In the first place, he had no intention of going where the noisy swarms of ants would cling to him or her.

She just followed him gently, leading her blindly. Though their fingers were intertwined, Angelica did not actively hold onto his hand.

The direction Raniero took them was neither the banquet hall nor the Empress's Palace, because of that, Angelic's body had resisted... Well, it was only 'slightly' anyway. Rather than dislike it, she simply hesitated because of an unfamiliar path.

At her hesitant steps, he burst into laughter.

As usual, she felt a sense of rejection on a road she had not been to before, even though this was inside her house, the Imperial Palace. Because of that, Raniero had the erroneous guess that this complacent little woman would voluntarily be locked inside the Actilus Imperial Palace forever and that she would never even dream of going outside.

It was his first wrong answer in this world. The arrogance that he had been raised by his natural predecessor Actilla, accepted this false assumption as a foregone conclusion.

It entered and settled in his mind like an absolute truth.

"Oh, this is..."

Angelica, who had only followed him without any rebellion, licked her lips. The place the two of them headed was the Imperial Palace.

...And, the place where Raniero led her was not an external space where she was allowed to enter, but a more private, secluded space.

The path to the palace was like a maze, preparing for any possible assassination. If there was a vague thought that there might be a path open in this direction, it would definitely be blocked. Likewise, if you pushed some walls, they would open up, showing secret spaces instead.

Dizzy, it seemingly felt like she had entered the land of mirrors. At the same time, Raniero simply headed for the destination without any consideration for her.

The door swung open.

It was a room with several windows so small that even a child could not get in.

At first glance, the exterior walls were thick. Several red pillars were hung over the clean white bedding at the end of the sunset.

Even though the room was massive, the only furniture was a bed, a desk, a bookcase, a bedside table, and a medium-sized wardrobe. To cover up the empty appearance, carpets were laid on the floor, and tapestries were hung on the walls. Nonetheless, it was inevitable that the space seemed too vast for the simple objects.

There were not even attendants in the Emperor's space. Angelica knew 'by reading' that no one knew how to get here. This room was managed by Raniero alone—from dusting, sweeping, and mopping to the chores of changing bedding.

It was such a secret space.

Confusion flashed in Angelica's eyes. It was because she never dreamed that Raniero would bring her here.

However, it seems that this was not the final destination. Walking through the tapestry, another door appeared again. He then took her hand and went down her stairs. The door opened where the mechanical lock was a puzzle that no one but Raniero knew the answer to.

It was a bathroom with a large bathtub. Angelica shuddered lightly at the close touch of Raniero, casually returning to her back and unbuttoning her. Her face dyed bright red when she realized what he was soon going to do.

"That..."

"Yes?"

Although he had no intention of listening to her, he asked back softly. Angelica, who became subtly poorly dressed from his touch, just turned her head.

Biting her cheek and ear, he stretched out his hand and rang the bell placed somewhere. The next moment, servants entered the large door on the opposite side, prepared perfume oil, soap, and silk towels, and filled the bathtub with hot water.

Raniero devoured Angelica's lips, whether or not there were attendants.

"Ah..."

She followed obediently, albeit she seemed unable to concentrate.

It seemed that she was worried that there were people watching. Nevertheless, he chose to bother her a little more than to convince his shy wife that they were now blind and deaf to what they were doing.

Angelica was feeble with the sexual pleasure.

She has thin skin and sensitive flesh, and marks were easily engraved with the slightest push or sucking. She could not stand his hand gestures that were so close to the touch as though they were brushing her down rather than hurting her.

She sat down to the pulsating breath.

Even thinking about it again was ridiculous. She was dragged along and flustered every time he grasped her.

Raniero slowly pulled his hand away, leaving her glancing over. Angelica, who did not look this way until his lips touched her fingertips, turned to him only after his teeth grazed her fingernails and the first knuckle of her fingers gently wrapped around the tip of his tongue.

He smiled sweetly as if he knew she would look this way.

Little by little, Angelica's fingers began to be swallowed into his mouth as she gazed up her eyes to meet him.