Chapter 166

――Swoen.

Are you going to abandon me and leave too?

‘……?’

Confused by the woman’s voice echoing in my head, I slowly focused my mind. For some reason, it wasn’t hard to realize that the owner of this voice was none other than my liege, Serpina.

Once I recognized the owner of the voice, its meaning naturally seeped into my mind.

Me leaving her behind?

I…

At that moment,

Another female voice reached my ears.

Swoen.

―Do you not intend to return to me?

This voice again. It’s someone I know. Despite the long time since I last heard it…

I can still recall it vividly.

Lunarien Iniyan.

The voice of Lady Luna, my first and only liege who ever truly believed in me.

Leaving Serpina behind to go to Luna.

Or staying by Serpina’s side instead of heading to Luna.

I…

So, am I supposed to choose between the two of them?

No, wait… Is this even something worth pondering over?

As doubts rose, my mind became incapable of coherent thought, drifting aimlessly like a jellyfish on the water’s surface. Over and over, their voices echoed in my head.

My first liege, Lady Luna.

And my current liege, Lady Serpina.

Who among them should I…

* * *

When I came to my senses, I realized something was hitting my face.

Light.

The sensation of sunlight pouring onto my closed eyes. Slowly opening them, I finally understood that everything I’d just experienced was merely a dream.

‘A dream…?’

Wait.

If it was a dream, that means…

I must have fallen asleep?

Slowly sitting up,

The blanket slid off my body. Its texture felt incredibly vivid – a sensation I wouldn’t feel if I were wearing pajamas.

I… wasn’t wearing anything on my upper body.

‘Hold on. What happened yesterday?’

In my drowsy state, I slowly tried recalling the events of yesterday: answering Lady Serpina’s summons at the villa, listening to her story, offering to be her drinking buddy, and continuing to empty glass after glass…

‘…Wait.’

Realizing I couldn’t remember anything after drinking, the drowsiness quickly returned.

Feeling slightly chilled, I slowly turned my head to the side.

And there, lying next to me,

Was a shockingly radiant head of golden hair–

“!!!!!!”

That instant, I was wide awake, my mind sharper than ever.

It was only natural.

A clearly feminine silhouette with golden hair was sleeping next to me.

On the bedside table lay a distinctive hairpin that someone always wore.

That someone was… my liege, Lady Serpina.

‘No way.’

No way.

It couldn’t be, right?

I carefully observed Lady Serpina lying next to me. She was sound asleep in a very comfortable-looking negligee, her gentle breathing reaching my ears. Her golden hair flowing down her white cheeks, those moist lips we once accidentally touched, breasts that seemed ready to burst out of the negligee…

No.

No, no, no, no.

That’s not important right now.

Right. After blacking out from drinking and waking up to find a woman next to me, what matters is this situation itself.

‘Not true… right?’

Though I wasn’t wearing a shirt, she was properly dressed in nightwear. Maybe we just fell asleep after drinking together?

It had to be that.

Because if I had crossed the line with my liege…

“Ugh…”

“!!!”

Startled by Lady Serpina’s sudden groan, I instinctively leaned back a bit.

Then, after a moment, she slowly opened her eyes. Her golden irises sparkled like the Milky Way under the bright sunlight.

And me?

I was quietly watching her wake up with a completely foolish expression, holding my breath.

She blinked a few times before slowly getting up, then naturally turned her head toward me. Our gazes met.

What if she screams in surprise?

And the guards come running to see us like this?

While such ridiculous worries sprouted in my mind like mushrooms, fortunately nothing of the sort happened.

“…Did you sleep well, Swoen?”

She asked me with her half-awake voice.

“Ah, um, well, about how this happened…”

“I simply asked if you slept well.”

Speaking these words, Lady Serpina’s expression remained as serious as ever, as if sharing a bed after waking up meant absolutely nothing.

“…Yes.”

“That’s good to hear. You did worry me quite a bit last night though.”

“Me…?”

Her tilting her head in confusion was surprisingly cute. Though admitting that might get me executed.

“Is there anything you don’t remember?”

“…That’s correct.”

I considered lying, but given the situation, it would likely backfire. Best to tell the truth here.

“I figured as much from your spaced-out idiotic expression.”

