He held his forehead with his hand and trembled for a while, so Jade, who had been waiting blankly, eventually grumbled.

“Stop laughing and answer what I asked. Why aren’t you asking me?”

Axel, with a joyful mood lingering on his face like traces, barely cleared his throat after several fake coughs.

“Me? I’m in a different position than you. I’m the one pursuing you. So I’m just waiting until the decision maker makes a judgment.”

In a low whisper, he continued with a mischievous face.

“You might be toying with me right now, but I’m fine with that. I’ll accept it. I heard at the last party that there are nobles who give false hope to knights with good looks and play with them.”

“What? Absolutely not!”

Jade immediately shook off his hand and jumped up, but Axel looked up at her and recited the story he had heard.

“What was it? They secretly tell them to come to every party, and then they go into the room without giving them a chance to see anything else. In the end, they just play with their bodies and then throw them away….”

“Bodies? Are you crazy? Throw away what! I, I have no intention of doing that at all!”

As she protested that she had no intention of doing so, his body inadvertently caught her eye. It was clearly because of that absurd story about “just playing with their bodies and throwing them away,” but it was also because of Axel’s relaxed posture, sitting with one arm stretched back to support his upper body.

His long neck and the shoulders that followed it were perfectly straightened, revealing their magnificent width, and the arm stretched back, due to the angle, made the texture of the muscles wrapping it distinct, giving a clear contrast between the sunken parts and the bulging parts.

Is that all? The simplest shaped top, thanks to finding a good owner, was slightly revealing the volume it held underneath.

She could recall seeing it in the forest. She turned her head in surprise, but there was clearly a densely split, distinct body.

So, if you say that….

From the back of the neck to the shoulders, from the connected arms to the chest. Jade blankly scanned him and then met his eyes, and came to her senses as if struck by lightning.

But it seemed too late already. Axel’s eyes had already narrowed.

“Hey.”

“No, no! I said no!”

“What are you saying no to? Your gaze is lewd right now.”

Axel changed his posture and curled up his body. He even subtly avoided her gaze. Jade, who was angry at his coy gesture, slapped his back hard, but he crossed his arms in front of his chest, lowered his eyelashes, and pretended to be pitiful.

“So that rumor was true….”

Fluttering eyelashes and a distant, faint gaze. It was so splendid that she stupidly fell for it, but knowing his personality, she came to her senses.

Jade sat down next to him and grabbed his collar, shaking it.

“Who told you such a rumor? Who is it!”

“Ives Greer.”

Why on earth is a man who is already married and ten years older than Axel savvy about such stories? Did he have a great interest in high society gossip, contrary to his solid appearance?

“Why is he telling you such things!”

“People approach me too much. He must have been worried that I might fall for it. Anyway, so don’t worry. Even if you’re that kind of person, I’m fine with it.”

It was unclear whether to be moved or angry. Looking at the man’s mouth, which rose to one side, it seemed like she should lose her temper, but the lines themselves were also plausible. That it’s okay even if she plays with him.

“That’s… really gre… at…”

In the end, Axel burst into a low laugh at her words spoken through gritted teeth.

Jade slumped down again, and Axel pulled her in to create the original posture. A posture as if leaning on him, as if held in his arms.

Maybe it was because he had been laughing and walking around until he was exhausted, but he felt drowsy after a few sips of alcohol. The soft breeze like a lullaby must have also played a part.

As if in a dream, she closed her eyes and whispered.

“Then, if I say I want to be with you… you won’t go back to the forest?”

“Yes.”

“Because that’s the reason I want to stay outside?”

“Yes.”

She wanted to ask to the point of being sick of it. If that was really true. But she held back.

“You… went into the Atanase Forest.”

“I did.”

“Can you take back that decision?”

Just for me?

As if knowing what she didn’t ask, Axel smiled faintly.

“What I’m gaining is so great, after all.”

A playful answer came back, but it couldn’t be. If he had prepared to spend his life in a place like the Atanase Forest and had actually spent several years there quietly, he must have thought a lot before leaving.

He probably sought peace and rest there.

With Mabel Broen and Felix Broen, the problem wasn’t just the fight with them. Can I give Axel something as great as peace and rest? Can I make him happy?

As she sighed deeply, leaning the back of her head against Axel’s upper body, he opened his mouth. A low voice poured over her head.

