Leah had been the one bold enough to make the first move, but in an instant, she lost control of the situation.
“Mm…”
Not only could she not overpower his strength as he held her, but she was too busy trying to keep up with his relentless kisses.
Whenever she ran out of breath, he would pull away for a moment, only to change direction and continue again.
“Haa… ha…”
Their breathing grew increasingly ragged as the moment became more intense.
Karion savored the feel of her golden hair winding around his fingers as he gently touched her slender neck.
He simply could not bring himself to let go of her.
Karion was experiencing that mysterious miracle once again.
The unknown energy that had been raging inside his body, dominating him, was gradually becoming calmer.
And it wasn’t merely that his physical condition was improving.
The energy that had tormented him began circulating smoothly through his body.
It was as if an enemy had suddenly become an ally.
“Haa…”
Warm breath escaped between their briefly parted lips.
Karion felt as though he could almost laugh from the sheer relief.
He couldn’t let this sensation slip away.
Something inside his mind seemed to snap.
Supporting himself with one arm, he raised his body and wrapped his other arm around her waist, changing their positions.
He laid her down and covered her with his body, an instinctive attempt to keep her from getting away.
He continued kissing her, pressing his lips against hers as though trying to silence her.
Both of them were dressed only in thin nightclothes.
Even without anything more than an embrace and their heated breaths, they could feel each other’s warmth.
The sensation of their bodies brushing against each other gradually became an unfamiliar, dizzying sensation.
His lips moved from her cheek toward her ear, and he lightly touched her earlobe.
Her body shivered at the sudden sensation.
“Hm!”
His lips moved behind her ear and then brushed repeatedly against her neck.
Her heart pounded against his firm chest.
His fingertips seemed to carry sparks of heat. Every time they brushed against her, warmth spread through her.
“Ah…!”
Leah drew in a startled breath.
‘This man isn’t in his right mind.’
She repeated the thought silently.
Right now, calming his rampaging power was the urgent priority.
Letting a man she had known for only a few days touch her in ways she had never allowed anyone else to was something she could endure.
She had already been prepared to risk her life to save him. Compared to that, allowing him to touch her seemed like a small price to pay.
‘Ugh…’
She squeezed her eyes shut.
If she simply disliked it, she could grit her teeth and endure it.
But the sensation of his large hand moving over her was strangely unsettling.
Her fingertips and toes seemed to tingle.
It was similar to the prickling sensation of a limb falling asleep, yet somehow different.
Her head felt hot, and her breathing became unnecessarily quick.
His hand moved down over her abdomen and began drifting lower.
‘W-Wait!’
How much longer was she supposed to endure?
In her previous life, Leah had generally lived impulsively.
Whenever something happened right in front of her, she had often been forced to deal with it immediately.
That habit had remained with her, which was why when she kissed him, she hadn’t actually thought about what would happen afterward.
But the situation was clearly becoming dangerous.
It was almost as though she could hear a mocking voice saying, ‘You’re willing to give up your life, but you can’t give him this?’
‘That’s completely different!’
She was about to push him away when his body suddenly went limp.
“Huh?”
Pinned beneath him, Leah waited for a moment.
His breathing beside her ear was steady, and his body didn’t move at all.
Leah pushed against him with both arms.
He was too heavy. She couldn’t move him even an inch.
‘Help me. You have to help me this time.’
The moment Leah put all her strength into her arms, a breeze slipped through the gap and rolled his body over onto his back.
Once the crushing pressure of his weight disappeared, Leah stared at the ceiling and took several deep breaths.
After calming her breathing, she sat up and properly adjusted her nightclothes, which had become disheveled. Her hands trembled slightly.
‘I brought this on myself. I know. I know.’
She fanned her face with her hand.
Her heart was still pounding, and her ears felt hot.
She could still almost feel the movements of his hands.
Leah stared blankly toward the far end of the room, deliberately avoiding looking at Karion’s face or hands.
The wind gently circled around her.
After calming down somewhat, Leah cautiously approached him.
His sleeping expression was peaceful, and his breathing was steady.
He didn’t look like someone who had passed out from being unable to endure the pain. He simply looked asleep.
‘Is he really okay now? He won’t explode?’
A small breeze brushed against her cheek as if answering, ‘He’s fine.’
Leah folded her arms and fell into thought.
