Contacting Ron Letius was not a difficult task.

However, considering people’s gazes, there were tricky conditions for meeting him.

He lived in the most remote part of the village, and it would be unreasonable for them, as newcomers, to approach the house on the mountaintop without warning.

Sieghart assured that there would be a watcher disguised as a resident infiltrating the village to monitor Ron Letius.

Kyle Letius, wary of the royal family, would have ordered to report any suspicious points, so if the two approached carelessly, that fact would be reported.

So they decided to faithfully fulfill their current roles to avoid suspicion, and then slowly approach Ron Letius.

Sieghart and Natasha acted as a newlywed couple who came to the countryside for recuperation, as planned. A sick wife and a husband who came to nurse her, it seemed like a harmless identity.

The man’s name became Enoch Winter, and Natasha’s name became Tisha Winter, making them the Winter couple.

The two couldn’t let their guard down for a moment due to the watchman who could be anywhere, anytime, and the villagers curious about them.

After all, no matter how much they claimed it was for recuperation, it looked suspicious for nobles to come down and live in such a remote rural village.

To avoid suspicion, the two gave perfect performances. Natasha let out a dry cough every ten seconds whenever she spoke, and Sieghart, as if accustomed to it, would take out a handkerchief and comfort his wife.

If they happened to eat with villagers, they had to take medicine within half an hour after the meal. The types of medicine were too numerous to count.

Sieghart, as always, took care of Natasha in a gentle and affectionate manner. Natasha, who had been cold in the duke’s mansion, greeted Sieghart softly and shyly in the village.

The villagers, who were initially suspicious of the couple always caring for each other tenderly and affectionately, gradually began to open their hearts.

Thanks to this, the nickname for the two who had only moved in ten days ago became.

‘Wife, have you seen the new couple that moved in recently?’

‘Oh my, that’s already old news! You mean that lovey-dovey couple, right?’

They became known as the lovey-dovey couple.

Contrary to concerns, there had been no suspicions so far, so their approach to the villagers was successful.

With affection, but not too excessive, the two performed the role of a happy newlywed couple while taking extreme care of each other.

That didn’t change even when they were alone.

Even when there were no villagers around and no need to play the role of a happy newlywed couple, the two faithfully continued their false roles.

For example, even for themselves, their names naturally became Enoch Winter and Tisha Winter.

“Thank you, Enoch.”

“What wouldn’t I do for my beloved wife?”

Or they would freely exchange affectionate gestures that only loving newlyweds would share.

In fact, this situation wasn’t entirely unfamiliar to Natasha. Sieghart had occasionally acted as an affectionate husband to her before.

However, back then, she was only confused by the man’s changes and never deeply examined his inner thoughts. She couldn’t think that ‘that’ Sieghart could love her in the first place.

‘I’ve never not loved you.’

‘I love you enough that such things don’t matter anymore.’

But now it was different.

Natasha knew what emotion the other’s consideration stemmed from. And how beautiful yet dangerous that emotion was.

Yet, strangely, she didn’t dislike it. Rather, at some point, the woman had started enjoying the situation.

It felt as if she had returned to being Tisha Winter. The beautiful memories of that time tickled the woman’s heart.

Natasha, receiving a cup filled with hot chocolate, rubbed the outer surface with both palms. The warmth rising from the warm surface seemed to drive away the chilly night wind.

The bonfire, burning with beautiful flames, was also contributing to this.

The two spent the sleepless night romantically with the bonfire and hot chocolate.

Crackle, crackle, the sound of the burning bonfire broke the silence of the night. It was a more beautiful sound than the grand performance of an orchestra.

Natasha, who had been enjoying the peace with her eyes closed, quietly lifted her eyelids. Her head naturally tilted up, helping her face the sky.

The sky was embroidered with dense jewels. The beautiful, twinkling stars elicited admiration.

Sieghart’s head was also facing upwards. His gaze, looking at a masterpiece, was shining as brilliantly as the stars.

The two silently appreciated today’s miracle. Thanks to this, the silence that would have been broken around this time was maintained for a long time.

