When Nigel slowly opened her eyes, her surroundings were pitch black without a single ray of light.

Unlike the night sky with its various colors, it was an artificial darkness that was black all around.

As the confused Nigel groped around her eyes, her fingertips touched a cloth.

“…What is this.”

The surface of the cloth blocking her vision was soft and smooth without any rough parts. The dissonance, like a beautiful cage, made her entire body tense up.

“Ah, are you awake?”

At that moment, Noah’s gentle voice was heard nearby.

Instantly relaxed, Nigel tore at the cloth without hesitation. However, as if bound by a restraining spell, the cloth clung tightly to Nigel’s eyes and wouldn’t budge.

“What are you doing? Remove this immediately.”

Nigel struggled in frustration.

Good heavens, this time it seemed a fixation spell had been cast on her body, as it was firmly planted in a soft chair without even the slightest movement.

Treating a friend like this, what exactly am I supposed to believe? Nigel’s patience reached its limit.

“Noah Beselion. What exactly are you doing right now?”

“Well, that… I’d like to do that right away, but Allen firmly instructed not to remove it until he arrives.”

Noah replied pleadingly, like the cry of a predator carefully eyeing its prey, to Nigel’s low and weighty voice.

“…What is it, what on earth are you two plotting? Say something, anything.”

“…Nigel, you trust us, right?”

That nonsense again.

Just as Nigel was about to open her mouth to express her confusion and anxiety, something touched the corner of her lips.

Nigel frowned deeply at the unidentified hard object touching her lips, but when she felt sweetness on the tip of her tongue, she quickly pushed it into her mouth.

At the sweetness that seemed to melt her entire body, Nigel’s face, which had been harder than week-old bread left outside, softened like bread soaked in soup.

“…When did Allen say he’d be here?”

Nigel asked in a voice that was noticeably softer and calmer than before.

“He said within an hour, so probably within 15 minutes.”

“Is that so? Then…”

Nigel trailed off. The perceptive Noah placed another chocolate in Nigel’s mouth.

This seemed to be the right answer, as Nigel gently raised the corners of her mouth in satisfaction. Then, feeling Noah’s gaze, she quickly hardened her expression as if to show that her anger had not yet subsided.

The two continued carefully placing chocolates in Nigel’s mouth, and Nigel obediently ate them well, until an incident occurred.

Something hard and sweet, and then something firm yet soft touched the tip of Nigel’s tongue. And Nigel’s magic was taken by the latter.

“Just now, that…”

Was that Noah’s finger?

Nigel couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence.

“No, it was nothing.”

Noah’s reply came immediately. But that voice was foolishly shaky and trembling, clearly showing signs of embarrassment.

It was a finger. Nigel was certain from Noah’s reaction.

‘…Am I going crazy?’

Nigel felt like digging a mouse hole to hide in.

Blinded by appetite, to think she would end up licking Noah Beselion’s finger.

The more she tried not to think about it, the more vividly she felt the sensation of the finger.

The hard surface of the skin calloused from gripping a sword and training daily, and the unexpectedly soft feeling of the fingertip that yielded inward when pressed, kept replaying in her mind.

And the hot, unstable emotion that had been barely hidden deep in her heart suddenly sprang out.

Tightly grasping that firm hand so it wouldn’t let go, those dry-looking yet soft pink lips…

Nigel quickly shoved the thought back into her mind and sealed it away.

Though she couldn’t see, Nigel could clearly feel her face burning red.

Unnecessarily anxious, Noah made no sound or movement. Like a mouse holding its breath, afraid of revealing its location to a predator.

‘…Ah.’

When she substituted herself as the predator and emotions as the location, the answer came easily. Noah was erasing his presence, afraid that Nigel might read his emotions from his movements.

Because Nigel had told him to close off his heart.

Realizing that his situation was not much different from hers, every minute and second spent with Noah felt as long and painful as an eternity.

‘Allen, hurry up and come.’

Unable to ask for more chocolate, and unable to move even a step from the sofa, Nigel had no choice but to wait for Allen’s return.

At that moment, the heavy wooden door opened roughly with a bang.

“Allen!”

“Finally!”

Noah and Nigel welcomed Allen with refreshing joy, as if discovering an oasis in the desert.

“Sorry, did you wait long? But you’re happy to see me, right?”

At Allen’s playful and arrogant tone, both of them nodded their heads vigorously up and down.