‘Let’s assume his first rampage happened in the forest.’
If it had happened before that, he would have died then.
‘He left the forest, kissed me, temporarily recovered, and then rampaged again after some time passed….’
One question after another continued to arise.
Why was his awakening unstable?
Had his rampage been completely calmed this time?
If it was only temporary, when would he rampage again?
Did he need physical contact to calm himself?
How much contact was necessary?
After thinking deeply for quite some time, Leah suddenly turned her gaze away in surprise.
The sky outside the window had already begun turning a deep blue-black.
‘Oh no!’
Leah hurried back to her own room.
As soon as she confirmed that no one was inside, she climbed into bed and quickly slipped beneath the covers.
‘Phew.’
She had been so nervous about running into Penny outside her bedroom.
She had loudly promised that she would sleep obediently, and if Penny found out she had gone out in the middle of the night, it would be terribly embarrassing.
‘And what would I even say to explain it?’
As the cold bed gradually warmed beneath her body heat, the events from earlier came vividly rushing back into her mind.
The heat and excitement reflected on the sculpted face of that man were impossible to misunderstand and impossible to forget.
She silently screamed, ‘Ah! Ah!’ to herself until she eventually drifted off to sleep.
Sunlight streamed through the window and fell across his face.
Karion frowned and turned over, then suddenly sat upright a moment later.
He quickly looked around.
No one was there.
He checked his clothes.
Fortunately, he was still wearing his nightclothes.
‘Was it a dream?’
What kind of dream could have felt so vivid…?
Wasn’t this the sort of dream one had only when first discovering such feelings?
And the person involved was the Princess of Zephyrus!
He swore he had never harbored improper thoughts toward her.
He had thought about touching her, but there had been a valid reason for that.
As he pressed one hand against his brow and sank into self-reproach, something caught his eye.
Something was glinting.
He picked it up with his fingers.
It was a single strand of long golden hair.
Under the sunlight, the hair shimmered like golden thread.
“Ha!”
As though a dam had suddenly burst, all his memories came flooding back.
Everything from what had happened in the forest last night to the conversation he had shared with her at dawn.
‘Good heavens.’
It would have been better if it had all been a dream.
What on earth had he done?
The fact that his memory had suddenly cut off made him even more uneasy.
He didn’t know what terrible things he might have done.
Karion had been waiting in his office since early morning.
The princess might come looking for him.
He had been sitting at his desk for some time, resting his chin on his clasped hands.
As time passed, he grew increasingly anxious.
Time seemed to crawl.
‘Let’s wait one hour. Then I’ll either go see her or send someone.’
His mind seemed to have malfunctioned.
The same scene kept replaying endlessly.
The softness of her skin beneath his palm, her startled breathing, the quiet sounds she had made…
He clenched his teeth, trying to suppress the heat gathering in his lower body.
He had always been confident in his self-control, but he had never realized how weak his body could be in the face of instinct.
“Your Highness.”
Karion looked up in surprise.
Cedric was standing before him.
“What is it?”
“Documents regarding the wildfire damage assessment and restoration.”
Karion gestured for him to bring them over.
He opened the first document on the stack.
“Was there much damage?”
“The forest village was completely destroyed by the fire. Other than that, the property damage was minor. There are several people with minor injuries, but none require treatment. We intend to form an investigative team to determine the cause of the fire.”
“Put the investigation on hold.”
Karion had not yet decided how long he would remain at the encampment.
If he formed an investigative team, it would take at least a month to complete the investigation.
“Yes, Your Highness. Regarding the guests in the annex…”
Karion’s hand stopped as he turned the page.
The ‘guests in the annex’ referred to the Zephyrus delegation.
The fact that the Zephyrus delegation was staying at the encampment was a secret.
It would be best to minimize their exposure as much as possible, but he couldn’t bring everyone into the commander’s residence, where there were numerous confidential documents.
For the time being, only the princess and her attendant maid had been given rooms in the residence.
The rest of the delegation had been sent to the annex.
The Grand Commander’s personal guards were stationed around the annex.
“Last night, they disobeyed our instructions and gathered in front of the residence. Many soldiers witnessed them.”
“Why did they gather at the residence?”
“According to what we found out, it was on the orders of the delegation’s representative.”
“The princess?”
“Yes.”
