Diana had nothing to do. Raoul moved his body on his own.

Soon, the ceiling view was hidden. He loosened his grip on her ankle and leaned in.

‘Huk…!’

The handsome face drew closer and closer for an extraordinary connection.

Diana screamed internally as she watched the stimulating scene.

‘I did intend to enjoy this, but I didn’t think it would go this far…?’

Her imagination was much more plain. At most, she thought there would be frequent embraces. Of course, even that felt different from usual.

‘Right now… just making eye contact is suffocating.’

She was certain that if she was held in his hot embrace and heard his heartbeat, she would be electrocuted on the spot.

But Raoul seemed to be different.

The moment his warm breath touched the carbon dioxide sharing area, her mind flickered white.

‘Ugh… when should I close my eyes? Should I hug his neck now? Should I turn my head? No… should I even be doing this in the first place?’

There was no more time to think.

It was the moment when she tightly closed her eyes, which were bulging red to the point of bursting blood vessels, and puckered her lips like an octopus.

‘Huh…?’

She felt a hot breath on the nape of her neck.

‘What… is this…?’

“I want to be the most special person to you.”

Beautiful hair strands stuck to her chin.

“…”

“I hope you only share this precious feeling with me…”

Raoul, who was rubbing against her like a puppy, raised his eyes, cloudy with heat, at a slant…

“…”

“…”

Soon, Diana’s neck flushed red. Her lips, which had not yet let go of anticipation, were still protruding like a beak.

It was an overwhelming shame for a person to bear.

Raoul repeatedly kissed the blanket.

“You were pretty, adorable.”

“Ugh… that’s enough, go away…”

Laughter broke out over the round lump of blanket. He wrapped his arms around Diana, who was hiding her body like a cat, and pressed his lips on the silk cloth.

“You were the best. I think I’ll think of you throughout the expedition period.”

“It’s terrible… please forget it.”

“I absolutely can’t forget it. I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.”

‘A first love who remembers a dark history for a lifetime…!’

Diana furiously kicked her feet, feeling upset.

“What do you mean the best! It’s the worst…!”

Her struggling body was dragged along with the blanket.

Raoul put the protruding head that poked out like the end of a gimbap roll directly into his mouth and gently chewed it so it wouldn’t hurt.

“Ahhh! What are you doing!”

“I like you, Diana…”

It was a wolf’s aggressive expression of affection that only came out when he loved too much.

During the dreamlike days, the two were immersed in their first love, where even brushing fingertips made their hair stand on end.

No matter how much they tried to come to their senses, it was useless.

Every time their eyes met, their hearts fluttered frequently, and each time, they hid in their own space and tightly closed the window.

They reminisced about their fond old memories together, and when their hearts became sentimental, they couldn’t hold back and embraced each other.

“Don’t go…”

Surprised by her own words, Diana bit her tongue, and Raoul patted her back to calm her down.

The expedition day approached before they could even sort out their naive feelings.

Diana entered Raoul’s bedroom for the first time in a long while.

The bed frame, which had been a mess, was replaced, and the bedding was also changed to new ones, making it clean.

Even on the day of departure, Raoul, who had tidied up his place like a knife, put his luggage to be loaded on the carriage in front of the door and exchanged final greetings with Diana.

“Are you all ready?”

“Yeah.”

“I packed more than enough swords and potion medicines for the other soldiers to use. Contact me if you run out. I should be able to deliver at least medicines via battle crows.”

The battle crows in the cage were a rare species modified to withstand mana.

They were expensive battle birds used only when aristocrats participated in estate battles, but this time, she spent a lot of money without minding.

The bird exchanged for a sapphire necklace was a gift prepared for Raoul to spend a little less painful time during the expedition period.

Diana stroked Raoul’s cheek and muttered softly as if in prayer.

“I will always be behind you.”

“Me too. I will always be with you.”

Soft lips touched the back of her hand. Seeing his eyes closed in reverence, her heart ached.

‘If only I could tell you the future…’

There was nothing more she could do for him. Diana prepared a handkerchief wishing him good luck, meaning to overcome fear and fight bravely.

“This is all I can do for you.”

On the white cloth, edelweiss, symbolizing courage and perseverance, was embroidered.

“I prepared it with a flower language that suits you this time… so don’t lose it.”

Don’t give it to anyone else either…

Raoul smiled softly and stretched out his arm.

“I definitely won’t lose it.”

