Laura didn’t care at all whether Carter ran away or not.

She only thought about catching her husband and lover in the act.

“I have to see it with my own eyes!”

Laura bounced up the stairs in a fit of anger.

As she headed towards the study, countless thoughts swirled in her head.

‘Should I demand a union using his infidelity as an excuse?’

‘Should I poke him to ask him to spend time with me since I’ll turn a blind eye to his lover?’

‘No. I have to make that Ceci woman faint right in front of me!’

She finally arrived at the study.

The firmly closed door seemed to be hiding their love affair inside.

Laura bit her lip and opened the door with force.

BANG!

Laura leaped into the study and looked around for Ceci with the lights on.

“What is it?”

Killian, who was sitting in a chair sharpening his sword, looked at her coldly.

Ignoring his words for now, Laura continued searching for Ceci.

‘Where did you hide her?’

She was a woman with very quick movements.

You could tell by how tightly she hid her body.

“Don’t you know that you’re supposed to knock when the door is closed?”

Killian coldly pointed out her rude attitude and threw the cloth he was using to polish his sword onto the desk.

Laura’s eyes flashed in an instant.

‘She must have hidden it under that desk.’

Laura stared at the desk he was sitting at, as if she could see through it.

“Madam.”

Killian called her as if scolding her, placing his sword on the desk.

“Where is it?”

“……”

In an instant, his eyebrows furrowed.

He was undoubtedly caught off guard.

“What are you talking about?”

“I know you’ve hidden everything.”

“What on earth did I hide?”

She thought he was bluffing. Laura chuckled softly.

“Your lover.”

“Lover?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. I know everything.”

“……”

“I waited for you without knowing anything. I thought it was just awkward because we didn’t spend much time together. But there was a real reason!”

“It’s impressive that my wife found out about something even I didn’t know.”

“Are you mocking me now?”

“No. Go on. You seem to have a lot to say.”

“You rejected me because of your lover. Did she demand that you not kiss me?”

Killian tapped the desk with his fingertips and stared silently at Laura.

“I wonder who my lover is.”

“Don’t try to get away with that kind of talk.”

“I really don’t know.”

As she watched him continue to deny it, Laura’s anger boiled over.

“It’s Ceci, Ceci!”

“Ceci?”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, Ceci! If you have any excuses, go for it.”

Laura gritted her teeth.

“Who did you hear it from?”

“From Carter. You have nothing to say now, do you?”

He lowered his eyes. Then he looked at the sword on the desk.

“As you know, I’m trying to restore our relationship, while you were cheating on me behind my back. Then you went so far as to accuse me of it.”

The more she thought about it, the more unfair it seemed.

He was the one who accused her of having a lover. But who was the one who actually had a lover?

Then a clear voice spoke up.

“No.”

“What did you say?”

“I said no.”

His gaze, which had been fixed on the sword, slowly rose. He stared at her, his cheeks red with anger.

“Who does my wife think Ceci is…”

He tenderly spoke the name of his lover.

Her heart skipped a beat.

The cold and indifferent man called out someone’s name in a voice that felt like a caress.

He had never called her like that before…

Laura didn’t want to hear any more. She raised her hand to stop him from speaking.

“Don’t say it’s not your lover.”

But even in the face of her refusal, he continued to speak without hesitation.

“……This is it.”

Killian poked his sword.

“What?”

As they argued about their lovers, Laura couldn’t understand why he was pointing to the sword.

“The name of this sword is Ceci.”

“……”

“No one in the empire doesn’t know this name. Ah, I guess you don’t know.”

“….That sword is called Ceci?”

Laura looked at the sword he was tenderly holding with wide eyes.

She couldn’t believe it.

The nickname of the sword he always kept by his side was ‘Ceci.’

It was absurd to attach such a cute name to a sword that exuded such a sinister aura.

“Why of all names…”

She was so dumbfounded that she couldn’t even speak.

“What’s wrong with Ceci?”

He asked with a puzzled look.

His face shows that he didn’t seem to realize what was wrong with the name.

He glared at Laura, who was still pursing her lips, and stood up.

He stretched out his long legs and slowly approached her, looking very intimidating.

Finally, he stopped at a distance where his cobalt blue eyes could peek into hers.

His eyes, which seemed to be digging into her soul like mist, gazed at her face intently.

Laura unconsciously stepped back.

He came closer as she stepped back.

“What’s wrong? Weren’t you so desperate to touch me.”

“What about you? You’re the one who avoided me every time I approached.”

