The dagger flew with a sharp whistling sound and struck the door with a thud, deeply embedded in the wood.

Next to it, a damp towel fell from the man’s shoulder and landed on the floor with a soft thump.

Sidney’s gaze, which had been following the towel, slowly traveled upward.

Black pants that accentuated his firm thigh muscles, a carelessly donned black shirt revealing well-defined abs and a broad chest, a shadowed collarbone, and…

Sidney unknowingly swallowed, feeling an inexplicable thirst.

“Why are you here, Captain…”

“You should have known it was me.”

Logan’s indifferent eyes, pointing to the dagger stuck in the door, seemed to ask if she had intended to kill him.

How brazen of him to deliberately conceal his presence.

Sidney scoffed as she took out another dagger from her opposite sleeve and placed it on the table with a clack.

“I thought you were an assassin.”

“If that were the case, it would be disappointing.”

“…?”

“You made an uncharacteristic mistake at such a short distance.”

Logan’s quiet, monotonous voice and deeply sunken blue eyes resembled a meadow swept by a downpour.

A desolate and vast land where everything had been washed away by the fierce wind and rain, leaving nothing behind.

It was irksome. His appearance, as if he were hurt unlike his usual arrogant self, and this stifling feeling it caused, was highly unpleasant.

“Judging by your expression, you seem to have a lot of complaints.”

Logan walked over, brushing back the damp hair that had fallen over his forehead with his hand.

His gait was as leisurely as a beast prowling its territory, yet his gaze as he looked at her seemed somewhat restless.

As the distance between them gradually closed, her body grew hotter and her breathing quickened.

“In the first place, if the Captain hadn’t concealed his presence… There’s no way to know. Why, of all places, in your own house.”

Why hide like a rat?

Sidney swallowed her final words and took a step back, clasping her hands behind her back.

“I was afraid you might run away again.”

“…!”

“I didn’t know I would have to risk my life.”

Perhaps he understood the meaning of not coming closer, or perhaps he had simply lost interest.

Logan Redford passed by Sidney with his right eyebrow slightly raised.

Most likely the latter. Sidney followed Logan’s retreating figure with her eyes and asked,

“Why, of all places, in my bedroom… and even taking a bath.”

“Because it’s the room I’ve lived in since I was born.”

“Then I’ll move to the guest room.”

“I’m telling you it’s your bedroom and my bedroom at the same time.”

It sounded like there was no room for reconsideration and not to mention it further.

His tone was so resolute, and his back, standing tall in front of the table, felt distant.

This was the Logan Redford she was familiar with.

Meticulously neat and demanding perfection to the point of being fussy.

If she was even a little late, he would nag like crazy, then suddenly turn around with an angry face. It was just like that.

Her superior, Logan Redford, who was desperate to get rid of Sidney Warden from his sight. It was a sight she was very accustomed to.

Was this what she wanted? Did she want to distance herself from him like this?

No, I just…

“I didn’t run away, I needed time to think. And…”

Sidney continued, looking at Logan Redford’s sculpture-like side profile as he slowly turned around.

“I have something to ask.”

“…I suppose you’re done thinking.”

Logan’s face was shadowed as he stood with his back to the fireplace, making it impossible to read his expression.

However, sensing from the subtly cracked baritone that it wasn’t too late, she felt a strange sense of pleasure.

“Come and sit.”

Even at his casual, indifferently uttered command, she felt like laughing.

Even in Logan’s view, Leon Lind’s plan was quite plausible.

If his grandfather, Marquis Douglas Redford, stepped in and established this marriage as a fait accompli, even the principled Sidney Warden would have no choice but to comply.

What on earth did you do to make Sidney come out so obediently? What does she want to ask?

Surely, his grandfather couldn’t have encouraged her to run away. No, he wouldn’t have done that.

Logan clenched his teeth tightly to suppress his boiling rage.

Then, glancing at Sidney, who was sitting demurely and adjusting her dress, he muttered to himself,

“Maybe I should have let the dagger hit me?”

“Pardon?”

“It seemed like you threw it so I would get slightly injured.”

