Banessa agonized. Should he speak or remain silent upon waking? He couldn’t bear to face Dana.
In the end, he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to fall back asleep.
“Are you sleeping?”
At the same time as the quiet question, memories of last night flashed into his mind unbidden. The excited moans that brushed past his ears, the voice that had called his name, almost sobbing…
“I’m awake!”
And so, there was no way to escape. Banessa threw off the blanket abruptly as he spoke, unable to even look at Dana.
“I-I’ve actually been awake for a while!”
Anyone who knew him would have been shocked. He hadn’t spoken like this since his early days as a squire. No, not even back then. Banessa, who had once feared nothing in the world, quickly disregarded any sense of discipline. In the end, he became a mad dog that even the knight commander couldn’t handle.
And yet.
“H-Have you, no, Your Majesty, slept well through the night?”
Now he was utterly terrified. He didn’t know why, but he was. It felt like Dana had his leash in her hands, and with just a gesture, he could be pulled along without resistance.
“Well, kind of?”
With the answer came the soft sensation of something touching his cheek. Perhaps because the blood had rushed to his face, her touch felt icy cold, enough to stop his heart.
“Thanks to someone, I slept well.”
Slowly, she caressed his cheek. It was slow, like a feather tickling him. At that, Banessa tensed for a different reason. It was just a simple touch on his cheek, but it was overly stimulating. He gulped without realizing it.
“Do you regret it?”
“What?”
Banessa, frozen, snapped his gaze upward. Dana was looking at him with an expressionless face. Her slightly subdued gaze made him feel as if cold water had been poured over him.
“Regret? There’s no such word in my vocabulary. I don’t even know what it means!”
“Good. You thought it through.”
As if she expected that answer, Dana smiled contentedly.
“If you had regretted it, I would have killed you.”
“Haha, ha.”
“Are you worried? That’s why I told you not to jump in so easily. How dare you, without fear. Where did you get the nerve to bite me?”
Banessa felt a small twinge of injustice. Yes, he had bitten Dana. He had also hugged her. But, in fact, if you thought about it, it was because Dana had asked him to. After all, Dana had said:
『I’m cold. Must be because of the alcohol. Come here.』
…Hadn’t she said that? Of course, it was his fault for drunkenly staggering over and saying:
『Are you cold, my lady? I’m a human heater! Leave it all to me!』
…while acting like that. And while saying:
『How does it feel? Warm, isn’t it? My hands are the warmest in the entire knights’ order!』
It was also his fault for getting too close. It was his fault for being captivated by her scent after getting close. And then…
『My lady, your scent is so amazing. What perfume do you use? Hm? You’re saying I can smell it? Ah, how nice… My lady, where do you apply your perfume? On your wrist? On your neck? Ooh?』
『Where exactly are you putting your nose right now?』
『Ooh, really. The sweetest scent… My lady, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. But my lady, it really smells sweet. It seems like it’d be soft too…』
…Banessa decided to stop recalling any more memories at that point. He came to a conclusion. It’s all my fault. From beginning to end, it’s all my fault.
“What time is it?”
Her sleepy voice snapped him back to reality, as if cold water had been thrown on him. Banessa quickly answered.
“It’s still dawn.”
“I know that. I’m asking for the exact time.”
“Ah, yes. Please wait a moment.”
Banessa quickly sat up and checked the clock. Five in the morning. There was still time before the Imperial Palace’s morning routine began.
“Hm, there’s still time before the morning meeting. I’ll stay a little longer.”
“A-ah, yes.”
Dana, her face buried in the pillow, looked incredibly relaxed. Meanwhile, Banessa was fretting, unsure of what to do.
After a moment of hesitation, he eventually crawled back under the covers. It was an instinct of sorts. He had a feeling that if he hesitated any longer, Dana would scold him again. Crouching awkwardly at a distance, he nervously watched her, then cautiously asked:
“By the way, my lady, does everyone know?”
“Know what?”
“The servants… Do they know you’re here?”
“Of course not. That’s why I need to leave before it’s too late. Wake me up before six.”
