Floyd stared intently at his palm. A hand covered in scars and calluses from wielding a sword and tearing apart monsters. Even normally, this hand had a higher temperature than others, and it would heat up and turn red with just a slight emotional surge.
Floyd looked down at his palm for a while, then glanced at Roxiana. Roxiana was slowly moving her fork to put finely chopped lettuce into her mouth.
Floyd watched her chew a piece of lettuce about the size of one finger for a very long time before speaking.
“Princess.”
Roxiana swallowed what was in her mouth.
“Yes.”
“May I hold your arm for a moment?”
As if she hadn’t expected such a request, Roxiana’s eyes widened slightly before lowering her gaze and saying.
“Your Highness is my master, so you don’t need to ask for permission.”
Floyd slightly furrowed his brow, then abruptly stood up and walked to her side. Saying “Excuse me,” he grasped her arm.
Her arm was so thin that it seemed it might break if handled carelessly. Carefully holding her arm, afraid of breaking it if he applied too much force, he observed Roxiana’s expression.
Roxiana kept her gaze lowered and showed no reaction. After a while, Floyd asked.
“How is it?”
Roxiana raised her head and looked at Floyd. She couldn’t understand what he meant.
Suddenly saying he wanted to hold her arm, what did this question mean?
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t you feel anything? Like it’s particularly hot…”
Roxiana blinked slowly, trying to grasp the meaning of the question, then carefully asked.
“Are you hoping for me to show a womanly reaction to Your Highness’s touch?”
Floyd belatedly understood the meaning of Roxiana’s question and jumped back, releasing her hand. Floyd’s face turned bright red.
“What are you saying? Have you lost your mind?”
Roxiana, for her part, couldn’t understand what Floyd was saying. Wasn’t a question about feeling something from sudden contact implying such a thing?
Since it was Roxiana who had said she would be a temptress on his bed, there was no reason to refuse if he now wanted her night service.
But why was this man’s face so red? As if he had never had such a relationship with a woman before.
“I meant actually, physically, not in that sense. Just really asking if it’s not hot… Ah, never mind. Forget it. Judging by your expression, I guess it’s not hot.”
His flustered appearance as he made excuses was strange.
The Red Tiger who annihilates monsters.
She thought someone with such a title would have a strong mentality unshaken by anything. Indeed, when he broke the box and looked down at Roxiana, he seemed as intense as lightning splitting the sky.
It was surprising to see such a person showing signs of confusion and blurting out whatever came to mind.
Roxiana had been taught that royalty should not outwardly show their emotions and moods, but should quietly suppress them. She learned that even when sad or happy, one should always present an elegant and dignified appearance in front of people.
Although the master of Torkan was still young, he was a ruler acknowledged by all, yet his demeanor differed somewhat from the rulers Roxiana knew.
He laughed loudly, got angry, became flustered, and showed irritation, fully expressing his emotions. The surprising thing was that even while doing so, he didn’t appear vulgar at all.
Floyd, who had sat back down in his original seat, said.
“Continue with your meal.”
“I’m full.”
Floyd frowned and looked down at the food, which hadn’t decreased at all compared to earlier.
“The portion is small.”
“I don’t move around much like the knights do.”
Floyd picked up an orange from the plate and began peeling it. After removing the thick skin and all the white pith attached to the flesh, he cut off a piece and held it out to Roxiana.
When Roxiana didn’t take it, he asked.
“Shall I put it in your mouth like last time?”
The memory of that day, which had faintly faded, came back. She hadn’t realized it then because she was in a daze, but thinking about it now, it was a very embarrassing incident.
Roxiana blushed and accepted the orange he offered. She examined the clean orange slice for a moment before putting it in her mouth.
Floyd watched her chew the orange, then said.
“I heard you went to the garden today?”
“Yes.”
“How was the garden? Did you like it?”
“It was beautiful. The pond, the flower beds, the sky.”
“I heard Dennis and Jewelry were bothersome.”
“So those are their names.”
“They’re Hexten’s children, the Golden Lion Knight Commander’s kids. They’re mischievous ones who roam the Grand Duke’s palace like it’s their own backyard.”
“I see.”
“I’ll introduce you to Hexten next time. You’ll like him.”
Roxiana slowly shook her head.
“You don’t have to do that. It will only provoke the knights’ opposition.”
