Dana slowly lifted her eyelids. She clicked her tongue after checking the bright window outside.
The warm sunlight of noon.
It was the most active time in the imperial palace.
Servants would be bustling through the corridors, and knights would be patrolling the gardens.
None of them could have imagined. That just moments ago, the emperor of this country, using a meeting as an excuse, had made love to her lover in the office.
‘This is how a tyrant ruins a country.’
She let out a small laugh and tried to get up.
Her legs trembled slightly as they touched the floor beneath the sofa. She tried to stand but, losing strength, collapsed back onto the seat.
“Hah, dating a younger guy isn’t easy, is it?”
She had always been confident in her stamina. But her young knight lover was overwhelming.
She had thought everything was fine so far, but it had been a mistake.
It wasn’t until after she confessed her love that she realized just how much Banessa had been holding back all this time.
“Sister, I love you. I love you.”
She heard that countless times while in his arms. Despite the sweet love confessions, he had surged like a raging wave.
He devoured her like a desert traveler who had found an oasis.
Even though she had been the one to provoke him first, she had ended up overwhelmed to the point of fear.
“Ah, ah.”
Her throat was half-hoarse from all the torment she endured.
On the table, a glass of cool water, prepared by Banessa beforehand, waited for her. She picked it up and downed it in one go.
“Hah, I feel alive.”
The cold water cleared her mind.
As she scanned the office, Dana let out a chuckle.
“When will I ever clean all that up?”
The room was in complete disarray. The desk, the table, the windowsill—anywhere a person could sit or lie down—was in chaos.
She was baffled by the scattered documents on the floor.
‘I just stood there and watched as they spilled everywhere.’
She couldn’t even clearly remember that moment. She vaguely recalled hearing something spill as her back hit the desk.
At that time, instead of stopping him, she had been too busy accepting his kisses.
“Oh, Sister. You’re awake?”
Just then, Banessa emerged from the bathroom. Dana, still sprawled on the sofa, reached out a hand.
“Come here.”
Banessa quickly came over, interlaced his fingers with hers, and sat by her side. Dana wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and sighed.
“We must be crazy.”
“Why say that all of a sudden?”
“The room is a mess. When will we clean all this up? Do you think we can manage in time?”
“That’s nothing.”
Banessa grinned broadly.
“First, go wash up, Your Majesty. Just leave everything to me. I’ll have it all cleaned up in no time.”
“Did you run the bathwater for me?”
“Of course.”
“Be honest. I’m not your first, am I?”
“…Huh?”
“I’m not your first love, am I?”
“Oh, come on. I thought you were going to compliment me. Why are you saying weird things?”
“You do all these sweet things without being taught. Who did you learn from?”
“Oh, that’s what you mean?”
Banessa, who had been grumbling, suddenly brightened up. Then he spoke proudly.
“I’m just naturally good at everything. I’m very talented.”
“Right. I wonder why I didn’t realize it sooner. You did well. You’re adorable because you did so well.”
“Hah, Your Majesty, that sounds nice. Please praise me some more.”
A little while later, Dana came out after washing up. After soaking in the warm water, she found the room spotless.
Dana was amazed at the speed.
‘Is it because he’s a knight? Everything is done so quickly.’
With his help, she got dressed and dried her hair. Fortunately, she had skipped putting on her hair ornaments earlier in the morning.
Dana smiled, pleased with how Banessa had tied her hair in a half-up style.
However, makeup was a different story.
“Have you ever done makeup before?”
“Of course not.”
No matter how good Banessa was at everything else, he was inexperienced when it came to makeup.
Dana was no expert either.
“Let’s just give it a try. We’ll figure it out as we go.”
As the saying goes, two heads are better than one. With both of them working together, they managed to create something that looked decent.
It wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough that no one in the palace would notice.
Looking in the mirror, Dana felt drained and leaned against him.
“Let’s refrain from doing this during the day next time. It’s too much work to clean up.”
“There’s a better solution than holding back.”
“What is it?”
Dana glanced up at him. Banessa kissed her wrist and mumbled,
“Let’s just tell everyone. About you and me.”
“Ah….”
“Just say we’ve fallen in love, that we’re lovers, so we need to stay close. That way, there’s no need to cover up our meetings. And if you’re okay with it, we could even say we’re going to get married?”
Though he said it with a playful smile, his eyes were anything but playful.
Sometimes, his gaze could feel as intense as the setting sun.
This was one of those times.
And now, she finally understood why.
He had that look in his eyes when he intensely desired something.
Straightforward, unyielding, and without fear, he only focused on his goal.
And right now, what he wanted more than anything else was her.
Every time she realized that, her heart raced.
That’s why she was even more cautious.
She didn’t want to leave any blemish on him.
“I think that’ll take a little more time. We’ll need time to prepare the right title for you.”
Dana spoke with some difficulty.
“I’ll open the windows for you every day. We can meet during the day sometimes too. I can use the excuse of overseeing the construction of the new shrine. I’ll be by your side as much as I can when I want to see you. Just wait until then.”
