, classes, and portrait work with Paisar. However, she soon firmly nodded her head.

‘There aren’t many days left to spend with Raoul anyway. He’ll leave as soon as he returns… I’ll enjoy it a little too.’

“Alright… I understand. I’ll stay by your side and help you pack the luggage you need to take.”

Raoul satisfyingly hugged Diana in his arms again. His hot and firm embrace was as cozy as a blanket.

Diana, with her feet floating in the air while hugging his neck, smelled his scent for a long time.

The arms she was held in after a long time felt supremely comfortable.

From that day on, the two spent time stuck together without being apart for even an hour.

The full week Raoul mentioned meant all the time except when she was sleeping.

The two wrote the list of necessary items together, ate meals together, and visited the forest together to thank the nymphs.

On the way out of the forest, the two held hands.

“I wish time would go a little slower.”

“I’m sorry.”

Raoul held Diana’s hand properly and murmured softly.

“…You’re doing it again. You know you’ve been apologizing all day today?”

“Did I?”

“Every time I’m in a good mood, you do that.”

“I regret only working until now.”

While the two were occasionally meeting eyes and having an affectionate conversation, a stream of water flowed down Diana’s cheek.

‘Huh?’

Looking up at the sky, heavy pitch-black clouds were swelling heavily.

“…We’ll have to run.”

As soon as she finished saying that, a tremendous downpour began to pour. In the end, the two temporarily hid their bodies under a large elm tree.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. No problem.”

Diana shivered while wringing out the water from her wet hair.

‘When will it stop?’

Numerous circular ripples appeared and disappeared on the puddle of water on the muddy ground.

While peeling off the hair stuck to her cheek and choosing what to say, Raoul, who had been quietly looking ahead, spoke up.

“…Shall I hug you?”

For a moment, Diana wondered if it was an auditory hallucination.

‘Hug me? Me?’

She glanced to the side, but Raoul was silently looking only ahead without any change in expression.

‘Did I hear wrong?’

“You probably don’t want to because it’s damp.”

Well-shaped lips muttered.

‘It’s not an auditory hallucination.’

It was a little embarrassing.

‘It’s the first time he’s asking before hugging, what should I say in response?’

Honestly, right now, she wanted to stick close to Raoul’s arms, which were like a living heater.

‘But no matter how close we are… Raoul is no longer a young child.’

Diana harassed only the innocent dress with a watercolor-like flushed face.

‘I hugged him yesterday too, am I the only one conscious of it?’

There was a brief silence.

“Okay…”

In the end, Diana succumbed to the cold and shivering.

It was a small voice that could be buried in the rain, but Raoul quickly noticed it because he had good ears.

Diana’s body was sucked straight into his deep embrace.

A pleasant heartbeat could be felt from the arms she leaned on. It felt like the tremors transmitted through her cheeks were going back and forth between her brain and heart through her carotid artery.

Raoul lowered his head and rested his chin on top of Diana’s head.

‘It’s warm… And my heart hurts…’

Diana closed her eyes tightly and took small, warm breaths.

She hoped Raoul didn’t know about this trembling heart. It had to be just her own delusion.

“The rain… When will it stop…?”

“I hope it doesn’t stop.”

Firm arms wrapped around her body as if trapping her.

Ah, this was dangerous. Her brain was melting and thinking was impossible. It felt like someone had poured hot milk into her brain.

‘It’s strange…’

Diana stopped thinking like that. She just tried not to be dominated by this subtle sensation.

‘Please don’t make me like you any more than this…’

That suffocating time passed like that. Raoul laughed hollowly while looking down at the expressionless white face.

“Am I the only one trembling right now?”

The body that had been shaking with tension was now stretched out like a corpse.

Raoul, who looked up at the clear sky, held Diana properly. The face lying down and looking at the sky was flushed as if ripe from the heat.

The sight of her falling asleep defenseless anywhere overlapped with her childhood.

“…Please don’t change from how you are now.”

Diana, who had fallen into a light sleep, did not hear what Raoul was saying.

She was just breathing evenly like a child lying in an extremely cozy cradle.