* * *
Maybe the one suffering the most in this whole mess was the wolf.
Well, technically, they were the real victims.
With the noisy divine beast and the attention-commanding Elder gone, the forest regained its calm.
The surroundings once again resembled a warm, peaceful fairy tale.
There had been many battles up to now, but none had been as mentally draining as this one.
“Haa… I’m exhausted.”
“In that case, shall we rest a little before moving on?”
Klen welcomed the idea as if he’d been waiting for it.
He immediately walked off and began gathering yarn.
‘Where did all that grumbling go?’
Maybe a little trouble is worth enduring for a long rest?
Klen, yarn in hand, looked around the area, then returned and tugged the main character’s hand.
Following Klen deeper into the forest, they came across a wide, lush meadow.
The grass was low and varied, like a soft carpet—perfect for resting.
With the tension gone, the fatigue hit him.
He was hungry, too.
Sitting down on the ground, he watched as Klen flopped onto the grass with ease.
“Klen, if you’re that tired, would you like a potion?”
“I’ll take one if you do.”
“….”
“….”
Neither of them offered to drink first—such was the reputation of the healer’s concoction.
Perhaps it was better to just rest until the fatigue passed.
The main character lay down as well.
The grass was softer than expected, almost cushiony.
He felt sleep creeping up on him, but he couldn’t allow himself to drift off just yet.
If time outside the forest moved differently, waking up to find that years had passed would be a real problem.
As he lay down, Klen scooted closer.
They were used to lying next to each other, but the distance this time was unusually close.
Instinctively, he shifted his body away.
“It’s dangerous to stay apart. Who knows what might appear in this forest?”
Klen grabbed his waist and pulled him back—even closer than before.
Too close.
But this was a forest inhabited by divine beasts and spirits.
Anything could happen.
And if something did while they were asleep, they might never find each other again without help.
“….”
It all made sense.
Logically, he understood.
Based on past experience, neither divine beasts nor spirits would go out of their way to help them.
Still, being this close—face to face—felt awkward, so he averted his eyes.
“Why are you so conscious of me?”
“….”
Was he?
Klen acted like it was nothing, while he, on the other hand, couldn’t even meet his gaze.
Yeah—he was definitely conscious of him.
It showed all over his face.
When did this start?
Probably… after he saw Klen sleeping peacefully in this fairytale-like setting.
That one moment had disturbed the air between them.
“We’ve never been this close, have we?”
For the first time, he became too aware of it.
He had to force his gaze not to drop toward Klen’s lips.
“But we’ve already kissed, haven’t we?”
“Kiss…? Well, maybe you did. But I didn’t.”
His tone came out sharper than intended.
Who brings up kissing someone else in front of their own spouse?
You didn’t have to be a noble to know that was rude.
Was he out of his mind?
His hand instinctively searched for the location of his sword, Levatein—he was that annoyed.
“I’ve only kissed you.”
“…What?”
“Oh—was your mind still foggy back then? You don’t remember?”
Klen’s voice was calm, as if explaining to a child.
But the main character couldn’t understand a word of what he meant.
‘Kissed me when?’
“When?!”
“At the wedding.”
“…!”
It hit him.
Klen hadn’t meant “You’ve never kissed anyone?”—but rather, “We’ve already kissed.”
Klen’s expression softened.
“At the end of the ceremony, there’s the vow kiss.”
“Well… yeah, but—”
“And didn’t I say then that the ceremony was completed?”
That was true.
When he regained consciousness during the wedding, Klen had said it was all finished.
And yes, the last part of the ceremony did involve the vow of a kiss between the couple.
“You fainted partway through, and the ceremony wasn’t over yet. So I had no choice but to awaken your consciousness temporarily with magic to complete it. That might be why you don’t remember. Your awareness was still unclear.”
Klen looked slightly guilty as he explained.
If the wedding was completed properly, there wasn’t really anything to complain about.
He hadn’t thought much of it before.
And yet… finding out just now that they’d kissed—without a single memory of it—felt strangely unsettling.
“Adrian Caldrich, do you take Klen of the Valuncio family, and vow to respect and be with him for the rest of your life?”
“W-What…?”
Klen sat up and leaned over him, gazing down as if to envelop him.
“That was something I heard at the wedding. It was also the last thing that reached my ears before I lost consciousness.”
According to Klen, I apparently gave an answer at the time—but I have no memory of it.
Still, this isn’t something you’d expect to hear in a situation like this.
“You looked like you regretted not remembering.”
When I just stared at him blankly, unable to react, he added that.
But I could sense—vaguely—that this wasn’t the reaction he had hoped for.
“……”
“……”
Even so, my mind stubbornly refused to fully comprehend the situation, dragging out the silence.
The sun above may not have been real, but the warmth of the sunlight was making me sleepy.
Could I sleep now?
Probably not.
But even as I tried to look away and focus on the scenery around me, the gentle, floating softness of the place just continued to wrap around me.
My consciousness began to drift, and my eyelids grew heavy.
“……!”
But before they could even fall halfway shut, Klen’s hand seized my chin.
His gaze bore down on me with a cold sharpness, leaving no room to look away.
He wasn’t angry.
This was just… Klen as he truly was, when he wasn’t pretending.
Thanks to that, the fading clarity of my mind snapped back into place.
“Aren’t you going to answer?”
His grip was so firm I couldn’t even turn my head.
He locked eyes with me, face just inches away—as if he expected me to respond in this exact position.
“……”
“……”
But he didn’t seem like he’d let go or look away until I answered.
‘Haa…’
I steeled myself.
We’re already married.
What’s there to be embarrassed about now?
And even if I don’t remember it, this wasn’t even the first time.
It’s not a difficult thing to say—especially not to him.
I could say it as many times as needed.
Looking straight into his eyes, I spoke.
“I swear.”
But what happened right after was something I hadn’t expected at all.
As soon as I realized how close his face was, something soft pressed against my lips.
My mind went blank with confusion.
‘Suddenly? Why—?’
But then, another thought rose abruptly from somewhere else in my head.
‘Was it really that unexpected?’
No. Of course not.
What I couldn’t remember were the words of the vow—and the kiss.
So maybe reenacting both was only natural.
Still… it didn’t make things any less confusing.
His lips completely sealed mine, making it hard to breathe.
I tried to let out a breath as the angle of his lips shifted slightly, but instead, the kiss deepened.
His tongue slipped in through the slight parting.
It was hot—so hot—pulling in my tongue that had quietly been resting inside.
Then it wrapped around it, soft and slow, caressing like it was trying to memorize every inch.
His touch had been cold as frost, but this movement inside my mouth burned.
Wait… this isn’t just a wedding vow kiss, is it?
“Mmph!”
A shiver rippled from the nape of my neck to the back of my head, like a feather brushing over my skin.
My lips, cheeks—or maybe my entire face?
No, maybe even somewhere deeper.
* * *
