“……Lebel.”

A somewhat resolute tone stopped Lebel’s hand. Ilarid’s face was flushed, but her voice did not tremble.

He paused his movement and waited for the Empress’s words.

“I might have to separate from you.”

Her voice continued, heavy with emotion. Ilarid couldn’t bring herself to meet Lebel’s eyes and lowered her gaze.

“You might laugh, but… this was one of the plans I had in mind even before I knew you were ‘Lebel’.”

After recruiting the mercenary group, she had intended to send them to Count Gerdia in the north to be trained as the main army for the northern conquest war.

Now things had grown to the point of setting up a separate special district.

“But… now I don’t want to send you away.”

She never imagined a person’s heart could be this complex. Since the tragedy, Ilarid’s heart had always been close to colorless.

Ilarid reached out to Lebel first. The rough texture of the glove touched her cheek, leaving a faint tremor.

“Just as I wrote in the letter… I seem to love you very, very much.”

The corners of her mouth quivered slowly with love.

When had it begun? From the first time she greeted him in that empty hall? Or when she fell asleep in his arms in the shade?

As soon as she realized their connection from the past, the scales of her heart tipped rapidly. Had letting someone into her heart always been this heavy?

Ilarid anxiously embraced her feelings that had grown uncontrollably large.

When she first noticed, she was afraid of being discovered, and when she became certain, she was scared of overflowing and ruining everything.

And now, she couldn’t find a reason.

Lebel silently took Ilarid’s hand that was on his cheek. Their overlapping touch intertwined gently.

“But Your Majesty, that is precisely why you must send me to Valentium.”

His eyes steadily supported Ilarid without wavering.

“I swore to Your Majesty in the hospital room. That I would be your sword, your shield, and a tool to fulfill your desires. Now is that time.”

Lebel gently pulled Ilarid into his embrace. Her small shoulders fit perfectly in one arm, pressed close. The soft sound of her breath between her lips tickled his chest.

Please don’t stop. What they fear most must be Ilarid’s advance.

He felt her tense shoulders slowly relax. She’s reassured, thank goodness. Lebel comforted the woman who was his master, and perhaps his lover, for a long while.

This might be the perfect time to give her that necklace.

Lebel gently pulled away, then took out what he had been keeping close to his chest all afternoon.

“Would you like to open it?”

It was a small cloth pouch that fit snugly in one hand. The soft texture swirled in his palm, as if it contained something quite luxurious.

As soon as she took out the contents, Ilarid recognized it immediately.

“How did you…?”

“I retrieved it.”

Lebel quickly added to Ilarid’s incredulous expression.

“A few days ago, I purchased it through a legitimate transaction at a jeweler in the capital.”

“It seems like you must have spent all your savings.”

“I earn quite well.”

“…That’s impressive.”

The two looked back on the past they had experienced together with the same gaze. The necklace with the green gem still held a brilliant light.

“It’s the price of my life. Although it took far too long… do you remember?”

Ilarid nodded silently.

How could she forget? It had saved a person from the mud and was now the last keepsake that reminded her of her mother.

She caressed the necklace. How did he manage to find this? It must have taken a long and tedious time to figure out where it had gone after being auctioned off and into someone’s hands.

‘I never expected it to return.’

From the moment she gave up the necklace to save Lebel, she had completely erased any thought of getting it back.

Though it had faded from her memory, Lebel had finally found and returned even the past that Ilarid had let go.

At the end of her caressing movement, Lebel’s hand intertwined with hers. She felt an earnest warmth filled with anticipation and tension. He continued speaking slowly with a trembling voice.

“I humbly request of Your Majesty. Would you… consider this necklace as me?”

Even if we’re far apart, if you think of me when you see this, at least our hearts won’t be.

Ilarid didn’t answer. Instead, she slowly rose from the sofa.

“I want to wear this necklace before I go out. Will you help me?”

She held out the necklace to Lebel again. He received it from her hand, somewhat bewildered.

Ilarid had already turned her back to Lebel and was standing.

The delicate neckline visible beneath her upswept hair. A few strands of silver hair fell over her white nape, swaying gently. There, soft down like spring buds rested.

“…You asked me to consider it as you.”

Ilarid’s eyes held a smile as she glanced back slightly.

“You put it on me yourself. I think that will give it more meaning.”

In truth, if she tried hard enough, she could have put on the necklace by herself easily. But right now, she wanted to be a little closer to him, even if it meant making up trivial excuses.

Lebel stood up as if entranced. Then he stood close behind Ilarid.

A wave of warmth emanated from behind her. His arms and the necklace in his hands came into view. As his breath drew closer, Ilarid gently closed her eyes.

Though it was a simple task of just unfastening the clasp and fastening it again, Lebel was more nervous than during any mission.

Perhaps it would have been easier if his hands were bare. Then he might have been able to caress each soft down on her neck one by one.

Finally, the necklace was placed on Ilarid. It was in a good position that adequately covered her scar. The sound of her heart beating incessantly echoed beneath the green gem.

Just as Ilarid was about to feel the soft throbbing resonating within her body.

Lebel bent down and pressed his lips to Ilarid’s nape, just above the clasp.

The hot and intimate touch automatically made her eyes close and her body tremble. Ilarid grasped Lebel’s arm that had come right up to her waist.

