Benedict pulled the belt from his waist with an expression of grim determination. Then he made a solemn declaration to Elena, who was staring at him in bewilderment.
"Under no circumstances are you to cross this line. Understood?"
"Oh..."
Only then did Elena realize what he was doing.
She looked at the long leather belt he'd laid across the middle of the enormous bed and grumbled.
"Drawing a line down the middle? What are we, children...?"
She'd only muttered under her breath, but Benedict's senses were several times sharper than those of an ordinary person. He heard every word.
If anything, he was the one who had reason to feel wronged.
"It's precisely because we're not children that—!"
Benedict abruptly cut himself off.
He barely managed to swallow the rest of what he'd been about to say: that sharing a bed with a woman who was in love with him was dangerous because there was no telling what indecent things she might try.
She's clearly after my body.
He finally lay down at the very edge of his side of the bed, pulling the comforter all the way up to his neck.
He didn't let his guard down even as Elena climbed onto the mattress.
"Don't you think you put the line a little too far toward the middle? You're the one who's going to lose out."
Unlike Benedict, who had been tense for quite some time, Elena sounded even more carefree than usual.
"I've got plenty of room over here."
She chuckled as she slipped beneath the covers on the opposite side of the bed.
Benedict had scrunched his broad shoulders together to keep himself within his allotted half, while the petite Elena looked perfectly comfortable.
Nevertheless, Benedict remained unmoved.
He issued another stern warning.
"Don't even think about letting so much as a fingertip cross that line."
"Yes, yes. Good night, then."
With that casual reply, Elena extinguished the lamp beside the bed.
Darkness enveloped the room.
The room fell silent.
Only the soft, steady sound of breathing and the rhythmic ticking of the clock could be heard.
There was just one sound that refused to settle into a regular rhythm.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
Benedict was nearly beside himself with irritation at the sound of his own wildly beating heart.
Damn it.
He pressed a hand to his forehead and cursed inwardly.
His hair was still unpleasantly damp from the cold water he'd poured over himself earlier.
"Would you like to bathe first?"
To think she'd tried to seduce him so blatantly!
The mere thought of Elena looking up at him from a bathtub filled with bubbles was dangerous enough.
He'd fled the room before he could succumb to any wicked impulses, fetched an entire bucket of water from the pump in the hotel garden, and dumped it over his head.
She really is a woman skilled in schemes and manipulation.
Benedict clutched his head, which felt as though it were still giving off steam.
Lately, Elena seemed determined to seduce him at every opportunity.
Perhaps her intention was to make him violate their Contract first.
"Absolutely not."
His eyes widened fiercely.
Women were seductive creatures who clouded a man's judgment. They could only become weaknesses.
Hadn't his own father, the Emperor, suffered a political backlash from the Empress's faction after becoming involved with his mother, a woman of low birth?
And hadn't he ultimately abandoned Benedict because of it?
Besides, I have no use for a woman who can't remain faithful.
She supposedly loved him, yet she was constantly hanging around that bastard Aiden!
For some inexplicable reason, Benedict's brow furrowed as he recalled the affectionate laughter drifting out of the carriage throughout their journey to the Kingdom of Grace.
Then there was the sight of the two of them pressed together like lovers when he'd opened the carriage door.
And what was with all those obscene books?
The Temptation of My Friend's Wife, Forbidden Love Rides in a Carriage...
The instant he'd seen those titles, his instincts had screamed that he couldn't leave the two of them alone in that carriage.
Which was why he'd ended up abandoning his horse and climbing inside without another thought.
Benedict abruptly rolled over, turning his back on Elena.
Does she just like any man with a noble title?
A sudden surge of displeasure welled up from deep within him.
Irritably, he stretched out an arm to check that the leather belt marking the boundary between them was still in place.
Once the Contract is over, I'll have nothing more to do with a woman like—
Just as he checked the belt, Elena's hand came down lightly on top of his.
"...!"
A shiver ran down Benedict's spine, and he sucked in a sharp breath.
So she'd finally crossed the line!
He whipped his head toward Elena, ready to give her a furious reprimand.
"W-what do you think you're—!"
"Mmm..."
"..."
Elena was fast asleep, completely oblivious to everything around her.
Benedict went rigid.
He swallowed hard, then narrowed his eyes and prepared to shake her hand off.
But—
Wait. If I push her hand away, she might wake up. Wouldn't that put me in even greater danger? She's always trying to get her hands on my body.
Benedict pondered the dilemma with an expression of utmost seriousness.
One minute passed.
Then two.
Then three.
After several dozen minutes had gone by, he finally reached a decision.
No. She's the one who crossed the line.
His resolve hardened.
He was just about to brush away the soft hand resting on his when he suddenly froze.