“Just because I like you doesn’t mean you have to choose me. You’ll have a lot more to worry about than me. You don’t need to be bound by a past connection.”

“……”

A past connection, he says. How big of a deal is that to me?

As the disheartened silence continued, Axel’s words followed.

“So don’t worry about this. Do as you please.”

But just because they were words of consideration didn’t mean they were necessarily pleasing.

If Jade made a resolution to be with him and tried to concretize a plan to realize that resolution, she would have to prepare for many things. Breaking down the fence that felt painful but at the same time safe would be harder than she thought.

Of course, it wasn’t his fault, and it wasn’t something to shift responsibility onto him, but anyway, she couldn’t help but feel crooked at those generous words.

Jade, with her eyebrows raised crookedly, turned her upper body towards him and slightly lifted her chin. As Axel had his head slightly bowed, the tips of their noses were less than a span apart.

As she straightened her waist, they got even closer, and now with very little effort, they could bite each other’s lips. She asked provocatively again.

“As I please? Then is it okay for me to be like this with another man without choosing you?”

Axel looked her up and down with lowered eyes.

A well-crafted round forehead, crescent-shaped eyebrows, a brilliant hue of eye color that tore light into strips, and unique eye corners. A pointed nose tip, thick lips….

He knew what this face looked like when a smile hung on it, what it looked like when she puffed up with anger. He even knew what she looked like when she was dreaming. When she had a good dream, the corners of her mouth would lift slightly, and when she had a bad dream, she would toss and turn with a groan.

She was the only being that gave him various emotions just by looking at her. The being he thought he would never have for life, as he saw his parents’ relationship end in ruin.

And yet, is it okay to be like this with another man?

Axel tilted his head.

No way.

“No, it’s not okay.”

“What’s that? You said it was okay before? It’s just your own way.”

It couldn’t be helped. Axel had never lived according to anyone’s will even once.

Even King Darian couldn’t fix that self-willed temperament and judged that he would rather see the coronation of the second prince than the first prince, and Queen Regina exploded in anger at the sight of him going astray the more she forced him.

Still, Father would be proud if he saw this. Because he finally had something he wanted to win.

No, he would lament that a mere seat beside a certain wizard was all there was to it. Or maybe he would click his tongue and say that he took after his mother.

Axel suppressed his twisted heart and smiled.

“I tried to act nice for a bit. Was it no good?”

“It was no good.”

“Okay, then. I’ll say it again. No one else is okay. Keep that in mind.”

With that, Axel lowered his head and pressed his lips to her round forehead. As if stamping an unbreakable contract.

Jade quietly enjoyed the sensation and then wiped her reddened cheeks with the back of her hand. She was satisfied with the heart she had drawn out of him.

The two leaned against each other and peacefully watched the flowing waves and the moonlight reflected on them.

The thoughts that had been vaguely catching became firm the more she saw his gray eyes. No, maybe she had just brought out what was already firmly seated at the bottom.

If so, what’s the next thing to do?

It was already very late when they returned to the townhouse. It was so deep into the night that there were few servants awake.

After washing up, the surroundings were enveloped in perfect stillness and paleness.

Instead of going to bed, Jade sat on the sofa in the parlor and was quietly lost in thought.

Yes, during the mere half-day spent with him, she was confident enough to stake everything.

I’ll be happy if you’re by my side. What a surprising thing. That you, whom I met by chance, would come to dictate my happiness, how can that be? You only occupied a very short time in my life.

She recalled Axel in the Atanase Forest.

She recalled Leon directing people on the vast, dusty land.

She recalled Mabel Broen and Felix Broen.

She recalled Asela Broen and Rigel Hias.

Finally, she stood in front of a long mirror and looked at herself. The woman standing against the blue light of dawn had an unreadable expression.

She felt her neck with her fingertips. There was nothing like a collar.

She tried smiling.

The mask-like traces of always reconsidering, keeping her place, and trying to survive had faded.

It was probably because she knew there was something more important than calculating gains. Because she realized there was something she couldn’t bear to give up. Because she discovered something she would regret for life if she let go.

And finally, because she had the conviction that she wouldn’t regret her choice and the goal of making you happy no matter what.

Her lips gently parted.

“-.–.”

With the spell, butterflies with wings of flame appeared. The red butterflies, which had been circling around the wizard for a while, rippling the air, soon flew freely through the open crack of the window.

At the same time, Jade also shook off something completely, with a thud.