“I had no choice but to avoid you.”

“……”

She couldn’t guess what he meant.

Fortunately, the biggest obstacle between the two of them that could be the biggest hindrance, their lovers, doesn’t exist.

Fortunately?

Laura was surprised at how relieved she was.

She felt dizzy from the beating of his heart under her palm.

“No matter how much we talk, it’s useless. We’ll have to try it ourselves.”

“What… hmm.”

Then, his firm lips swallowed her up.

Laura opened her eyes wide and looked at his cobalt blue eyes, which had come closer.

The stormy sea and rough waves swallowed her up. No, it was just an illusion.

The mana flowing from him surged and filled her up.

‘What is this.’

Even after the kiss ended, Laura stood there dazed.

This kiss was clearly different from the first one.

She felt like she’s draining him of his mana using an invisible force.

She greedily squeezed the mana into the infinite space inside her.

If he hadn’t stopped the kiss, she would have absorbed all of his mana without leaving a trace.

Of course, he would have no problem with it since he has an endless supply of mana.

“Now, do you understand?”

He carefully watched her reaction.

“Why I avoid my wife.”

“……”

She knew what he meant by that.

If it were someone else, forcibly draining mana like that could lead to serious consequences.

Fortunately, mages typically gather mana from nature itself. Obtaining mana from a human was unheard of.

Of course, Laura had obtained mana from Killian.

She was secretly surprised at that thought.

Come to think of it, she had absorbed the mana of humans since she was reborn. She still didn’t know how it was possible.

‘But I’ve never obtained mana from anyone else. Only from Killian.’

Does that mean Killian is a special kind of being?

Confusing thoughts continued to pile up in her mind.

“Why are you thinking so much?”

Laura snapped out of her thoughts at Killian’s voice.

Her mind was as tangled as a ball of yarn. She couldn’t possibly tell him everything.

How could she say, ‘I’m sucking up your mana like a vacuum cleaner’?

He didn’t even know what ‘mana’ was.

There were no wizards in the empire. So she had no idea how mana was used.

That’s why all she could say was this.

“I don’t really know. I just felt good….”

He nodded as if he had expected that.

“I’ve never said I didn’t like kissing. I told you that when we had our first kiss.”

“So?”

“But my body can’t handle it.”

“What do you mean?”

Is he saying he can’t kiss?

“It’s hard to understand. Even if I explain it, you won’t understand.”

“I’ll try to understand, so please tell me. You mean you can’t kiss me? But you can kiss other women?”

Killian passionately kissing other women…

As soon as the words came out, she felt extremely uncomfortable.

Moreover, his calm response that followed made her feel even worse.

“That’s right.”

He kindly confirmed it when she was so stunned that she couldn’t speak.

“It’s okay with other women, but it’s a bit dangerous with my wife.”

“What do you mean…?”

“I realized it after I kissed my wife.”

“Kissing me is dangerous?”

“More accurately, I’m the one who’s dangerous.”

“I don’t understand what you mean. Please explain it in an easy-to-understand way.”

“That’s why I said you wouldn’t understand.”

“It’s because you’re not explaining it well.”

As their meaningless argument continued, he sighed.

“I’m waiting for someone to use my power.”

“Who are you waiting for?”

“Someone who will use me.”

Laura frowned. She couldn’t understand how the conversation had suddenly shifted from kissing to waiting for someone.

“I’ve been waiting for a master to use me since I was born. It’s been a tradition in our family for generations.”

“Wait, what does that have to do with kissing?”

“I’m telling you my family history to explain it. I’ve been waiting for a long time for a master. But…”

He suddenly stopped talking and stared at her.

“I need to keep my body pure for my master. But if I kiss you, my body becomes strange.”

“That means… it feels good, right?”

“No.”

He denied it firmly.

But Laura smiled wickedly inside.

No matter how much he denied it, feeling strange meant feeling good.

Wait.

He said he was okay with other women, but only felt strange when he kissed her.

What did that mean…?

“When you kiss other women, it doesn’t feel good, is that what you mean?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Yes, it is. You said you only felt strange when you kissed me.”

She raised the corners of her mouth.

He turned his head sharply, looking at her.

“Anyway, I don’t think I have an unstable physical condition until I meet my master.”

“What does it feel like? When you kiss me?”

“…….”

“Do you feel like you’re going to fall in love with me?”

He slowly turned his head. With his lips tightly closed, he looked down at her with curiosity.

“That’s right.”

“Oh my.”