Killian clenched his fist, suppressing his emotions. 

“If my words were too harsh, then I apologize.” 

Sophia nodded her head firmly.  

Even though he was angry, he couldn’t help but apologize properly.  

“…I’m sorry.”  

Killian’s lips formed the words of apology.  

As he did, his furrowed brows relaxed, and his rigidly held jaw dropped.  

A small face that simply loosened like a fool at the words of apology.  

How could this woman be so… 

One side of his tightly clenched chest melted with hers. 

“I’m sorry too. I ruined the dress you lent me, Your Highness… I accidentally spilled something on it…”  

Sophia held up the dress she borrowed from the Empress, showing it to him with her hand.  

This time, Killian’s brows furrowed deeply.  

“…Did you go into the pond wearing the dress I gave you?”  

That was a fact he hadn’t known. 

He had only heard that she went into the pond and changed clothes, but he had never heard what the original dress was.  

“Uh… That’s the prettiest and best dress I have. It’s my first meeting with the Empress, and the other clothes I have are too old.” 

Sophia explained at length while observing his reaction. 

“…”  

“As soon as I came out of the water, Your Highness was more concerned about the dress you gave me. I’m really sorry.”  

Sophia bowed her head deeply, feeling disheartened.  

Seeing her like that, Killian’s mouth twitched slightly. 

In fact, he didn’t care much that the dress was ruined. 

What’s the big deal about a measly dress? 

If it’s ruined, he’ll buy ten or a hundred more. 

But it felt strange that the prettiest and best dress Sophia had was the one he had given her. 

It was amusing to see Sophia, who had just been bold and demanding an apology, suddenly lowering her tail and feeling sorry for ruining the dress he had given her. 

She seemed like she wouldn’t be disheartened by anything. 

“I’ll soon have other dresses sent from the Boutique, so you don’t need to worry.” 

Killian casually said while checking the saddle of the black horse Nox, brought by the servant. 

“But the first gift is special, isn’t it?” 

Sophia’s voice was filled with regret. 

In response, Killian quietly looked at her.  

The first gift Could that dress be worthy of such a term? 

I couldn’t bring her to a social event because she was wearing a quaint dress in the attic, so it was just the one I bought for her. 

However, Sophia knew how to give the dress a new name. 

She had felt it for a while, but Sophia’s eyes seemed to see a different world from his. 

And Killian somewhat liked the way Sophia saw the world. 

“All the clothes that will be sent from the boutique are also first gifts.” 

Since they were bought that day. 

Killian said so and quickly embraced Sophia, seating her on Nox.  

Sophia smiled as she saw Killian’s slightly relaxed expression compared to earlier. 

His touch, as he lightly tidied up the dishevelled hem of her dress, was gentle. 

Fortunately, it seemed like his anger had subsided a bit. 

“By the way, what did you mean earlier when you said you needed me for the military training?” 

“It’s nothing important.” 

“Really?”  

Killian swiftly mounted behind her and took hold of the reins. 

A pleasant fragrance wafted from Killian’s body, which was pressed firmly against her back. 

Killian held her hand and grasped the reins together. 

“It’s better to hold on tight so you won’t fall.” 

His large hand enveloped Sophia’s backhand. 

His arms, extending behind her, were longer than hers, and she could feel his broad shoulders and chest against her back. 

She realized once again how big he was.  

As he lightly kicked the horse’s sides, Nox began to move slowly.  

The sound of horse hooves echoed steadily, and Killian’s breathing could be faintly heard from behind.  

His gentle breath sounded louder than any other noise.  

It felt as if his breath tickled the back of her neck.  

‘It bothers him…’  

Sophia absentmindedly adjusted her grip on the reins and lowered her head.  

The setting sun cast elongated shadows on the road.  

The shadows of a man and a woman sitting closely on a large horse became visible.  

They were so tightly pressed against each other that not a sliver of light could be seen between their shadows.  

When Sophia moved her back slightly, Killian exerted force in the hand that overlapped with hers.  

“Please don’t move.” 

“Oh, yes…”  

Perhaps due to their backs and chests touching, even the slightest movement could be felt by Killian.  

Sophia was unable to do anything and simply complied with Killian’s instructions.  

As she raised her head in awkwardness, a low sun was visible.  

The spreading light in the sky was a peculiar mix of pink and blue.  

The clouds, adorned with golden edges, added to the warmth of the setting sun.  

The sky was so beautiful that Sophia felt a tinge of regret for not having a camera in this world.  

Captivated by the sky, she forgot about the awkwardness and immersed herself in admiration.  

Before long, they arrived at their destination.  

‘I thought we were going to the military police, but…’  

The place they arrived at was none other than the Grand Palace.  

Killian stopped Nox in front of the main entrance of the Grand Palace and dismounted first.  

Nox was quite a large horse, so the saddle height was higher than Sophia’s height.  

As Sophia was about to dismount, she turned her body and swallowed her saliva.  

Her body, not particularly skilled in physical activities, was also hindered by the long and flowing dress she was wearing, making her hesitant about landing.  

‘In movies, they usually have steps for dismounting from a horse.’  

However, perhaps because Killian was always skillful in dismounting from a horse, there was no footrest prepared.  

“Sure, it’s not even a 2-story height, so this should be…!”  

Sophia adjusted the fluttering hem of her dress and prepared to jump off the horse.  

However…  

“Oh, huh…?”  

Just as she made up her mind to jump off, the layers of her dress slipped from the saddle, causing her body to tilt forward.  

“Ah!”  

Losing her balance, she tumbled forward. 

Sophia tightly closed her eyes, anticipating the fall.  

“Sophia!”