Hertian’s face was rather serious.

“Are you rejecting me?”

Beneath the damp, dark hair, her slightly flushed cheeks appeared one after the other. At that sight, my thoughts unintentionally strayed.

‘Is he really implying that we’ll spend a heated first night?’

A strange imagination brushed through my mind.

As if my imagination had become reality, I felt sincerity in his gaze.

I rolled my eyes and quietly pulled the quilt up to my neck. Seeing the muscular masculinity before my eyes, I had doubts whether this man was asexual or not. I swallowed my dry saliva and spoke.

“Just by sharing a bed with Hertian, there will already be rumors about our first night. There’s no need to actually… do… that…”

But even then, his gaze that swept over my body hidden under the blanket didn’t let me finish my sentence.

Asexual, my foot!

He claimed to have no interest in women, yet what was he thinking now?

“If it’s about the grandson plan I mentioned to His Majesty, it was all a lie…”

My face stiffened so hard I couldn’t even speak properly.

“You’re trembling.”

“Huh?”

Hertian, who had been silently staring at me, finally spoke.

“If you tremble all night from the cold, your condition will worsen. The Count said so. He said that during winter you were often seriously ill and couldn’t even go outside. It’s always cold in the North, so if you fall asleep like this, your illness will get worse.”

He explained it neatly.

“So…you don’t mean to…spend our first night?”

I asked with a drained face.

“Did you want to?”

“Huh? What?”

“If you wish, I’ll try.”

“No!”

My face flamed as if it was about to burn.

I was misunderstanding on my own.

Was Hertian laughing because of that? He snickered and covered his mouth after glancing at me.

“I have a high body temperature, so I thought holding you might make you feel a little warmer.”

“Oh…I see.”

I was utterly embarrassed.

Despite knowing Hertian wouldn’t say something like that, I had imagined in that direction.

Instead, Hertian unbuttoned his robe while watching me. It felt as if I had done something terrible.

“I’m sorry for misunderstanding. I’m not an easy woman, so don’t worry.”

His puppylike, innocent glance swept over me. He looked just like a black puppy.

“Really?”

“…”

“Let’s try hugging tightly and sleep tonight. Let’s see what happens tomorrow morning!”

I escaped from the blanket and spread my arms wide.

The only way to prove I wasn’t a pervert was that.

“I trust you.”

“You must fully trust me. We are partners, aren’t we?”

Only then did he close the distance.

“But, Hertian, is your body temperature that high?”

“Do you want to feel it?”

The tempting muscles barely glimpsed through the gap in his robe. I involuntarily gulped. The moment I hesitated to reply, fearing I would appear like a pervert, he pulled my hand to his abdomen.

I was momentarily surprised by the firm feeling of his skin on my palm.

“How is it?”

“It’s warm…”

A tiny moan slipped from my mouth.

The warmth was strong enough to melt my hands, frozen solid from the cold wind all day. Looking closely, his body seemed to emit faint steam. It was an abnormally high body temperature.

“You must have caught a cold. The study was so cold earlier, you stayed there dressed lightly? No wonder you caught a cold!”

I was scolding him with a serious face. His robe was made of thin silk material, so it was like wearing nothing.

“You should dress warmly. Even with the firewood burning, the room is so cold due to the night air… Your tongue will be twisted tomorrow morning.”

Hertian seemed to have forgotten the Northern life after being on the battlefield for a long time. Wearing such thin clothes.

I covered him tightly with the blanket to keep him warm.

“I have never caught a cold in my life.”

“You’re burning up.”

“My body temperature is naturally high.”

“So hot?”

“Your body temperature is low, so comparatively, mine feels higher.”
Before I could realize it, he who had changed his address to “wife” had spread the quilt that had gathered around him on me.

“If that’s the case…….”

The urge to jump into his embrace arose. I would surely be able to sleep comfortably if it were in that warm embrace.

However, when I actually tried to hold him, the Confucian thoughts deeply ingrained within me didn’t allow it. We were married by contract, but it felt like we were a real couple sleeping in each other’s arms. But wouldn’t nothing happen? It was just about sharing warmth, wasn’t it? Was that too greedy?

In that brief moment, a myriad of thoughts crossed my mind.

As if reading my mind, Hertian spoke.

“It’s only for the sake of your health, Madam.”

The answer had already come out.

I had no room to refuse him, a human heater.

Well, I will eat well, no…….

“I’m counting on you.”

I jumped into his wide embrace as if I had been waiting.

He easily held me in his arms and lay down on the bed. As soon as the thick quilt was covered, the body temperature began to rise.

‘Ah, it’s warm.’