The unexpectedly soft skin briefly touched Kisa’s lips before parting.

It was a short contact that left her wanting more.

Kisa unknowingly parted her lips slightly. She couldn’t fully comprehend what she had just heard and what had happened as a result.

However, could that have been taken as a sign of permission?

The second contact was even more brazen.

“Mmph.”

Seyerd’s tongue swallowed Kisa’s short moan as it invaded past her lips.

Then it slowly swept around the intimate area once.

Kisa tightly closed her eyes as if to escape from the subtle sensation caused by that movement.

With the thought that she needed to stop this act quickly, she moved her arms to hit the man’s shoulders.

However, the resistance that didn’t even feel like resistance ended after a couple of strikes.

Her slender arms that were clinging to his shoulders as if they were a lifeline trembled.

Whether she wanted to stop or not, she herself couldn’t tell.

Sensing that confusion, the invader surprisingly readily turned to leave.

Eventually, Kisa was freed from the kiss.

As she caught her breath with a huff, Seyerd wiped the small lips that were slightly wet with saliva using his thumb.

When she met his gaze with trembling eyes, he wasn’t much different from usual. A warm and kind person.

However, for some reason, his familiar reddish-brown eyes seemed to have an even darker light to them now.

The undisguisable scent of desire wafted from him.

“Seyerd.”

Kisa unconsciously spoke his name but fell silent, not knowing what to say next.

Everything in her head was a jumbled mess of confusion.

If only he could pull her along with a clear answer like he always did.

Today of all days, Seyerd persistently waited for Kisa’s next words in a frustrating manner.

Kisa decided to first ask about the shocking event that had just occurred.

“Why, why… did you kiss me?”

The answer to that fragile question came quickly.

“Because I love you.”

Love. With a dazed mind, Kisa repeated the word that had come out of his mouth.

Come to think of it, he had said he loved her even before kissing her.

He said he loves her.

Seyerd Hilan said he loves Kisa Vanspelt.

“……”

No matter how many times she thought about it, it was an astonishing story, but in fact, it wasn’t as if she had never considered the possibility before.

After all, Seyerd was excessively affectionate.

It was a relationship formed by a mutual understanding of wanting to avoid an unwanted marriage, but if asked whether Kisa and Seyerd had given and received equally, the answer was obviously ‘no’.

Compared to Kisa simply being a suitable marriage partner for him, what he had given was overflowing.

First, in order to persuade Count Vanspelt to change his mind about his daughter’s broken engagement, he promised benefits to the Vanspelt family.

She didn’t know exactly to what extent, but if it was enough for the Count to yield, it must have been at a considerable level.

In addition, Seyerd’s reputation was somewhat tarnished by the suspicion that he had stolen a woman who was already engaged.

‘Above all……’

He devoted his attention and time to Kisa more than necessary in every matter.

He listened to Kisa’s troubles, sometimes offered solutions, and at other times, he became her strength with his unwavering encouragement and support.

Therefore, even in moments when they held hands and embraced to make it look like they were a real couple in the eyes of those around them, Kisa had harbored this suspicion deep in her heart.

The suspicion that perhaps this wasn’t entirely an act.

However, she tried hard to suppress that audacious thought.

What kind of ending did she face with Daniel, whom she had devoted her love to for over ten years?

She didn’t want to boil her insides over men’s issues anymore, and she was afraid to make Seyerd the target of that.

She didn’t want to mix the impurity of romantic feelings into this relationship that was already sufficiently good as it was.

Seyerd was already a good friend, an excellent teacher, and a well-matched companion to Kisa.

If he became a lover who shared love as well, there would be nothing more to wish for, but there was no guarantee of that anywhere.

It was a destructive emotion that could easily ruin even other relationships.

Hadn’t she and Daniel, who were childhood friends, become worse than strangers?

Seyerd was incomparably a better person than Daniel, but no, it was precisely because of that she didn’t want to have an awkward relationship with him.

Kisa was inwardly afraid of that.

“Let me say it again, Kisa.”

And now, as if to break that fear.

“I love you.”

Seyerd confessed his love.

“Oh, I……”

Kisa took a step back like someone looking for a corner to escape to, but Seyerd’s unwavering gaze stopped her.

The desire not to disappoint him became an invisible wall that blocked her.

“I’m sorry. It’s just so sudden.”

He shook his head at Kisa’s apology.

