TPOTLPIM Chapter 22

The large door opened, revealing a neatly arranged room.

Teros's figure lying on the curtained four-poster bed could be glimpsed.

"Hey there, my little brother. Are you alright?"

When Dmitri put on a deliberately carefree voice and playfully pulled back the curtains, Teros frowned slightly.

"Did you come here to tease me?"

The brothers' conversation was simple and straightforward.

"Yeah, the sight of you getting kicked by Thunder was magnificent. I'm actually more worried about Thunder than you, to be honest. Lady Cecilia said to come quickly, so I had no choice but to visit."

Dmitri delivered these words—whether sincere or not was anyone's guess—with considerable gravity.

At the mention of Cecilia's name, Teros shot upright in bed. Only then did he catch sight of her lingering behind Dmitri at the doorway, wavering over whether to enter.

The realization that she had worried enough to come all this way filled him with a surge of proud satisfaction, while hot passion began to simmer within him.

"Ahem, Thunder is at the imperial stables. Hadel provided healing, but you should go check on his condition."

"Right, I was planning to anyway."

Dmitri released a soft laugh and departed, leaving Cecilia and Teros alone in the room.

Cecilia hesitantly entered the room, pulled over a chair, and sat beside Teros's bed.

"Um, are you alright?"

"I received healing magic, so I'm fine now."

Teros examined Cecilia's face, an unstoppable smile spreading across his lips.

Her face was a complete wreck. Her eyes were swollen red from weeping, and dried tear stains remained etched on her cheeks. Her curly golden hair was tangled in disarray—she must have been in quite a rush getting here.

The sight stirred dual emotions within Teros. The thought of her distress made his heart ache with a sharp pang, yet knowing she had wept for him brought him immense satisfaction.

Teros slowly extended his hand toward her face. Surely it would be acceptable to smooth away those tear stains. He longed to sweep back the disheveled strands covering her pale forehead. Would she take offense if he touched her so boldly?

In truth, he had pressed his lips to her forehead on multiple occasions. If he had kissed her, then surely touching her hair was nothing. Now that he thought about it, he had stroked her hair that day they shared a meal at Le Stouef. Yet unlike their initial encounters, somehow with each passing day he found her increasingly difficult to approach.

Cecilia remained perfectly still, as if awaiting Teros's touch. She neither turned away nor retreated, but held her ground as though steeling herself.

Eventually, his rough hand began to caress her soft cheek and tidied her disheveled hair. The sensation brushing against her forehead was ticklish.

Teros grew increasingly greedy. As he stroked along her elegant jawline below her blushing cheeks, he wanted to caress her plump lips too, and his gaze wandered to the slender white nape of her neck below.

'I must not be in my right mind. Though I wasn't hit in the head by Thunder.' He resignedly withdrew his hand quickly from her face.

"Cecilia, you worried for nothing. Minor injuries heal completely with healing magic."

His face, speaking so casually, was clean without a single bruise remaining.

At such nonchalant words, Cecilia became indignant, remembering how she had worried about him and feared something terrible might happen.

"Just because it heals doesn't mean it doesn't hurt!"

When she suddenly raised her voice, a startled Teros looked at her. Moisture was gathering again in her eyes that had barely calmed down.

"Uh, well. That level of pain isn't a big deal. If I were afraid of pain, how could I go to battle and fight? I've experienced much worse."

Surprised by her tearful appearance, he began stammering, frantically searching for words of comfort. The words that poured out randomly provided no comfort to Cecilia at all. Teros seemed to have no talent for this kind of consolation.

"Are you bragging about getting hurt often now?!"

At her outcry while gripping her dress hem tightly, Teros was so surprised he closed his mouth.

Strangely, though she was angry at him, he couldn't hide the laughter that naturally bubbled up.

"Uh, it's not bragging... pfft. Ah, sorry, Cecilia. I don't really understand why you're angry right now. Um, but even though you're angry at me, I feel good and you're cute."

Having let slip laughter in front of someone seriously angry, Teros hurriedly babbled, saying whatever came to mind again.

Cecilia stole a glance at that side of Teros, her face brimming with tears.

"Well, the more I talk, the angrier I make you, so I should stop talking."

Teros had to admit he was clumsy at this kind of comfort too.

Eventually, he stopped what he was saying and decided to say something else. At times like this, he needed to respond seriously to her heart, matching her seriousness.

He wiped the smile from his lips and met Cecilia's eyes.

"I'm sorry. From now on, I won't get hurt where you can see."

"You shouldn't do it where I can't see either. Promise me."

"I promise."

He gently brushed away with his hand the tears that had welled in Cecilia's eyes and spilled over. Then he leaned in and pressed his lips against her forehead.

