I’ll praise you. You’ve become quite brave lately. Now you can even nag at me. Raising your voice too, huh? Go ahead, act up all you want.

No. You just told me to maintain my dignity a moment ago…….

Why are you in this position again?

As I made a tearful face, Edan caressed my cheek with his large hand that had been holding the bench backrest.

“Do more. Keep going. Don’t you have anything else to say?”

When I pressed my lips tightly together, Edan lowered the hand that was touching my cheek, grabbed my chin, and turned it to the left.

The great river was flowing down the sloping hill.

And then he turned it back to face him directly.

“There’s no one on the left because of the river, and the right is blocked by the bench.”

“What are you trying to say?”

Edan’s thumb, which had been gently caressing my chin, gradually moved up to my lips.

“I’m saying that even if I did something here right now, others wouldn’t know.”

The corner of my slightly parted lips was slowly rising.

Edan’s touch on me was infinitely gentle, and strangely, I felt no resistance at all today.

He always approached a bit urgently, but why?

It felt like the flow of time had changed.

When I slowly blinked without avoiding his gaze, Edan wrinkled his nose bridge.

“Latieana. You.”

“……?”

“Don’t make that expression. It makes me want to devour you for real.”

After saying that, Edan brought the hand that had been caressing my lips to his own mouth.

And he stuck out his tongue to lightly lick his fingertip.

He did this when we first met too, and I don’t know if he does it unconsciously, but I can tell it’s not good for my mental health. It’s not as scary as back then, but Edan is still too, too sexy!

His passionate gaze landed on my forehead, then slowly descended along my nose bridge and cheeks to reach my lips. Watching his pupils move, I gulped. Somehow, I felt a little thirsty.

The weight of Edan’s body pressed down on me moderately.

Just as he was about to lower his head and press against me, the sky suddenly darkened a bit more, and the sound of horns and drums rang out from the marketplace.

As the quiet surroundings became noisy, Edan frowned and closed his eyes for a moment, as if suddenly irritated.

I too returned to the reality I had forgotten.

“It’s almost time to start, right? Let’s buy a sky lantern.”

We were heading towards a shop with sky lanterns hanging, once again joining the crowd.

“Your Grace.”

Like a shadow, Ruben stealthily approached Edan’s side.

When our eyes met, Ruben briefly greeted me with a nod and whispered inaudibly into Edan’s ear.

In that brief moment, the wind changed to become a bit chillier, and the moon halo intensified to its peak.

People rushed to the riverside as if they had been waiting for this moment.

They lit their sky lanterns, and with the sound of fireworks, an enormous number of lanterns soared into the sky one after another.

The scent of night air, moist with humidity in the chilly air. The small, flickering orange lights of the sky lanterns rising steadily to fill the dark night sky was a spectacular sight.

It was a time when everyone was looking at the light they had sent up, making wishes.

“Mo, monster!”

With someone’s sharp shout, black-clad ability knights simultaneously sprang out from all directions.

Whoosh− A huge black monster was flying across the night sky from beyond the mountain range.

It had a dragon-like shape with wings so large they were visible even from afar.

Sharp claws were attached to the wing tips, looking like they could cause fatal shock just by grazing.

“Ruben.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Edan swiftly drew his sword.

After gently patting my head a couple of times as if telling me to wait, he dashed towards the river in one breath.

Ruben immediately came to my side and gestured in the air.

Then two of Edan’s other subordinates sprang out and stood guard on either side of me.

“Do not separate from her under any circumstances.”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

Ruben left me in their care and followed after Edan.

The monster’s speed was so fast that it was already in the sky above the river.

Whee− Whee− Making an eerie wind sound, the monster circled above people’s heads as if scouting.

Grrrr−.

With a rough breath that seemed to shake the earth and stirring up the wind, the monster crunched and spat out sky lanterns in mid-air.

Although I knew how strong Edan was and had seen his subordinates fight before, so I wasn’t too worried, another concern arose.

It’s a flying monster. How do you fight such a beast in mid-air?

I looked around, sweating coldly.

But surprisingly, I was the only one this scared. People were watching with anxious looks, but no one was screaming loudly or hurrying to escape.

What’s with this situation? Normally, people should be running away without looking back…….

