“Would you like to get some fresh air?”

It was Hertian’s suggestion to calm my surprised self.

I saw my reflection in the mirror and followed him obediently.

The capital was in late spring, so warm winds blew even at night.

The flowers blooming at night are splendid, but my eyes are still lost.

Eventually, I couldn’t hold back and stopped Hertian, who was walking silently. He looked down at me with a more stable face than before. He blinked his eyes gently as if to say it was okay to ask anything.

“Did mother really do that…?”

Hertian nodded slightly.

Why would mother…

But I could infer the answer to that question without hearing it from him.

‘Hertian’s kiss wasn’t for any other reason.’

It wasn’t because my mind was going crazy.

It wasn’t the type of poison I had thought.

“Don’t tell me mother gave me such a drug…?”

She had clearly asked me when I was going to have a baby, saying how long I was going to put it off. Saying it’s better to have children when you’re younger. But I didn’t know that meant to consummate the marriage today.

I felt like my face was about to explode from embarrassment.

“It’s more my fault than that.”

He brought the empty wine bottle that had been on the table near the bedroom.

“I thought it was just wine, not medicine, and drank too much alone, which was the problem.”

He said. He drank more alcohol than usual, thinking it was a wine with the effect of boosting strength.

So his body not only heated up but even became painful.

“I’m sorry for causing you trouble, Hertian. I’ll explain it properly to my parents.”

“Please don’t do that too much.”

He returned to his original self.

To the thoughtful Hertian as usual.

Looking at him like that, I felt a little frustrated. He seemed to have a habit of always accepting and understanding even when he was in an unreasonable situation. He would probably see this incident as a simple accident too. Even though we had kissed deeply.

‘Is he excessively honest, or what?’

He might think that way if he was faithful to the contract. He wanted to appear on good terms with my parents as per the contract, and this was an accident that occurred in that process.

Suddenly, Hertian’s lips look deeper than usual.

‘It wasn’t unpleasant.’

The official first kiss through my past life and this life was good. Even if it wasn’t by Hertian’s or my will.

But that’s where the appreciation had to stop.

Because there would be no development between us two.

I barely tore my gaze away from his red lips and turned my eyes to the sky. Stars twinkled even in the clean night sky of the capital.

“Shall we go in now?”

I’ll have to finish what I was going to say to him today tomorrow.

‘But do we have to sleep together today?’

If mother went as far as using medicine, she must have had quite high expectations.

All sorts of thoughts cluttered my mind.

Then, Hertian grabbed my wrist.

It was a careful touch, different from when he had taken the medicine. I looked down at my arm at the cool sensation, then turned my gaze to his black eyes.

“Before we go in, would you come with me over there for a moment?”

“What?”

It was an abrupt suggestion.

“Now? Where?”

I answered hesitantly.

“It will only take a moment.”

“But Hertian.”

“Is there a problem?”

I shook my head at his question. It’s especially difficult to refuse his request today.

He smiled more deeply than usual and took my hand. The warm touch feels ticklish today.

‘Is Hertian not affected at all?’

I felt a bit bitter as I looked down at the large hand firmly holding mine.

I’m grateful that he’s not uncomfortable, but I couldn’t help feeling uneasy about this situation where we’re moving on as if little children just kissed.

But it would be strange to ask him now if he had forgotten about our kiss.

It was really awkward.

The place he finally turned his steps to was my herb garden inside the Leanberia Count’s residence.

As spring deepened and the weather warmed, the herbs had grown lush.

“Please wait here for a moment.”

Hertian left me standing near the herb garden and alone, carefully examined the herb garden.

‘What is he doing there?’

He was illuminating the plants with moonlight. I stared at him with strange eyes. He was focusing solely on the herbs, to the point where it was hard to believe he was the same person who had just kissed me.

“Found it.”

He seemed to have found the herb he wanted, plucked it right there, and finely ground the herb with a nearby stone. Then he carefully approached me holding it.

I alternately looked at the herb and Hertian with questioning eyes.

“Now let’s go back to the room.”

“What? Okay.”

He calmly left the herb garden.

‘He’s not really gone crazy, right?’

There’s a good chance of that since Hertian, who has no tolerance for drugs, consumed a large amount of strange elixir. I think I should ask mother what kind of medicine she gave him before going to bed.

After entering the mansion, I stopped in front of the stairs and greeted him.

“Since various things happened today, rest comfortably alone. I’ll sleep in my room.”

It was more for my convenience than his.

If I laid down in the same bed like this, I felt like I would stay up all night looking at his lips.

“Please spare me a moment.”

Hertian, unaware of my intentions, caught me as I was trying to escape. He didn’t seem to be greatly affected himself.

“Can’t we talk tomorrow?”

