“Is there anything you haven’t told me yet?”

Riena was prepared to listen to whatever Cassel had to say without being surprised.

However, despite Riena’s determination, he bit her finger gently and answered.

“Nothing in particular.”

“What do you mean by nothing in particular?”

“I mean it literally.”

Lies. Swallowing that word, Riena asked again.

“So you came to see me so abruptly without anything special happening? When I asked the servants, they said they were surprised you told them to go to the capital.”

“That’s…”

“Moreover, you visited the Dyke residence at dawn amidst heavy rain. It’s unlike you. And yet, are you saying nothing happened at all?”

Riena decided to take a direct approach.

‘If I beat around the bush, Cassel will never tell me.’

Her lover, who was tight-lipped and unexpectedly stubborn, would keep the secret from her forever at this rate.

“Didn’t we agree not to keep secrets from each other? But you keep hiding things from me. If I’m that untrustworthy…”

“That’s not it, Riena. There’s no way that’s the case.”

Sighing and whispering, Cassel finally raised the white flag. He had been repeating like a parrot that he had nothing to hide, but now he carefully opened his mouth.

“When I received the letter from my mentor, I was in a very confusing situation. My father had suddenly passed away and I had to stabilize the family and estate after inheriting the title. In the midst of that, I belatedly learned that my mentor had passed away.”

Riena listened to his words silently.

“I wanted to formally propose to you, following my mentor’s last wish, but the estate’s atmosphere was in turmoil and it wasn’t a situation where I could bring in a new person right away. It was also the first winter I faced as the family head in the North, so I thought there would be shortcomings. It wasn’t a good situation to bring you in many ways.”

“But?”

What changed Cassel’s mind?

While Riena was curious, his story continued.

“That day, my mentor appeared in my dream.”

“Father did?”

“Yes. I can’t remember the exact details of the dream, but I vividly remember his voice telling me to go to the Dyke territory quickly. That’s why I went to see you right away.”

Cassel kissed Riena’s fingers again. He pressed and lifted his lips on each finger carefully and solemnly, not missing a single one.

“I felt it then too, but I think I did well to hurry to the Dyke territory that day. If I had delayed a bit more due to the rain, who knows what would have happened…”

When he was young, Cassel had followed Count Dyke like a father. Even though it was a dream, he couldn’t refuse the Count’s earnest request.

‘If that’s the case, it’s understandable why he came like that that day…’

Riena moved her lips without a word.

There was no way to prove Cassel’s dream other than his words.

In other words, even if the man in front of her was getting out of the situation with a lie, there was no way for Riena to verify it.

‘And there’s no reason for Cassel to lie to that extent…’

Riena decided to let the story related to him pass for now.

‘Perhaps Father, who was really worried about me, appeared in Cassel’s dream.’

Riena rarely believes in superstitious beings or stories.

In an era where even magic, once called the blessing of the goddess, has almost disappeared. Theoretically unprovable and absurd things rarely happen.

However, if it was Count Dyke, who cherished his only daughter more than his own life, it was plausible that he was lingering around, unable to leave Riena alone.

Riena muttered somewhat gloomily.

“If that’s really the case, it’s sad. I only made Father worry even after he passed away.”

“That’s not true.”

Cassel denied firmly.

“It was just that the mentor’s love for you was deep.”

“Even so, I hope Father can rest comfortably now without worrying about me anymore.”

“He probably will. Because I’m by your side.”

Cassel lowered his head and kissed her lips loudly. His large hand gently held her chin and lifted her face slightly.

Leaning her head back, Riena closed her eyes and felt him delve into the slightly parted gap between her lips.

Cassel’s kiss was polite and well-mannered, just like his personality, initially careful and gentle.

However, as his body heated up and his affection for her became too exciting to bear, it gradually became rough.

He persistently chased Riena’s lips with his unruly, rough breath.

When she parted her lips for a moment to catch her breath, he waited for a moment and then kissed her lips again.

Riena didn’t dislike his affection like that.

She was rather pleased by the fact that he showed this disheveled side only to her.

A side of Cassel Winkler that only she could see.

Riena was the only one who knew how much the most ascetic man desired her and how he got excited above her.

Riena’s body heated up with just one kiss. Her body, already accustomed to his hands, responded diligently to his breath, gestures, and heat.

Her heart was pounding and her lower abdomen tightened. Heat also lingered between her legs.

She wanted to go to bed with him like this and crave each other again.

She wanted to be filled with his traces all over her body and have him fully without lacking.

However, when Cassel’s hand, which had been fumbling on her back, unbuttoned the top button, Riena came to her senses and parted her lips. There was still something to talk about.

“Cassel, wait… Ugh, wait a minute.”

This time too, Cassel stubbornly followed her lips and kissed her. Riena punched his shoulder with her fist.

“I have something to say…”

“If it’s about Countess Dyke, I can listen later. First, I need to check with my own eyes that you’re not hurt anywhere…”

Riena knew well that checking with his own eyes didn’t literally mean just checking.

“Not about Mother, something else…”

Riena managed to escape from his arms before he could unbutton everything.

Cassel looked at her while catching his breath. Riena was worried he might pounce again, but fortunately, he waited quietly as she wished.

Of course, he didn’t wait tamely. His heat-filled eyes persistently swept over her body.

Riena, whose neck had turned red, covered it with the back of her hand and mumbled.

“I’m not done talking yet.”

“Yes, I’m listening.”

Riena’s gaze naturally turned towards his chest. His chest heaved greatly, just like his rough breathing.

‘I need to ask about the scar.’

However, if she asked about it straightforwardly, he wouldn’t answer honestly. He would only reflexively say it doesn’t hurt.

After much thought, Riena carefully stroked his shirt with her right hand.

She traced the protruding collarbone with her fingertips and brushed over his left chest where the scar was.

She could roughly tell where it was without unbuttoning his shirt. She had already checked with her eyes many times.

Riena moved her fingers as if tracing the scar and observed Cassel’s condition.

There was a change in him. Cassel slightly frowned and bit his lower lip.

However, it didn’t seem like the look of someone suppressing a groan of pain.

Thinking it wasn’t enough, when she pressed his firm chest a bit harder, Cassel caught her wrist and instantly laid her down on the sofa.

His hot breath poured down on her face.

“…Cassel?”

“I waited because you said you had something to say, but why are you seducing me?”

Only then did Riena belatedly realize how her actions might have looked to Cassel.

Her attempt to discreetly observe Cassel’s reaction to the scar, if one didn’t know the fact, could only be seen as a gesture seducing her beloved lover.

Riena blocked Cassel’s mouth with her left hand as he tried to kiss her again. Cassel just blinked and silently asked.

Why are you doing this?

Riena hurriedly made an excuse.

“It’s about your scar. The one on your chest.”

Only then did Cassel seem to understand her intention and furrowed his brows. He spoke while pressing his lips against her palm.

“It’s not a scar.”

“I know. You said you had it since birth. It’s not a scar, but it looks just like one…”

Before Cassel could argue again, Riena quickly asked.

“Are you sure it doesn’t hurt? Is it true you had it since birth?”

Cassel silently nodded.

“But someone said you seemed to feel pain on the left side of your chest.”

“…Who?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Is it Chester?”

“No. I won’t tell you no matter how many times you ask, so don’t pry. And don’t think about interrogating the servants either.”

Riena asked with force in her eyes.

“Cassel, be honest. That’s not something you had since birth, but a scar from an injury, right?”