At this familiar kiss, Cecilia neither flinched nor withdrew but stayed just as she was. The warm touch against her forehead was pleasant, and his soft breath felt welcome as well.

Teros sensed instinctively that perhaps Cecilia might now be ready to accept him. Yet he couldn't bring himself to ask her heart directly with words. The instant he attempted to confirm her feelings through speech, he could vividly picture her denying everything and scrambling to evade. She might struggle to restore the distance they had so carefully narrowed. Ultimately, he had no alternative but to persist with this approach of drawing closer to her bit by bit.

It didn't matter if he couldn't hear her heart spoken aloud. After all, weren't words as fickle as turning one's palm? He was determined to keep her—this beautiful woman—at his side by any means necessary, whatever pretext he might need to devise.

Back at her lodging near the imperial palace, Cecilia was engulfed in worry. Earlier at Teros's lodging, when he had brushed back her hair, Cecilia had felt so good from his gesture that she had almost closed her eyes. When his lips touched her forehead warmly and languidly, unlike before, her heart pounded as if it would burst.

Cecilia placed her hand on her still-fluttering chest. She too had no choice but to acknowledge her feelings toward Teros now.

But accepting his heart was another matter. She felt uncomfortable somewhere in her heart, as if she were enjoying the love he gave through a love potion. 'Do I have the right to receive his love?'

That evening, after finishing her meal, a letter from Teros arrived saying he would wait for her in the rose garden of Alpensio Palace.

Cecilia entered the imperial palace's rose garden. Though autumn had arrived and the roses had fallen, the precisely trimmed garden trees were impressive, and dried rose vines guarded the roseless rose garden.

Looking around, she spotted Teros appearing from between the garden trees, beckoning her to come this way.

Cecilia hurried toward him with quick little steps and stood facing him. He smiled softly, and the pure white moonlight seemed to cascade solely upon his face, blindingly beautiful.

"I don't have many opportunities to visit Alpensio Palace, so when I'm here, I wanted to walk plenty with Cecilia."

"You're not pushing yourself too hard after getting injured?"

"The healing magic left my body in better condition than before, so tomorrow's riding competition shouldn't be any trouble."

"Do you really have to compete tomorrow? What was wrong with Thunder today?"

"The horse doctor says Thunder appears to have consumed something he shouldn't have. It's peculiar. He was certainly given the same hay as the other horses, all managed by the imperial stables."

Teros wore a perplexed expression, his eyes flashing sharp as a blade for an instant, before quickly softening his features to speak tenderly.

"I will participate in the competition, Cecilia. If I give up because of something like this, I won't gain anything."

He had to show her. Though he could win the competition with his usual skills, he had practiced riding unnecessarily much solely to show her. He wanted to awaken her to masculine charm through what he did best and make her happy by presenting her with a golden crown.

The two walking side by side between the garden trees paused for a moment. Teros stood facing Cecilia, looking down at her who reached to his chest.

"May I ask for one more thing?"

He made his request, leaving out the object, and grinned mischievously before adding:

"A victory kiss."

"But I already gave you one this morning."

"The actual competition is tomorrow. There won't be separate time tomorrow either."

Cecilia blushed, feeling embarrassed for some reason. After thinking, she quite solemnly placed her hand to her lips, then gently placed it on Teros's cheek.

Receiving her touch, Teros closed his eyes smoothly like he had that morning, then held her hand to make it linger on his cheek longer, as if he didn't want to forget this touch. The two remained standing like that for a while. Only the rustling sound of garden tree branches in the occasional breeze could be heard.

'When should I pull my hand away?'

Cecilia's mind spun round and round. Like a child who had just started walking, she found all of this situation awkward and didn't know what to do. She was so nervous it seemed like sweat was seeping from the hand held in his.

Then Teros turned his head and briefly kissed the palm of her hand covering his cheek. In that instant moment, a small lightning bolt pierced through and flowed throughout her entire body.

It was different.

Teros had also kissed the palm of her hand when she was wiping away tears, on the day Cecilia had fallen into Lake Daphne.

If that kiss had been bewildering, this kiss was... tense but not unpleasant. A feeling close to the word 'enchanting.'

"Cecilia."

Teros, burying his cheek in her palm, called her name in a low voice.

"You're probably the only person who worries about me."

When she had come to him with tear-soaked eyes after he was injured, Teros felt an unfamiliar sensation as if the world surrounding him had been wrapped in warm cotton down. Until now, he had roamed battlefields as a pillar and mental support for the knight order that followed him, not as someone who received another's concern.

Even after Cecilia departed his room, he couldn't shake the feeling that he might float away somewhere, and in the end summoned her out again. He didn't want to release this cotton-soft, fragile and warm tickling that was stirring within him.

