She must have fallen asleep. Damia opened her eyes to a rustling sound by her bedside. She expected it was a mouse but was surprised to see the banquet of dried flowers that fell off.

“Ugh, what a mess.”

After waking up, Damia sighed and swept back her hair.

The bouquet Akkard gave her troubled her until the end. The fallen lilacs made a spectacle all over the bed. The dried flower leaves were crumbly and scattered on the sheet, becoming powdery.

Damia, who was too tired to deal with it, roughly pushed the flowers away with her hands and lay down again. She would deal with it in the morning by telling the maid to clean up after she slept with it.

“……!!”

It was at that moment when Damia inadvertently turned around to fall back asleep that an uninvited guest caught the corner of her eye. Hidden in the shadows, Damia was startled. As soon as she found out who it was, Damia was literally surprised to the point where her blood froze in her vein.

“Ah— you’re awake? I thought I was being careful.”

A little away from her bed, there was Cesare, sitting on a chair next to a table. He was looking at her and laughed. At first, she thought it was an illusion, but it was real.

“Hi, Damia.”

“…..Brother?”

Pale-faced, Damia sat up. She was so flustered and alarmed that she couldn’t even scream. As far as she knew, Cesare had followed her father to the Temple. But how did he suddenly arrive in her bedroom?

She hadn’t heard of Cesare’s return yet. Even if he arrived late at night— why would he hide in her bedroom and watch her sleep?

‘Danger.’

Alarms alerted her whole body.

She was trapped in a locked room with Cesare alone. Her heart started to beat in panic, and goosebumps ran down her spine. This was exactly how the mouse felt trapped in a corner by a rattlesnake. She didn’t even blink in case the snake would strike.

“Why are you so surprised, Damia? Like someone caught doing something wrong.”

Cesare whispered smoothly with a strangely soft smile. He got up from his seat and approached the bed.

He was a handsome, well-built young man, so as he bent over her he cast a large shadow over Damia’s body. He came up to her nose and caressed Damia’s long loose hair.

It was an icy and sticky touch. It was unpleasant, like an invisible spider web that sought to stick and entangle her.

Cesare’s eyes narrowed as he smiled, uttering insulting words in a light tone.

“I’m glad to see you again. You’ve gotten prettier. While I was gone, did you have fun with Akkard Valerian?”

Feeling the sting of stigma, Damia clutched her molars. She wanted to scream right away and call someone. But it was too dangerous. If she did manage to scream, it would take too long for attendants to reach her room.

It would be much faster for Cesare in front of her to wield his hands against her.

Cesare could easily crush her, easily using his weight against her and do something irreversible if he wanted. When Damia realized the situation, she felt as if she was dumped in cold water.

I can’t show fear in this situation.

With determination, Damia opened her mouth:

“What the hell is this, brother? Sneaking into someone else’s bedroom so late at night.”

Damia’s face looked up at Cesare, which was much bigger and stronger than hers and calm. On the contrary, he showed a slight hint of displeasure.

Cesare’s hand rubbing the tip of Damia’s hair, halted. He stared at Damia as if he was trying to smell fear.

His eyes, which glowed incredibly toxic blue in the dark, shined like glass beads. Even though it chilled her spine, Damia did not avoid his gaze. Instead, Cesare’s eyes turned away first.

He inadvertently lowered his eyes and found the remains of the lilac flowers scattered over her bed. At that moment, his red lips twisted strangely.

“This….. I guess this is what he gave you. Did you have a good time playing with his sloppy bottoms? He’s not the kind of person to do this strange thing.”

His cold fingers grabbed a handful of the dried lilacs. The fragile flowers screamed in the cruel hand of his as he crumbled them into a fine powder.

He repeated it and repeated it. The act seemed to give Damia an unspoken warning.

Damia gritted her teeth. She didn’t want to be questioned by Cesare like a sinner and didn’t want to play into feeding his dangerous abnormal behavior.

Therefore, Damia decided to take the offense. She ignored Cesare’s words and accused him directly.

“I know brother is planning something. Please be honest. What did you do at the Temple?”

***