After a while, Sieghart spoke up.

The man’s low, deep voice had changed slightly. His sweet and gentle voice sounded just like Enoch Calrent’s.

“I’m thinking of meeting Ron Letius tomorrow.”

Natasha suddenly realized that their rural life was part of the operation. Perhaps because they had spent such peaceful and happy days for an operation, she had forgotten the original purpose.

“Is the plan still the same?”

According to the original plan, they were supposed to visit Ron Letius’s house while pretending to greet the villagers.

“No, I’m planning to go differently.”

Sieghart, who shook his head at the question asked for confirmation, recited the changed plan.

“The villagers will obviously dissuade us from meeting Ron Letius. We look too fragile to handle his fiery temper. But if we go without caring, it might look suspicious.”

It was a reasonable point.

It would seem a bit strange for Sieghart, who dearly loved his sick wife, to visit Ron Letius, who showed violent tendencies, together.

“Then how do you plan to approach?”

However, if they didn’t approach like that, there was no other way. Where would there be a chance to meet by coincidence with a cold man who lives on top of a mountain and never comes down to the village?

“I found out that the forest behind the mansion is quite large. I’m thinking of going hunting in that forest and then meeting him. At first, I plan to head in the opposite direction to avoid suspicion.”

“Certainly, if we go late at night, no one will know. Even if we’re caught, there would be a plausible connection, so we wouldn’t be suspected.”

“Yes, even if we have to explain the situation, we can just brush it off as meeting him by chance. We’ll pretend we stayed in the forest until late at night without knowing better and got stranded.”

Sieghart seemed to have modified the plan to a much better one, considering the villagers’ nosiness. Natasha also thought this way was better.

It was best to go secretly rather than announcing to people that they were going to meet Ron Letius.

He would make a fuss after meeting the two, and if someone happened to be suspicious of this coincidence, it would be troublesome.

“If it’s hunting, should I stay at home tomorrow? Since I’m a patient…”

“You should come along. We can just ride horses up to the forest, and people will think we’ll come down before evening.”

Wasn’t it better to stay at home given her role? Natasha asked again if it was really okay.

“If I don’t return even late at night, the wives will surely urge you on. If they all come looking for me together, things will get big and troublesome.”

“That’s… certainly true. Alright. Let’s leave together tomorrow.”

Natasha was left speechless at Sieghart’s description of the wives as nosy people. They were kind people, but as the man said, they were too nosy.

If Sieghart didn’t return by tomorrow night, it was obvious they would barge in and take the lead in going to look for her husband immediately.

Sieghart gave advance notice that he would pack the necessary items for hunting in the morning. Natasha also volunteered to prepare water and food for show.

As they talked about this and that, the night had already deepened. By now, even the bonfire had lost its power.

Natasha, unable to bear the sudden cold she encountered, kept coughing lightly.

Then Sieghart prepared to get up, saying he would quickly bring a blanket.

“Ah, no…”

Natasha, who grabbed the man’s collar as he was about to leave, trailed off.

Usually, she would have answered, ‘No, I’ll go in now!’ at this point.

After all, there was no reason to stay outside anymore now that they had finished talking. Rather than troubling Sieghart to move, it would be less troublesome to disperse.

But today, for some reason, she didn’t want to go back. She wanted to spend a little more time outside.

Because she wanted to enjoy this moment a little longer.

However, it seemed unlikely that the man, knowing she was cold, would allow it gracefully. At least, he would only agree after bringing a blanket from the house and rekindling the bonfire.

Yes, while mentioning the cold that barely happens a few times a year, even though spring was approaching.

“Instead of that… could you lend me your shoulder for a moment?”

Natasha, who had been hesitating, finally gathered her courage. She gripped Sieghart’s collar that she had grabbed even tighter.

“…Do you dislike it, Sieghart?”

Natasha urged again towards her unresponsive counterpart.

Calling the man’s name for the first time in ten days.

She rested her head on Sieghart’s shoulder as he sat down, almost collapsing.

Natasha gently closed her eyes, listening to the languid, or perhaps including her own, sound of two heartbeats.