"Haah, haah!"
"Asha, we…"
Their excitement was rising with the friction under their clothes, the lips that brushed against each other, and the hands and eyes that longed for something, were about to cross a certain line.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Lionel sent a signal from the other side of the wall.
It meant that Gabriel had entered his room.
At that moment, Carlyle and Asha's movements stopped abruptly.
They looked at each other and exhaled roughly.
They had been so absorbed in each other that they hadn't even heard the signal that Gabriel had left the room.
Just a little bit, just a tiny bit more, and they would have been able to satisfy their desires and feel content, but the sound from the wall seemed to have drawn a sharp line between them.
Carlyle, who had been clenching his teeth on top of Asha, finally lowered his head.
"…Good work."
Even after he said it, he thought it sounded pathetic.
Just before he could fall into self-loathing and shame, Asha's voice came with a small gasp.
"Your Highness too… worked hard."
"…."
Carlyle couldn't say anything.
It was a strange situation that was funny, frustrating, and even endearing.
As their breathing slowed, Carlyle lay down next to Asha and carefully covered her body with the blanket.
"Do you think that bastard Gabriel was fooled?"
At that, Asha let out a small laugh.
That laugh couldn't have been more welcome.
"Good night."
"Oh, I should go to the couch…"
"Your body is hot. If you suddenly get cold, you'll catch a cold. Just… stay here."
Asha, who was about to get up, was pulled back down onto the bed by Carlyle's arm.
In fact, Carlyle was right. The air outside the blanket was cold, and goosebumps rose on her arms.
'Yeah, if I catch a cold, it'll be a pain in the ass…'
Asha chewed on that excuse and justified lying next to Carlyle.
Whether it was from the tension or the excitement, both of them were exhausted. It was fortunate that they were too tired to talk and fell asleep.
'The problem will be when we wake up… but at least we can avoid the awkwardness of this moment.'
Asha and Carlyle fell asleep with the same thoughts in mind.
And when dawn began to break the next day, they both woke up almost simultaneously, feeling extremely embarrassed due to the postponed awkwardness.
Too embarrassed to even look at each other, they pretended to still be asleep.
'I must be crazy. I'm an animal.'
Asha felt a bit mortified as she recalled herself moaning without shame.
No, actually, the moaning wasn't the issue.
Driven by excitement, she had embraced Carlyle's neck, entwined her body with his, and even kissed him.
But thankfully, Lionel's knock on the wall snapped her out of it.
'Prince Carlyle seemed quite excited too….'
Carlyle, who had been touching Asha's nightgown, also froze at the sound from the wall.
The moment they had just stared at each other while exhaling rough breaths would probably be unforgettable for quite a while.
'What should I do? What should I say to make this less awkward if we get up?'
While Asha pondered this dilemma, she heard Carlyle's voice from beside her.
"Are you hungry?"
At his words, Asha involuntarily opened her eyes.
Just a moment ago, she hadn't been thinking about anything, but suddenly she felt a rush of hunger upon hearing Carlyle's words.
"…Yes. I'm hungry."
"I'll have something brought for you. Just wait a moment."
"Oh, but I…"
"I'm also a knight, you know. Don't treat me like a barbarian."
Carlyle flicked Asha's nose with his fingertip before getting up from the bed and putting on his robe.
Asha felt disappointed as his broad back disappeared into the robe. She even thought she wanted to touch it.
"…I must be crazy. That's for sure."
She covered her face with both hands.
Meanwhile, Carlyle ordered the servant guarding the room to bring breakfast, and picked up Asha's robe hanging on the couch and the nightgown that had fallen to the floor and approached the bed.
"Shall I help you put it on?"
His lips curved with a casual yet gentle smile. At first glance, he didn't seem any different from yesterday.
Finally, Asha regained her composure.
"That's impossible."
"Ahaha! Finally, you're starting to throw back my jokes. It's a heartwarming moment."
Asha snatched her clothes from Carlyle's hand, covering herself up to her chest with the blanket, while Carlyle pretended to be busy opening the curtains at the window to avoid eye contact.
As Asha put on her clothes and tried to gather her messy hair into a bun, Carlyle spoke up.
"The High Priest won't be able to mention annulment anymore. So, he'll try another method."
