His hand tightly gripped the small-bodied woman.

Sieghart savored the scent of the person he held in his arms for a long time. As he repeatedly stroked Natasha’s hair with trembling hands, he finally kissed her forehead.

He refrained from asking the usual questions like “Is this real?” If it were the original Sieghart Asthart, he would have surely doubted Natasha’s love again, but surprisingly, he remained silent.

Instead, the man hugged Natasha tightly.

As if he had been waiting for this moment all along.

After a while, Natasha pulled away from his broad chest. As she looked up at Sieghart, he was also gazing down at her intently.

The two smiled while observing each other. One was covered in blood, and the other was full of wounds, yet they acted as if their beloved was incredibly lovable.

As their affectionate gazes were thoroughly scanning each other, Natasha suddenly wrapped her arms around the man’s neck. Despite the unexpected contact, Sieghart calmly accepted the woman.

He lifted Natasha up and pulled her close to himself. Their faces were now inches apart.

Their noses touched. The bridge of the man’s nose wrinkled slightly as he smiled tenderly. As if even Sieghart’s wrinkles were cute, Natasha also scrunched her nose bridge, mimicking him.

An intense exploration began.

The red jewels visible through his wide-set eyes created an enchanting atmosphere.

His straight nose without any sharp edges and thick, dark lips added to his fierce impression, while his sharp jaw and smoothly extended neck exuded a sensual aura.

To sum it up briefly, the man before her was perfect in every way.

Natasha gently caressed Sieghart’s cheek. After carefully wiping away the blood smeared on his white skin, she pressed her lips against it.

Was it an illusion that her eyes met Sieghart’s?

‘…It couldn’t have been an illusion.’

Judging by how his red eyes had deepened in color, it wasn’t an illusion.

A moment later, Sieghart grabbed Natasha’s wrist. After licking clean the blood on her fingertips, he pulled her even closer.

Reading the meaning behind his sticky gaze, Natasha gripped his neck more tightly. Sieghart also supported her bottom more firmly.

As Sieghart slightly twisted his chin, a perfect gap formed between them. Natasha gently turned her head to the opposite side, aligning her face with the small crevice.

In the moment they felt each other’s breath, without anyone taking the lead, both simultaneously parted their lips and engulfed each other’s.

Upper and lower lips were alternately swallowed. In response to the intense sensation, a hot flesh intruded into the parted lips.

The strange stimulation of gently scratching the roof of her mouth made her body tingle as if electricity was flowing through it. Noticing the woman’s sensual change, Sieghart stirred his flesh even deeper, overwhelming her.

“Wait, ah, wait a moment, Sieghart…!”

Natasha’s body tilted backward, unable to withstand the rough coupling. Fearing she might fall, the woman stretched one hand behind her to find something to support herself.

She finally managed to balance herself by pressing her hand against a pillar she had grabbed.

“Mmh…”

Sieghart rewarded Natasha, who was now fully prepared to receive him.

He gently sucked on her lower lip and then pushed his own into the gap created. Afterwards, he softly circled, tracing a round oval.

By the time their saliva, moistened with excitement, was messily rolling around in each other’s mouths, Natasha, having lost the timing to breathe, exhaled a rough breath.

Sieghart, who had given her a short respite, fiercely continued his desire as soon as her breathing became calmer.

It was uncertain how much time had passed.

With ears muffled and lewd wet sounds coming through them, there was no room to focus on other noises. It seemed like they vaguely remembered hearing the clock chime majestically to mark the hour while they were exchanging intense love.

When they finally separated their lips, both of their lips had swollen up like fingers soaked in water.

Natasha asked him to put her down, saying it was enough.

It felt like walking for the first time in a long while. She stumbled at first but quickly regained her balance.

She searched for the exit while holding Sieghart’s hand.

When there was barely a step left in the passage, the man suddenly stopped. Following him, Natasha also stopped, and the silence of the world engulfed them. Because of this, it seemed like they could faintly hear the sound of heartbeats.

Natasha, who had inadvertently revealed her own heart, felt suddenly shy. As she stared at him intently, pretending not to know, Sieghart opened his mouth.