“A-ah, yes.”
Even as he responded, Banessa was still gauging her mood. In fact, there was a bigger issue than the servants. Callisto. The Empire’s prince and Dana’s younger brother. If he, who often looked at Banessa as though he were a bug, found out about this…
‘He might kill me.’
No, he *would* kill me. For the first time, Banessa felt fear toward Callisto. He had spent his days provoking Callisto, crossing lines repeatedly. In truth, he had been certain that he could.
Callisto, while prickly, cared deeply for his people. If Banessa said this, Callisto would shout that someone like him wasn’t part of his people, but even so, he took care of Banessa, grumbling all the while.
But if Callisto found out that he had caused such a massive incident? Especially when he’s been busy dealing with diplomatic matters lately? He’d even been meeting with high-ranking nobles back-to-back just a few days ago.
‘That’s right, he was.’
Banessa’s mood sank instantly. The moment he imagined Dana laughing and chatting with young nobles, it happened. His worry about Callisto disappeared. When this moment passed, the thought of Dana meeting other men again made him feel as if he were sinking into a swamp.
“I’m cold.”
“Pardon?”
“I said, I’m cold.”
Dana stared at Banessa. Under the thin blanket, her shoulders seemed to tremble slightly. Startled, he blinked before reflexively extending his arm. Driven by instinct, he reached out, pulling her close along with the blanket. It was only after he did so that he realized what he had done. Her breath, warm against his chest, made him feel as though his heart had stopped.
“You’re truly out of your mind.”
Dana chuckled. Banessa squeezed his eyes shut, feeling like the biggest fool in the world. He couldn’t imagine doing anything more foolish.
The bigger problem was that he had no idea what else to do besides holding her. More precisely, he didn’t want to let go of her.
“Well, you’ve always been like this. Fearless, thoughtless, but that’s what made it simple and nice. Anyway, that’s nice. The way you’re patting my back…”
Dana’s voice trailed off.
It was only then that Banessa realized he had been patting her back. He could feel the outline of her shoulder blades beneath the thin blanket. To put it bluntly, he felt like he was going to lose his mind. Yet, at the same time, he was so focused on not making her uncomfortable that he put all his effort into patting her back as gently as possible.
“Do you usually do this?”
“Do what?”
“Are you always this kind when you drink? So caring?”
“No, I haven’t really heard that before.”
“Hm, I don’t think so. Then, do you treat women you’ve spent the night with kindly?”
“Wh-wh-what do you mean, *spent the night*?”
“Why are you acting so coy all the time? You were too skilled, from beginning to end. Even now. You’re doing this without being told just because I said I was cold, right? Are you this good because you’re used to it?”
Dana narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Banessa felt wronged. Swearing to the dragon, this was the first time he’d ever experienced anything like this.
“I-it was my first time!”
“Hm? What was?”
“Well… I mean…”
Banessa’s face turned bright red. Dana’s gaze was unrelenting.
“I-it was all my first time.”
“Hm.”
“From start to finish! Everything! It was my first time!”
“Alright. I’ll believe you.”
Dana finally relaxed her gaze and nodded in satisfaction.
“But promise me this. If you drink with another woman, I’ll kill you. Got it?”
“What?”
“If you drink with another woman and get into trouble, I’ll kill you. Understood?”
“Do you think I’m crazy? Why would I get into trouble again?”
“Good thinking. If you’re going to cause trouble, do it outside of my sight. Make sure I never find out. Do you understand?”
“Of course…”
Banessa, who had been about to loudly proclaim that he understood and that there was nothing to worry about, froze.
‘Out of her sight? So, does that mean it’s okay to get into trouble with someone else as long as she doesn’t find out?’
The thought made him feel strange. An inexplicable, odd sensation. Memories of last night flooded over him like waves. Dana’s whispers, her warm body, Dana…
Was this what it felt like to be drunk? He hadn’t had a drop to drink, yet he felt intoxicated. Rational thought seemed impossible, as if someone had poured alcohol straight into his brain.
“Then… is it okay with you?”