Eventually, Teros let go of her hand and allowed a faintly playful smile to escape.

"May I request something else as well?"

"What?"

Teros gazed at Cecilia for a moment, then slowly began inclining his head toward her.

'What is this now? He's not trying to kiss me, is he? Surely not!'

Cecilia froze in place like she had turned to stone. She was surprised by the sudden situation, but in this situation she couldn't decide whether she should turn her head away or not. Teros was always one step ahead of her.

At a pace that seemed slow yet fast, their faces drew closer. Teros's eyelashes approached right before her eyes, and now his head began to tilt sideways.

Tap.

Their nose tips touched first. Cecilia, who had squeezed her eyes shut, carefully lifted her eyelids. Their eyes met at close distance.

Teros gazed into Cecilia's eyes, then slowly lowered his gaze to her lips. Naturally, Cecilia's pupils also turned toward Teros's lips as if drawn by a magnet. His slightly upturned lip corners spoke as if whispering:

"I think I gave you time to escape."

He no longer waited for her wavering heart. As if naturally finding its place, his lips gently touched Cecilia's lips.

"Mm..."

As she stiffened and fidgeted in his arms, he soothingly and carefully supported her chin with one hand to lift it up. As her head naturally lifted, their bodies pressed together without any gaps.

Behind the soft lips, she felt a tender sensation. Drum sounds began echoing in her head and her thought circuits stopped. Her eyes naturally closed as if fairies were playing on her eyelashes.

Smooch-

The sound of drawing each other's lips rang out provocatively. As their heated breaths mingled, Cecilia, drunk on the sweet stimulation, unconsciously writhed her body. Though this was a garden where roses had withered, strangely she felt as though she might become intoxicated by rich rose fragrance.

A delicious feeling that made her want to remain drunk forever. But the higher her spirits soared, the more the unease she had shoved into a corner of her heart began rearing its head. 'Is it alright for me to be like this with Teros?' Alongside the rapture filling her chest, anxiety began crawling up from the depths of her heart, starting to consume her.

When she gradually came to her senses and applied force to the hands gripping his shoulders, Teros, who had been drawing her tight against him, separated his face and released her.

The moment she was freed from his arms, Cecilia began gulping down the air she had been deprived of. The thundering sound still reverberated in her ears.

Teros maintained one hand against her cheek as he scrutinized her face intently.

Her cheeks, dyed apple-red, were hot exactly as he had always imagined they would be when he longed to touch them.

He tried to gauge Cecilia's expression.

He had kissed without asking permission, and since his feelings had been one-sided until now, he worried about how Cecilia would accept the current situation.

But he didn't want to apologize saying it was a mistake. 'I wish she would accept me now.'

Cecilia, who had barely composed herself, rolled her eyes around and began stammering to find words. Her blushing face wore an awkward smile, trying to pretend cheerfulness.

"Oh, it's already this late! You need to get up early to participate in tomorrow's competition."

From that brief comment, Teros understood her heart. She wanted to act as if what just happened hadn't occurred.

Teros pulled her waist toward him and embraced her again, as if confirming to such a Cecilia that what had just happened couldn't be undone.

Cecilia could no longer keep up her pretense of composure. If she set her mind to it, she could have fiercely protested against his behavior, but she had no desire to. Rigidly frozen in his arms, she could distinctly feel Teros's heart pounding violently.

'Does he feel my heartbeat as well?'

Teros held her tenderly yet firmly, as though he would never release her.

In time, he let her go once more and studied her expression.

Her bewildered, flustered, and utterly lost state was written plainly across her face. 'Would it be too much to hope she might smile in return?'

Had it been his former self, he would have tenaciously seized upon this moment when Cecilia had yielded her lips, rattling her resolve and hammering a wedge into their relationship. He would have wracked his brain to extract a clear acceptance from her.

But the instant he took in her face, overwhelmed with confusion, he found himself powerless to act. Teros instinctively understood that now was truly the time to withdraw. He raised his head toward the star-studded sky and smiled with bitter resignation.

"The hour really has grown late. I should head inside."

"Right? Dalein might have worn her eyes out waiting for me."

Cecilia finally let slip a thin smile, then as if permission she had been waiting for had fallen, quickly turned around to leave the garden.

As she was taking steps, she felt a hand reaching for hers from behind.

Teros's large hand from behind lightly grasped her small hand.

"The garden is like a maze, so I have no choice but to rely on you to find the way out."

At his rather cheeky words, Cecilia whipped her head around and spoke sharply:

"Wouldn't Teros be able to find a path like this with his eyes closed? You're someone who makes paths even in pathless forests."

"Then let's say I'm helping so Cecilia doesn't get lost."

Between the paths lined with pointed garden trees, the two walked hand in hand in silence.