Jaina chuckled at Nathaniel’s question.

“Yes?”

Nathaniel, who seemed to want to push Jaina away, hugged her tightly.

It might be a childish concern, but I couldn’t help thinking that Jaina might have regretted this marriage at least once.

“If it’s difficult to answer, you don’t have to.”

Suddenly, I felt scared. Nathaniel clung to Jaina, holding his breath.

A gentle touch reached over my head.

“I think I’ve asked a similar question before.”

“Ah…”

It seemed like something I heard when she and Nathaniel went to the festival right after their marriage.

Nathaniel fumbled for memories of what she had said at that time.

Jaina whispered as she gently stroked his head.

“I’ve never regretted it even once.”

Her kind voice, soft breath, and warm scent calmed his heart.

Soft lips touched his forehead and then descended onto his cheek.

“Ah.”

Flames surged within him.

Desire rose instantaneously and sparks seemed to fly each time their lips touched.

Nathaniel urgently pushed Jaina towards the bed.

Her cheek, now fallen onto the bed, turned red.

Jaina’s hands also hurriedly pulled at Nathaniel’s clothes.

“Nathaniel…”

Her voice calling him was filled with heat. Nathaniel jumped into her.

A gentle and kind wave engulfed him.

Sometimes dizzying to the point of losing consciousness, sometimes intense enough to wish time would stop.

Meeting her, Nathaniel thought it was the greatest blessing of his life.

His once dull world was now filled with fragrance, color, and beautiful sounds.

He could no longer imagine going back to a time without her.

Because the world Jaina showed him was so brilliant.

On the day we returned to the palace, Maximilian and Theresa saw us off.

“When will we see each other again if we part this time?”

Seeing Theresa regretful, it felt like parting with family, and tears seemed ready to come out.

“We’ll see each other again soon. Don’t worry.”

When we return to the palace this time, we will do our best to capture the D.S. Knights who are targeting Theresa’s life.

After exchanging farewells with Theresa in sorrow, I looked for Nathaniel.

Then he returned from talking with Maximilian.

“I’ll go and say goodbye to my brother too.”

I approached Maximilian, who was watching me from a distance.

“Be careful on your way.”

His slightly limp way of greeting didn’t seem to suit the situation.

I thought about leaving him alone, but maybe it would be better to have a proper conversation at least once.

“If you really love Theresa, be more honest.”

Maximilian seemed confused by my words.

“Do you know that the situation between them is completely different from before?”

“That’s why I’m being more careful.”
Seeing him still intimidated, it was frustrating to the point of being suffocating. When Theresa was confident when inflicting wounds, I don’t understand why he is now so frustratingly indecisive.

“Is it because you are my older brother that you’re getting hurt?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, don’t just go around in circles saying you’re being careful.”

A piercing expression.

A sigh involuntarily escaped at that sight. Why can’t he do anything else?

“Don’t hope that the other person will take the first step just because you’re watching. You, as my older brother, need to step forward and really do it properly.”

“What do I…?”

“You need to ask why this situation happened and suggest alternatives.”

Maximilian, who seemed not to understand the meaning of my words, continued to smirk.

“But, won’t Theresa feel burdened?”

“Is Theresa a fragile person who will break if someone touches her? If she were, she would have divorced you a long time ago!”

I didn’t like the sight of him cringing, mumbling, his self-esteem apparently trampled on.

If he really wants to do better, he should show how much he has changed, how much he can change!

“Stop wandering around like this before it ends up going nowhere. If Theresa really didn’t like you, she would have just asked me to protect her or gone to you, right?”

In fact, I had secretly told Theresa that I could protect her.

But she chose Maximilian.

At that time, I didn’t say anything, but I thought that Theresa must have considered him the most reliable person.

“T-Thank you.”

His hesitant way of saying thank you looked even more annoying today.

“Don’t push too hard.”

“Yeah.”

This should be enough.

I turned around and headed towards Nathaniel.

Now it was time to really return to the palace.

Contrary to Nathaniel’s opposition, I chose to take a detour instead of a shortcut.

Because of that, it took a few days longer than last time.

As the carriage entered the capital, the palace began to appear in the distance.

But Nathaniel’s expression didn’t look good at all.

“What’s wrong?”

“Going back and facing those people again is giving me a headache.”

“I never thought Nathaniel would have such thoughts.”

I thought he was the type not to care about others, so I didn’t expect him to feel stressed at all.

“Maybe it’s because I’ve never taken such a long break before.”

“Hmm.”