Once my life was cut off, I thought there was nothing precious left for me.

But the connection I met in a different space-time, transcending time, was telling me.

That I am precious.

“Hadel.”

I slowly uttered that being’s name. The lingering feeling of those two syllables was different from before.

‘It’s warm.’

How can even Hadel’s name be so warm?

‘He could have resented me.’

The heart that produces excessive mana, which has been tormenting Hadel until now, is mine. The one who put that heart in him was my past colleague Espen, who wanted to save me.

Even after hearing all of that, Hadel didn’t resent me at all, but rather gently comforted me.

“From the moment I met the small ferret that gave me comfort, I didn’t desire anything else. I just thought I could live relying on each other with you. And after I learned that you could turn into a human…”

A hot spark bloomed in the heart that resonated with Hadel’s emotions. My face must have turned bright red too, but I couldn’t see it as my back was turned.

All I could hear was his voice alone.

A very low, slightly trembling voice that somehow sounded nervous.

“…I thought it was a gift from God.”

Hadel’s confession made my heart swell while simultaneously crushing it with sadness.

‘How lonely must he have been.’

I could easily imagine Hadel’s figure, spending each day not knowing how to fill the always empty space beside him. It was probably how he looked when we first met in the forest.

‘I just thought I liked Hadel because he was warm.’

To think that Hadel was finding comfort in someone like me.

As one corner of my heart ached, I felt an irresistible desire to see Hadel’s face.

I squirmed in Hadel’s arms. Hadel loosely released his arms, and taking advantage of that gap, I faced him.

‘So beautiful. People are all fools.’

His long, thick eyebrows left a strong impression. The firm-looking jaw and tightly closed lips also gave off a brusque feeling, but I knew how kind and attentive he was.

“Thank you, Hadel.”

For picking up a poor ferret stealing bread that day.

For enduring in terrible loneliness until meeting me.

“It’s the same for me. Even when I didn’t know I could turn into a human, I vowed to spend my lifetime by your side.”

I cupped Hadel’s face with both hands. Perhaps because my hands were cold, Hadel’s face felt unusually warm.

I confessed with a shy smile.

“You are also the most precious thing in the world to me. I don’t want you to get hurt that much. If you’re in pain, I’m in pain too.”

At my words, Hadel’s eyes trembled. Hadel asked as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Really?”

“Really.”

“I’m precious?”

“More than words can express.”

If I had known a moment like this confession would come, I would have looked up some fancy phrases.

‘I’ve only been roaming battlefields, so what do I know.’

Instead of recalling inadequate words, I touched the tip of my nose to the tip of Hadel’s nose. And I tightened my arms to hug Hadel’s neck.

‘Hadel’s scent.’

A moist woody scent that seemed to come from the deep forest at dawn flowed from Hadel’s embrace. It was a scent that had become so familiar to me at some point.

‘Now even I can’t recall the time I spent alone.’

All the people I loved had passed away. It was Hadel who saved me as I was dying from that loneliness and sense of loss.

When I pressed my body close, Hadel’s body stiffened with tension. Feeling the broad chest touching me tremble slightly, I couldn’t help but smile.

‘How cute.’

Sorry for the serious situation, but I found Hadel extremely adorable. It was incredibly lovable how he didn’t know what to do with our closer distance, even though he naturally embraced and kissed me.

‘I wonder if he’ll get angry if I kiss him now.’

As I glanced at Hadel’s lips, he unexpectedly had a serious expression. As I stared at him blankly, after hesitating for a while, he finally managed to push out his concerns.

“…What about the person named Espen? Isn’t he also precious to you?”

Espen?

I blinked, wondering why that name suddenly came up.

Hadel’s Adam’s apple bobbed greatly. His face contorted as if he really hated talking about this.

He squeezed out a small voice and asked.

“Weren’t you lovers in your past life?”

Gasp.

That was something I never imagined hearing in this life or the next. I shook my head vigorously.

“Don’t say such horrible things! We were really just barely on one side. We were on very, very bad terms. Even if we had fought to kill each other after the war ended, everyone would have just accepted it.”

At my words, Hadel furrowed his brow as if he couldn’t understand at all.

“But he struggled for 100 years to save you?”

The misunderstanding that Espen and I were passionate lovers was not at all welcome, so I strongly denied it.

