“It’s not that.”

“If you have any questions, ask me everything. Didn’t you promise to let me know without hiding it?”

His deep baritone tickled her eardrums.

“Did you ever wonder how I got this title and surname?”

Five wolves as huge as calves ran and surrounded Cole.

In the middle was the black wolf Cherryl had named ‘Mo’, standing bravely with a golden leash on his neck.

It turned out that Cole had to steal the mock leash from the attacking wolves to safely pass his Coming-of-Age Ceremony.

It didn’t look easy since the rule indicated that Cole should never attack other than pushing these wolves back.

Everyone watched Cole running around, shouting, but only two people there couldn’t take their eyes off each other.

Cherryl’s eyelashes fluttered faintly.

At first glance, Cole, whose arm was bitten by wolves, was running wildly while bleeding.

Cherryl was about to speak, but all she could do was hold her breath.

She heard the shocked audience gasp before they stopped breathing altogether.

Everyone suddenly heard a shout below the podium, and their eyes immediately landed on the location.

Cherryl was also startled, too.

It appeared Cole’s head got stuck inside the wolf’s snout, opened at its maximum, and struggled to get out of it.

The beast’s tooth, as thick as a human finger, caught her eye.

“Don’t kill him!” Cherryl screeched as she jumped up and stomped her feet.

Cade squeezed and pulled her wrist gently as a reassurance.

Even as she sat close to the Grand Duke, Cherryl’s eyes refused to leave Cole, whose head was almost half eaten.

“Momo is eating Cole! He might die—-”

“The wolf isn’t eating his head. Take a closer look.”

Come to think of it.

Something was shining in Cole’s right hand.

It was the wolf’s golden leash that he had stolen successfully to complete his Coming-of-Age Ceremony.

The wolf’s black broom-like tail shook in all directions happily.

When she checked the leash in Cole’s hand, the men on the platform jumped up and cheered for him while clapping their hands.

As he opened his huge snout, Mo tried to bite Cole’s neck this time.

At the threatening sight, Cherryl’s shoulders shivered in dread.

She observed the reactions of the people around her, and she finally understood that they didn’t mean any harm to Cole.

“It is how a wolf expresses their affection. He isn’t attacking him. He is congratulating him.”

“Biting a human’s nape is a sign of a wolf’s affection? That’s weird!”

“It’s not different from what  human beings do.”

“Do you express your affection like that, Your Grace?”

“I do that. I’m sure you’ve received it, too. You don’t remember?”

Their dynamic memory at his office rose from her mind.

Her thoughts were all over the place when she assumed she would finally do it with him.

Without hesitation, Cade’s lips were too excited to nibble on her ear and neck.

The unfamiliar sensation of Cade licking her sensitive flesh made her long for something more as if a vast tidal wave was about to swallow her up.

In the distance, Cole was seen stumbling from both sides while clutching his nose.

He looked more confused than when he emptied the barrel earlier.

“Damn it! Bad breath! His breath is so bad!”

Cole’s pained cry made them burst into laughter.

The wolf’s breath must have been the worst.

Poor Cole must have unintentionally enjoyed the beast’s breath because he had his nose close to his throat.

Still, Cherryl was glad it ended safely.

With a sigh, she buried herself in her chair.

She was surprised that Cade mentioned the rumor.

Of course, Cherryl was aware.

It was a famous scandal that the Duke of Blkanov and his successors were killed overnight and that a man, who was ostensibly adopted, took everything from them.

Others might point fingers at Cade behind his back, but Cherryl’s opinion was a little different.

All members of the Blkanov family were the blood of puppets established by the royal family a long time ago.

Also, Cherryl knew how badly the murdered family members tormented Cade.

The Blkanov’s eldest son, the evilest of the successors, shot an arrow at Cade’s forehead under the pretext of archery practice.

Fortunately, he could avoid it, but he got hit on the shoulder instead.

Initially, Cade would have killed him on the spot, but he might as well commit suicide if he did that.

He chose to focus all of his energy on the Dukedom instead.

Today, he had only regained the title and territory he was supposed to own.

These deadly humans have died, and Cade is able to escape tragedy.

She had always wondered how this particular story had developed with such a ruthless male lead, but now she didn’t feel scared of him.

She didn’t want to avoid him.

“Lady Cherryl.”

Her thoughts clouded the ringing voice in her ears.

Cherryl pushed him away when they were about to do it because of something else.

It felt like everything was going too fast.

She wanted to marry him once she was confident enough to admit that she wanted to be with him forever after getting to know him well.

It was her first time promising someone she would marry without really getting to know him, so she was not entirely convinced if that was the right time to do it.

Her sexual desires were so strong that night that she almost agreed.

Now, she had no idea what to think.

She didn’t hate kissing Cade.

His figure came to mind in a blurred vision.

Cade’s handsome face seemed to be getting closer as he raised both hands to cup Cherryl’s cheeks.

At the same time, something soft and damp touched her neck.

It wasn’t imagination but a sense of reality.