And soon I was able to know the answer.

The moment the monster’s eyes turned towards the crowded market street, a huge blue hand-shaped form covered the sky. That giant hand I knew created a solid veil as if to ensure the monster would never harm the people.

The knights sprang up into the sky, stepping on the blue veil Edan had created.

They were all wearing black hoods, making it difficult to distinguish them.

But I could tell where Edan was.

Among the dozens of knights, the man who jumped highest into the sky. That was Edan.

They were all agile and powerful warriors.

There was not a single unnecessary movement, not a single superfluous gesture.

With movements too quick for the eye to follow, the monster was restrained in an instant.

The knights pointed their swords at the monster as if on cue.

And they thrust them into its wings, arms, legs, head, and back all at once.

Kieeee−!

Spraying green liquid that looked like blood, the monster screamed, and Edan stood on top of its head.

And his long sword severed the monster’s neck and massive body.

It was a fight that felt unreal, like watching a performance.

It happened in an instant. The monster’s corpse was thrown to the opposite riverbank.

“Waaah−!”

The people cheered, and I blankly took in that cruel yet beautiful sight.

It was as Edan had said. The monster was dealt with in a short time without casualties.

My whole body trembled with joy and awe.

In the original work, Edan had never protected anyone. He wasn’t in his right mind, suffering from pain.

But even so, he had been protecting the North like this all along.

I can tell from the people’s reactions. Even at a festival where monsters might appear, they trusted that when danger struck, the lord of this land would bravely come forth to protect them like this.

Edan was not a murderer. He was a man who could also protect people.

Even though he came to live in the North as if exiled, he just didn’t show it in front of others.

In fact, he was guarding his territory with more passion and heavier responsibility than anyone else.

“Edan…….”

At that moment, I thought I sincerely wished for him to be happy.

I hoped he would never be hurt again.

I hoped he would never be wounded again.

I hoped he would no longer be used between the wicked Emperor and Empress.

I looked at the sky lanterns soaring powerfully into the night sky where the monster had disappeared.

That’s when it happened.

“Hup−!”

The touch of a thick glove covered my mouth.

“Shh.”

A man with a deep voice whispered in my ear.

“If you stay still, you won’t get hurt. I won’t hurt you, so stay as you are.”

Along with a soft, melodious voice, the sweet scent of fruit brushed my nose.

I hurriedly looked around to see Edan’s two subordinates lying on the ground.

“Mmph……!”

I tried to grab the hand covering my mouth and remove it, but of course it wouldn’t move as I wanted.

I tried to make a sound somehow, but even that was impossible.

But I couldn’t give up. I struggled with all my might to break free from the man’s arms.

“Latieana Merigold.”

He knows me. It was still a melodious voice, but for a moment I got goosebumps and stopped moving.

As my body went limp, the man asked again.

“If you scream, I won’t show any more consideration.”

I quickly nodded.

Then the man slightly loosened his grip, and I slowly turned my head to look at him.

Just one step away was the brightly lit street full of festival lights, but the man’s figure was almost invisible, hidden in the shadow of a building.

Moreover, a white cloth was tightly wrapped from his head to his neck and shoulders. Our eyes met through the gap.

‘It’s shining.’

Even though it was a dark place, his golden eyes sparkled like the sun.

The man with such kind eyes that one wouldn’t think he could commit such an act slowly blinked at me.

Once again, the scent of fruit wafted strongly.

And at that moment, with the sound of fireworks shooting into the sky, a boom rang out, and the man frowned and quickly raised his head.

“Lady Latieana!”

Ruben! I hurriedly turned my head towards the sound.

Ruben was running fiercely towards us with his sword drawn. For a moment I was scared by the sight of Ruben charging at high speed, but I pulled down the man’s hand with all my might.

“Sir Ruben!”

As soon as I shouted loudly, my body flew through the air as if thrown, and my gaze turned to the opposite direction.

And someone who looked like the man’s subordinate sprang forward with a sword.

Clang− Just as I heard the sound of swords clashing, the man holding me tightened his grip, my vision momentarily darkened, and soon the surroundings became bright again.

The deafening sound of fireworks disappeared, and in an instant, everything around became quiet.