Rinel confessed as he gestured towards the bed.

“Then we would have a conversation.”

“We can do that.”

“It’s a physical conversation.”

“…… Ah.”

“But, it won’t work.”

His tone and expression were extremely cautious.

In fact, as an emperor, he had absolutely nothing to fear within the imperial palace.

Even less so when it came to being mindful of others.

Yet his current appearance was nothing like that of the emperor of the strongest nation on the northern continent.

He looked simply like a husband who deeply cherished his wife.

From his mouth, which had candidly confessed his plans, a more shocking statement emerged.

“I can’t do it, fearing that you might push me away or reject me.”

At Rinel’s sincere gaze as he spoke with twinkling blue eyes, I had the urge to stick myself to him as if I were coated in glue.

“Really? But you want to……, right?”

Concerned by his increasingly serious expression, I lightened the mood with a joke.

“Yes. Desperately.”

The lighthearted joke returned as a heavy earnestness.

I had expected a smile to spread on his lips with my words, but somehow his lips drooped even more.

“Shall we go up on the bed for now?”

He took off the robe I was wearing and threw it far onto the couch.

Despite the distance, the robe flew like a bird and landed perfectly on the backrest of the couch.

“Right now?”

“Yes.”

What conversation should we have?

I only thought about meeting him, but I didn’t think about what kind of conversation we would have.

If there’s nothing specific to say, should I talk about meeting Catherine and Rosie in the greenhouse today?

“If you want, we can take our time. It might be a bit painful to endure, but I’m more than happy to accept that kind of pain.”

“?”

Wait a minute?

It seems like our conversation is flowing in different directions?

“……You mean the conversation.”

“……What did I say? I meant conversation, too.”

“Aha. Is that so?”

When I looked at him with an expression that said ‘I don’t think that’s what you meant’, he quickly added as he pointed to the bed with his finger.

“The most comfortable and honest conversation is the one that takes place on the bed.”

“You said it would be painful to endure earlier, didn’t you? What did you mean by that?”

Finding Rinel’s attempts at damage control amusing, I continued to test his quick wit.

“Conversation is inherently painful. Even if you want to talk fast, you have to match the pace of the other person and endure it. That’s why it’s… painful.”

Oh, it was a pretty plausible excuse.

“You mean conversation?”

“Yes, damn conversation.”

Despite his calm expression, Rinel’s face was gradually turning red.

I couldn’t tell if he was blushing because he was embarrassed or if he was feeling defeated by my word games.

However, I was certain I wanted to kiss his slightly pouty lips.

“You wanted to have it with me, didn’t you? The conversation.”

“I definitely wanted to. The conversation.”

“And you waited for it?”

“What did you say?”

“Conversations usually go better if you wait for them.”

“Yes, they do. Let’s get this untied first.”

Nodding, Rinel untied the robe he was wearing.

He threw his robe on the same couch where he had thrown mine.

Amazingly, his robe landed exactly on top of mine.

Rinel touched the buttons of his shirt as he looked at me.

It seemed he was asking for my permission to take off his shirt.

“We’re going to have a conversation, right?”

“Who said what? I usually sleep without my upper clothes.”

“Unexpected? You always feel cold, but you sleep without your upper clothes? I think it would be better to keep them on for now.”

At my skeptical gaze, he hesitated and then nodded.

“……Well, I suppose I can take them off later.”

“Yes, you should do that.”

I climbed onto the wide bed, where I wouldn’t fall off even if I rolled around a few times, with a smile.

As soon as I settled down on the bed, Rinel also climbed onto it immediately.

Moonlight streaming through the terrace doors illuminated his face.

He was truly beautiful, but at the same time, he felt dangerous.

He crawled on all fours towards me, a beast ascended on the bed.

Each time he supported himself on the bed with both arms, his chest muscles elegantly flexed, visible between the gaps of his shirt.

He was like a predator with its prey right in front of it.

Seeing him approach, my heart started racing like a fourlegged predator at an incredible speed.

The tension soared to the high ceiling.

It seemed to be the same for Rinel.

“Are you planning to bite me?”

The stupid question popped out as I looked down at him, who had come up to my nose.

His serious expression, which had been approaching the whole time, collapsed in an instant.

Making a sound as if deflated with an absurd expression, he suddenly roared and opened his mouth like a beast.

Before I could avoid, he bit my thigh over the thin dress.

Goodness.

‘The emperor of the Raphion Empire roared like a beast, baring his teeth, and bit the empress’s thigh.’

This was a gossipworthy story for the ladies to read in secret.

“What are you doing?!”

I cried out, twisting my leg as if to kick up a fuss, surprised.

I almost reflexively kicked his handsome face.

If I had… Maybe his neat row of teeth, which were visible every time he smiled brightly, would have fallen out.

“Zelda, you tried to kick me just now, didn’t you?”

As a man who wields a sword, his ability to understand the opponent’s body language was exceptional.

“Why would I dare do that? Kick your noble and holy majesty!”

“Is that so? Was I misunderstanding?”

“Of course, I’m so frail that even if I kicked, it would only tickle like a feather, right?”

A frail constitution, a blatant lie.

My conscience was tickling, but I couldn’t help it.

Nodding his head, he crawled back a little this time and suddenly lifted one of my feet to his chest.

Was he planning to bite my foot as well after my thigh?

“What, what are you doing?”

In response to my question, he replied with action.

His lips touched my instep with a pop, making a cheerful sound.

“!”

“You’re not kicking this time?”

Holding one of my feet, Rinel asked with a sweet smile.

Anyone would think he had snatched a wyvern baby from the Valley of Death.

“How about here?”

I didn’t want to know where Rinel’s lips were headed, but I saw it too clearly what he was trying to do.

I was internally shouting, ‘No way, no way.’

Why on earth does he want to kiss my foot?

“Ah, it’s ticklish!”

In an instant, the unbearable ticklish sensation made my foot involuntarily jerk.

Due to that, a choking scream burst from his mouth.

“Eek!”

Gosh, what should I do?

In my surprise of pulling my foot back, without realizing it…

I stretched my foot forward even more.

With his mouth gagged by my foot, he fell backward with a short scream.

He looked just like a knight falling on the battlefield after being shot in the chest with an arrow.

Thankfully, it was a bed that posed no harm even if one fell backward.

The problem was, I dared to push the emperor’s mouth, knocking him down.

And with my foot, no less.

Damn, I’m in big trouble.

That’s not why I came to his bedroom…

“Your Majesty!!”

Desperately calling him, I quickly knelt down, becoming a fourlegged beast just like Rinel, and scurried over to his side.

“If you’re hungry, just say so, why would you bite someone’s foot…!”

In my confusion, crazy words popped out of my mouth.

Rinel’s blue eyes, which had been dazed, rolled up to look at me.

I couldn’t tell whether he was trying to laugh or cry.

Oh, I’m really screwed.