The kiss they shared in front of the small sea made by Kael felt like they were going to devour each other right away.
Kael’s hands approached Adeline’s dress straps so naturally, and Adeline was naturally hot enough to think beyond that.
They felt enough passion to mix their bodies, had they not realized that they would cross a line that they would never be able to turn back the moment they wished to go beyond this.

However, neither Kael nor Adeline were able to completely let go of each other.
Their seemingly never-ending kiss was over, but the night that seemed eternal couldn’t beat the sun.
It had been a long time, but Adeline still felt the warmth of Kael on her lips. Adeline carefully placed a finger on her lips, as if to feel the temperature a little more.

‘Can I forget someone who leaves a trace like this? Can I really give up on a man who seems to want me more than anything else in the world?’

Gripping her dress, Adeline sighed. She had no confidence to give up on Kael.

“Your Grace. Are you alright?”
“Hm? Why?”
“You seem to be thinking a lot since yesterday.”
“Ah… It was just a lot of work. There’s a lot to think about.”

The day passed so frantically that she didn’t even know how her birthday was. It was the same today.
People congratulated her and she moved around, doing what she had to do, but her body felt numb.
Only Kael’s voice lingered in her ears, and only the image of him showing the sea filled her head.
Thinking about Kael the whole time, she even felt like she was living as Kael Inver instead of Adeline Tien.
The kiss they had shared in the deep night was revived, and her face turned red. The tearfully ecstatic kiss only became clearer as time went by, and the memory of it did not fade at all.

“You can go now, Melissa. Rest well. I’ll do the same.”
“Yes, Your Grace. Good night, then.”

Adeline, who was left alone, stared at the door leading to the study.
She hadn’t even been able to make eye contact with Kael since the kiss. Kael was so busy that he didn’t leave the office, and Adeline deliberately avoided him even more.
But after not seeing him like that, her yearning grew deeper and deeper.
She missed Kael.

“He might not be there…”

Eventually, Adeline got up and headed to the door that led to the study. She quickly stepped forward with a large stride and opened the door without hesitation.

“Kael?”
“Adeline.”

When she opened the door wide, Adeline faced Kael, who had entered the study just like her.

***

“… You must have been very busy.”
“I guess. The deeper the winter, the more things to do in the North.”

The atmosphere between the two, sitting face to face, was very awkward.
As much as Adeline couldn’t wake up from that night, Kael too was drunk on that night’s kiss.
The more he touched his lips, the more he still vividly felt the sensation of his strings of reason breaking. He wanted Adeline every moment, but that night, he wanted to hold her with surprising intensity.
He felt a sudden temptation. It was a night when she asked him to let go of everything, so he thought it might be okay to forget everything and be honest.

But at that moment, the curse was vividly revived in Kael’s mind.
He quickly came to his senses. He realized painfully what would happen if he coveted Adeline, what would happen if he got drunk on a fantasy and crossed the line.

“Were you coming to my room?”
“Ah… I…”

Kael also longed for her the more he tried to avoid her.
He was on his way to meet Adeline, thinking that he couldn’t endure it anymore.
But when he faced Adeline, he was afraid again. The closer they got, the more he couldn’t stop his feelings from coming out, the more he couldn’t let go of Adeline and the more he would hurt her.

“I was going to examine the study’s magic tools.”
“Ah…”

Kael took a step back, even though he knew it was endless cowardice.
Adeline’s slightly anticipative expression became slightly disappointed. Kael looked away, trying hard to ignore it.

“Then can I have a look, too?”

But when Kael took a step back, Adeline casually took a step forward.
As if she could just pursue him if he ran away.

“… Alright. I’ll show you.”

Then, Kael collapsed again without hesitation. To the point that it was funny how he tried to run away.
He couldn’t completely overcome the woman in front of him.

***

“I didn’t expect this much.”

Several magic tools were kept in a hidden space in the study.
Adeline was amazed as she looked at the magic tools, piled up in such a way that they even reached the ceiling.

“Are you saying that these are all magic tools?”
“Yes. All of them.”
“Wow…”

The more she looked at it, the more amazed she was, like a child. She was lost in the impressive feast of magic tools.

“How did you manage to collect so many?”
“There are many mages in the North. Only five archmages in history aren’t northerners.”

The northern part had a close relationship with magic since ancient times, perhaps due to the abundance of materials that could be used.
There was magic everywhere in the northern castle alone, and there were far more wizards than in other provinces.

