While muttering inwardly, Ione suddenly realized that her current appearance was not exactly appropriate for greeting guests.
Sure, they'd already seen her—but still.
She gave Adrian a meaningful glance.
‘My clothes.’
For a moment, Adrian’s eyes widened, then returned to normal.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave first. Once again, welcome back, gentlemen.”
Assuming he understood, Ione offered a vague farewell and hurried up the stairs with Catherine.
Slap, slap.
Her slippers slapped noisily against her heels with every step.
“Ha…”
Hearing Adrian make a sound that was neither a sigh nor a laugh, Ione broke into a run.
She was far too embarrassed to stick around.
Greeting knights with a grin while holding sweet potatoes?! Seriously?!
By the time she finally returned to her bedroom—
Thump, thump, thump
.
Her heart was racing wildly, catching up all at once.
“No way I could run that twice.”
This house really was
too
big.
It felt like her heart might burst right through her ribs.
“Huff… Huff…”
She tossed the sweet potatoes into the fireplace and staggered to the sofa.
Catherine, panting as well, placed her own sweet potato down and brought over a cup of tea.
“The sweet potatoes…”
“Hmm?”
“Oh, nothing… I was just thinking the combination of sweet potatoes and black tea is amazing.”
“Right? It
is
delicious. Sweet potatoes are tasty, and tea is tasty, so tasty plus tasty equals
super tasty.
”
Ione had long suspected Catherine wasn’t quite normal.
Her ability to interpret
everything
in the most positive way was… impressive.
It was almost a shame to correct her.
Smiling, Ione gathered her loose hair to one side and leaned back.
Maybe she’d overdone it.
Even after eating so much, there were still too many sweet potatoes left.
“Ah, I’m so full. I can’t eat another bite.”
“I feel like I’m going to burst.”
Catherine’s cheeks were shiny from the heat, and the moment she met Ione’s eyes, she started fussing.
“So… should we throw them out?”
“Throw them out? These precious things? No way!”
“But they’ll taste bad once they’re cold. Baked sweet potatoes are best eaten right away—otherwise, they usually get tossed.”
“Then how about we give them away instead?”
“At this hour?”
Ione leaned over and peeked out the window.
The moon had dipped so low, it was nowhere to be seen.
Midnight had long since passed. In just a few hours, the sun would rise.
“Everyone’s asleep.”
“Not
everyone.
There are still some people awake.”
Catherine was utterly serious as she dug through the coals to pull out the warmest sweet potatoes.
She retrieved about twenty with a long set of tongs.
Clearly, they’d gotten carried away while preparing their late-night snack.
“These…”
“I’ll give them to the knights. They just got back from the cold—I bet they’d love some warm sweet potatoes.”
My sweet Catherine, so the sweet potatoes were that good to you.
Ione suppressed a laugh and gave a small nod.
“Alright. As long as they’ll enjoy them. Go ahead and take them all—no, leave two.”
“…If you eat any more, you’re going to get sick.”
Catherine didn’t even try to hide her disapproving expression.
Being treated like a glutton was mildly offensive, but Ione didn’t argue. She simply repeated herself.
“Leave two and go.”
Two sweet potatoes sat on the table.
Perfectly roasted, their sugary syrup had caramelized to a glossy sheen.
But…
why
had she set those two aside?
How was she even planning to give them to the Grand Duke?
She should’ve run to the ends of the earth, not…
offer him snacks?!
“No, no, absolutely not!”
Ione silently clutched her head, flailing in place.
“Goodness… Is there a demon in that hand of yours?”
“Eep!”
Startled by the unexpected voice, she jumped so high she nearly hit the ceiling.
When she realized it was Adrian, she scrambled to greet him.
“Ah! Um—yes, Your Grace!”
“Why are you tearing your hair out?”
“Because of the sweet potatoes.”
“These?”
Adrian picked one up, peeled it quickly, and held it out to her.
Ah…
Her lips parted instinctively at the silent offer.
Tap.
The hot, syrupy sweet potato touched her lips—courtesy of Adrian’s uncharacteristically playful gesture.
Ione gently pushed his hand away.
“P-please… you eat it.”
“Me?”
“Aren’t you hungry? It’s cold out, and on snowy days, roasted sweet potatoes taste even better. Is this your first time…?”
“I eat them often.”
“Oh, perfect!”
