Esika spoke as she walked ahead.

“Even if a new life begins, it seems a person’s nature doesn’t change.”

“……”

“Just like me.”

Resban did not understand what she meant.

However, after formally meeting the Empress, she was greatly moved.

The numerous cultists of the Thousand Demon Sect that woman had annihilated in her past life.

And Cella, that poor thing with blood-stained nails, who had followed her as master in this life.

The Empress’s blade had pierced right next to Esika’s heart.

A malicious connection never truly ends.

After walking a few steps, Esika turned back and said to Resban.

“I will surely destroy that woman with my own hands.”

The wind gently rustled, tickling Esika’s hair.

After a moment, Resban opened his mouth.

“It won’t be as easy as you think. She’s different from Riona Klaus.”

The Empress was a fanatic. She had done outrageous things in the name of Tameron, and the Emperor knew but ignored it.

No, it was closer to indifference than ignoring.

“Just because His Majesty has allowed you doesn’t mean he’s on your side.”

His golden eyes were shining calmly.

Thinking he already knew, Esika looked at Resban.

Permission… There seemed to be no need to sarcastically interpret the earlier meaning as a test.

Whatever the circumstances, the Emperor had allowed Esika to enter the palace after all.

“His Majesty is always weighing things on the scales.”

The only heir the Emperor put forward as his successor was Resban Deon Lucein, the Crown Prince.

But he didn’t pour all power into Resban.

The Emperor valued balance above all else.

He believed that true peace comes from balance.

“It will be a difficult adventure.”

“That’s why a well-sharpened blade is needed.”

At Resban’s words, Esika met his eyes.

Resban’s attitude always coexisted with innate confidence and pressure.

“That’s how you win in a war that isn’t easy.”

Esika opened her mouth but didn’t say anything for a moment.

It was after a long silence that she spoke.

“Won’t Your Highness regret it?”

Unlike a mere duke, the Empress was different. Becoming a sword for a power struggle against her would be a heavy burden even for him, the Crown Prince.

“Do I look like someone who would regret?”

His eyes were dark, but there was a stable conviction in them.

“…No.”

Regret, was there another man as ill-suited to that word as Resban?

“You just……”

Resban raised his hand and gently lifted Esika’s chin.

“Use me as your sword.”

His golden eyes were fixed on Esika’s lips.

“And in return, give yourself to me.”

His protruding Adam’s apple looked especially erotic.

Esika felt a strange thirst.

“Esika.”

The low voice calling her name flowed into her ears.

Resban’s eyes looking at her were deep.

His eyebrows and expression were hard, but there was a longing to hear her answer.

He was looking at Esika with such an expression.

After a brief silence, Esika continued.

“But… let’s make one thing clear. The reason I’m choosing Your Highness is……”

Even if blinded by revenge, one doesn’t grab a rotten rope.

Without that level of discernment, it would be no different from swinging a sword blindfolded.

“Because I trust Your Highness.”

She didn’t know how to explain it, but her heart raced when she saw him.

There were times she wanted to look away, but the direction of the flames was clear.

“……”

For a problem with no clear answer, the only answer she could give to an ally was ‘trust’.

He wanted her, and she needed him.

Resban’s gaze was intense.

He stared at Esika as if trying to read something deeper in her eyes.

Esika’s lips moved again.

This wasn’t about the realm of the heart. It was just the reason for this moment.

“Having come this far, I……”

Her lips looked especially stiff.

“I’m afraid of repeating past failures.”

Fear, an honest expression but one that didn’t suit the spirit, let alone Esika.

But Esika, who had repeated a tragic life once, was different from the spirit who had jumped into love with a pure heart, not knowing it was a fire pit.

She was different from the previous Esika who had loved a dung cart like Callian.

Experience creates caution, and steps gradually hesitate.

Even if the path ahead seems to be the right one.

Resban quietly reached out and cupped Esika’s cheek.

Esika looked at Resban.

Once, she had hoped never to be swayed by something like love again.

Because the experience of dying with betrayal and wounds was terrible.

“I will never hurt you.”

Resban’s golden eyes were firm.

Like that solitary eagle that had never hesitated even once.

“If I had my way, I’d take you to my bedroom right now and crown you, like plucking a flower.”

Resban’s low voice was heard.

“And I thought I would do so someday from the moment I first saw you, but……”

Esika’s pupils shook lightly.

“The more I got to know you, the more I thought. Could a white butterfly be happy in my grasp?”

“An eagle can’t be happy in a cage.”

Resban was certainly stronger and more imposing than the solitary eagle.

But there were many similarities.

A man who swings his sword mercilessly on the battlefield, but is not one-sided only in front of her.

“There was a time when your reaction was quite unsatisfactory.”

Resban’s low voice was heard.

“I thought about being satisfied as your shadow-like lover, but.”

Esika stared at Resban.

A shadow-like lover, certainly not a position that suits Resban.

“I’m not used to having my things taken away. And I’m not generous enough to stand by when there’s a woman who says she’ll kill you.”

Resban’s thumb lightly pressed Esika’s lips.

“So I’ll have to make you the Crown Princess.”

His touch on her plump lower lip felt strangely erotic.

“You are the master of this sword.”

Resban said, looking at Esika with deep golden eyes.

Marriage… which she had failed twice, including her past life.

But his low voice was filled with deep conviction.

“You have the right to wield me. And… I will not let you endure any pain.”

When the low voice flowed into her ear, her heart sank.

He already knew everything she was worried about.

And he was giving her confidence.

The fact that her heart was racing like this at those words must be because she thought of Resban as special.

But Esika couldn’t easily open her mouth.

Even though his heavy thumb was no longer covering her lips.

“Look into my eyes.”

At Resban’s words, Esika’s eyebrows twitched.

Resban moved his lips.

“Marry me, Esika.”

It was the first marriage proposal Resban Deon Lucein had ever made to anyone.

Esika’s fingertips twitched.

A complete ally. Something she had never had in married life.

Husbands are entangled in various interests.

The Emperor of the Central Plains was like that, and so was Callian.

Laws and procedures are above the spouse’s pain.

They don’t call wrong things wrong, and rather click their tongues at her when she complains of unfairness.

Because a caught fish is a being that can be treated that way.

Esika dropped her gaze to the floor.

And slowly placed her right hand on her left chest.

Her heart was racing.

After a moment, Esika reached out to Resban.

And met Resban’s eyes as he took her hand.

“That’s… enough.”

“……”

“Saying I’ll become your woman is cliché and.”

No matter which she chose, the progression of their relationship was set.

It seemed Resban would never let go of Esika even if it meant leaving his side empty for life.

They were pieces meant to be paired from the start,

Have they only now come to see each other’s eyes through trial and error? It’s still unknown.

Her heart was just racing.

“Please become my man, Your Highness.”

Resban was just a man who would sit her on his knee but not make her kneel on the floor.

Huh, the corners of Resban’s mouth rose slightly.

The man who always gave a dizzying pressure seemed like a well-tamed beast today.

Resban looked at her for a moment and then stood up.

“Someday you will fall asleep with me.”

The low voice flowed into her ears.

The golden eyes emitting a dark light make her feel dizzy.

“You’ll wake up next to me. And your enemy……”

“……”

“Will never wake up again.”

It was the conclusion of the contract.

Then Resban, still holding her hand, tilted his head slightly and kissed Esika’s lips.

His lips crushed against Esika’s, and hot breath invaded the open space.

The flesh that seemed to wrap around her sucked in her breath.

Her mind suddenly felt hazy, as if covered in fog.