“Why do you think it will provoke opposition?”
“Your Highness, my existence will be a danger to Torkan. If Prince Pelur hears that I’m alive, he will be displeased and demand you hand me over, and if you protect me like this, Gania won’t stand idly by either. Isn’t it natural for the knights who must protect Torkan to be displeased with a mere slave occupying the Lily Palace?”
Floyd frowned as he listened to Roxiana speak monotonously.
“Who told you such things?”
“Who needs to tell me? It’s something anyone can figure out with a little thought.”
“You’re clever, Princess. Quick to assess situations too.”
“If I were clever and quick to assess situations, I wouldn’t have trusted Prince Pelur in the first place. I’m foolish and dull. That’s why I couldn’t protect my family.”
“Protecting wasn’t your responsibility, Princess.”
“Is there such a thing as whose responsibility it is to protect family? We were all just foolish and dull. And I, who didn’t even die but survived, was the most foolish of all.”
“Surviving isn’t a sin, Princess.”
Roxiana didn’t argue with that statement. Floyd then realized that Roxiana hadn’t changed her expression once throughout their conversation.
She had started talking more than before, but her face remained as rigid as a dead person’s.
It was better before. At least she would frown and cry. But now, she was like someone wearing a mask, telling sad stories without revealing any emotion.
Floyd felt his chest tighten again and stood up.
“Rest, Princess. If you need anything, just say so anytime.”
Leaving the bedroom, Floyd strode down the corridor, raising his hand. The feeling of holding Roxiana’s thin arm still lingered on his palm.
−”Are you hoping for me to show a womanly reaction to Your Highness’s touch?”
Recalling her clear eyes as she asked that, his face heated up again.
What does that woman take me for? Does she see me as a madman who would demand such a reaction from a woman barely clinging to life?
She’s an astounding woman in many ways. It’s the first time I’ve been at a loss for words and felt suffocated in front of a woman.
As soon as he left the Lily Palace, the heat that had disappeared returned. The air surrounding Floyd began to grow hot.
From the direction of the training grounds came the sound of loud laughter, “Hahaha!” Someone must have made a mistake during sparring. Floyd pondered whether to stop by the training grounds to watch for a while, or head straight to his office.
“My lord!”
At that moment, Cain, who had spotted Floyd, came running.
“Adrian is holding another betting match with the knights.”
Adrian enjoyed betting and gambling, and often set up gambling rings at the training grounds. When money was involved, everyone focused more, so it was usually left alone, but occasionally things would get heated and real fights would break out.
“Did a fight break out?”
“No, not that. But I just don’t think betting is right in the sacred training grounds, no matter what.”
Floyd chuckled at the grumbling Cain, then suddenly remembering something, he grabbed Cain’s wrist tightly. Cain, who had been tilting his head at the unexpected contact, frowned.
“My lord, it’s too hot.”
“Right? It’s hot, isn’t it?”
“Yes, of course it’s hot. Why are you suddenly like this? Did I do something wrong? I’m not tattling about Adrian, I’m just reporting to you.”
Letting go of Cain, who seemed to have misunderstood and was defending himself, Floyd started walking again. He could feel Cain’s gaze on him, rubbing his arm in disbelief, but he ignored it.
‘But why?’
Why doesn’t this crazy heat affect Roxiana? Why was the flame raging through his veins so calm when he was inside that Lily Palace?
‘Come to think of it, the princess survived even in those flames.’
It was a heat that singed even the knights’ clothes protected by barriers. Yet Roxiana, who was in the midst of those flames, had only her clothes burned, while not a single hair on her head was harmed.
“Hey.”
Floyd addressed the presence curled up inside him.
“What exactly is the princess that you become quiet when I’m near her? Is she something to you? Or does she have some special power?”
As always, the mad presence that dominated Floyd’s life gave no answer. Floyd laughed softly, thinking he must look like a madman talking to himself in an empty place.
‘Well, fine. There’s plenty of time.’
He could figure it out slowly. He had told Roxiana to try living for just one year. Roxiana probably thought she would die after a year, but Floyd was certain.
Roxiana would not want to die after a year. By then, she would want to live on.
Because I will make it so.
‘Why should I try to save the princess?’
A sudden doubt arose, but he quickly erased it. Floyd did not want to see Roxiana die, and he had always lived doing what he wanted to do.
That reason was enough.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