Her bright smile made one of Adrian’s eyebrows twitch—somewhere between a frown and a smirk.
“Please, have it. I was trying to figure out how to give it to you.”
As Ione spoke, Adrian finally took a bite.
His elegant lips opened slightly, then closed around the sweet, steaming flesh.
Ione blinked.
Wait… is he eating caviar or something?
She always ended up with a sticky mess around her mouth, but Adrian still looked so poised—even eating the same thing.
While she was staring in awe, his hand came up and lightly tilted her chin.
Her open mouth quickly shut.
Whoosh.
Even though he hadn’t even touched her lips, her cheeks flushed bright red from sheer embarrassment.
Ione stumbled back.
“Th-that—”
“It was on your lips.”
As she fumbled for words, Adrian leaned in and gently swiped his thumb across her lower lip.
His large finger pressed and rubbed, firm and slow.
She felt her skin indent under the pressure.
“What was on—”
“Sweet potato.”
With a smug look, he sucked the syrup from his thumb.
“Sweet.”
“…”
‘I’m going to die.’
Ione screamed internally.
She’d let her guard down. She had foolishly assumed she could stay unaffected by Adrian.
But now, looking at his smiling face, her heart thudded wildly, leaving her dizzy.
‘No. Stop. Please. Someone save me.’
It felt like her heart was about to explode.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
“It’s good.”
Don’t say that while looking at me!
She tried to grit her teeth and hold herself together—but it was useless.
In the end, Ione covered her face with both hands.
“What’s wrong?”
“Too… too much…”
Please, spare me. I know you’re the male lead. I get it.
Adrian clenched his jaw tightly.
He kept thinking of Ione—her flushed cheeks, her eyes brimming with emotion, her face red enough to burn.
He had
never
met anyone with such expressive reactions.
Her fluttering lashes, twitching brows, and the thunderous heartbeat ringing in his ears—everything about her was vivid and alive.
But the moment that heartbeat stopped…
“Hmph.”
“Something the matter, Your Grace?”
Orgen, noticing Adrian’s displeasure, spoke cautiously.
“I don’t quite understand it,”
Adrian muttered.
“Could it be the early cold snap?”
Only then did Adrian recall he was in the middle of a meeting with his retainers.
Since returning the previous night, he had tasked northern mages with scanning the Black Forest area—trying to determine how far the monster nests had spread.
What they discovered was alarming.
The nests weren’t just dense—they’d expanded past the forest, stretching all the way to the northernmost borders.
They’d infested the land, slowly eating away at it.
The latest morning report confirmed: the farthest reaches of the North were now saturated with nests.
This had
never
happened before.
It wasn’t a problem Adrian could fix alone.
Yes, he was blessed by a dragon—but that didn’t make him invincible.
Could even a dragon handle something like this?
The night before, Adrian had pushed himself until he completely depleted his mana.
“The real issue may not be how to handle it, but
why
it’s happening in the first place.”
Adrian couldn’t believe he’d been thinking about
last night
in the middle of such a dire meeting.
“There have always been fluctuations in the number of nests year by year, but never on this scale.”
“Do we have data comparing this to previous high points?”
“We do, Your Grace.”
Adrian swiftly masked his distraction and rejoined the conversation.
“What’s the ratio of large-type and giant-type monsters?”
“Overwhelmingly high, sir.”
Gasps echoed around the room.
“Among the large-types, the worst is the troll. Not the biggest in size, but…”
“Regenerative abilities.”
“Yes. And the nests are most numerous for them.”
“Any estimate on the hatching period?”
“We haven’t determined that yet. Apologies.”
“No need to apologize.”
Honestly, gathering this much intel overnight was already impressive.
Adrian dismissed the apology without hesitation.
“This is… unusual.”
Seeing Adrian frown so deeply was rare.
His retainers couldn’t hide their own unease.
They had seen many horrors living in the North, but this was beyond anything they’d imagined.
It wasn’t just a threat—it was a potential extinction event.
If the eggs in those nests hatched…
Not just the North, but the
entire continent
would become a bloodbath.
Humanity itself could be wiped out.
“How did it get this bad…?”
Someone’s whisper echoed in the chamber—but no one rebuked him.
“Expand the scouting teams.”
“By how much?”
“Which magic tower is nearest the scouts?”
“The western tower, sir.”