* * *
A heat flared up inside me, like something had suddenly ignited.
“Ngh, mmph…”
Thanks to training, I could normally hold my breath for a long time.
But not now.
My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was choking my throat.
It was as if something was racing through my veins, tingling and tickling all over.
I gripped his shoulders tightly.
Hard enough to wrinkle his clothes—but Klen’s expression remained unchanged.
Instead, as if trying to fan the heat higher, he licked slowly and deliberately inside, teasing with maddening leisure.
It felt like all my senses had condensed into my lips.
Overwhelmed by the heat rushing into me like a storm, I could only flail helplessly.
Finally, only when I genuinely tried to push his shoulders away did he draw back.
He pressed his lips hard against mine one last time, almost reluctantly, then moved away.
“Ugh… haah, haah…”
I gasped for breath, my shoulders rising and falling.
Unlike me, Klen remained as calm and cool as ever.
“……”
“……?”
No. Maybe—just maybe—his cheeks looked a little red?
Or was it my imagination?
He probably didn’t even kiss me like that during the wedding.
After all, a proper kiss is usually just a brief touch of the lips.
More importantly…
“I-I didn’t even do it that easily!”
At one point, lost in the dreamlike atmosphere, I’d thought about waking him with a kiss.
But even then, I hadn’t actually gone through with it.
And now he does it this easily?
Just as I turned to glare at him and voice my complaints, I caught sight of Klen’s wide-eyed expression.
“Ah.”
Only then did I realize I’d said something I shouldn’t have.
“No, no no no! That’s not what I meant—!”
“Adrian. Did you want to kiss me?”
“That’s not it!”
I denied it quickly—but it was useless.
Before I could offer another excuse, he shut me up with another kiss.
This time, he just brushed against my lips lightly before pulling away, stopping close enough that his breath tickled.
“If you want to kiss me, you can just do it.”
He whispered softly, and his breath grazed my lips.
‘What kind of nonsense is that?!’
He said it like I’d been holding myself back this whole time.
I might’ve held back once, but it’s not like I was constantly suppressing myself.
Still, any words I wanted to throw back at him were once again stopped by the soft touch of his lips.
So who was the one holding back, really?
…No. Maybe Klen was just as swept up in this fairytale-like mood as I was?
✦
After that, Klen fell asleep holding me in his arms, looking completely satisfied.
I, on the other hand, couldn’t sleep at all—flustered beyond belief.
No, maybe that was a good thing.
It’s dangerous for both of us to fall asleep in a place like this.
It’s been hours already.
But I still felt that lingering, tingling sensation all over my body.
The heat hadn’t faded either.
My heart was still pounding in my chest, beating far too fast.
I touched my lips with my fingers.
After all those kisses, they were slightly swollen and sore.
And surprisingly, though I was embarrassed… I didn’t feel bad about it.
I mean, brushing lips like that wasn’t such a big deal.
But this…
“Haa… what the hell.”
“What’s wrong?”
I didn’t even have to decide when to wake him—Klen opened his eyes the moment something changed.
“When did you wake up?”
“When you sighed.”
“……”
His voice was as clear and composed as ever, not at all like someone who had just woken up.
And now that he was awake, there was no reason to stay curled up in his arms.
As I quickly wriggled out of his grasp, he slowly sat up—his movement at least betraying the fact that he had just been asleep.
“Why did you sigh?”
From the way he asked again, it seemed he really wanted an answer.
‘Why?’
Obviously because he suddenly kissed me like that—so deeply.
“I just… the thought of doing something like that in a forest where divine beasts and spirits live—my head kind of…”
It was a rushed excuse, but not a lie.
No matter how peaceful it seemed, this forest belonged to divine beasts and spirits.
Who knows how they might be watching us.
And in a place like that, to kiss so… intensely?
“Isn’t that a good thing, though? It means they’ve become witnesses to our marriage.”
He stood upright and held out his hand to me.
How can someone think so positively?
It’s almost enviable.
“We didn’t actually get married today, did we?”
“But it was today that you spoke your vow and gave me a proper kiss.”
“……”
I took his hand and stood up.
There wasn’t a hint of embarrassment in Klen, even though he’d just said something so bold.
He remained confident, his usual cool air radiating around him.
He handed me the yarn.
“There’s no one left to get in our way. We should hurry.”
“Understood.”
Even though we hadn’t seen them, the forest’s elder had already paid us a visit.
That alone was enough proof that neither divine beasts nor spirits would interfere.
The fact that he hadn’t attacked us was practically the forest’s way of giving us its blessing.
Thanks to the short break, my stamina had recovered a fair bit.
I took the yarn and began walking again.
As expected, no one appeared to obstruct us.
Not even a divine beast showed itself to observe.
Still, once in a while, something sparkled faintly between the bushes.
Maybe it was a spirit.
Klen continued to cradle the ball of unraveled yarn.
It looked kind of cute on him, so I said nothing about it.
As we slowly made our way through the long stretch of forest, the entrance finally came into view.
Unlike before—when it felt like we were looping around the same spot over and over—this time the path was clear.
Perhaps the elder’s visit had something to do with that.
Maybe he just wanted to get us out of the forest as quickly as possible.
I never thought I’d be so happy to see that rocky ravine.
With a clear landmark in sight, we no longer needed to follow the yarn to find our way.
Thunk—
“……?”
Just then, something fell from a tree.
It rolled across the ground and stopped by my feet—a plump, red fruit that made my mouth water just looking at it.
Palm-sized, perfectly ripe.
Had it grown nearby, it would’ve been hard to miss.
But no matter where I looked, I couldn’t find any others.
I picked it up.
“A gift?”
“Hmm. Seems that way.”
Maybe the divine beasts thought we meant no harm.
It felt like a farewell gift from them.
It seemed too special to eat right away.
I tucked the fruit into my pocket.
“By the way, how did you even get here?”
Now that we had stopped, he asked as if he’d been waiting for the right moment.
“……Pardon?”
“No one would have granted you permission.”
“……”
“Least of all your attendants.”
If anything, they would’ve tried to stop you. Klen added matter-of-factly.
I hadn’t asked anyone for permission.
I hadn’t even told anyone I was coming here.
The only ones who knew I entered the forest were the knights at the gate—maybe just the captain and a few others.
Even Count Valuncio had no idea.
“You snuck in?”
Klen read my silence perfectly and asked casually. I avoided his gaze.
But the chill in the air pressured me like a silent demand for an answer, and cold sweat started to bead on my forehead.
If he had just been angry, I could’ve argued back.
But the subtle look of concern on his face threw me off.
I carefully swallowed and gave a small nod.
“I was… worried about you.”
And I hurriedly added,
“That’s why I came.”
“……”
Klen didn’t say anything.
I cautiously lifted my eyes to gauge his reaction, only for him to look away.
…Could he be embarrassed?
* * *
