Celia’s hand touched Dietrich’s chest.

Dietrich’s chest was far firmer than Celia had expected.

It felt as though he might have stuffed a boulder inside his chest.

His taut skin, broad shoulders, and muscular upper body were nothing short of perfect.

Following the strands of black hair that fell downward and his straight eyebrows, a sharp nose came into view.

In the red eyes looking down at Celia, a vivid desire was evident.

A raw, unfiltered desire.

The only man who could heal her broken body.

Celia realized that her reflection in Dietrich’s eyes bore the same expression as his.

Their lips met once again.

Their breaths intertwined roughly.

Pushing forward as if to devour, then softly pulling back.

Dietrich kissed Celia’s lips again.

As his hands teasingly grazed her skin below, Celia’s body twisted slightly.

Celia’s hands, tightly wrapped around Dietrich’s neck, slowly moved downward.

Soon, her ten fingers left nail marks on his back, etching her own traces.

Deep, faint, long, and short—various marks remained on his body.

A moan escaped through Celia’s gritted teeth.

The more she moaned, the more Dietrich’s touch grew rough, as if exploring her further.

With each touch that applied and released pressure, Celia felt she might go mad.

The sky spun, and she gradually lost sense of where she was.

Yet, the sensations in her body only grew more intense.

Dietrich’s large hand stimulated her slender waist and stomach. Everywhere his touch landed, a tingling sensation followed.

Celia pressed her lips together with force.

As if to tease her further, Dietrich ran his long fingers along her thigh.

Alternating between his thumb and index finger, he left her no moment of rest.

Each of his five fingers felt different at every joint.

“…!”

An embarrassing sound slipped from Celia’s lips, unable to hold back. Though ashamed of her voice, his touch forced such sounds to escape.

“….”

No matter how she tried, she couldn’t hold it in.

Dietrich pressed his body even closer in that moment.

His firm abs, visible before Celia’s eyes, seemed nobler than any work of art.

Celia’s entire body yearned for Dietrich.

Dietrich, having shed his top, began to remove his lower garments.

Soon, his waistline was revealed, and his pelvic bone came into view.

“!”

Celia’s eyes widened.

Her cheeks burned like fire, yet her gaze remained fixed on his pelvic bone.

His pelvic bone, rising as if angry, seemed to declare it would not leave Celia alone.

Like the master of that angry pelvic bone, his sensual red eyes glared as if to consume her.

Not long ago, those eyes had been nothing but tender.

For a moment, Celia wondered if this was a different person.

But he was, without a doubt, Dietrich.

Being with this alluring Dietrich made Celia’s mind feel hazy.

Perhaps because of the rain that had briefly fallen earlier, she felt damp below.

Her shoes had come off, and Celia’s pale feet were smeared with dirt and grass.

Above, tall trees stretched toward the sky.

Yet, in this moment, Celia forgot where she even was.

The fresh scent of forest soil mingled with their heated breaths.

Celia reveled in complete freedom, fully embracing the raw nature of the moment.

Was it jealousy of their love?

A sudden downpour began.

The unannounced rain soaked Celia and Dietrich thoroughly.

Shwaaa—

The sudden rain chilled Celia’s body as it soaked her.

“…Well, it’s raining.”

Dietrich could no longer keep her, frail as she was, in this place.

Nearly bare, Dietrich dressed Celia.

Shwaaa—

The downpour was surely jealous of Celia and Dietrich.

Dietrich quickly donned his clothes and wrapped his arm around Celia’s shoulders.

“Cough!”

Though exposed to the rain only briefly, Celia let out a cough.

Dietrich had planned to return to his estate in the palace but changed his mind.

He had to deal with Ileon in the dungeon and other palace matters, but Celia’s health was his greater concern.

Even after receiving his saliva, her condition was this bad—it meant she was truly unwell.

‘Her body needs to be warmed first.’

Having entrusted palace matters to Sir Anderson, Dietrich judged half a day would be fine and spoke.

“Your body is cold. This won’t do.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Dietrich lifted Celia into his arms.

Carrying her effortlessly, Dietrich swiftly descended from the forest to the village.

