“Ah….”

Litania’s small lips parted. In her pink eyes, shyness, excitement, and a vague sense of anticipation began to rise.

“Please kiss me.”

“As you wish.”

As Orbis’s eyes narrowed and approached, Litania’s lips parted. His hair flowed down, tickling her shoulders. The breath that escaped from his smooth parting lips was unexpectedly sweet.

Slowly, like snowflakes falling from the sky, his lips touched hers. Litania suddenly recalled the first snow she had seen while being held by him as they walked down the corridor.

The first snow of the Dragon Castle was warm and sweet. A moist heat rose between their touching lips.

As if not wanting to lose that warmth to the winter cold, the red membranes clung together without a gap.

As Litania flinched her shoulders and twisted her head, the man’s hand, which had been still at the edge of the bed until now, slid over and grasped her round shoulder.

The warmth of his large hand seeped into her skin, crossing over her thin nightgown.

“Orbis….”

As she whispered softly through the half-open gap, a moist sigh intertwined like spreading vines. The man’s long fingers unhurriedly and skillfully caressed her skin.

Indeed, that dream must have been a vain delusion created by alcohol. Just the touch of bodies through clothes made her feel this fluttery and tender, how could she have made such an unpleasant expression?

‘The original Litania might have, but.’

She wasn’t the original Litania. Even though she was in Litania’s body, she was a different person.

‘I’m different.’

The moment she realized this, her heart strangely fluttered.

Litania gently raised her hand and stroked Orbis’s back. It was a back so broad that both arms could barely encompass it.

His face was so beautiful and his body line so elegant that it was easy to be mistaken at first glance, but Orbis had a physique large enough to look down on most strong men.

That must be why he regarded her as small and fragile as a snowflake in his hand, even though Litania was not that short.

‘I’m different, I tell you.’

The sensation of muscles subtly moving under the flat, broad shoulder blades was excruciatingly clear. It was the first time another person’s body temperature felt so hot.

“It’s strange.”

As Litania exhaled a wet breath and spoke, Orbis’s head tilted back slightly, widening the gap between them.

“Did it feel unpleasant?”

“No. That’s not it….”

Litania averted her gaze with reddened eyes.

“Why are you being so kind to me?”

It was strange and confusing. At first, she had wished for him to be indifferent to her, and not to become deeply entangled with him.

“I’m not such a strong person.”

If treated kindly, she gives her heart; if embraced tenderly, she becomes dependent. If smiled at, her heart flutters; if kissed, she desires.

Even though it’s not her body, not her man, is it okay to feel these emotions? Is it okay to enjoy happiness that isn’t hers?

What she had initially pushed away to avoid unhappiness was now increasingly weighing down on her own happiness.

“Litania, you are strong.”

Much more than someone like me.

Orbis’s expression as he said this seemed somewhat self-deprecating, so Litania couldn’t deny his words.

“I’m just following my instincts.”

Being drawn to a strong and beautiful being. It’s a natural instinct of living creatures.

“Why me?”

“Because there’s only you.”

“I’m not that pretty….”

“It seems we have different standards of beauty.”

“What?”

“To me, Litania, you look the most beautiful in the world.”

The man’s eyes, filled with intense heat as he looked at her, seemed to contain not a hint of falsehood.

‘How can it be so different?’

Orbis. The male lead of the novel she had been reading. The original female lead, whom he loved to madness and ruined, was a different person.

Of course, Litania’s attempt to avoid him wasn’t out of consideration for the original plot, but the opposite. Even though she was in Litania’s body, she was a different person from the original her.

Perhaps for that very reason, she should rightfully reject this man’s favor.

‘But.’

If it was the current her who had made that fierce, cruel, and arrogant divine dragon, who didn’t hesitate to hurt even the woman he loved, so gentle.

If it was because she, not the original female lead, had become ‘Litania’ that the cruel divine dragon had become such a sweet-smiling friend and lover.

Doesn’t she have the right to accept this man’s favor?

‘It’s mine.’

Litania lightly touched the back of Orbis’s hand resting on the bed sheet. As if that alone was enough to guess her intention, his face drew close again.

The color of his blue eyes slowly deepened, and his hot breath grew thicker. Feeling the warmth of his lips on her skin, Litania closed her eyes.

‘Please.’

Litania. Her name.

If this world was truly inside a novel, the protagonist’s name wouldn’t have been given carelessly.

So if this body is an entity that grants wishes according to that name.

Please let this moment be reality, not fantasy.

‘Let this moment alone be real, not fake.’

The frozen winter passed, and spring rain fell. The white garden began to turn a pale green once again.

The relationship between Litania and Orbis remained unchanged, yet slightly different. Orbis and Litania spent more private time together, and she no longer found him difficult to approach.

However, acts like kissing each other as they did that night did not occur again.

The two continued to get along like close friends.

Of course, Orbis often troubled Litania by habitually making excuses like ‘I don’t know the standards because I’m not human,’ but he never made excessive contact that would displease her.

He would approach seductively but then retreat plainly, and always wore gloves in places where others could see. As if Litania was the only one who could see his bare hands.

Litania grew accustomed to daily life in the Dragon Castle. She became even closer with the servants who attended her, and screams that were difficult to distinguish between cheers or death throes could still be heard from the knights’ quarters from time to time.

At first, Litania had been a bit worried about the knights, but after hearing from Snow that their skills were improving by leaps and bounds, she didn’t pay much attention anymore.

Because Litania’s visits had become infrequent, the knights would loiter around the main palace on their days off under the pretext of patrolling in case wild animals entered, only to be chased away by the butler.

Just as it seemed this peaceful married life would continue, a letter arrived from the Imperial Palace.

“It seems a spring festival is being held.”

“That’s right. His Majesty wishes for both of us to visit together.”

Until now, Litania had never directly met the Emperor. It was surprising enough that the Emperor had sent a letter to Litania.

“I thought His Majesty would naturally send a letter to Orbis, but the recipient was me.”

In fact, the Emperor had sent letters to Orbis several times, but because Orbis had thrown them away without reading, he never received any reply.

So in the end, he sent a letter to Litania, but Orbis didn’t bother to tell her the truth.

“You are now the master of the Dragon Castle, so it’s only right to contact you.”

“What? Orbis is the master.”

“Aren’t husband and wife one body and soul? What you do is essentially the same as what I do.”

“Is that so…?”

Litania tilted her head in confusion but soon agreed. A dragon’s way of thinking was difficult to understand.

But now she trusted Orbis, so even if she didn’t understand what he said, she tried to accept it.

‘It could be. I can’t fully understand other people’s ways of thinking, so how much more for Orbis, who’s a divine dragon.’

Litania put the letter back in the envelope and placed it on the table. They couldn’t refuse the Emperor’s command.

Of course, if they used Orbis’s status, they could refuse, but that would only worsen relations between the Imperial Family and the divine dragon.

Meeting the Imperial Family again was awkward, but if she went with Orbis, they wouldn’t pick a fight with her.

“I practiced dancing somewhat with Snow before… but I don’t know how to ride a horse.”

She still gets goosebumps remembering when she lost the white horse during the hunting festival and wandered the forest, encountering a leopard. Litania shook her head to shake off the terrible memory of the past and looked up at Orbis.

“Orbis, is there anyone among the knights who excels at horseback riding?”

“Why do you ask that?”

“I want to learn how to ride a horse from them.”

Orbis’s eyes, which had been gentle all along, sharpened, and his eyebrow twitched upward.

“I’ll teach you.”