“Ah, you’ve finished all the chocolates I left.”

Allen looked around and smiled brightly upon seeing the empty chocolate box.

“I left them in case Nigel acted up, but I guess you two were fine…”

Allen, who had been speaking while lifting his gaze from the chocolate box, trailed off and blinked his eyes.

“Was it very hot in here?”

“Yeah.”

Nigel quickly answered Allen’s worried question.

She had finally found an advantage to summer that she thought would never exist.

“As you know, I’m from Tilin.”

Because she could easily cover up her reddened face with the excuse of heat.

“Fortunately, you don’t have a fever…”

Allen placed his hand on Nigel’s forehead. His long, slender fingers transmitted a cool sensation.

“Whoa?”

As Nigel suddenly grabbed Allen’s hand, a startled cry escaped his lips.

Allen struggled, but couldn’t escape from Nigel’s grip.

Being glad to see Allen was one thing, and being angry was another. This was like how lunch and dinner menus at Sienna don’t overlap in time or type of food, two separate events with no intersection.

“So, what’s the reason for confining me here and blindfolding me?”

“Ahaha…”

Allen laughed awkwardly.

“Nigel, you trust us, right?”

“There you go again with that ‘trust’ talk. Why, are you rich guys short on money? Do you urgently need the power of the temple? Or did you covet the dragon? Good heavens, where has the dragon gone now?”

Nigel chuckled and blurted out whatever came to mind.

“Sorry, Nigel. We must have really flustered you to make you talk such nonsense. But hey, I don’t know about the rest, but the dragon just went out on its own.”

“…His Dragonship was initially worried about Nigel and wouldn’t leave her side, but as soon as he saw Allen’s treasure room, he hasn’t come out since.”

“Hah…”

Thinking of the slime that had insisted on sticking together, now probably bouncing around excitedly in a place glittering from all sides, a dejected laugh escaped Nigel.

Allen, watching Nigel’s reaction, slowly began to speak.

“Nigel, remember? We said we’d protect you this time.”

“Yeah.”

Nigel’s heart, which had been bristling with sharp edges, softened at Allen’s calm and careful words.

“So please don’t be angry. This is the best solution we could find. Just as we trust you, trust us too.”

Along with a gentle voice as if coaxing a child, the cloth covering Nigel’s eyes was lifted, and light flooded her dark vision.

Nigel squinted at the sudden bright light and looked around.

A familiar place, Allen’s capital villa. Sebastian, who met Nigel’s eyes, awkwardly averted his gaze while guarding the door.

Looking out the window, the outside was turning from evening purple to night.

On the table was an empty chocolate box and a contract with brief content. At the end, the small crest of the Beselion family and the large seal of the Evans merchant guild were stamped side by side.

The Beselion one must be from Noah’s signet ring, and the reason Allen was late must have been to get this stamp.

“Now that it’s been notarized, read it carefully.”

“So this contract is your best solution to protect me, right?”

Nigel narrowed her eyes and examined the contract.

Reading calmly through every word and punctuation, Nigel looked back and forth between the two of them and the contract as soon as she saw one word.

To Nigel’s gesture asking if this was really correct, Allen and Noah nodded seriously without a hint of a smile.

After sighing intermittently and rubbing her face for a while, Nigel picked up the pen.

“…As much as I hate to admit it, you’ve found the best solution for the purpose.”

The faces of the two brightened at Nigel’s words.

Just before the pen tip touched the contract, Nigel looked at the two of them.

“Allen, Noah. This contract will only be maintained until my safety is absolutely guaranteed, right?”

Nigel glared especially at Noah.

“Yes. I swear on the name of Beselion, born as the Emperor’s sword.”

Noah’s solemn oath showed a hint of excitement. Nigel felt her whole body tingle and messed up her hair for no reason.

“…Alright. Sebastian has witnessed it, so it should be certain. Then, I’ll sign.”

Nigel signed in cursive on the last blank space of the contract.

“And next time, if you’re going to do something like this, talk to me first. I thought I had been captured by the temple or something when you suddenly blindfolded me.”

The two, finally smiling again, nodded to Nigel.

The next day, Saturday morning. A huge wave swept through the social circles that had been quietly spending the summer after the large spring social season had passed.

It was all because of a single letter announcing that the heir of the Beselion family would be engaged the very next day, Sunday.