“There were a lot of mages in my family itself, and we received a lot of them. We also obtained some from fighting in wars.”
“Ah…”
“After hundreds of years of accumulation, I guess this is how it turned out.”

Adeline looked around and nodded. Considering the history of the north and the Inver family, it was understandable.

“Do you know anything about magic tools?”
“I only know that the stronger the mana, the greater the effect, and the higher the price you have to pay. I also learned this by watching Simeon.”

She knew a little because of Simeon, who had dreamed of being a wizard before becoming a priest, but magic was still quite a remote thing for Adeline.
Although Adeline had been heavily involved with black magic lately, she had lived a life not at all close to magic.

“What is this? It looks like a bishop from a chess game.”

Adeline asked, pointing to one of the magic tools at eye level.
It was a golden magic tool that resembled a bishop. The middle of the sphere on top was open, and both sides were surrounded by glass.

“It’s a magic tool that can defy time.”
“Time?”
“Yes. It’s said that it’s a tool to turn back time.”
“What a tremendous tool.”

She thought it was a magic tool that looked quite clunky and weak. Adeline looked at Kael in amazement.

“It is a tremendous tool. It’s said that in return for controlling time, you must pay a price.”
“The price must be high, right?”
“I don’t know the details, but it is said that it’s a pretty horrible curse.”
“Ah…”
“But it’s a tool that can’t be used anymore.”
“How come?”

Kael pointed to the empty glass.

“Originally, there should have been a purple liquid in there. That liquid is what controls time.”
“But it’s empty now.”
“Yes. Someone used it.”

Adeline looked at the magic tool even more surprised than before.

“I don’t know who, when, or why, but there must have been something they desperately wanted to endure that curse.”
“That’s what I was thinking. That’s amazing.”

She couldn’t even fathom what the circumstances might have been. Adeline suddenly felt that the power of the magic tools was great and looked around at the other tools as well.

“Ah, there’s something I want to show you. Wait a minute. It takes a while because it’s deep inside.”
“Yes. I’ll wait.”

Kael went inside, saying he was going to find the magic tool he wanted to show her, and Adeline was left alone to wander from place to place.
There were more diverse types than she thought. There was a magic tool that looked like a suncatcher, and another that looked like a large box. She didn’t know their functions, she didn’t know their circumstances, but the more I looked at them, the more interesting she found them.

“Huh? Is this also a magic tool?”

Adeline stopped in front of a small table.

“It looks like an orgel.”

Anyone could see that it was in the form of a music box. No matter how much she looked at it, there was no sense of it being a magic tool.

“Maybe not? Maybe it just looks like one. To be fair, there’s no way there would be something here that isn’t a magic tool.”

She thought about opening it out of curiosity, but she shouldn’t touch a magic tool.

[Remember, Sister. No matter what happens, do not touch magic tools. If you don’t know what it does, just avoid it.]
[Unconditionally?]
[Yes. Unconditionally.]

Adeline remembered a moment when Simeon was studying magic and grabbed hold of her, begging her.
Adeline smiled as she remembered her old memories, and passed by the orgel.
However, the big sleeves that widened from the middle of the arm caused trouble.
The end part of the ornament on the outside of the magic tool she was interested in got stuck on her sleeve and was swept along it.

“Oh oh!”

Adeline hastily grabbed the magic tool that fell down the table.
Fortunately, it did not break as it didn’t touch the ground, but the lid opened during the fall.

“Wow…”

Music flowed out from the object that closely resembled a music box, like it was a normal music box.
It was a melody that sounded so pretty that Adeline thought it was the most beautiful melody she had ever heard.

“Adeli…”
“Ah, Kael. I’m sorry. It got stuck on my sleeve and I grabbed it before it fell, but the lid opened… Is this also a magic tool? Or is it just an orgel? I really like the melody.”

Kael, who had returned after finding what he wanted to find, stiffened as he looked at the orgel playing music.
The orgel Adeline opened was connected to the wedding ring she was wearing.
The orgel that he confirmed to be firmly closed and could not be opened was the reason Kael was not fooled by Adeline a long time ago, when she pretended to love him.

The orgel, which was said to never open until the woman wearing the ring sincerely loved the Ruler of the North, had woken up from a long sleep.
The orgel, which he was sure would never open, played heavenly music.

–