“I love you, Natasha Charliee.”

“…”

“I really love you, Tisha.”

Warm sunlight entered through the gap of the door he had left open. A stream of light illuminated him.

Was it because of Sieghart’s excessively romantic words, or because of the unbelievably well-crafted subject? Natasha found herself lost in a daze without realizing it.

Her eyes were entirely focused on Sieghart Asthart. The ruins where corpses were strewn about and everywhere was a sea of blood.

For Sieghart and Natasha, that place was a paradise more beautiful than anything else.

Sieghart and Natasha met with the team belatedly.

Sir Dante and the Charliee Knights started to tear up as soon as they saw Natasha, and after discovering her injuries, they wailed.

They shed one tear seeing her torn forehead, two tears seeing the bruises on her arms and legs, and when they saw blood coming from her mouth as she coughed, they created a sea of tears.

That damned bastard, he deserves to die, he should go to hell! Not only did he desecrate the dead, but he even killed someone who was already dead! Such extremely wicked words were exchanged.

Kyle Letius’s unexpected question about how much the woman must have been tormented for even her lips to be swollen caught them off guard.

“Come on, let’s stop worrying about me. It feels strange to be treated as dead when I’ve returned safely.”

“What happened to the contract I asked for?”

As the two abruptly changed the subject of conversation, the knights were perplexed.

However, since Sieghart was asking about something so important, there was no time to be suspicious. Sir Dante proudly announced their achievements.

“Yes, we found it and successfully destroyed it. The contract between the duchy and the empire has now been completely nullified.”

“All plans have succeeded. Everyone has worked hard. Thanks to your efforts, we will finally reclaim the Kingdom of Charliee tomorrow.”

It was the final punctuation mark on the operation.

The knights, drunk on victory, began to cheer enthusiastically. Emotions ran wild to the point of overwhelming their hearts. Forgetting all the pain gained from battle, they were intoxicated with the glory and joy of victory in reclaiming their homeland.

The team was completely disbanded after a final greeting telling them to return to the Asthart mansion and enjoy a sweet rest since they must be tired.

Instead of returning straight to the mansion, Natasha and Sieghart decided to enjoy the festival a little.

“Isn’t it strange? That we’re thinking of enjoying the festival…”

Today, which was always a luxurious festival day for others, had always been a series of pain for them. It was surprising that they were now thinking of enjoying this day.

“From today on, this day will no longer be a day of pain, but a glorious day.”

“That’s true.”

The two washed up briefly at a nearby lake and changed into spare clothes they had brought in advance.

Luckily finding a coachman nearby, they now had transportation and headed towards the capital’s village where the festival was said to be the grandest.

Not long after daybreak, the village was unaware of the tragedy that had occurred in the imperial palace. In the village, ignorant of the fact that today’s main character had died, the festival was in full swing.

An endless array of spectacular sights and delicious foods continued. It was a grand festival befitting its title as the biggest celebration of the year.

Unable to contain her curiosity, Natasha dragged Sieghart around to various places. Knowing that today would be the last day of the festival celebrating Kyle’s achievements, she felt unnecessarily rushed.

As they were also hungry, they tried one eye-catching snack after another. Although the festival food was quite stimulating and not to their taste, the charm was in the challenge itself, so they tried various things.

They blew soap bubbles, which only children usually enjoy, and took a bite of fruit skewers, which are also typically enjoyed by children.

Finding that they had more time than expected, they even commissioned a couple’s portrait from a street artist.

“Ma’am, please stand like this, and sir, like this… Ah, could you two move closer together? Yes, yes. Like that.”

The artist asked them to strike various poses for the picture.

At first, they struggled because the atmosphere the artist wanted was quite different from what they had in mind. It was quite awkward trying to strike poses they had never attempted before.

Glancing around, they noticed that all the couples who had commissioned paintings were striking similar poses. Realizing that the posture the artist had requested was a common one for couples, Natasha felt more at ease afterward.

Yes, they were no different from other couples, so there was no need to feel awkward.