I was momentarily flustered, at a loss for words due to the unexpected reply.

Edan, who quickly moved to the bathroom, gently set me down in the tub.

He washed me without a hint of annoyance. When washing my long hair, he even played with the bubbles for a while, as if enjoying himself.

And as he looked at the marks he left on every inch of my skin, he smiled with evident satisfaction.

Though he’d likely never done this for anyone else, his touch was surprisingly delicate.

After washing up cleanly, I felt a bit more confident.

Edan was still shirtless, but thankfully, my shower robe was prepared.

Wearing a soft, fluffy robe, I sat with Edan on the sofa by the fireplace, eating soup.

As my energy returned, the fog in my mind cleared, and my thoughts became sharp.

When I bit into a large grape Edan fed me, a fresh, sweet taste burst in my mouth.

“Edan! This is really delicious!”

I shouldn’t talk while eating, but it was so tasty that I couldn’t help but exclaim in awe. Because of that, juice dribbled down my chin.

I must have looked unrefined, like someone obsessed with grapes. Embarrassed, I tried to wipe it with the back of my hand, but Edan was faster.

With a smooth smile, Edan lightly wiped the juice trailing down my chin with his thumb.

Then he brought his finger to his mouth.

With half-closed eyes, he languidly licked it with his red tongue, and I swallowed the grape with an audible gulp.

Embarrassed by the loud sound, I pointlessly patted my chest, and Edan, raising an eyebrow, said,

“Can anyone match you?”

…What?

For a moment, my brain seemed to freeze, and I blinked, staring blankly at Edan.

“Here.”

My eyes widened at the sensation of another grape Edan slipped into my mouth.

This man.

I’d just calmed down, and now he says something so embarrassing with such a casual expression?

Did he secretly read that book? That red book from the castle, something about a burning night!

I haven’t read it myself, but thinking back, there’s no way a first-timer would know such things.

He definitely tried some of the methods from that book! Should I read it too?

My mind was spinning busily.

Even so, I eagerly ate the grapes Edan fed me.

“Are you really hungry? I brought food that’s easy to digest, but should I get something else?”

“No, I’m fine now.”

“Really? Doesn’t seem like it.”

Looking at me with cheeks puffed out from grapes, Edan chuckled.

“You look like a chipmunk. Turn around.”

“…?”

I obediently turned around as he instructed.

Then Edan unwrapped the towel coiled on my head and shook it lightly.

“I’m suddenly curious. Does your hair naturally curl when it dries?”

“Probably?”

“Probably? You’ve never thought about it?”

“Nope. It just happens.”

“That’s interesting.”

The scent of Edan’s soap wafted from my hair as he patted it through the folded towel.

Amid the faint soap fragrance drifting from the swaying towel, I smiled widely. I felt so good, I wished I could stay like this forever, without any worries.

“By the way, Edan.”

“Yeah.”

Edan gently stroked my hair.

“How was it at the palace? Did you talk things out with Lord Killian?”

It was something I’d been wanting to ask. And I had a hunch.

I was certain it must have gone well.

Considering he worked late to mend the cracks in an unyielding wall, and Edan’s expression looked quite relieved.

But Edan replied nonchalantly,

“Well… more or less.”

More or less? What’s that supposed to mean? I turned around sharply to look up at him.

“Why? You didn’t make up?”

Did he know everything and still couldn’t resolve it? Damn it. How far gone is Killian’s infatuation with his first love? I thought hearing the truth from Ciela would snap him out of it, but was I wrong? Were my expectations too high? Or did Hillstain meddle somehow?

As I furrowed my brow in thought, Edan lightly pinched my cheek to snap me out of it.

“Relax your face. Why so serious?”

“But you…!”

“It’s not the sweet reconciliation you’re imagining. We made up.”

At his carelessly tossed words, I opened my mouth slightly.

Sure, I did imagine a sweet reconciliation.

Like Edan and Killian simultaneously throwing their arms open, saying, “I’m sorry for the misunderstanding! Brother! Little brother!” and hugging tightly… a bit cheesy, but a classic reconciliation. If not that, how did they make up?

“What did you say? That you were sorry? Both of you?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

Edan shifted his gaze to my drying hair.

“He said I was scary when I got angry.”

What does that mean?

“Who?”

“Me, to my brother.”

“Lord Killian got angry at you?”

The explanation was getting more confusing, and I tilted my head.

