Ian hesitated a little at my words to let it go and replied as if he didn't like it.

"...Then they'll keep trying to hurt you."

"It's..."

I was going to tell Ian about my future plans in case he was worried, but I blinked when I suddenly noticed that my pillow had changed.

"Wait, Ian. When did you get a new pillow? Even though the previous ones were a little high..."

"...Just lie down. Does the height of the pillow fit well?"

"It's perfect."

I laid down and spoke comfortably. I felt better at once when I just washed my body and had clean bedding wrapped around me.

"As expected, it's perfect."

Ian's touch only flashed once, and the comfort of the room changed surprisingly. I squinted at him.

"Are you trying to tame me like this? Every night without you, I'll feel uncomfortable"

"Well, it would be a lie if I said no. You said you liked this."

Ian slowly approached and brushed my slightly damp hair.

"I just remembered..."

He said with a frown.

"Actually, I am a swordsman, so I think there are professional maids who are better at this level of care. So in the long run, a different approach would be better."

The expression was so serious that it was as if we were discussing the Empire's downfall. (pr/n: lmao what he so cute for)

I asked, pretending not to know he was approaching me and laid on his back.

"What's that?"

In fact, Ian was not very good at scheming because he was so straightforward and honest.

I looked into his red eyes as the heat began to grow, expecting some common sense words to come out.

And my expectations were betrayed from the first sentence.

"What if you have a hobby of attacking your opponent recklessly like you did in the past? I think I'm the only one in the world who can take your attack, so that's better."

"...What?"

"Why don't you develop a desire to mess up and ruin the person you like? Then you really can't go to anyone else." (pr/n: jnhfghfgh)

As the words continued, the more my thoughts were betrayed.

"Ian, um... If you're going to express your affection, why don't you do it with common sense? It's your specialty. Acting and speaking in common sense."

"...But I think I love you much more than common sense." (pr/n: oh my godd)

"That's true."

I smirked and rubbed my head against his arm.

"What can I do? Even if my lover is a little weird, I have to overcome it with love."

"...You said you weren't tired, were you?"

Ian pulled my waist and whispered, and before I knew it, our bodies brushed each other gently.

"Yes, and you."

I murmured with almost certainty.

"This is why you were working so hard on my bed."

"As expected, I'm not good at scheming."

Ian said, burying his heated lips on my neck.

"Everyone's getting caught."

And I soon became tired.

I also thought I was second to none in strength, but I seemed to have less basic physical strength than Ian.

"I'm not going to let anyone try to hurt you."

Deep in the night, Ian murmured quietly, hugging me tightly.

In addition, his words, where he broke the family heirloom before due to the question that I might be beaten by Lagian, were reliable enough.

I wriggled around in his arms and spoke with difficulty.

"In the future... Something similar is likely to continue. We don't have much time until we get to the capital. Perhaps the Marquis of Abedes started doing this to me..."

Ian breathed heavily in the dark as he seemed to be thinking about it again and again as soon as the answer came out.

"I'm next to you, who would be terrible enough to hurt even a single strand of your hair..."

He added in a low voice.

"How dare they."

Even though it was only three words, and it was not for me, I suddenly got goosebumps.

I had a very reasonable hunch that he would be madly anxious and overprotective of me for the rest of the journey to the capital.

"But why the hell do you want to let them go?"

Ian asked in a low voice, so I bit my lower lip for a moment and thought.

"Because..."

Richard's scheme was obvious.

Trying to undermine a swordsman's basic skills like this and to kidnap me by force.

'Elburn has attacked me once, so this time he's going to systematically disable my hands and feet and put on a lot of self-destructors.'

I murmured with my face buried in his chest.

"Even if Richard is taken to the palace like this, he will end up only with a punishment for forgery of documents. It's such a waste that I'd rather step on him with a clear charge."

And I added determinedly.

"...I have to make things even bigger."

If I might say so myself, I was a hero who destroyed the origin of black magic anyway. So attacking me was a sin in itself.

Richard overlooked two facts.