Carrying Celia, Dietrich entered the most expensive-looking inn in the nearby village.

“The most expensive room.”

Dietrich pulled a gold coin from his pocket and placed it on the counter.

“Keep the change.”

The innkeeper gave them the most expensive room.

Celia’s body was thoroughly soaked.

Water dripped from her entire body.

Her wet clothes, soaked by cold rainwater, revealed her body’s contours completely.

Dietrich immediately laid her in the bathtub to bathe.

The bathtub was spacious enough for two people with ease.

But Dietrich did not enter the bathtub.

“You’ll warm up soon. We’ll head to the palace after raising your body temperature.”

“…Aren’t you cold?”

At Celia’s question, Dietrich smiled with his eyes and answered.

“I’m fine.”

As Dietrich filled the tub with warm water, he kissed Celia’s forehead.

He held back, knowing that joining her in the tub might lead to unpredictable actions.

He couldn’t do the same things as the other men who had lusted after Celia.

Dietrich recalled how he had nearly lost his reason in the grass earlier.

Had it not rained, in such a place, with Celia…

He thought he might have planted bad memories for her.

“Take off your clothes first. You’ll get colder otherwise.”

Dietrich held Celia’s slender waist, gently peeling off her rain-soaked clothes.

Unlike the urgent desire from earlier, his touch now carried tenderness and concern.

Seeing her chest clinging to the wet white clothes, Dietrich deliberately lowered his gaze.

Shwaaa—

The bathtub gradually filled with bathwater.

The warm water touched Celia’s skin.

As hot water poured from the tap, Celia closed her eyes.

Shwaaa—

The bathwater rose to just below Celia’s chest.

Looking at Celia with her eyes closed, Dietrich smiled gently.

He spread peach-scented oil, found on the bathroom floor, onto his hands.

“I’ll wash your hair.”

When Celia nodded, Dietrich carefully applied the oil to her silver hair, tending to every strand.

His touch, so pleasant, brought a faint smile to Celia’s lips.

The sweet peach fragrance filled the bathroom.

With her eyes closed, Celia spoke in a soft voice.

“When all this is over, let’s go on a trip. To a place where no one knows us, doing everything we want, seeing everything we want to see.”

What Celia desired was a truly ordinary life.

Once a noble princess, even such a simple life had been denied to her.

Dietrich’s heart ached at her words.

As he rinsed the oil from Celia’s hair with water, Dietrich responded.

“Let’s do it. Let’s go to a place where no one knows us and live relying only on each other.”

Having washed her hair, Dietrich wiped the water from Celia’s hair with a towel.

Then, he gently kissed her.

Celia accepted his kiss as if she had been waiting for it.

In the bathroom, their deep kisses continued endlessly.

Whether the heat in the bathroom came from the hot water or from Celia and Dietrich was unclear.

What was certain was that it was so intense that nothing could be seen from outside.

The shadow of a torch hanging on the wall flickered across Gabriel’s face.

Gabriel quickly scanned her surroundings with her eyes.

Behind her, people brought for interrogation stood in a line, and in front, knights with swords at their waists exuded a fierce aura.

Beyond the knights’ backs was a rusty iron gate, and those called forward were invariably summoned inside it.

“Next! Come inside.”

At the knight’s shout, Hariel, standing right behind Gabriel, turned pale.

“Gabriel, what do we do now? More than ten people have gone in, and none have come out!”

Gabriel tried to reassure her mother but was in no position to comfort anyone.

Everything around her was deeply unsettling.

Her mood was indescribably foul.

Dietrich, whom she had so fervently loved, had looked at her like she was an insect. Worse, the fox-like Celia had effortlessly claimed the place by his side.

Every man desired Celia.

Without a single exception.

When they had practically sold the thorn-in-her-side Celia to the old emperor, she thought everything was going smoothly.

‘How did it come to this?’

“Next!”

At the knight’s continued shout, Gabriel bit her lower lip and walked into the iron gate.

Inside the gate, there was a knight in red shoulder armor, an old chair, and a black door presumed to lead deeper into the dungeon.

“Gabriel Brillion of the Viscount Brillion family. Be seated.”