Was I frowning? She carefully touched her brow. Although her mood had settled, it seemed her efforts to hide it by deliberately smiling were in vain.

In fact, thinking about it, it had always been like this. Valentin seemed to possess superhuman senses when it came to matters concerning her.

“I…”

Adelheit tried to answer that she was fine, that nothing was wrong, and thank him for his concern. But the words didn’t come out as easily as she thought. And the ‘dragon’ wasn’t a good companion to confess human inadequacies to.

Adelheit chewed her lip thoughtfully, but in the end, she could only smile once more.

“It wasn’t anything significant.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes. More importantly, I have something urgent to discuss. Would it be alright if we moved to a different location?”

“Certainly. The person… who’s coming to make your clothes will be here soon, so we can go to Adelheit’s room if you’d like.”

Valentin raised his right eyebrow as if displeased. However, the smile on his lips and his tone remained as gentle as ever.

“Let’s go.”

He went up the stairs first with long strides and a straight posture. Thanks to moving around with the knights in the training grounds for the past few days, the strange unnaturalness that was once felt when he moved had now completely disappeared.

When they entered the room, it was in the midst of being decorated. This was because the new year was rapidly approaching. Adelheit gently ordered the maids who were placing yew branches with red berries in each vase.

“Could you leave us alone for a moment?”

“Of course, Your Highness. Ah, the tailor should be arriving soon. What should we do?”

“It won’t take long. When they arrive, send them here right away.”

“Understood.”

After the maids politely bowed and disappeared, closing the reception room door, Adelheit immediately faced Valentin. He was leaning somewhat crookedly against the door with his back to it. She noticed that he seemed upset with her.

Pretending not to notice his emotions, Adelheit quickly spoke about her business.

“I know that the gold coins you gave me are not spoils of war.”

“…”

“It was thoughtful of you to fill the chest that came with Your Highness’s coffin, but some might have noticed that this spoil of war is too much money compared to the scale of the conflict.”

“…”

“We managed to get by this time, but you shouldn’t do this again in the future. If we frequently use money that doesn’t match our means, it will surely become a problem.”

Valentin’s smile deepened slightly.

“Who would dare to notice?”

“Pardon?”

“What human would dare… to do anything against me?”

His golden eyes glowed ominously. As Valentin languidly blinked his eyelashes, there was a clinking sound of metal pouring from behind her. Adelheit quickly turned around.

The vase that had been on the table was nowhere to be seen, and instead, there was a mountain of gleaming gold coins piled up. Adelheit’s mouth fell open at the surreal sight.

“You, you can’t do this!”

Adelheit finally came to her senses and grabbed Valentin’s arm. Her lips trembled with fear that someone might discover them.

“Why not?”

“What do you mean, why…”

“For me, pouring out this mere gold… is easier than breathing.”

Valentin wrapped his right arm around Adelheit’s waist. He gripped her waist tightly and lifted her slightly. Surprised to find her feet off the ground, Adelheit wrapped her arms around his neck. Valentin then turned and pressed her back against the door he had been leaning on.

Frozen by the sudden change in position, Adelheit could only blink. She finally managed to speak.

“This isn’t that kind of problem.”

“Then what is it?”

He replied with a still cold face and leaned his upper body a little closer. A shadow fell over her head. His hand, large enough to cover Adelheit’s face, gently pressed against the side of her shoulder.

“Is it because I…”

Valentin’s eyes twisted slightly.

“Am not trustworthy enough?”

“What?”

“Do you think I’m not… worthy enough to share your concerns with?”

“That’s not it.”

She managed to maintain her composure as she answered. Every time he made that expression like an abandoned animal, it was hard to control the urge to embrace him. Even if he was actually a terrifying magical beast…

No, in fact, for the past few days, Adelheit hadn’t even properly realized that he was a magical beast.

Even though she knew in her head that he had stolen human warmth and wore it like a veil, everything became uncertain when he reached out with his large, warm hand to cup her cheek. She instinctively judged and acted as if he were human.

“I can tell… just by looking at Adelheit’s expression.”