The first was that I knew all the drugs and items that were harmful, and the second was that my skills had improved beyond comparison.

It seemed that even if twice the amount of assassins Elburn mobilized last time attacked me, I could easily handle it.

"Don't worry too much, anyway. It'll be over before we get to the capital. You just need to find the background with that bookmark. We can do it."

I said, stroking Ian's disapproving cheek.

"Then it's all over. After Carlon and the Abedes have all been put in jail, my family can go back to the Rainfield mansion..."

Because of me, I had no choice but to worry about my family staying in the Wade duchy.

It was said that they were in the annex that remained, but it also felt like a nuisance anyway.

And Ian was startled at the words.

"...Ah."

He said.

"I didn't think about that at all... Are you going back too?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

I continued with a grin.

"Let's go on a date when everything is over. There are many things I haven't done since I've been doing swordsmanship stuff for eight years. Let's meet in front of the clock tower, just like when we went to Caronda. And I want to see the night market, local festivals, and have a picnic..."

"I like them all. Except for one."

Ian said with a grave look.

"What's that one thing? Do you not like picnics?"

"...Meeting in front of the clock tower."

"What's wrong with that?"

Ian didn't answer my question in particular.

'Ugh.'

Heat and possessiveness flashed across his sculptural face.

'I guess he doesn't want me to leave the duchy. Just by looking at him...'

I thought as I bit my lips.

'He wants to get married right now, but he's afraid I'm going to feel burdened.' (pr/n: they're so cute I'm gonna cry) (tl/n: right?)

Of course, I'd known from experience that Ian's patience didn't last long.

It was obvious that he must have been thinking a lot following the sudden urge. For example, the timing and method.

"Hey, Ian."

I asked him, as he was digging into my body.

"The friendly match... So what if I really beat you?"

With the elimination of the origin of the third black magic, my skills had now become difficult to guess whether I would win or lose until I faced Ian with all my might.

Even though almost everyone was predicting Ian's victory, we both didn't know exactly what would happen.

"Well...to be honest..."

Ian answered slowly, pressing his sweet lips against my shoulder.

"I really don't know. I don't know how it feels because I've never lost except during my childhood, which I can't remember clearly. I can't imagine."

"Well, yeah..."

Come to think of it, I couldn't imagine how it would feel if I beat Ian. It was because I'd never won against him before.

"Just as I fell in love with you for the first time in my life eight years ago, won't I fall in love with you again for letting me face new emotions? Losing to you... Kneeling before your sword..."

Ian added seriously.

"...It's thrilling just to think about it." (pr/n: he a freak masochist, ian m confirmed)

For some reason, this person seemed to have become a little strange, and although Lagian's face, who had been secretly stepped on by him and showed an ecstatic expression, overlapped, I decided to pretend not to be bothered for now.

~*~

(3rd person pov)

Carlon, being escorted, was lost in thought. His eyes flashed silently in the dark.

When he learned that everything he had said had been conveyed to the capital, he had been completely silent since he was taken away by Robert.

It was an unconditional loss to say something impulsively at a time like this. He had to properly scheme and then move.

'The Marquis of Abedes must be trying to get away. But I have to let it go somehow.'

Carlon, who believed no one, no matter how close they were, thought coldly.

'After all, the Marquis has a deep resentment with Annabelle, so it is difficult to live under the same sky. Besides, Maiena started the riot.'

Maiena once published a newsletter with the provocative title, 'The Marquis of Abedes, Kneeling to the Streets of Rainfield' in the newsletter for the commoners.

Moreover, Annabelle now had to think in unity with the Duke of Wade.

'You have to keep fighting and for things to get bigger. If the Marquis of Abedes corners Annabelle well, it could become a focal point. In the meantime, there may be opportunities.'

After all, since he was the Crown Prince, he would not be immediately sentenced to death. He carefully followed his thoughts.

'When Richard wakes up, he'll figure it out somehow. If he succeeds, the conflict will deepen as the Marquis of Abedes prevents his extinction, and if it fails...'

Carlon bit his fingernails nervously.

'...It will really be the end.'