Perplexed by the words that seemed absurd the more she thought about them, Ines bit her lip. She slowly mustered the courage to approach Carson. Placing her hand gently on his bare back, Carson grabbed the hand Ines had placed on his back.

“I’ll let it go today. But it doesn’t mean I’ll do as you wish.”

“……. ”

“I won’t drag you forcibly. You come to me directly. I’ll clear the way for you.”

“Your Majesty.”
“Understood?”

He led her by the hand towards the door. And as he approached the door, he lifted his hand to the doorknob.

Then, looking at Ines, he walked to the chair next to the bed, grabbed the discarded robe, and covered Ines’s body with it. Though his lips were tightly pressed, and his jaw was tense, his touch on her clothing was tender and gentle.

“I won’t take you back today. I’m in a capricious mood.”

At his childlike words, Ines chuckled.

“Do you think you can become my servant while laughing so insolently?”

“I apologize.”

He tugged at the clothing he was holding, bringing it up to Ines’s lips once again. Even as the lips parted, the sight of Ines, who couldn’t open her eyes, made Carson let out a small laugh. Suddenly opening his eyes, he revealed the bright, cheerful smile he usually wore. The loud thumping of his heart made it impossible for Ines to think clearly.

“If you make such an expression, I can’t decide what to do.”

Carson pulled his thumb, which he had been holding onto, across Ines’s lower lip, slowly brushing it several times. The wrinkles on her dry lips, sudden due to the cold air, were gradually smoothed out by his touch.

His warmth quickly permeated her entire body, feeling too hot and soft.

“As you know… I’m not the type to cling to opportunities right in front of me.”

As he slightly let go of her parted lips, his warm breath flowed down her neck. In this kiss, unlike before, Ines’s forehead involuntarily wrinkled.

Without detaching his lips, Ines said, “Regret… might be possible.”

It was the first proper sentence she formed after the passionate kiss began.

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll never become an emperor as lonely as my father.”

With a slight inhale, Ines’s short breaths involuntarily joined his.

As the door opened and her body was pushed outward, Ines still didn’t realize what was happening to her.

As the temperature inside and outside differed, her cheeks cooled, and his warm lips detached. Startled, she opened her eyes to see his smiling face. At the same time, the door slowly closed.

Even in the last moment, the man’s face, smiling perfectly and radiating light, left Ines speechless, as if nailed to the spot.

The knights stood straight ahead as if nothing was happening. When all her senses returned to reality, Ines, not knowing what had happened to her, moved her hands to her face and left the place as if fleeing.

Something she had never imagined happened so easily.

Back in her room, Ines couldn’t sleep for a single moment that night. Even if she ignored her pounding heart, Carson’s words and gaze did not lead Ines to a peaceful night.
She sought solace in her heart and reached for the Bible.

Each time she desperately fought against the memories that bound her, the surface of the Bible glimmered with a glossy sheen, from the touch that had persistently caressed it.

Relying on a familiar sensation, Ines unfolded the page containing the passage she clung to like her life, as if fighting against the overwhelming memories.

“If someone reaches out to you and suggests walking together for ten steps, give him everything you have.”

However, the words that always guided her to the path of light couldn’t penetrate her mind.

Unwanted words kept circling around her.

Reading the passage with her hands, Ines closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Then, with a thud, she closed the book.

The sun was already rising beyond the window.

Ines took a longer bath than usual and carefully adorned herself. It was because of a premonition that today would be a longer day.

Ines, who was struggling with how to see Carson’s face, first headed to the room where the chief steward worked. He was using the anteroom attached to his bedroom as both a study and an office.

There, a makeshift table was set up for Ines to sit and work.

Since the chief steward said there was a lot to do, she decided to use it as an excuse to avoid Carson for just today.

“Have you arrived?”

When the chief steward, neatly dressed, appeared, Ines stood up and bowed.

“It seems you have many important schedules today.”

“That’s right. We have important guests coming to the palace today, so I’ll be very busy. Please take care of things.”

The chief steward oversees the emperor’s tasks, manages all the palace residents, and has the authority to appoint personnel in charge of the emperor’s security duties. Handling the palace’s accounting was a given, and greeting the emperor’s guests was also his responsibility.