After saying this, Lady Serpina let out an elegant chuckle that was incredibly alluring, making anyone who heard it momentarily lose themselves.

“Well, various things happened. I had high hopes when you offered to be my drinking companion, but it seems you’re not particularly strong against alcohol.”

“…Lady, that is, if there’s anything I need to take responsibility for, I’ll take full responsibility-”

Before I could finish my sentence, she cut me off and directly addressed what I wanted to ask.

“Nothing happened yesterday.”

“Is that so? Then why…”

“The clothes you took off claiming you were hot, and insisting we should share the bed since you’d guard me – those were all your decisions. That’s all.”

I said all that?

Even if it sounded good as “sharing the bed”, it could easily be seen as mocking the ruler of a nation, potentially leading to execution and imprisonment.

‘This alcohol is the culprit…’

Then,

Lady Serpina approached me with a flushed face and,

began tracing my lips with her finger. The strange scent of yuzu mixed with her natural fragrance strongly stimulated my nose. Due to leaning forward, her ample cleavage visible through the negligee filled my vision, clouding my rational thoughts.

“Or are you disappointed that nothing happened?”

“…Lady.”

“In that case, would you like to spend more time with me?”

Gulp.

I unconsciously swallowed, feeling my face grow hot.

The lady who usually looked down on me from her high position in uniform or formal wear,

now talking to me at eye level in a very feminine negligee –

just seeing her as a woman rather than my liege made my heart race wildly.

“Lady, I…”

Right at that moment,

“I don’t think I can win your heart by suddenly courting you upon waking up in the morning.”

With that, Lady Serpina slowly moved away and quietly got up from the bed. I let out a sigh of relief.

Whether it was truly a sigh of relief or something else… Honestly, I’m not sure right now.

“Where are we…?”

“Not far from the villa. This is the bedroom, a place where no one but me can enter.”

“Huh? What do you mean by-”

“Rather, it should be referred to as a place that ‘hadn’t’ had visitors until now.”

Saying this, Lady Serpina covered her mouth with her white hand while blushing and looked at me.

“You’re the first, Swoen. The first person to ever set foot in my private space.”

And she smiled as if amused.

…She’s beautiful.

To describe her beauty, it feels like she received exclusive favor from the goddess of beauty in this world.

“If you don’t want rumors, you should start preparing to leave. It would be troublesome to run into someone, wouldn’t it?”

“Huh? Ah… Yes.”

Right.

Let’s think about the next steps after safely leaving here.

We can worry about that later.

Thump, thump.

My rapidly beating heart must be due to being in a life-or-death situation right now.

Thinking that way… I began getting ready to leave the bed.

* * *

Watching Swoen dress from behind, Serpina recalled the events of yesterday.

Her revelations and his response to them.

“Lord, you’ve endured so much. If it’s me, I will guard your side whenever.”

“…I don’t put much stock in words spoken while drunk, do I?”

“It’s just… Not because of the alcohol. That’s how I truly feel. It’s not because you’re my lord… I want to guard Lady Serpina’s side.”

“…”

“Just… That’s what I want to do…”

His words, spoken with a thoroughly flushed face and slurred speech from intoxication.

Serpina wasn’t naive enough to trust the words of a drunkard. He probably didn’t even remember her revelations.

Indeed, he didn’t seem to recall why he was here at all.

Still, even knowing that his words were likely spoken in drunkenness…

When he said he wanted to guard “Serpina” rather than “lord”, she could feel her heart racing.

She allowed him access to her bedroom.

She had decided that only someone who could stand by her side forever deserved to share this space with her.

Yet despite knowing his words were likely just drunken ramblings he wouldn’t remember…

She found herself placing her hopes on him anyway.

The bedroom held great significance for her.

It was the one place where she could simply be herself, not as the ruler of the Serpina Army or the sole survivor of the Einhardt family, but just as her.

She could have easily used his intoxicated state to create a “fait accompli”, but Serpina wanted to win his heart without burdening him. She knew all too well that coercion or threats couldn’t truly win someone’s affection.

If, by some chance,

Swoen really intended to stand by her side…

‘I will live solely for you from now on.’

The unspoken words resonated within her, sinking deep into her heart.