Embracing Cryer with her entire body, Olivia, using her small body, whispered as she tightly held his back.

“It’s okay. It will be okay. It’s okay. It’s okay.”

Not knowing what was okay or if it would be okay, Olivia whispered as if her words were the truth multiple times.

The sincerity contained in her words intensified the pain of the stamp like a catalyst, making the pain even more severe.

Yes. Normally, in such a situation, the pain should subside when hearing such words. However, the pain from the stamp was jumping around as if it had caught the day, contrary to expectations.

However, a smile appeared on Cryer’s lips, bowed as they were.

It was not a sneer or a twisted expression but a laughter emanating from sincerity.

Starting from the stamp and spreading throughout the body, the pain from the stamp became even more severe as he comforted it, but the small warmth enveloping his back was much, much clearer and more vivid than the pain.

It’s okay. How pleasant the worry contained in the small voice whispering that was.

If he could receive that gentle warmth and concern, he could endure this kind of pain as much as he wanted.

Suppressing his desire, which roared like he would swallow Olivia at any moment, and reaching out his arms while holding back his growling desire, he pulled her waist and hugged her, burying his face in the narrow shoulders where the red hair waved, and deeply inhaled.

The distinctive scent of Bolshevik, greedily drinking the faint scent of roses, his firm back swelled slowly and shrank repeatedly.

“Um… Cryer?”

Somehow, Olivia opened her mouth, feeling like the vibration of a satisfied cat was transmitted from Cryer, who was blowing on her shoulder, but in response to Cryer’s prompt reply, her arms, which had been around his back, gave strength again to the arms that had been secretly loosened.

“It’s getting worse.”

“Does it hurt a lot?”

“Yeah.”

At Olivia’s question about pain, a profound positivity returned to Cryer’s face, and Olivia’s expression deepened.

If he, who usually didn’t even treat most pain as ‘pain,’ was openly talking about being in pain, how much pain could it be?

“But still.”

“Still?”

“Because I’m like this, I can endure it.”

Due to the close proximity, Olivia could tell that his words were sincere without any false pretenses.

With that, Olivia exhaled a long breath with a somewhat dazed feeling and silently allowed Cryer to do as he pleased, as he slowly inhaled and exhaled.

The pain of the stamp. Moreover, the fact that it was getting worse was undoubtedly serious, but the cause and the aftermath were unknown.

So, she hoped that the pain he was currently experiencing would be relieved, even if only for a moment.

How much time had passed like that?
Cryer slowly raised his head and lightly stroked her cheek with his rough and dry hand.

As if he wanted to embrace and swallow her without counting the night, or rather, without counting the hours, Cryer felt the simmering heat from beneath his stomach, as always after realizing his desire, and asked while suppressing it.

“What should we do about that?”

Even with the abrupt question, Olivia immediately understood that ‘that’ referred to Greta and replied.

“Since we’ve already assigned guards, we should call those guards in.”

“Guards?”

“Guards and supervisors. In other countries, they just think of them as supervisors, but just the fact that the knights of the Imperial Palace are accompanying signifies the full role of ‘guards.'”

It was a kind of symbol. Touching this person meant preparing to face the Empire.

“Are you planning to have those guards find out what she’s up to?”

“If it were an ordinary person, that would be natural, but the opponent is a sorceress. Rather than finding out what she’s up to, we should pull out before getting involved, don’t you think?”

Although not explicitly stated, what Olivia meant by ‘what she’s up to’ was already an allusion to the tricks of a sorceress who listens only to the words of a deceased Norden king.

Based on her experiences from her past life, Olivia inferred that a sorceress like Greta could manipulate people, even the king of Norden.

However, Olivia, and even Cryer, were unaware of the fact that Greta could go beyond just manipulating people and use them as perfect puppets.

Because of that, Olivia, of course, and Cryer, were unable to discern the fact that Greta had lost the opportunity even to turn the guards of the Imperial Palace into puppets.

Of course, given that the events unfolded in a state where neither side knew the other’s cards, Greta, who lost the opportunity, Olivia, who seized the opportunity, and even Kessel, who avoided the future of becoming a puppet, were all unaware of this fact.

“What about the surveillance of that?”

“That part, well… probably. Um…”

Olivia hesitated as if it were difficult to speak, and Cryer laughed softly, grabbing the end of her hair and lightly twirling it with his finger.

“Probably?”

“Yeah, so.”

“So?”

“No matter how many knights we send, it won’t be enough, and others…”

Rolling her eyes, Olivia continued her words, and Cryer, who was smiling youngly, suddenly frowned.

“What! You know it, don’t you!”

As she shouted in exasperation, Cryer chuckled softly and shrugged his shoulders.

“It’s probably telling me to do that ‘surveillance.'”