Something had occurred to him.
The leather belt, his hand, and Elena's hand were stacked on top of one another, in that order.
And the place where his hand was resting...
"..."
He blinked in dismay.
Strictly speaking, his own hand had crossed the line first.
Of course, he'd only reached over to make sure the belt was still in place.
But still.
He pressed his free hand to his forehead.
What if I wake her up and she accuses me of crossing the line?
That would be humiliating, especially after he'd made such a fuss about forbidding her from crossing it.
In the end, Benedict couldn't bring himself to remove Elena's hand.
Instead, he awkwardly shifted his body until he was lying flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling.
One hand remained in its uncomfortable position atop the belt.
"Mmm..."
Elena wriggled beneath the covers, burrowing deeper into the soft bedding.
There was a faint rustling sound.
Then something unfamiliar brushed against Benedict's cheek.
It was Elena's long, flowing hair.
"Hngh!"
Benedict stopped breathing as a fresh, delicate fragrance drifted into his nose.
Elena stirred again, and her silky hair tickled the back of his neck.
He froze, unable to move a muscle.
Benedict was a soldier by nature.
He'd fought in battles so dangerous that enemy blades had come within a hair's breadth of his throat.
Yet even those moments had never made his heart pound like this.
Henry, Edward, Philip, Wilhelm, Franz, Ferdinand, Friedrich, Konwal, Heinrich, Konrad, Otto, Karl, Ludwig...
...
Lying on the bed as rigidly as though his limbs had been bound, Benedict began reciting the names of every monarch who had ruled since the founding of the Empire.
"...!"
As if mocking his desperate efforts, Elena's soft fingers began to wiggle against the back of his rough hand.
HenryEdwardPhilipWilhelmFranzFerdinandFriedrichKonwalHeinrichKonradOttoKarlLudwig...
Having run out of royal names to recite, he began going through them in reverse.
He recalled the unbearably tedious history lessons he'd endured at the military academy.
Ludwig... Ludwig... Ludwig...
And so Benedict spent the entire night silently repeating the name of an ancestor whose face he'd never even seen.
******
The following morning.
"Good morning, Your Highness! You're looking especially well today!"
Victor greeted me in a booming voice.
"Yes, thank you."
I nodded cheerfully, feeling wonderfully refreshed.
The hotel's bedding had been so comfortable that I'd slept more soundly than I had in ages.
"Did you have a pleasant night as well, Your Grace? The sparrows were certainly chirping up a storm this morning!"
Victor hovered beside the Grand Duke with a rather mischievous grin.
The Grand Duke, however, merely frowned, the dark circles beneath his eyes looking particularly pronounced.
"..."
"Oh, dear! Don't tell me you didn't sleep a wink! It must have been quite a passionate—"
"Be quiet. You're giving me a headache."
"Yes, sir!"
The Grand Duke's voice was so cold that he sounded ready to draw his sword at any moment.
Victor snapped his mouth shut and cautiously backed away.
I discreetly called him over and gave him some instructions for a task I wanted him to carry out while I met with Count Bonetta.
Although he seemed puzzled, Victor saluted with his usual loyal expression and disappeared.
A short while later, Aiden informed us of the day's schedule.
"The carriage Count Bonetta is sending should arrive shortly. It'll take us directly to his estate."
When I finally climbed into the carriage belonging to Count Bonetta's family, my eyes widened.
I looked around in amazement at the gilded interior.
"Wow. I'd heard the Count was incredibly wealthy, but I guess the rumors were true."
The carriage was so extravagant that it left me speechless.
While I was busy admiring every detail, the Grand Duke sat with his arms folded and his eyes tightly shut for the entire journey to the Count's estate.
I had no idea what he was so displeased about.
Aiden, meanwhile, seemed to find my reaction amusing. He chuckled softly.
"Well, he does have a monopoly on the sale of expensive luxury goods."
"He sounds like a wonderful person."
I nodded in agreement.
After all, money was the standard by which I judged people.
At that, Aiden's eyebrows drooped, and he murmured worriedly.
"Hmm. I'm afraid that isn't necessarily true. He can be rather unpleasant once you get to know him. Whenever there's something to be gained, he thoroughly evaluates people and puts them to the test to determine their worth. He's certainly not someone who'll simply do what you want."
"Oh, don't worry about that."
I waved a dismissive hand.
As long as there was money to be made, a little unpleasantness meant nothing to me.
Besides, I was already thoroughly accustomed to wealthy people throwing their weight around.
Hadn't I endured every imaginable indignity in the pursuit of money?
And Count Bonetta was a man who would soon be bringing me a fortune.
What did I have to worry about?
A short while later, however, I came to understand exactly what Aiden had been warning me about.
The hard way.