I didn’t understand why he suddenly gave me such a gift. I looked at Ascan with a puzzled expression and asked,

“Why are you giving me all this? I mean, it’s not just one or two things—it’s way too much.”

“These items are useless to me anyway. I just… I don’t know when it started, but whenever I saw precious gems and accessories, I felt the urge to collect them.”

“Why?”

It was a genuinely innocent question.

Ascan was a man, after all—he had no need for women’s jewelry.

He wasn’t collecting them for money, nor did he have anyone specific to gift them to. No matter how I thought about it, his vague hoarding made no sense.

“I don’t really know either. I don’t particularly love expensive things, but for some reason, I kept gathering them, wanting to give them to someone. Eventually, it became a hobby—collecting gems.”

A wild thought crossed my mind.

Clearly, before he lost his memory, Ascan had liked me. I’d heard his confession directly ten years ago—there was no way I could be mistaken.

‘Could it be… he wanted to give them to me?’

The moment that thought surfaced, I shook my head vigorously.

‘Nah, that’s impossible.’

It would’ve been touching if memory-lost Ascan had unconsciously collected all these gems for me—but realistically, expecting that was absurd.

Of course, I couldn’t say it was utterly impossible, but it felt far too much like wishful thinking on my part.

I was clearly overthinking things.

“Ascan, I appreciate the sentiment, but I can’t accept so many gifts without reason. You should save them for your future wife when you get married.”

That sounded almost like I was asking him to entrust me with managing his household.

Somehow, Ascan’s expression turned strange—as if he’d just heard a word he’d never considered before.

“I only need the tiara you placed on my head.”

I pointed to the tiara atop my head and smiled gently.

Even at a glance, there were far more valuable items than the tiara, but for me, the single tiara Ascan had personally placed on my head was enough.

Ascan looked at me with a displeased gaze and said,

“Is it that you lack greed? Or is it that you simply don’t desire much?”

“Well, I’m not exactly in a position of lack, either.”

But right now, something else weighed on my mind.

I fiddled with the thick, locked door and muttered,

“Still, shouldn’t security be tighter in a place holding such expensive items? Just one lock seems far too flimsy.”

Ascan stared at me incredulously—as if no one had ever expected someone to say such a thing while standing before dazzling jewels.

“If I get a workshop later, should I make something for you? A more secure mechanism, or perhaps magical-engineered weapons placed along the passage leading here—”

I was about to launch into a lengthy explanation.

At that exact moment, Ascan abruptly pressed the key to this place into my hand. At the center of the golden key was a blue gemstone resembling my own eyes.

“No….”

Why was he giving this to me?

I stared at Ascan with a bewildered expression.

Just moments ago, I’d politely declined the gifts, clearly stating that the tiara alone was enough—so why hand me the key?

Apparently, my unspoken confusion was evident, because Ascan looked at me with a firm gaze and declared,

“It belongs to you. Whether you choose to keep it or not, you’re the only one who should use it.”

“I told you—save this for whoever you marry later.”

“…Are you rushing things that far ahead already?”

What?

I froze solid, as if turned to ice.

If I wasn’t imagining things, his words carried the implication that he was already thinking about marrying me.

‘…He must be out of his mind.’

My face instantly burned hot. Even without a mirror, I could tell my cheeks had flushed bright red.

Ascan, too, seemed to have not anticipated my reaction. Soon after, he frowned as if unable to endure it any longer and chuckled.

“How am I supposed to interpret that expression of yours?”

“Interpret what? I’m just flustered because I heard something completely unexpected!”

“That doesn’t seem to be all of it.”

“You! Are you deliberately teasing me today?”

I fanned my burning face with my hands and spun around.

His amused expression as he watched my reaction irritated me. No matter how I thought about it, this felt like a sophisticated strategy to mess with me.

“When did I ever do that?”

Leaving Ascan making excuses behind me, I turned to retrace my steps.

That was when it happened.