Before he knew it, the words slipped out.
“What?”
“Is it alright to drink with you, my lady?”
Dana looked up at Banessa with a curious expression. He immediately regretted asking, but he didn’t want to take it back.
The memories of last night clung to his mind like glue. They wouldn’t leave him. The blissful sensations kept resurfacing…
Could this really be the last time?
He couldn’t accept that.
“Promise me, too. That you’ll drink with me again.”
Banessa, trembling, still managed to say what he wanted to. Dana scoffed.
“Didn’t I tell you not to say things you’ll regret?”
“I told you, there’s no such word as regret in my vocabulary!”
“Well, we’ll see about that.”
“And you, my lady… Are you going to meet other nobles?”
“Hm?”
“I heard you’re searching for a match. Are you going to meet them?”
“Well… I suppose I will.”
Dana said it so casually that Banessa felt a surge of frustration.
“What? You suppose? Really? That’s too much!”
“Hm? What is?”
“It was my first time!”
“Yeah, I know. You’ve said that a few times now.”
“That’s it? It was my first time! And now you’re so casually talking about meeting other men? You just told me not to drink with other women!”
“I said I’d kill you if you get caught. As long as you don’t, it’s fine, right? Though, to be honest, you’ll probably get caught 99 times out of 100.”
“I won’t! I won’t drink with anyone else!”
“Hm, then what should I do? What do you want from me?”
“You need to take responsibility!”
“How?”
“B-by being with me.”
It started confidently, but he couldn’t finish the sentence.
Right, how exactly was she supposed to take responsibility? Was he really going to ask her to marry him?
Does that even make sense?
No, does he even have the right to ask that?
All the practical realities he had momentarily forgotten suddenly filled his mind.
Dana was the Emperor of the Empire. He was a knight from a Principality. On top of that, he was even one of the Goddess’s Wings. He also dreamed of being the swordsmanship teacher to the young princes and princesses…
Dana’s gaze, which had been staring at him blankly, grew cold.
“If you don’t even know what you want, why are you dragging this out? I’m busy. I need to go.”
“What? Wait, what?”
“I said, I’m leaving.”
Banessa, panicking, instinctively pulled her into a tight embrace. It was an impulsive action.
“You can’t.”
“Why? Let go of me. I’m leaving.”
“I said, you can’t.”
“Then tell me why. Give me a reason.”
“A reason?”
He had plenty of reasons.
‘The moment you pushed me away, I felt anxious! I was nervous! I’m scared this might be the last time, but you don’t seem to care at all! This night, which was so special to me, means nothing to you? You’re being too cruel. Take responsibility!’
…But he couldn’t bring himself to say it. And so, Banessa started to feel irritated.
‘Why am I the only one feeling desperate?’
Isn’t it said that it takes two hands to clap? Why did he have to be the only one feeling this nervous about being abandoned?
“There’s still time before six!”
Swallowing all of his true feelings, he patted her back. He was desperately trying to hold onto her with the very act she had praised him for earlier.
“You said you’d stay until six, didn’t you? You need to keep your word! Can someone in power break a promise so easily? Huh? Can you?”
“Ugh, forget it. That wasn’t even an important promise. Let me go. I’m leaving.”
“Oh, come on! Why are you doing this? That was a *very* important promise! I always keep my word! I’m never going to drink with other women, ever!”
“As long as you don’t get caught…”
“Oh, enough! I’m telling you, I won’t drink with anyone else! And you said you were cold! You get cold easily. You’ve asked me to hold you several times. Where are you planning to go alone at this hour?”
“If I dress warmly…”
“No! That’s it. Just don’t go!”
Banessa shouted. Seriously, what kind of woman… She should keep her word once she says something! Why did she keep trying to leave, making him so anxious?
“Until six, stay in my arms—no, just stay here! I’ll keep patting your back!”
Banessa grumbled as he spoke.
Dana, who had been pushing back, couldn’t help but burst into laughter. In that moment, Banessa realized he had completely lost it because of what had happened the night before.
Because once again, he wanted to throw himself at her.
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