“What, what are you doing?”

The startled Rukna Golden stirred. Thanks to Matian supporting the back of her head with one hand, her head was stably lifted slightly off the floor.

“Indeed. What do I even want to do?”

If he had known that Rukna’s existence would throw him into such confusion, he would not have gotten entangled with her from the beginning.

No, perhaps he had instinctively realized at the entrance ceremony that things would turn out this way, and that’s why he had kept his distance for the past two and a half years.

But after the holy sword disappeared, everything became a mess.

Her holy power was useful to him, and that in turn became proof that the demon’s power was eating away at him.

As a result, whenever Rukna came to mind, he found himself questioning dozens of times whether his heart had been eroded by dark energy, and his anxiety gradually swelled into a vague desire to possess someone.

Matian himself did not know whether this heat originated from himself or from the demon’s fragment.

Matian looked down at Rukna beneath him.

‘It’s familiar.’

It had to be. He had seen such scenes many times in his dreams.

If Rukna were to exhale breathlessly and wrap her arms around his neck like this, it would be even more similar.

When he first had that dream, it was absurd, and the second time, it was surreal.

From then on, he thought it would be better to have nightmares and avoided Rukna.

Because while dreams with demons only left him feeling dreary for a moment, on days when Rukna appeared, he had to suffer feeling like he would never wake up from the dream.

On days when Matian encountered Rukna, he got anxious that he might make a mistake, unable to distinguish between dreams and reality.

‘Just like right now.’

However, even knowing that this shouldn’t be happening, he had no thought of letting go of Rukna.

Matian stared at his own reflection in Rukna’s green eyes.

What expression is this? Is he smiling, angry, or nervous?

What could Rukna be thinking as she sees his expression that can’t be clearly defined as anything?

“At first, I pondered whether you were Rukna Golden or Rukna Closet.”

Matian began telling the story he had been hiding.

“Every time I sensed the holy sword’s energy from you, I had to calculate whether your words were true or not. I thought I saw the holy sword on the dwarves’ airship too.”

What else was there? Staring at Rukna’s pert nose and luscious lips, Matian continued.

“After falling into the Pond of Truth, I even started getting confused about your gender. I had to fall into the idiotic doubt of whether you were really a man. But…”

Matian’s face lowered so close it almost touched hers. His hot breath brushed over her slightly parted lips.

“Now I’m starting to think that none of it matters.”

For him, born with the yoke of a hero and destined to become one, the variable named Rukna that appeared kept pushing him off his predetermined path.

Perhaps the demon’s fragment that had been tormenting his heart was now shaking his mind as well.

“It’s like my head has been contaminated.”

Very dirty and murky. So profane that he couldn’t carelessly show it to anyone.

It was the same now. This lecture hall and his own mind were dark and cool without sunlight, but only this body was boiling hot as if standing under the sun.

Matian’s patience flowed out as a long sigh.

Was Rukna, who had inhaled Matian’s breath, also tense?

For a moment, Rukna unknowingly held her breath and then slowly exhaled.

Her face flushed bright red at the thought of mixing breaths with him.

“How much more are you going to corrupt me by doing this?”

Seeing that, Matian muttered softly and bit his lower lip hard enough to draw blood. Then he squeezed his eyes shut and slowly lifted his upper body.

“I found it more difficult to control myself too, so I was more desperate for the holy sword. Then I sensed a similar energy from you, and in urgency, I searched your body without permission.”

Matian reached out a hand to the lying Rukna.

“Ah, so, so that’s why you did that.”

Rukna blinked rapidly and grabbed his hand to lift herself up.

Though she wasn’t particularly injured anywhere, her legs trembled, so Rukna held the wall with one hand to maintain balance.

“I was rude. I apologize.”

Just as Matian calmly offered an apology to Rukna, a voice was heard outside.

“Hey, just stand there for a moment, Youngsik!”

It was the Imperial Princess’s voice. Soon, accompanied by busy footsteps, the voice of the man who should have been bedridden followed.

“Unfortunately, it’s our first meeting, Lady. Even if I meet anyone and everyone, I never forget a woman I’ve met once, but we’re not acquainted.”

‘Chad? Why is that guy who’s supposed to be recuperating here?’

Had he already recovered? As Rukna tried to open the door, Matian grabbed her wrist, making a shushing sound.

“You dare disobey my words?”

“I don’t know who you are, Lady, but I’m a bit busy.”

“You’re Cheyren Steward, aren’t you?”