Making their relationship public was possible. The problem would come after that. Even as a wing, there was still a clear gap between their social statuses.
Someone was bound to point fingers at Banessa.
They might start malicious rumors, claiming he seduced the emperor with his body.
“I don’t want you caught in those kinds of rumors.”
She had suffered from such vicious words before. Early in her reign, there were accusations that she had killed her own father.
Gossip is easy to ignore, but when you’re the target, it feels different.
“You’re too precious to me. So, please, endure it a little longer, okay?”
She embraced him, hoping with all her heart that he would understand. Anxiously, she waited for his response.
“You’ll wait, won’t you?”
Banessa rolled his eyes.
In truth, he didn’t really care.
Making their relationship official would be nice, but it wasn’t essential.
Sure, he wanted to show her off to everyone, but it wasn’t like he’d starve if he couldn’t.
‘As long as I can see her every day, it’s fine. And she’s even going to open the windows for me.’
To Banessa, Dana was like the midday sun.
She illuminated the whole sky, so bright that it was almost impossible to look directly at her.
Elegant and kind, yet full of responsibility, a ruler who could be as cold and ruthless as needed.
In every way, she was breathtakingly perfect.
Right now, he found her even more endearing as she worried about him getting hurt.
“I’ll sort everything out as quickly as I can so you won’t have to sneak around anymore.”
“I’m fine with it now. It’s fun. There’s a thrill to it. I like it.”
“But I’m not okay with it. Why should you have to be cautious around others? I hate seeing you get hurt.”
“Hurt?” Banessa clicked his tongue. His comrades would have cringed if they heard this conversation.
He would have too. He was as tough as a century-old sturgeon. Words alone couldn’t hurt him.
People’s disregard or insults never bothered him, which was why he earned the nickname of a mad dog.
Even ‘that Callisto’ had given up on him, throwing up both hands in surrender.
In any case, Banessa was happy.
He couldn’t stop grinning.
The kindness of the older sister, oh, how wonderful. I want to tell everyone quickly. That I’m being loved like this…
‘Wait, spreading rumors?’
Banessa’s smile froze in place.
Rumors, fine.
The moment he imagined things being made official, he suddenly remembered a name he had forgotten.
Callisto.
Dana’s only family, and the person who saw Banessa as trash.
If the relationship between the two becomes official…
It meant Callisto, too, would find out about everything.
* * *
Callisto’s laboratory was still firmly closed. It wasn’t a frequent occurrence, but not particularly rare either.
Magic research by nature wasn’t something that could be completed in a short amount of time. Sometimes, it took weeks.
Just because research was ongoing didn’t mean Callisto was always inside the lab. The door might be closed, but the room could be empty.
With Callisto’s abilities, he could leave the palace anytime using teleportation magic.
Banessa, until now, hadn’t cared whether Callisto returned or not. Callisto wasn’t even in his thoughts. He was too overwhelmed just thinking about Dana.
「Let’s discuss the title again once Callisto returns. If I consult with him, we might come up with a pretty good plan.」
But now, he had to prepare for the reunion with Callisto. Banessa sincerely wanted to suggest they keep their relationship secret. He was terrified of Callisto.
‘How will he react? Will he take it well? He won’t kill me, right?’
Banessa nervously bit his nails. His legs trembled pathetically as he sat in the chair.
In truth, he had been threatened over a hundred times by Callisto, who claimed he would kill him. He had blatantly ignored it. Callisto wouldn’t truly harm him, and even if he did, he was confident he wouldn’t lose.
Banessa was the third, and Callisto the fourth wing. Though Callisto was adept at magic, Banessa’s swordsmanship was not to be underestimated. If he fought with his life on the line, he believed he could survive.
But not anymore. Dana was Callisto’s one and only sister. Banessa had seen firsthand how much Callisto cherished her.
He had clung to his precious sister while drunk. He had barged into her room, where only women were allowed, even before they were officially dating. He had every reason to want to kill him.
Even so, Banessa could no longer challenge Callisto. He was the brother of the person he loved. He had to make a good impression.
When those two facts combined, he reached a conclusion he did not want to believe.
‘No, I’m just being too negative. Maybe, just maybe, it will be okay. There’s a chance he won’t want to kill me.’
Not everyone in the world resents their sibling’s partner.
Some even cherish them. You don’t have to look far. Julios.
He cherished Leticia deeply. When you saw Leticia with the royal family of the Principality, it was as if she were part of the Genos royal bloodline.
Banessa closed his eyes for a moment and let his imagination run wild.
He replaced Callisto’s face with Julios’s gentle expression, placing himself by his side.
Like Julios treated Leticia, Callisto looks warmly at Banessa. “Please take care of my sister, Banessa.” A soft smile forms on Callisto’s lips, even blessing him…
“Urgh.”
He suddenly felt like retching. His stomach churned. It was the most dreadful fantasy he had ever had. He never wanted to imagine it again.
‘I’m sorry, Brother.’
He apologized to Callisto in his heart. To have dragged him into such a crazy delusion.
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