With a light smile, Edan draped the towel over me again and shook my hair.

“My brother got angry at Her Majesty the Empress.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. He’d already won over Father too.”

“Good heavens.”

So that’s why there’s been no contact?

“Ciela is returning to the Eastern Empire. She might have left yesterday at dawn. And she’ll face appropriate punishment for her crimes.”

“Punishment, as in…”

“If she’s lucky, it’ll end with being sold into slavery.”

Edan paused for a moment. Then, looking down at me, he clarified the situation.

“Just in case you feel any guilt, Ciela’s actions warranted this level of consequence. So don’t feel even slightly responsible. If anything, I would’ve dealt with her more harshly. She should be grateful you stepped in.”

I nodded quietly.

I had prepared myself for this when I decided to expose Ciela’s misdeeds.

I knew if things were resolved, her outcome wouldn’t be good.

Nothing is resolved without sacrifice.

“Her parents will be executed too. My brother personally requested it of the Eastern Empire. To hold them accountable for daring to send a worthless hostage princess as my marriage partner.”

“Does the Eastern Empire not know that Ciela was swayed by the Empress’s manipulations?”

Edan gave a small nod.

“It seems Ciela, trusting only the Empress’s words, first proposed it to the Eastern Empire’s Emperor. Regardless, it was the Eastern Empire that requested my marriage based on her word. And my brother was furious, saying sending a hostage princess was an insult to Alkedania. His letter meant that if they don’t want to make an enemy of our empire, they must deal with Ciela properly.”

Wow. That’s a declaration to see it through to the end.

“It makes no sense for the king and queen of a fallen kingdom to survive. They would’ve died regardless of what Ciela did.”

“What? But wasn’t Ciela’s condition that if she married you, her parents would be spared?”

“The kingdom’s key figures are all dead. Most of the citizens are enslaved. How could they alone survive in that situation? It’s absurd. Even if, by some miracle, the royal couple survived as Ciela hoped, the citizens would’ve sought revenge.”

It’s unfortunate, but there’s no helping it.

Edan told me that Killian had caught the Empress’s weakness and would gradually strip her of her responsibilities.

He even said he plans to inherit the throne faster than discussed with the Emperor.

“I can’t believe Lord Killian was ever soft-hearted.”

“It was a first for me too. So I praised him.”

Edan laughed, as if amused.

“So? What did Lord Killian say?”

“He called me an idiot.”

…That’s it? Where in this conversation was there a gesture of reconciliation?

He said I was scary when angry, got called an idiot in return, and that’s a good resolution? But since they talked about the future, it seems they truly reconciled.

“When we were kids, he used to call me that a lot. So it’s settled.”

Edan smiled brightly, slipping his fingers into my nearly dry, wavy hair.

He stroked it repeatedly, as if genuinely fascinated.

Alright. It’s a bit different from the reconciliation I imagined, but if Edan’s satisfied, that’s what matters.

“Can I eat some cake?”

“Why ask?”

Edan stretched his long arm toward the table.

But instead of picking up the cake, he wiped his hand with a damp cloth and dabbed some cream on his index finger.

“…?”

Is he going to feed me? I watched, and Edan smeared the cream on the edge of his lips.

“Here, eat.”

I thought I’d gotten used to his bare torso, but his sudden action shattered my calm.

Seeing my flushed face, he laughed.

Is this man living to tease me lately? At his constant playfulness, I bit my lower lip.

“Who says I can’t eat it?”

I grabbed his shoulder, leaned in, and lightly licked the cream off. He could’ve just asked for a kiss. That would’ve been less embarrassing! My face was red as a ripe tomato, but I did it.

“Delicious, princess?”

“No. I can’t tell from just that.”

I thought I’d landed a solid comeback, but Edan, chuckling as if I were cute, suddenly pulled me into a tight embrace.

“Then let’s taste more.”

Edan tilted his head and leaned in.

His parted lips met mine as if to devour them, and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

Despite spending the whole night and day together, it felt as intense as the first time. Our kiss, full of longing, only ended when I collapsed against him, exhausted.

It was just a kiss, but Edan’s deepened movements made my whole body feel like it was melting.

As I buried my face in his chest, Edan wrapped one arm around me, gently stroking my hair.

It felt like he was praising me, or maybe petting me like a puppy.

My heart pounded so loudly as I clung to him. The warmth of his bare skin against my cheek felt comforting.

“So, Latie, what about you? Was there something in the desert?”