The Imperial Princess called Chad by a different name. If it’s Steward, that’s an imperial surname. Rukna put her ear to the door.

“Goodness, how could someone like me have an imperial surname?”

Chad’s voice got closer and closer.

“Even if your face changed, it’s you. Definitely your eyes…!”

“Well, my eyes are quite charming. Ah, here it is. I need to retrieve something I left in this lecture hall. Then, I’ll be off.”

With a smooth tone, the doorknob of the lecture hall Rukna was in rattled. Chad was trying to enter here.

But the door didn’t open.

It was thanks to Matian, who had locked the door with the fragile lock and firmly pressed one foot against the door so it couldn’t move.

“Who locked it?”

The door rattled loudly once more, and then the holy sword’s voice was heard.

“Master, move to the 5 o’clock direction desk pile. Something has been detected.”

‘Bisby? Is it okay to say that with Matian here?’

The startled Rukna first looked up at Matian.

He briefly reacted to her gaze but turned his eyes back to the entrance.

For some reason, he seemed not to have noticed the holy sword’s energy.

“The master’s enhanced holy power is masking my energy, so the probability of being detected is under 3 percent.”

The holy sword’s voice saying that somehow felt excited, but that must just be her imagination.

“Move quickly. Time limit 30 seconds.”

’30 seconds? Tell me these things in advance!’

As Rukna detached Matian’s hand and tried to move, his hand didn’t let go of her.

Rubbing her lips, Rukna mouthed ‘Let go’ and pointed to the grabbed wrist.

While releasing the held wrist, he only stared at her grumbling lips, not the wrist, but Rukna had no room to mind that.

“Time limit 26 seconds.”

‘Okay, okay, I got it.’

Rukna swiftly moved to the back of the lecture hall where the holy sword guided her.

Every time she rummaged through desks entangled in groups of five or six, hazy dust entered her respiratory system.

Achoo! Unknowingly sneezing, Rukna belatedly covered her nose and mouth.

“Who’s in there?”

Chad, who had been making all sorts of excuses to the Imperial Princess, spoke toward the inside of the door.

‘What do I do!’

“Revising time limit. 7 seconds remaining. Check the desk without dust.”

At the holy sword’s words, Rukna quickly examined the desks.

“Time limit 4 seconds.”

And there was one conspicuously clean desk.

Matian suspiciously glanced toward Rukna and checked under his feet.

Chad seemed to intend to break down the door, as a red magic circle floated under the door.

“Time limit 3 seconds.”

Rukna felt inside the clean desk.

Then, as she touched a small cloth pouch, she immediately took it out and shoved it into her pants pocket.

“Time limit 2 seconds.”

As Rukna returned to her original spot, she checked the entrance. Matian was striding toward her.

“Time limit 1 second.”

Soon there was a fluttering sound, and something covered the top of Rukna’s head, simultaneously obscuring her vision.

“Time limit over.”

Before the magic circle could unfold, the rusty lock on the door weakly shattered and the door swung open.

“Oh, so the esteemed council president was here?”

Chad asked, narrowing his eyes.

Right now, Matian was standing with his back to the entrance, embracing Rukna and hiding her in his arms.

“Who are you with, Matian?”

Leaning against the doorframe, Chad tilted his body, trying to examine the other person. Matian only turned his head back and glared at Chad.

“Why are you looking at me like you want to rip me to shreds? Did you make eye contact with some woman who came to school today?”

“Why are you here?”

Even though Matian had heard Chad say he had something he left here, he asked again for confirmation.

Ignoring that question, Chad turned to Imperial Princess Talia and glibly said, “I think I opened the wrong door.”

Seeing Matian, Imperial Princess Talia’s complexion paled.

What could the two men, who had said they had business and left their seats, have been doing in such a gloomy place?

“Was this the reason you rejected me, Duke Matian?”

“…Let me tell you again, I am in no condition to marry anyone.”

“Are you going to make excuses again this time about a demon’s fragment or dying young?”

Surprised by the story she was hearing for the first time, Rukna rolled her eyes.

Dying young? Does Matian suffer from a chronic illness?

“You might as well make the excuse that you can’t perform as a man! What the Imperial family originally wanted was the hero’s bloodline anyway.”

“Then I’ll say that.”

“What did you say?”

“I’m saying I’ll become a guy with a demon’s fragment stuck in his heart, who can’t live long, and who can’t even function as a man to produce an heir.”