He had clearly seen it.

Just before throwing the dagger, Sidney had twisted her wrist slightly, aiming for Logan’s shoulder instead of his heart.

If he had given her a tendon and made her feel guilty, he wouldn’t have to feel so anxious and would have had an excuse to keep her by his side for life.

Damn those reflexes. Logan clicked his tongue briefly, blaming his innocent survival instincts.

“I left room to investigate the mastermind.”

“…I see.”

Logan pulled the cork out of the wine bottle while looking down at Sidney, who was cleanly erasing even the slightest hint of opportunity. He mentally reviewed his next plan.

Damn it, cursing his body for reacting to Leon Lind’s furtive glance, he sat down on the sofa.

“Captain?”

Ah, why does she have to be so unnecessarily pretty?

Logan forcibly lifted his gaze that had been descending along the elegant line of Sidney’s neck.

He took out his frustration on his body, which was already screaming in pain from the blood rushing to a certain area.

“You’re not going to report in that state. When it’s just the two of us…”

As if she really hated hearing it, Sidney spoke sternly, as if handing candy to a whining child.

“Yes. Logan, are you okay?”

The slightly furrowed brows, the protruding lips, the indifferent tone…

It was Sidney Warden’s bare face, which was very familiar to Logan, like a shower in a barren battlefield, shown only to him.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“How am I looking at you?”

“…Like that day.”

To be able to gaze at her freely and even make obvious advances, that magical day, perhaps even today…

Logan poured wine into a transparent glass while glancing at Sidney out of the corner of his eye.

The elegant profile and the blonde hair braided up were just like that day.

As if giving him a chance.

Then, starting with an apology…

“I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for?”

That’s not it. Taken aback by Sidney’s unusually sharp response, Logan was quite flustered.

She’s really angry. It would be better to just be honest. I need to resolve this somehow to move on to the next step…

After quickly reviewing the plan in his mind, Logan opened his mouth, which had been tightly shut.

“Honestly, I don’t know. But I felt like I should apologize… I’m sorry for not remembering and making you angry.”

Hoping that her heart would soften.

“An apology for something you don’t remember, and doing it sincerely… Why go that far?”

“Because you’re not the type to get angry for no reason.”

“As I said before, I just needed time to think.”

“About what?”

Sidney bit her lower lip and glanced at Logan.

His thick eyelashes lifted, and his blue eyes trembled slightly. But soon his gaze hardened, and the restless look disappeared.

Logan, who had returned to his usual arrogant face, held out a glass of wine and commanded,

“If it’s difficult to answer, drink.”

“…Like that day?”

He rested his chin on the armrest and pointed to the wine glass with his eyes.

An apology followed by a drinking game? What is he thinking when he has low alcohol tolerance?

Could it be that he wants to use the influence of alcohol to stumble into the bedroom? No way. A rational person like Logan wouldn’t use such a primitive and low-grade method…

“Sidney?”

Sidney blushed unknowingly at Logan’s intense gaze as he called her name.

The nights she had spent with him…

The acts that explored every inch of her body, the obscene and vulgar words uttered at the peak of pleasure, and the insatiable and vigorous desires that were too embarrassing to even mention.

In bed, Logan Redford was the complete opposite of being rational.

Moreover, she realized anew how easily she was swept away by such a Logan.

To get the answer he wanted and survive the night unscathed, she had to get Logan, who had low alcohol tolerance, drunk quickly. But wine might not be enough…

Sidney picked up the small bell placed on the table and smiled.

“If the purpose of getting drunk is a passionate night…”

The clear sound of the bell rang out, summoning the servant.

She whispered softly, “Wine is too weak,” while staring intently into Logan’s narrowed eyes.

Instantly, a spark flashed in Logan’s eyes, and he swept over Sidney’s body with a speed faster than lightning.

His gaze was so intense and lustful that it felt as if she were being stripped bare.

As if to prove it wasn’t a mere illusion, Logan’s voice as he called her name was unusually husky and moist.

“Mm, Sidney…”

As if to suggest going to the bedroom immediately.