Despite his ability returning, Thanasis found it difficult to control his body.

Due to the harsh time he spent because of Ianathas, his body was not functioning normally.

Moreover, he was hungry because Reniel had not come at her usual time.

He recalled the generous meals she always brought.

Originally, he would never touch cold food, but for some reason he couldn’t refuse those meals that carried Reniel’s unique scent and the magic of a stabilizer.

Thanasis sighed and went out the door.

He immediately floated a fireball in front of the eyes of a knight who seemed about to shout in surprise upon seeing him.

“Make a sound and you die.”

Thwack! Thwack!

Then he promptly knocked out two knights.

Now came the real problem. There were many traps above.

He recalled what he had seen while pretending to be unconscious when Reniel brought him down.

“Hmm.”

About to set off, he suddenly thought his current clothes looked too ragged.

He looked indifferently at the two unconscious knights and smiled.

He stripped their clothes and stuffed them into the secret room. Then he deliberately scattered Reniel’s belongings around the knights.

“The clothes are a bit small.”

Then he calmly began to ascend from the underground to the upper floors.

“When they wake up…”

Those underground will think Reniel burned to death here when they open their eyes.

He had deliberately left Reniel’s belongings there, and also put and burned the torn clothes he had received from her before.

“Hmm.”

Frowning because it was very dark inside, he soon saw numerous knights as he neared the ground level.

“Why did you come up? It shouldn’t be shift change time yet.”

The knight who asked this still didn’t suspect Thanasis.

Because he had just watched Thanasis skillfully avoid the traps on the stairs as he came up. There was no reason for suspicion since he avoided traps that only a knight would know.

Thanasis wanted to burn all the knights here.

But his body wasn’t normal for that.

And when he thought about wanting to protect Reniel, his ability that used to obey would disappear when overtaken by the urge to kill someone.

“I’m going to look for someone upstairs.”

“Who?”

“Deputy Chamberlain Reniel.”

“Ah, that person. Come to think of it, she usually comes at this time, why didn’t she come today?”

“That’s why I’m going to check.”

“Because of the monster in the secret room?”

“…Yes.”

Soon the knights let Thanasis go without suspicion.

This was Felix’s mistake.

The knights guarding the secret room were always stationed with people whose faces were not well known. It was just more convenient for disposal that way.

He escaped from there naturally like that.

Thanasis, who had entered the mansion, was again focusing on Reniel’s scent.

The fragrant scent seemed to awaken him again. As he looked around after going up to the main building like that, he sensed someone’s presence somewhere.

Thanasis looked in that direction intending to eliminate whoever it was.

But.

“Reniel.”

He saw her coming down the stairs in disheveled attire.

“Ah… I’m late, aren’t I?”

“Yes.”

Thanasis pulled her hand. Then he unleashed all his magic.

Unlike when she was away, vast and powerful magic spread around, instantly setting the mansion on fire.

“Please burn it a little slower. Even if I’m supposed to be dead, the other knights shouldn’t get hurt.”

“…Alright.”

He held Reniel’s hand and headed outside the mansion.

****

Perhaps because quite some time had passed, Felix had also fallen asleep. Before falling asleep, he felt good about Reniel’s warm body temperature melting into him.

The sound of her pulse from her slender wrist was ringing in his ears.

Felix often had to listen to heartbeats to confirm he was alive.

Only then could he confirm he wasn’t dead.

But now it had changed a little.

In the past, he had clung to life by listening to his own heartbeat.

Now he needed to hear Reniel’s heartbeat, not his own, to feel at ease.

He just hadn’t realized yet that her small heart beating had become much more important than his own chest pounding.

Felix thought Reniel was like the fox she had raised as a child.

It bothered him that taking her in and cherishing her stimulated his childhood fears of not knowing when or how she might die, but at the same time she approached without fearing him and gave him the will to live each time.

There were times he thought she was foolish.

It was similar how she kept looking at him with concern even if he just fed her and chased her away.

And in front of him, how dare she.

As if she wasn’t afraid at all.

‘Master, aren’t you drinking too much?’

‘Cough cough!’