“…Okay.”

As she tied the handkerchief around his arm in the dawn of the morning, Diana suddenly remembered his first expedition day, which was as vivid as yesterday.

The boy who reassured Diana with a calm face had now become a dignified Lycan warrior preparing for a real bloody battle.

‘When did he grow up like this?’

Diana cupped his cheek with a proud yet wistful feeling. And she pulled him close to her nose.

Raoul, who lowered his head with a puzzled look, met Diana’s eyes and smiled brightly.

He seemed to be in a good mood for some reason.

“Did you forget anything?”

Diana, standing inside the bedroom, asked while trapping Raoul between the door and herself.

“…Armor?”

“You’re already wearing it inside.”

“I packed spare clothes in advance… what is it? I didn’t forget anything…”

Diana’s action of tiptoeing was faster than the end of his words.

As her heels slowly descended to the ground, a dumbfounded face was revealed.

“…You just…”

“We promised when we were young… that I would complete the ritual for you when you became an adult. It’s been quite a while since you completed your body awakening… so we should properly finish the initial awakening.”

It was an embarrassing excuse.

‘I just wanted to do it for you. Right now, when our hearts are in unison… as a memory.’

Raoul, who had been blinking while his cheeks were held, finally came to his senses.

He covered the back of the hand cupping his cheek with his own hand and reversed their positions. Diana’s back touched the door.

“Wait, I was out of my mind for a moment. Do it one more time for me…”

“You already did it… isn’t once enough?”

“No. If you do it a lot, greater glory will follow. I’m sure of it.”

Raoul lowered his head as if possessed. However, Diana, who had used up all her courage, did not allow further contact.

“What kind of ritual is this?”

She saw a cute face pleading repeatedly, not matching his large body.

‘Still, you can’t.’

She pulled out her loosely held hand, hooked his neck, and easily drew his head down. Their heads crossed, and his sharp chin rested on her lowered shoulder.

“It’s a ritual. You have to be solemn.”

Disappointment was felt in the cheeks that were tightly hugging and rubbing against each other.

Diana also closed her eyes and inhaled his soft body scent to not forget his warmth.

Raoul’s body emitted a sweet bath product scent, not a bitter grass smell. It was completely different from before the regression.

He got on his horse and looked back at Diana, who was left in front of the castle gate.

Dressed in a modest dark green dress with her hands clasped together, she stayed in place until the very last soldier of the pitch-black army disappeared.

Raoul, riding at the forefront, mulled over what had just happened.

〈You can do it… I know.〉

Until the unwelcome morning sun rose, the two did not part for a single moment.

Diana, who was nestled in his arms, sought warmth first, unlike usual.

She tightly grasped his tunic with both hands and rubbed her nose against his chest several times.

〈It will definitely be okay…〉

Her murmurs against his chest seemed like words to herself and a self-hypnosis to feel reassured.

‘Even if she doesn’t show it, she must be anxious.’

〈Don’t worry. As long as you are here, I will definitely return.〉

He placed his hand on his forehead, where the remnants of heat remained, and felt the spark that had moved to his heart.

“I’ll be back.”

The Lycan’s eternal love, which would never be extinguished, was illuminating the path ahead of him.

Thud!

The heavy iron gate closed its mouth, severing the castle from the world.

Everyone who knew Raoul—Vincent, Biche, and even Angela—all stared at Diana’s back with worried expressions.

“Young lady…”

“It’s okay. Thank you all for coming out. It must have been a source of strength for him.”

Diana smiled calmly and held Angela’s hand.

As she turned around with the warm touch, she saw Biche and Vincent looking at her with gloomy expressions.

‘The two of them must be as troubled as I am…’

As soon as Vincent was informed of Raoul’s solo expedition, he requested an audience.

If a slave-turned-knight who had never led a command were to lead a large-scale army on a solo expedition, the outcome would be obvious.

He even argued with that father until this morning.

Biche, who was pacing restlessly in front of the office, lowered his head as if he had no face to show when his eyes met Diana’s.

‘Both Raoul and I have met many good people in this life.’

Diana tightly held the hands of the two and conveyed her gratitude.

“He is a strong child, so he will definitely come back alive. Because there are so many people sincerely waiting for him.”

Under the four people who gathered in a circle with their heads together, a clear sky without a single cloud spread out high.

As if the sky was looking down on them.

The battle crow flew to her terrace exactly one month later.