For the first time, I objected to his words. I felt like I needed to be a little distant from him right now.

“It will really only take a moment.”

“…Alright.”

It was difficult to refuse any further.

He entered the room with herbs in one hand.

Even after entering the room, there was no meaningful conversation. I just sat quietly, blankly watching his actions. He was diligently making something by grinding the herbs he had brought.

Unable to wait any longer, I quietly approached him. If it involved handling herbs, there was a high chance he was injured.

“Are you hurt somewhere? Should I help?”

As I approached him from behind, he completed something with quite familiar hand movements.

“It’s done.”

“What is this?”

“It’s a cream mixed with shea butter and mint leaves.”

I could soon understand why he made it now.

He took my hand and sat me down at the head of the bed. Then he knelt in front of me.

“Hertian, what are you doing?”

He smiled faintly at my cautious question.

“May I touch you for a moment?”

When I nodded, a thick lump of herbs soon landed on my lips. Startled by the unfamiliar sensation on my lips, my body flinched, and he gently held my shoulders.

“Please stay still.”

Unable to refuse his words again, I remained quietly still.

The thick cream landed on my lips again. A gentle touch followed. The fingers applying the cream were warm. I glanced at his lips for a moment and then hurriedly averted my gaze.

‘Why is he applying this to my mouth?’

It was embarrassing to look into his eyes, and staying still made my body tingle.

But he observed my lips with quite a serious face. It was embarrassing.

“Your lips will hurt when you speak because they’re swollen.”

After about a minute of breathtaking silence, he opened his mouth.

He looked at me with worried eyes as usual.

I don’t know what to say.

My heart is rustling.

“Of course they are, after being pressed together for nearly half an hour.”

The grumbling in my mind spontaneously came out. But I immediately regretted it. To say such an embarrassing thing to Hertian.

My face was burning.

“No, I’m not blaming Hertian. It was an unavoidable accident after all.”

‘I don’t know why I’m making excuses.’

Clearly my body was getting hot from tension, but my lips felt cool.

“Do you dislike it?”

“No…”

I didn’t dislike it.

No, rather, I felt a little better.

Because it meant Hertian had been thinking about my swollen lips all along.

It seemed he hadn’t forgotten about what happened earlier and was still concerned.

It was a very strange thing.

‘Wasn’t it better to just let it go as if nothing happened?’

It was also because of mother, and I had also fed him the antidote with my mouth. It was something that could be passed off as a momentary happening between us.

It should have been fine like that…

It was strange that I felt disappointed that he wasn’t affected.

It felt like my heart was alternating between hot and cold baths.

“It’s done.”

Just then, Hertian’s fingers moved away from my lips.

“But how did you think of making this?”

I asked, trying to change the atmosphere.

“Are you also good at handling herbs, Hertian?”

Grinding mint leaves and mixing them with shea butter.

It’s a method to reduce swelling while moisturizing chapped skin.

Hertian knew that exactly.

“Last time, you said you sold herbs for a large sum, didn’t you? I knew you had been researching herbs for a long time. So I learned too. I thought it would be nice if I had something to empathize with you about.”

“You studied? When?”

“In my spare time.”

He smiled gently.

For a busy person to learn about herbal liquor just to follow me.

I thought it was both impressive and very like Hertian.

‘I guess I overreacted.’

My lips, which had felt like my heart had moved there, gradually settled down. It wasn’t that the mint leaves had an effect on me. It was just that my mind had calmed down.

“You apply some too, Hertian.”

I grabbed him as he was about to get up.

His lips, which were originally plump and red, were also swollen.

“Come on, pucker your lips.”

His slightly parted lips closed without being able to pucker. I put plenty of the cream he had made on my finger. And gently applied it.

My eyes met Hertian’s. I spoke to Hertian comfortably like before.

“You’re not uncomfortable today.”

It seems I wanted to hear the excuse that he wasn’t uncomfortable last time either. I hoped we could just laugh it off like that.

“It felt good.”

“What, what?”

Caught off guard, I was startled by the sudden comment and dropped the cream I was holding.

I couldn’t understand what he meant by feeling good.

“Wh-what are you saying!”

Hertian let out a shallow laugh without any particular excuse.

“You, you must be tired, so go to sleep quickly. I’ll sleep separately in my room today. I have to read books and do various things…”

I backed away towards the door, listing reasons why I couldn’t share the bedroom.

“Good night.”

As I grabbed the doorknob, he said affectionately.

My breath stopped involuntarily. I nodded awkwardly.

“Then see you tomorrow!”

In my hurry to get out, the door closed with a loud bang.

‘The door closes like this again!’

Worried that he might misunderstand, I shouted from outside the door.

“I didn’t close it hard on purpose!”