“It’s not something you need to apologize for. I’m the one who abruptly revealed my feelings, and I’m also the one waiting for your answer with the heart of a sinner.”

He raised his right hand and brushed aside Kisa’s disheveled hair on the side.

“Please let me hear your honest feelings. What do you think of me?”

Honest feelings? I don’t know. My mind is complicated and I can’t sort out my thoughts.

“……”

Although Kisa stayed silent for a while, Seyerd spoke gently without any sign of impatience.

“Then it doesn’t have to be about your thoughts on me or your answer to the confession. It doesn’t matter what it is, but could you tell me the emotions you’re feeling right now?”

Encouraged by his spring breeze-like voice, Kisa barely moved her lips.

“I don’t know if I should call it an emotion… Actually, there’s something I’ve been curious about for a while.”

“Please go ahead.”

“What is it about me that you like, Seyerd?”

After asking, she rambled on as if making an excuse.

“No, I just don’t understand it well. Why would someone as cool and amazing as you like someone like me−.”

“What kind of person is someone like Kisa?”

“Huh? Ah, I’m not particularly good at anything, and my family isn’t as good as yours compared to you……”

Of course, since she was young, she had received countless compliments about her outstanding appearance, and it wasn’t particularly unpleasant, but for some reason, it seemed like Seyerd wouldn’t love the opposite sex simply for their appearance. It might just be her simple hope though.

However, Seyerd’s answer was unexpected.

“Does that matter?”

Instead, he asked Kisa while looking at her.

“I don’t agree with your hopelessly pessimistic self-evaluation. Kisa, you’re a better person than you think you are. But even if that self-evaluation is correct, it can’t be a reason for me not to love you.”

While Kisa couldn’t react and only blinked, Seyerd continued.

“To be honest, I’m not sure exactly what part of you I fell for either. When I came to my senses, I found myself constantly thinking about you from some point on.”

The hand that had been hovering around Kisa’s face since fixing her hair on the side came down to her cheek. Very slowly.

“When we first met, you were crying. After that, from time to time, curiosity arose.”

The touch brushing under Kisa’s eyes was gentle.

“Whether you had stopped those tears now, whether you were still struggling with the same worries, whether your eyes had become swollen from crying too much.”

Kisa looked up at the reddish-brown eyes that, unlike before, had a soft light as if enchanted.

“So I ended up looking for you again, wanting to keep watching you by your side, and finally realized that the emotion making me this way was love.”

Seyerd caressed Kisa’s shoulder with an extremely careful touch as if handling a glass craft.

“Oh, I ended up saying it again.”

I love you.

Only after he said it three times did those words fully reach Kisa’s heart.

Kisa could finally realize the fact that Seyerd loved her.

His gaze, his touch, and his voice told her that it was undoubtedly the truth.

“Seyerd.”

Now all that was left was for her to respond to his heart.

Seyerd said she could take more time to answer, but Kisa, moved by his sincere confession, wanted to let him know right away.

Kisa looked deep into her own heart, which she had only been turning a blind eye to with various excuses.

What did she think of Seyerd?

In fact, there was no need to ask. How could she not like him?

For quite some time, he had been more than just a good friend, an excellent teacher, and a well-matched companion, but a presence that gave Kisa heart-fluttering emotions.

Now she honestly admitted it.

The reason Kisa paid so much attention to Gabriel wasn’t just out of a sense of responsibility. It was because she misunderstood that he had feelings for Seyerd, so she was even more curious about how the conclusion of that love would turn out.

It was also because of that she couldn’t just brush off Daniel’s words that Seyerd’s past was suspicious.

Because she couldn’t regard him as a simple contractual marriage partner, Kisa ended up going all the way to St. Favela Monastery.

Seyerd wasn’t the only one who brought personal feelings into a relationship formed by contract.

Thus, she opened her mouth.

“Actually, I also……”

Just as she was about to honestly express her heart, saying that she liked him.

The things you wanted to have but couldn’t.

I’ll have them all.

The chilling voice of a pitiful boy brushed past her ears.

Why did that line from the diary come to mind at this moment?

“Kisa.”

As she was thinking about that, Seyerd lifted Kisa’s chin to meet her gaze.

“Never mind the other things, just tell me your heart.”

Ah, it was a gaze she had seen before.

The gaze of a ruler that made her feel like she couldn’t possibly go against it.

Kisa unconsciously blurted out.

“I love you, Seyerd.”

At that moment, he smiled.