Late at night.

Pryde entered the mansion making almost no sound.

He had returned home late.

“Where is the lady?”

“She has retired to her chambers.”

The guard who opened the door to welcome him quickly answered the question asked in a lowered voice.

I see.

He had tried to have dinner together as much as possible, but today it took especially long to wrap things up.

‘Because of those worthless vermin.’

For a moment, the murderous intent that flashed in his eyes made the guard beside him tense up.

Pryde roughly loosened the tie of his newly changed uniform as he climbed the stairs.

No matter what methods they were using, the number of dissidents in Zone 3 was gradually increasing.

Like those sewer rats that endlessly breed no matter how many you catch.

‘I need to set a date for a full sweep sometime.’

That was the most effective way for extermination.

However, as he approached the lady’s chambers, Pryde’s fierce gaze gradually settled.

Like a madman who had inhaled a sedative.

Or a tamed beast approaching its trainer.

He opened the door to the chambers very quietly, making not a single sound as he entered.

A canopy bed half-drawn.

And beneath the thin sheet, a silhouette creating soft curves as she lay.

His wife, the Saint, was lying there.

Filling the room with her sweet scent.

Just inhaling that fragrance seemed enough to reach ecstasy.

As he approached the bed with an entranced gaze, Pryde suddenly paused.

He thought he could smell blood that hadn’t quite washed off his hands still gripping his tie.

Though he had scrubbed with soap several times before coming to the mansion, there had been so much blood spilled today.

He couldn’t commit the sacrilege of lying next to the Saint with the smell of blood all over him.

…He also needed to calm down a bit.

He squeezed his eyes shut as if trying to hide his ferocious gaze.

He needed to cool his head with some cold water.

Having made up his mind, he quietly headed to the bathroom adjacent to the chambers.

His movements as he stripped off his clothes were as rough as always.

In an instant he was naked, pouring cold water over his head as if dousing himself with holy water.

The muscles densely packed on his huge body occasionally twitched and spasmed on their own, and his head was throbbing.

The excitement from the battles that had lasted nearly all day today had not yet fully subsided.

He picked up another basin full of cold water to cool his body that refused to calm down easily.

But at that moment.

As if sensing something, he turned around with unbelievably quick movements.

Creaaak-

It was then that the closed bathroom door opened.

He saw his Saint frozen in place, hand on the bathroom doorknob.

Wavy red hair, and emerald eyes he had always thought more beautiful than jewels.

Pryde looked down at her calmly, without the slightest sign of shrinking back or surprise.

At first her gaze met his blankly, then naturally fell downwards.

As if greatly flustered, her face turned as red as her hair and the shawl wrapped around her body fell to the floor with a thud.

Pryde couldn’t hide the smile that crept unbidden to his lips.

Delphine froze in place, not even thinking to pick up the fallen shawl.

She hadn’t heard any sound at all.

Neither him entering, nor water dripping in the bathroom.

For some reason, she had trouble falling asleep tonight.

For the past two nights, despite having a strange man beside her, she had greeted the morning with no memory of falling asleep.

After tossing and turning for a long time, she had finally drifted off, only to wake up again near dawn.

Her face was covered in cold sweat.

In her dream, she had seen Pembrook Manor turned into a sea of blood.

‘I should at least wash my face…’

Thoroughly exhausted from the fatigue brought on by the nightmare, the moment she opened the bathroom door, what she discovered was the man’s naked body.

At first she couldn’t quite grasp the situation.

It was the same as what she had seen on their wedding night. A huge body covered densely in muscles and scars.

But the moment she unwittingly lowered her gaze.

Delphine squeezed her eyes shut in panic, even dropping the shawl she had draped over her nightgown.

She had received bridal education given to noblewomen and knew there were differences between male and female bodies.

‘…But they didn’t tell me it would be this big, Anna!’

Knowing the general process of the wedding night, she felt like screaming at that moment.

The man looking down at her pale face held a small smile at the corner of his mouth.

However, unlike his upturned lips, his eyes were not smiling at all.

Those intense brown eyes burning fiercely scanned her appearance thoroughly, almost obsessively.