‘You shouldn’t stop taking sleeping pills either?’

It was amazing that she said such things.

There was no one around Felix who would say such things to him.

Ianathas knew the cigars he smoked were painkillers, and he too was someone who found solace in alcohol.

And sleeping pills were essential. Felix’s side effect was not being able to fall asleep.

Once, for a very brief moment, when he took Reniel into his arms, Felix was relieved that his side effects were not the same as Ianathas’.

If it were such a dirty side effect, Reniel might die suddenly.

And yet.

He was seeing Reniel in his dreams.

“Strange. I took both, so why are you appearing again?”

“Master.”

Felix unknowingly smiled back as he saw Reniel calling him with a smile.

This was clearly a dream. Seeing that his mind was clear, it must be a lucid dream.

Thinking so, he looked around. In the dream world, the surrounding scenery changed arbitrarily.

The earrings on Reniel’s ears were not the heirloom taken from Marquis Charlonte.

What she was wearing was clearly a location tracking device.

In reality, it was put on her not so much to monitor where she went, but because his political enemies might target her.

“Master.”

He looked at the flowers that had suddenly filled the surroundings.

It seemed to be the rear garden of the Le Pelique ducal residence, judging by its familiarity.

Felix had no interest in managing the mansion at all.

However, since there were occasional visitors to the mansion, he had told the gardener to at least make a rear garden.

As evidence, flowers that Felix had casually chosen but still remembered were in full bloom.

“Funny.”

“What is?”

He smiled pleasantly as Reniel approached him.

All the flowers blooming around were hydrangeas.

He knew that the flower language of hydrangeas was fickleness and tragic endings.

He had chosen them as an excuse to properly chase away guests who visited the mansion.

But now looking at them, they were similar to Reniel’s purple eyes, and some with a bluish tint resembled her hair color, so he liked them.

“This is clearly a dream.”

He looked at her face.

“I wish it wasn’t a dream.”

He unknowingly let out a pleased sigh at Reniel’s completely feminine appearance.

She was a bit shorter than when she was male. Her long limbs were similar, but her body’s curves were different.

Moreover, he wondered where she had gotten such an alluring outfit.

She was wearing a white blouse with a dark blue skirt.

The skirt’s waistband came up high, making her chest stand out prominently.

On top of that, she was wearing a scarf like a cravat, and the pattern was quite cute.

And in the center was a brooch made of amethyst.

“Fel.”

He remained still as Reniel reached out to him. He smiled again as that touch reached his cheek.

“This isn’t right.”

“Why not?”

His heart fluttered as she boldly looked into his eyes and smiled.

“Are you trying to die of happiness?”

He began to worry a little that Reniel appeared as a woman in his dream.

He does not respond to men. That was clear. But Reniel was a being he kept taking into his arms despite being male.

If Reniel were a woman, he felt he would really have difficulty restraining his desires.

“You said this is a dream? Then can’t you do whatever you want?”

“Even if it’s a dream, that’s not okay.”

“Why not?”

“It would ruin our relationship.”

Felix said this while caressing her cheek.

Her cheek was very soft. This was clearly a dream.

Even the breeze entering the rear garden felt real.

Though it was a dream, he felt his body heating up as he sensed Reniel’s scent.

Because of the sweet yet dizzying lovely fragrance, he seemed to hear his own heart beating.

“Why would it be ruined?”

“I’m not sure if you’re asking because you don’t know, or because you’re innocent.”

“I’m asking because I don’t know. You’re really strange, Master. Having such dreams because you desire me.”

“I can’t deny that.”

Felix’s desire was clear. If Reniel were a woman, he wanted to embrace her. But that wasn’t all.

Rather, he seemed to not want her to misunderstand him in that way.

Perhaps if he had gotten close to her in a normal way, he might have rushed the physical relationship a little more.

He smiled as he watched her hair flutter in the gentle breeze.

Then his heart trembled as she pulled down the hand that had been on her cheek.

He felt her soft skin.

“Fel.”

At those provocative words, he suddenly came to his senses.

“Reniel.”

Before falling asleep, Reniel who had clearly been in his arms was gone.