“I don’t know why he’s doing that either! Maybe he’s mistaking me for someone else? Or his memories got distorted from living too long?”

That was all I could say. I really couldn’t understand that part either.

At my repeated denials, Hadel’s expression relaxed a bit. I breathed a sigh of relief.

‘But I guess someone who doesn’t know about my relationship with Espen could make such a misunderstanding.’

To someone who doesn’t know the circumstances, it must seem like a terribly heartbreaking story. A man wandering for 100 years to save a woman who died from mana overload.

‘But it’s really not like that!’

Worried that it might leave a trace in Hadel’s heart, I confessed my feelings to Hadel once again.

“You’re the only one in this world I want to kiss, to embrace. It’s the first time I’ve felt such an urge even including my past life.”

“Marian.”

Hadel’s eyes trembled. His fingers gripping me tightened. The emotion flashing across his red eyes was as hot and intense as lava.

But he squeezed his eyes shut as if suppressing his emotions. Seeing the passion hide under his eyelids, I instinctively stood on my tiptoes.

Smooch.

Although our lips had already met countless times, this time the meaning was different. I boldly bit his lip lightly and pulled it first. Then I pushed the soft flesh between his parted lips.

“…!”

At my aggressive display of affection, Hadel’s eyes widened. I put all my weight on his neck, hanging on tightly.

His large hands firmly gripped my body, then stopped as if restraining himself, only to repeat the process.

I dreamily touched Hadel’s nape. I knew well from my ferret days what the firm body hidden under just a thin shirt felt like.

‘Ah, come to think of it, I think I had more contact when I was a ferret.’

Back then, Hadel often put me inside his shirt too.

‘We bathed together, slept together.’

Then isn’t it okay to do more than kiss?

I liked Hadel looking at me with a longing expression, but right now I wanted to get closer to him. After ending the long kiss, I was the one who unbuttoned Hadel’s shirt first.

“Hold me.”

At those words, sparks flew in Hadel’s eyes. For some reason, I kept laughing at the serious and urgent situation. Was I just trying to provoke Hadel?

‘I don’t know.’

Anyway, this being swept away didn’t feel bad.

Hadel’s hands somewhat urgently unbuttoned my clothes. As someone who suffers from extreme laziness, I had the minimum number of buttons, but even that was too much.

His fingers kept slipping off the buttons, perhaps because he was sweating profusely, and eventually he impatiently lifted the clothes from the bottom. At this rate, it would end up looking awkward with the clothes stuck at the neck, so I ended up unbuttoning the back myself.

“Haha.”

The whole process was so cute and funny that I kept laughing. Until Hadel narrowed his eyes and grumbled.

“…Don’t laugh.”

“That’s impossible.”

If you want to stop my laughter, you should stop doing cute things.

With that meaning, I stroked Hadel’s fluffy hair, and his usually straight lips pursed.

Just as I thought his expression looked strangely sulky, my body fell onto the bed with a thud.

“Are you going to keep tempting me like that?”

I didn’t particularly mean to tempt him. I was about to retort with a chuckle, but I ended up blushing bright red and letting out an unsightly scream at what followed.

“W-Wait a moment! Why did you suddenly become so urgent?”

It took a while to take off the top because the buttons weren’t even undone, but it took less than a second to pull down the underwear. Hadel’s build was too big to fit between my long stretched legs.

His long fingers gripped my body tightly. Like ripples forming on water, my skin wrinkled according to the shape of his fingers.

Hadel’s voice sounded like boiling water.

“You looked relaxed…”

His red lips licked his dry lips.

“So I thought I could act impatiently according to my nature.”

What does that mean!

I laughed because Hadel’s childishly clumsy appearance was cute. It was definitely not because I was relaxed!

That’s when Hadel took off his shirt and threw it on the floor.

“Eek!”

I reflexively covered my eyes with both hands. Of course, I took in Hadel’s lean body through the gaps between my fingers, but…

Thump thump.

Now that I was facing Hadel like this, my heart started beating like crazy.

‘T-That’s right! I’m just experiencing today what I would experience someday! And I’m the one who fanned the flames!’

I steeled myself and faced Hadel. But the moment Hadel’s hand gripped my thigh tightly, I let out a loud scream.

“I-I’m also a first-timer!”