“…”

“When you’re happy, your eyes sparkle like summer leaves. When you’re sad, your inner eyebrows tremble faintly. When you’re worried, you bite your lips. Until they become ragged, not knowing when to stop.”

“…”

“I see you like this. I only see you.”

He who had been speaking without hesitation, now lowered his head slightly with a gloomy face.

“But if it’s not enough… I’ll try harder.”

His voice lost confidence and sank. It was getting closer to that terribly difficult to understand mumbling from before. Adelheit hesitated, then lightly touched her fingertips to his cheek. Valentin’s perfect almond-shaped eyes widened slightly with surprise and hope.

She was startled by Valentin’s dramatic change in expression and withdrew her fingers.

“I, I…”

She carefully chose her words.

“You may not believe this, but it’s not because I think you’re inadequate that I didn’t tell you.”

“…”

“First of all, the gold coin issue is unnatural to anyone who sees it. If the amount of money circulating in the castle suddenly increases, rumors will surely spread.”

“With… just this much gold?”

“You say ‘just this much,’ but the amount of gold coins you’ve given is well over half the annual budget that usually goes into Ansgar Castle. If you continue to give this much, people might think we’ve discovered a gold vein or something.”

At those words, Valentin’s lips curved up slightly. He seemed to think that the expression about discovering a gold vein wasn’t far from the truth.

“Then… let them think that way.”

“When money accumulates, forces targeting the castle will naturally emerge.”

Adelheit continued firmly.

“The biggest problem then is the lack of manpower to defend the castle. Having just finished a war, the experienced knights are exhausted, and even if we recruit new squires, I understand it takes a long time to train them for military use.”

“Did I seem… incapable of protecting… a mere castle?”

“Your Highness has that power, and you could certainly prevent it. But there are also ordinary people living in the castle. If they get involved in inexplicable events, the damage to the domain’s people is hard to measure. Perhaps…”

Valentin tilted his head slightly as if to say go on. Adelheit continued carefully.

“Our trade routes might be blocked. If no one wants to deal with us, the coming winters will be harsh.”

Although she had used the roundabout expression ‘inexplicable events,’ there was only one rumor that would spread throughout Denburg the moment Valentin used his power to stop intruders. That Ansgar was using the power of a magical beast… Of course, once such rumors started circulating, the situation would spiral out of control.

To the point where ‘cutting off trade’ would seem like a minor issue.

Perhaps the Order of the God Morig might even issue an order to subjugate Ansgar. As if vaguely guessing this fact, the expression disappeared from Valentin’s face. Now the face of the man looking down at her seemed not just pale, but sickly.

“How… Remember…”

Adelheit realized that he was much more shocked than she had intended. He raised his right hand and roughly rubbed his face.

“I was careless.”

Adelheit blinked her eyes, which had widened in surprise. He was wearing an expression that seemed almost self-loathing. As if thinking he had no way to hide his expression, he slowly embraced Adelheit. Crossing his arms at the small of her back, he held her tightly without any gaps.

Only then did he finally exhale the breath he had been holding.

“I’m sorry.”

Adelheit realized that Valentin, who was holding her tightly, was trembling. He seemed so pitiful, like someone who had made an irreversible mistake. Adelheit raised her hand to pat his back, then awkwardly lowered it again.

The hopeful gaze he had shown earlier just because she had initiated contact first painfully stimulated her guilt.

But delivering a sincere apology, no matter how small the matter, required more courage than anything else. Adelheit knew that he would never make the same mistake again, and to repay that, she also gathered her courage.

Adelheit raised both arms and carefully embraced his back.

“Thank you for understanding.”

Even though it was just that much, Valentin immediately stiffened and took shallow breaths. Eventually, the gesture of slowly burying his face in her neck conveyed a strange mix of gratitude and trembling.

Adelheit smiled at the ticklish breath scattered over her skin and continued speaking.

“And, about that worry earlier…”

“…”

“It was because I felt too insignificant.”

Adelheit hoped her words didn’t sound too dramatic to him. Feeling embarrassed, she laughed softly and pushed him away. Valentin obediently relaxed his arms and stepped back a few paces.

She tucked a strand of hair that had fallen awkwardly behind her ear and laughed once more.

“Really, I told you it was nothing.”