Under that gaze, Delphine’s face gradually turned red.

Though he was the one standing naked, and she was the one clothed, albeit thinly, it felt as if their positions were reversed.

“I-I made a mistake.”

Unable to bear this taut tension, Delphine hastily opened her mouth.

“I just came to wash my face… Ah!”

He took a step.

It wasn’t a quick or urgent movement.

Yet Delphine felt tremendous pressure.

Why?

Was it because of those eyes, blazing hot in contrast to his leisurely movements?

With each step he took forward, she took one step back.

But due to the difference in stride length from their height difference, after just a few steps the man came close enough that their bodies nearly touched.

“I-I should be going now…”

She stammered without realizing.

The hand she stretched back urgently to grasp the bathroom doorknob was futilely caught.

Delphine inhaled sharply at the man’s hot heat transmitted to her bare skin.

He slowly lowered his head, gaze fixed on her eyes.

Those scorching eyes drew ever closer.

That intense gaze that seemed to pierce through her body strangely made her stomach clench.

What is this feeling? Why am I like this?

Is this the emotion prey feels before a predator?

Delphine trembled with fear and tension at this unfamiliar sensation she had never felt before.

In the end, unable to think of fleeing or muster the courage to push away his naked form, she spoke with a whimper.

“I-It hurts.”

In truth, he wasn’t gripping her hand that tightly.

But was it because of the hot heat transmitted beyond that, or because of this tingling sensation tormenting her body?

The feeling of his touch on her bare skin felt violent in its intensity.

Surprisingly, his hand withdrew immediately.

Even more surprising was that the man’s eyes were tinged with bewilderment.

“…Lord Pryde?”

When she awkwardly called his name, the man ran his large hand over his face.

Beneath it, a voice filled with chagrin muttered something like a curse under its breath.

At that sight, Delphine’s eyes widened in astonishment.

Anyone could see that in this situation, it should be her feeling embarrassed.

Yet for some inexplicable reason, he was acting as if he was the one who had been molested.

Delphine once again had the thought she’d had earlier that day in the iris-filled garden.

This man’s inner thoughts are truly unfathomable.

“…Don’t misunderstand.”

The man soon raised his head again and spoke with a somewhat regained composure.

What misunderstanding?

As Delphine raised one eyebrow, he added with a troubled expression.

“This is not why I married you.”

“…You mean to say the reason you rushed the marriage was for this?”

“That you sought not a wife, but… a whore to sate your lust every night.”

Had he been bothered by those words?

But the question that had plagued her for the past three days still remained.

Then why did he marry her?

If not to take her?

However, she did not have the courage to ask such questions in front of a naked man.

Delphine gave a small nod.

The man released her hand but did not turn away.

His posture and attitude were still so dignified it was hard to tell who was the naked one.

“Are you going to stay like that?”

As if he had regained his senses, he asked lightly with his usual elegant demeanor.

Startled by those words, Delphine fled the bathroom as if escaping.

Why did he marry her?

If he wasn’t going to take her, …and if he wasn’t Ioan after all?

But the chance to ask that question did not come again.

For a week after that.

Because the man did not return to the mansion at all during that time.

For someone who had gone on about how ‘one must be devoted to family after marriage’, it was quite an unfaithful attitude.

Just three days after the wedding, the husband who didn’t come home had the servants constantly on edge trying to read her mood.

“He’s so promising.”

“Indeed. It’s all thanks to His Majesty the Emperor’s trust.”

“It’s not good if a husband stays at home too much either, my lady. Trust me!”

During what had now become her routine garden stroll.

The maids fretted beside her as she walked gracefully, defending their new master.

“That’s enough. I’m fine, so there’s no need to make excuses for him.”

Delphine suddenly stopped and gazed at the desolate winter garden landscape.

The irises that had been in full bloom barely lasted a few days before withering all at once.

And it wasn’t just the state of those flowers that had changed over the past week.

Now, ten days after her father’s treason incident.

Spending time away from the man who had only brought her confusion, Delphine slowly began to accept this situation.

And finally, she made a decision.

The decision to uncover that man’s true identity.