I absentmindedly leaned my hand against the wall—and suddenly, the wall shifted, revealing an unknown space.

“Tanashia!”

Ascan, unusually startled, sprinted toward me.

“Wha—wha—what?!”

The wall beneath my hand vanished, and I lost my balance, tumbling into the mysterious space.

The hollow area was pitch-black darkness, like an underground waterway—nothing visible. It seemed like a passage leading somewhere.

Ascan practically flew over and caught me in his arms. The moment I felt his firm chest against me, we began sliding downward endlessly, as if riding a slide.

Splash!

When I came to my senses, I was underwater.

Looking up, I realized we’d landed in the artificial pond outside Ascan’s mansion.

The whole thing had happened so fast that I lifted my head with a dazed expression—only for Ascan to grasp my face and inspect me carefully.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“…No.”

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Really, I’m fine.”

Even after my reassurance, Ascan didn’t believe me—he meticulously checked my face, hands, and feet for injuries before finally relaxing.

Then, with an expression that seemed oddly angry, he said,

“Why are you so careless? What if you’d gotten hurt?”

“Well, how was I supposed to know such a mechanism existed? I thought it was just a secret passage leading to the treasure vault—I didn’t realize there was another hidden space!”

Ascan swept back his wet hair as if calming his emotions, then spoke in a quieter, more composed voice.

“It’s my fault for not explaining beforehand. I intended to tell you after giving you the key, but I never expected you’d trigger the mechanism first.”

“I’m sorry too—I had no idea. Are you hurt anywhere?”

At my question, Ascan nodded.

Only then did I belatedly notice our position—Ascan was lying beneath me, and I was sprawled on top of him.

Somehow, I seemed to end up in such compromising positions with Ascan quite often.

It happened when I twisted my ankle and collapsed into the bathtub, and again when we drunkenly fought over a bottle of liquor.

It felt less like coincidence and more like Ascan instinctively rushing to shield me with his body whenever danger struck.

“Should we get up?”

Fortunately, landing in the pond meant we avoided injury on impact.

Though, as a result, both Ascan and I were now completely soaked.

As I lifted my waterlogged dress to stand, I suddenly noticed Ascan’s outer robe was torn.

Worried, I pointed to the ripped area and said,

“Ascan, here—!”

I was about to ask if he was hurt.

But as I lifted my head toward his face, unintentionally, our movements synchronized—he bent down to examine his clothing just as I looked up.

Softly, though only for an instant, I felt my lips brush against his jaw.

Startled, I jerked my body backward.

I swear on the heavens—it was an accident. Ascan, too, seemed shocked, frozen in that exact position.

Flustered, I stammered out an explanation.

“I—I swear, this time it really was an accident! Please believe me, I didn’t do it on purpose!”

Ascan listened silently, but a strange glint flickered in his golden eyes.

“This time?”

“Huh.”

I clamped my mouth shut and sucked in a breath.

Ascan believed I’d forgotten our drunken kiss due to a memory blackout—but I remembered everything.

Somehow, Ascan’s eyes narrowed as he looked at me. It was obvious he was suspicious.

“Ascan, it’s just that—”

“You remember now?”

I’d hoped to pretend I didn’t, but since things had come to this, I couldn’t dodge it any longer.

I’d been drunk and made a mistake—I deserved whatever scolding came my way.

“At first, I couldn’t recall… but later, it came back to me. I just didn’t want to acknowledge it, so I pretended to have forgotten.”

Ascan’s gaze toward me grew heavy. He spoke in an even lower voice.

“How much do you remember?”

“Up to when you said you’d treat it as ‘no count’…”

For a while, I’d wondered what that meant.

No matter how I thought about it, there was only one answer—he meant he wouldn’t count that kiss as our first.

Ascan’s expression turned strange. He frowned slightly and murmured,

“But you don’t remember what I said after that?”

“What else did you say?”

I hadn’t expected him to have spoken further after declaring “no count.”

I stared at him, puzzled. Meanwhile, Ascan’s large hand had already cupped my cheek.