The room was quiet. Only the clamorous beating of their hearts could be heard, revealing their presence.

“…Lebel.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Will you see if it suits me well?”

Ilarid slowly turned back to face him. Their eyes met again, filled with joy.

“There’s no mirror in this room…”

It meant she couldn’t check how the necklace looked on her.

At the same time, it also meant there was no one to watch them.

A completely sealed, intimate space where not even their own reflections in a mirror could be seen. A secret room where no one could enter if locked from inside.

Lebel didn’t answer.

“Ever since I saw Your Majesty… my lady today, I’ve been thinking constantly.”

Instead, he wrapped his arms around Ilarid’s waist. Then he buried his face in her neck and slowly inhaled. His eyes closed involuntarily at the heat, different from usual.

“About holding you, kissing you, touching you in every way…”

Ilarid couldn’t bring herself to push him away as he clung to her more and more. She was nearly staggering trying to support his large body.

“It was hard to endure.”

“…You did well to hold back.”

“So, would you grant me a reward?”

The blue eyes of Lebel facing her were burning hot. The distance had become so close that it was almost suffocating to breathe.

A reward, was it? Ilarid was momentarily lost in thought about how to satisfy that expectant gaze.

But the conclusion was drawn surprisingly quickly and easily. She pulled on Lebel’s collar and gently kissed him.

It felt as if a small bird had flown in and tenderly caressed her lips with its beak.

After the fleeting warm touch passed, Ilarid’s reddened face came into Lebel’s view. She had to deliberately avoid his surprised eyes.

“Is this… enough?”

“…Not even close.”

He wrapped one arm around Ilarid’s waist, pulling her in, and immediately devoured her lips.

It was a completely different temperature from what Ilarid had attempted, or from the kiss in response that morning. It was closer to densely filled desire rather than pure and light emotion.

Lebel’s arms supporting Ilarid’s waist and neck tensed. She naturally had to take a few steps back, pushed by his strength.

She couldn’t stop it, and didn’t want to stop. The emotion of responding together passionately mixed between the two.

Before she knew it, her back touched the wall. Lebel assaulted Ilarid fiercely, not even giving her room to breathe.

Finally, their lips parted. But even separated, it was as if they were still touching.

“…Lebel.”

“Ilarid.”

The names of their loved ones followed urgently.

As if they might disappear if they hesitated even for a moment. As if they might lose them if they didn’t call out.

Every time they called each other’s name, they felt a thirst.

Would the burning thirst disappear just by pressing their lips together? Ilarid could only helplessly respond to his passionate kisses.

The person she didn’t want to forget, didn’t want to lose.

Lebel’s hands no longer stayed just on her waist. He caressed every line of her body, continuously engraving his presence into her skin.

Just as a soft moan was about to escape Ilarid’s lips.

The sound of someone approaching the room was heard.

Lebel reacted nimbly, urgently separating his lips. Then he wrapped Ilarid’s body with the ceremonial cloak and pulled her into his arms.

His stealth ability should still be intact. Lebel focused as much as possible on the approaching footsteps and laughter.

Whether the door wasn’t properly locked, the room door opened noisily and a drunken woman and man entered.

“Oh come on, I told you we can’t do it here.”

“What’s the problem? No one’s watching here.”

There are, actually. Lebel and Ilarid thought the same thing simultaneously as they warily watched the two who had come for a tryst.

How did they find out about this place? If it was someone who had been in and out of the imperial palace for a while, or if they had heard about such a place from someone like that, it was possible.

More importantly, hadn’t they locked the door? Ilarid had to struggle to calm her rapidly beating heart while in Lebel’s embrace.

Meanwhile, she was conscious of the area around his legs. Because their bodies were pressed so closely together, it was too near.

Near his thigh, she felt something heavy and large whose identity was unknown.

Did he hide a weapon in case of emergency even while coming to the ball? Ilarid didn’t think much of it and curled up as much as possible to avoid being discovered.

Lebel focused all his attention on Ilarid and his own ability. He didn’t care if he was discovered. But if by chance those people found out about his tryst with the Empress…

‘In the worst case scenario, I’ll have to deal with them here.’

As always, he kept the worst development in mind. If they were loose-lipped individuals, the danger when left alive would be even greater.

But there was a separate problem. It was the couple’s actions after entering.

They seemed intent on consummating their affair right here.

“Wait a moment, I feel like someone’s watching us.”

“It’s just your imagination, just your imagination.”

Lebel watched the two people’s movements while pulling Ilarid more tightly into his arms. Now, the sound of Lebel’s heartbeat and the couple’s explicit moans mixed in Ilarid’s ears.

Is it just imagination? Lebel’s heartbeat seemed to speed up even more.

They had no hobby of eavesdropping on others’ lovemaking, but the situation had become strangely complicated. Ilarid had to spend a long time pondering how to get out of this troublesome dilemma.

That’s when it happened. The door opened noisily again, and a groan of “Oh my” was heard.

‘That voice…’

It was the voice of someone Lebel knew too. The owner of the Eastern Continent trading company he had briefly encountered in the banquet hall, and a person of interest he had met at the jewelry store.

“Were you here?”

Awen Zahar was standing right in front of the door.