Translator and Editor: Lea and Aki

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Chapter 31

Their warm lips got tangled once again, enlightening a deeper communion than before.

He caressed April’s cheek gently as he savored it. Ian pulled her closer by placing his other hand around her waist.

“Mm-hmm.”

Feeling his low breathing, April’s palms dug into his arms. As the hot sensation eased up, he gently released her lips and stroked her locks.

“April.”“Yes?”“Shall we spend tonight….. together?”“Ah, come to think of it.”

Their relationship had escalated beyond the contract. She had spent last night together with Ian in his room.

However, he spoke nothing after that. So, April seemed to have fallen in thought at Ian’s question.

And it was a shameful imagination that came to her.

“……Do you not like it?”

He carefully asked her, who hid her burning face. Ian looked as if he would be heartbroken if she said no.

April wasn’t looking at him.

“No, I like it. Should I go now?”“I’ll meet you. I’ve got work to finish late, so when it’s over, I’ll come get you.”“Okay, Ian. I will be waiting.”

At her last word, Ian smiled softly and took a steady step towards his office. April stood there, gazing at the man’s back, who was unusually hesitant.

***

April prepared the medicines listed in the order sheet from Dalia until the night fell. It was a lot since it was a seven-day order, but the work was not cumbersome because most of it required water.

“The orders are not decreasing? Has she been spreading the word of my work around?”

It was only after the red liquid was distributed in a clean sterilized container and the lid was tightly closed that the woman could heave a sigh. She stretched out her arms. She had gotten stiff muscle pain because she had been bending down since she started her work.

“Whew.”

When she opened the window, which had been closed all day, the humidity escaped and a cool breeze blew in. She inhaled deeply, feeling the air outside. Instead of the scent of red incense, the smell of grass came.

“Lady April, the Marquis is here.”“Already?”

Her eyes went to look at the watch in a flash. It was well past 9. She must’ve become too busy to check the time.

It was almost time for Ian to see her.

“May I direct him to the drawing room?”“Just bring him to the lab. I have something to tell him.”“Yes.”

Leonore went down to the first floor with busy steps. April wondered if the heavy footsteps that were approaching the door belonged to Ian.

“It smells like cosmetics.”“Yes, I had to take care of my orders. I guess it wasn’t fully ventilated.”“Do you intend to continue working at the pharmacy?”“I think it’ll be the right thing to do. Is that too much?”“No. I was worried that you might quit because of me.”

She nodded to him lightly and gradually organized what she was left with. She washed the tools, threw the remaining scraps in the trash can, and cleaned the desk.

“Is there anything I can help you with…..”“It’s okay. I feel comfortable when I handle the tools.”

When Ian tried to help, April waved her hand. This was because she didn’t want anyone to touch the experimental tools.

She grabbed him before pulling him towards the door, and Ian, who had nothing to do, just stared blankly at her busy self.

“I’ve organized them all.”“Let’s go, then.”

When Ian reached out, April held his hand. Their hands, which were quite different in size, intertwined around one another. Her hands were a little cold, so his warmth subdued it sweetly against the cold wind outside.

“Ian. I’ve been thinking a bit about the medicine. Would it calm down if you can feel your companion’s essence in any way? It might not necessarily be a medicine, but a perfume.”“After the imprint, you’ve become my inhibitor, so it’s a possibility. Before that occurrence, your presence was making it hard for me to endure.”“Yes, so I’m going to give it a try.”

Since April’s presence, which previously worsened Ian’s fever and made his condition difficult to treat, had now become a cure, she decided that she no longer needed to make an oral reagent.

Instead, a new kind of thing was needed that could last a longer time in a small amount.

Ian seemed to agree with it. He, who knew his disease best, agreed, and now all he had to do was put it into practice.

“Let me get your coat.”“Ah, thank you.”

When they got to his room, Ian took April’s jacket and folded it in order.

“I have a bath ready, so you can wash up first.”“Separately?”“Hm? Then?”“Oh, it’s nothing.”

April, who had a vague imagination of entering his bathroom together, was relieved when he said they’d wash separately. His attitude last night was way too far ahead of himself.

‘What crap was I thinking?’

Ashamed of what she imagined, April sighed and burst into giggles.

“Why are you laughing?”“It’s funny. Did you want to have a bath with me?”“Ah, that’s not what I meant!”

She sat down on the fluffy bed, shaking her head vigorously. His arms snaked around her waist, pulling her lightly to lie down beside him. His hand brushed April’s messy hair to a neat order.

“I was hoping so. I wanted to.”“Then why did you ask me to go first?”“I’m afraid I can’t stand it. I was going to hold you still tonight since you were so upset all day, but if we went in there together, it would’ve broken my resolution.”

April couldn’t reply to what he said as he gazed at his eyes with her face burning. Ian, on the other hand, simply locked her figure in his arms and rubbed her back. He didn’t need to hear any other words. She already had a tiring day.

“Ah, April. Speaking of that perfume.”“Yes.”“Perhaps, you’ll have to hurry on that soon.”

She looked up at him, while he continued holding April in his arms.

“I have to travel to the Eastern Territories. I’ve got some work to do.”“How….. long will you stay there?”“For a month. I’ll be able to attend Lady Lianna’s wedding. With you if you want.”

This was out of the blue. She couldn’t imagine Ian suddenly going away for a month, with whom she could meet whenever she wanted and hang around anywhere within the mansion.

“Are you going by yourself?”“Well……”

Ian stared at her as he thought before slowly opening his mouth.

“I’ll be busy. I’ll have to get the troops under control, and I’ll have to go directly to the northern border.”“I see.”“That’s why I can’t ask you to come with me. Even if I took you to that unknown place, I wouldn’t be able to see you often. Besides……”“The knight of Liszt will be present there.”“That’s right. I don’t like it when you and he meet.”

Ian clenched his teeth as he thought about April’s abduction. The burning anger in his eyes was equivalent to that of April’s. April clasped his hand.

“But I’m also a doctor. If anything happens to you while you’re alone…..”“I’ll have your medicine.”“Still! What if there’s a side effect?”

Ian’s determination to leave her behind seemed to have strengthened, and April was more desperate for some reason. She was worried about him. She did not want to be away from him yet. Ian was still her patient.

But Ian wasn’t the only reason. It was also because of another wolf there.

“Ian. I think I should face him.”“What do you mean?”“I’m just hiding behind you. Compared to the giant Carleva, this knight is only a small thing to deal with, and I don’t think it’ll do anything if I run away from him like this.”“But that’ll be dangerous.”

Ian replied with a worried look on his face. He silently held April for a while, and then spoke carefully until April slowly blinked.

“April. May I ask what your plan is?”“Well, I wish to own back the March.”“The house?”“I don’t know about the other properties, but I can’t let them dispose of the land. It’s the place where my family and I found love.”

She could only yearn for it now, and it was something she was the only one who can put it to an end.

April’s breath was getting heavier with anger. This was the first time she talked about her purpose to a stranger, not Dalia or the Duke of Debussy, who had given up on her.

“So you didn’t intend to take it off in the first place?”“Well….. could I?”

She sounded quite cold. Her tone surprised Ian. But still, he understood her. No matter how smart and strong she was, the wall of reality must’ve been too high for her to climb.

“Actually, I really wanted to be the one to do it. April.”

She kept quiet for a moment. She wanted time to organize her thoughts. What made her so desperate for money, and what made her choose her house first, was no legal battle.

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