"But what else will he try to do?"
"His greatest weapon is his angelic appearance and his persuasive rhetoric that makes him sound like a god. He'll surely try to sway people's hearts, so make sure the lower ranks are firmly warned."
"Understood."
She nodded.
Just then, a servant entered with a cart laden with food, and Asha had her first breakfast with Carlyle.
The sunlight streaming in through the opened curtains and the fragrant, warm tea softened her heart.
Carlyle tore the bread himself, spread butter and milk jam on it, and placed it on Asha's plate.
"Does it suit your taste?"
"…Yes."
The white bread spread with precious butter and even more precious milk jam was bound to be delicious, but in truth, Asha couldn't really taste it.
She was more preoccupied with the fact that Carlyle had spread the butter and jam himself. Perhaps that was why the bread tasted so good to her.
"Luckily. Last time, when I offered you cream pie, you didn't eat it, so I wondered if your tastes had changed."
Carlyle chuckled lightly.
Did he know how harmful that smile was to the current Asha?
Asha forced herself to swallow the bread she was chewing. Otherwise, her heart felt like it would jump out of her mouth.
Then she noticed that Carlyle wasn't eating much of the bread.
'Are you not hungry? Or do you perhaps think I'll eat it all?'
Since Cecilia and Dorothea always seemed to eat just enough for a sparrow, Carlyle might have thought he would seem greedy in her eyes.
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Asha, as Carlyle had done earlier, tore a piece of bread and spread butter and milk jam on it, offering it to him.
"It's… delicious…"
Usually, she was quite eloquent, so why was she only able to say such silly words now?
Asha felt so pathetic that she sighed inwardly.
But then, with a strange expression on his face, Carlyle grabbed Asha's wrist and boldly took a bite of the bread held in her hand.
"Gasp!"
Carlyle's lips brushed against Asha's fingers as he firmly bit into the bread.
He even sucked the bread crumbs off her fingertips as if he intended to eat them.
"Mmm… Just as you said…"
Carlyle, opening his eyes and looking at Asha, smiled.
"It's delicious."
For a moment, Asha thought about licking the milk jam on his lips, but she clenched her jaw and came to her senses.
The moment she gave in to this desirable man and revealed all her feelings, this relationship would surely be ruined.
***
The winter had arrived in the Pervaz, but the southern part of the empire and the other countries bordering it were just entering autumn.
Among them, the Kingdom of Palesso was famous for the beautiful autumn leaves of Lake Tur.
"The red leaves are really beautiful this year."
Queen Serenis of Palesso entertained the foreign dignitaries admiring the lakeside scenery with a Mont Blanc dessert made with plenty of cream, making the atmosphere of tea time even more enjoyable.
"Thank you so much for coming all the way here even though you must be busy."
She greeted the guests with a beautiful smile, even though she was in her mid-30s.
Today was the day when the rulers of the kingdoms bordering the Chad Empire gathered to reaffirm their alliance.
"It would be right to prepare a more formal place, but I apologize for inviting you to Lake Tur instead, for fear of giving the Chad Empire an opportunity."
"No, I am rather glad that I was able to see such scenery."
"That's right. You have nothing to be sorry for, Your Majesty."
Everyone praised Serenis. In fact, it was closer to consolation.
Her home country was the Kingdom of Albania, which had been defeated by the Chad Empire in the war early last year, and she had been gnashing her teeth at the Chad Empire ever since.
However, she could not dare to think of revenge. The southern part of the Chad Empire was blocked by a wall called Carlyle Evaristo.
"I am grateful for your words, but at the same time, I feel relieved."
As she sighed, the princess of the Kelob Kingdom asked with a look of pity.
"Is the Kingdom of Albania still busy with war reparations?"
"I guess so… because of the war indemnities…"
"I heard it was a big blow to the national treasury."
"Twelve crowns of gold, one crown each of sapphire and ruby, 100 horses, 30kg of dragon incense. And duty-free on Chad Empire imports for 20 years."
Serenis, who had been reciting the details of the reparations, frowned and clenched the armrest of her chair.
"Even if everything else is fine, what about the 20-year duty-free period? Do you think that makes sense? Isn't that just saying that they want to trample on the Elvan industry!"