Somehow, Ascan’s wet face felt unbearably close. Even in the darkness, his dripping hair and glistening, damp skin were vividly clear.

Above all, his golden eyes stared straight into mine—burning with an intense light, as if flames danced within them.

“You’re leaving out the most important part, aren’t you? I told you that day—I wouldn’t count such childish, playful kisses as your first kiss.”

…What?

I stared at Ascan, eyes wide with shock.

Hearing those words, a scene long buried in my memory suddenly resurfaced.

─I’m letting this slide because you’re drunk. Don’t think I’ll let my first kiss end with such a childish, playful peck.

I sucked in a breath.

I remembered. That day, as Ascan led me to my room, he’d said:

─Next time, I won’t let you go so easily. You’d better be properly prepared.

I could only gape, utterly speechless. I’d never, not even in my wildest dreams, imagined such hidden meaning lay behind that moment.

Seeing my rapidly shifting expressions, Ascan apparently realized I’d fully recalled that day’s events.

“I figured since I intended to treat it as ‘no count,’ it didn’t matter whether you remembered or forgot.”

A droplet of water fell from his long eyelashes. As he lowered his gaze like that, an alluring aura radiated from him.

Thump-thump. My heart pounded wildly.

This trembling was on an entirely different level from anything before.

“You’re prepared to take responsibility, right?”

From Ascan’s unwavering gaze, I could feel it—he fully intended to keep his word: next time, he wouldn’t let me go.

“But… I was drunk then—”

“You’re not seriously going to claim it was just a mistake after stealing someone’s first kiss, are you?”

That wasn’t it.

Technically, we’d kissed ten years ago—if anything, that should’ve been our first kiss.

“It’s not that—I just thought since we’d kissed before, this couldn’t really count as a ‘first kiss’…”

“You mean, back in the time I don’t remember, you and I kissed?”

“Yes.”

“Hah. I’m jealous.”

Ascan spoke as if referring to someone entirely unrelated.

Surprised by his unexpected reaction, I widened my eyes—and he gazed back at me as if I were unbearably adorable, frowning slightly.

“I don’t remember it, so we’ll do it again.”

Wait, what kind of unreasonable demand was that…?

Hold on—did that mean Ascan had never kissed anyone else besides me?

I hadn’t even considered that possibility. I was slightly stunned by the realization that, both in the past and present, I was his first kiss.

I had so much I wanted to say, but my lips kept freezing up. My thoughts felt jumbled, perhaps due to my racing heartbeat.

Meanwhile, Ascan’s face drew steadily closer—until our noses nearly touched.

“Ascan…”

“Shh.”

So close I could feel his hot breath, Ascan whispered in a low, tightly restrained voice.

“Open your mouth.”

Somehow, I remembered what I’d said to him that drunken night.

─Really? Open your mouth?

It felt as if, only today, I was finally hearing his answer from back then.

The moment that had felt languid and slow transformed into pure intensity the instant Ascan’s lips met mine.

My mind went blank. I was certain I’d been on top of Ascan at first—but somehow, our positions had reversed.

No more words were needed. Our ragged breaths mingled. The kiss was so deep, it felt as if he might devour me whole.

Splash-splash. Since we were in the pond, every movement we made sent ripples through the water.

The accidental kiss with Ascan in the carriage ten years ago, and the drunken kiss I’d planted on him—compared to this moment, they were nothing.

Just as Ascan had said, beside this, everything past felt like mere childish play.

And so, our desperate, longing kisses continued without end.

Unconsciously, I clung to Ascan’s shoulders. I finally understood what people meant when they said a single kiss could drain all strength from your body.

His strong arms held my waist tightly against him. By now, we were pressed together as seamlessly as our lips.

Even without a drop of alcohol, I felt intoxicated by Ascan’s gaze as he looked down at me.

Suddenly, I noticed the moon behind his back. It was that kind of night—the densely scattered stars above seemed ready to pour down upon us.