{The Beginning of Conflict}

Translator : Elizabeth

Kang Jin-ho looked down at Frederica.

"Hmm, interest, huh."

The look in her eyes gazing at him was unwavering.

Rather, she lifted her chin as if provoking him, ready to throw away everything she had.

He liked that boldness.

"Good. Not bad."

Kang Jin-ho smirked and wrapped one arm around her waist.

As his firm forearm tightened around her waist, Frederica's body flinched.

But she didn't back down; rather, she dug in deeper.

"I never refuse a woman who's my style. Especially a woman as honest as you."

As soon as Kang Jin-ho's words fell, Frederica stood on tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck.

And without hesitation, she overlapped her lips with his.

Smooch—.

It wasn't a light kiss.

It was a deep kiss exploring each other's breath, mixing tongues, and digging deep.

The cold air of the treasure warehouse heated up instantly with the heat of the two, a man and a woman.

"Haa…."

As their lips parted for a moment, Frederica gasped for breath roughly.

Her eyes were already unfocused.

Not the eyes of the rational ruler of the North, but the eyes of a female faithful only to instinct.

"I waited… for this moment."

She put her hand inside Kang Jin-ho's coat and felt his firm muscles.

Kang Jin-ho also pulled her shirt roughly.

The sound of buttons being torn off and rolling on the floor rang out cheerfully.

"Impatient temper."

"It's your fault for appearing too late."

Frederica smiled enchantingly and pulled him.

The two entangled as if devouring each other.

Inside the treasure warehouse where the smell of cold metal vibrated.

Amidst the gaze of countless treasures, the most primal and hot act began.

Kang Jin-ho laid her down on the top-grade monster leather carpet laid on the floor.

And he draped the Frost Wolf's Coat he had secured over her body as if covering her.

It was consideration to gently cover her naked body since she might be shy showing it.

The pure white fur and her white naked body harmonized, creating a strange eroticism.

"It's a waste to lay this coat on the floor."

"Doesn't matter. Since it's yours now anyway."

Frederica looked up at Kang Jin-ho, feeling the soft touch of the coat.

In her eyes, only Kang Jin-ho was reflected.

The family rules oppressing her, her husband who became a vegetable, the gaze of the North.

At this moment, none of it had any meaning.

"Show me. If that overwhelming power you possess extends to stamina as well."

She whispered.

Kang Jin-ho smiled wordlessly and responded to her request.

With the heavy door of the treasure warehouse firmly closed, it was thoroughly hiding the secret affairs happening within.

How much time had passed?

The heat inside the treasure warehouse slowly subsided, and cold silence returned again.

"Phew."

Frederica swept back her disheveled hair and tidied her clothes.

A flush remained on her face, and her eyes were more lively than ever.

A sense of liberation like a bird confined for a long time soaring into the sky.

She held a smile on her lips as if satisfied.

"Just as the rumors say. No, even more than that."

She muttered, leaning on Kang Jin-ho's shoulder.

Kang Jin-ho picked up a shirt button fallen on the floor and smirked.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"Of course. It's the first time in my life I've been this satisfied."

Frederica was sincere.

In the oppressed life she had gone through, the time with Kang Jin-ho was the only escape and salvation.

She placed her hand on Kang Jin-ho's firm chest and confirmed that warmth once again.

"We should go out now, right?"

"Yeah. Staying too long is a bit much."

Kang Jin-ho picked up the Frost Wolf's Coat and shook it off.

Not a speck of dust was on it.

As expected, a masterpiece was different.

He draped the coat over his shoulders and extended his hand to Frederica.

"Let's go, partner."

"Partner, huh. I like it."

Frederica took his hand and stood up.

The two looked at each other and exchanged a meaningful smile.

Now they were not simple client and solver.

They were accomplices who mixed bodies and shared a secret.

Creaaaak— Thud.

Frederica opened the door again using the blood on her finger.

The heavy steel door opened, and the cold air of the corridor rushed in.

"……."

Outside the door, familiar faces were standing.

The head of the Winter Grand Duchy, Kalian de Winter.

And his elite knights were lined up.

Their expressions were all stiffly hardened.

"…You are too late, Sister."

Kalian's voice sank colder than the chill of the underground corridor.

The silent intimidation emitted by the knights lined up behind him.

If it were an ordinary person, it was a situation where they would have been suppressed by that spirit and spouted excuses first.

"Quite a crowd gathered."

But Frederica didn't blink an eye.

Rather, as if annoyed, she lightly swept back her disheveled bangs with her fingers and retorted.

"I was just being cautious in choosing the item. Is that any problem?"

Her attitude was confident.

No, beyond confident, a strange languor seeped through.

The lethargic yet satisfied energy peculiar to a person who had just finished intense exercise.

Kalian's brow twitched minutely.

"Cautious, huh…."

Kalian's gaze passed Frederica and landed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on Kang Jin-ho standing behind her back.

Kang Jin-ho was standing crookedly with his hands in his pockets, draped in the pure white Frost Wolf's Coat.

His expression was nonchalant to the extreme.

Even though the Grand Duke and elite knights were arrayed, the composure of a strong man where tension couldn't be found was felt.

"It took longer than expected. Considering it was simply time to choose a set of clothes."

"This is what I chose after picking and choosing."

"Is that so?"

Kalian took a step forward.

Clack, clack.

The sound of military boots rang in the corridor.

"I was worried that perhaps an accident happened inside."

Power was carried in the word 'worried'.

But Kang Jin-ho and Frederica knew that it wasn't worry about physical safety.

"Oh my, you were worried?"

The treasure warehouse is a sealed room.

The outside cannot know what happens inside.

And Kang Jin-ho's infamy is 'Married Woman Hunter.'

Frederica is a married woman with a husband.

It was an all too natural sequence for an ominous scenario to be drawn in Kalian's head.

"Worry is your lot in life."

Frederica snorted.

She didn't avoid Kalian's gaze and met it head-on.

"I designed the security system of this place. You should know better that an accident wouldn't happen?"

"I am not talking about a physical accident."

Kalian's eyes became sharp.

"Sister. You are the eldest daughter of the Winter family, and a person with the duty to exemplarily keep the rules of the North. And…."

He paused for a moment and added as if chewing and spitting it out.

"You are also the mistress of a household."

Mistress (An-ju-in).

The moment that word came out, Frederica's expression cooled chilly.

The flush and heat that lingered due to the affair with Kang Jin-ho just moments ago evaporated instantly, and the chill like the perennial snow of the North filled that place.

"So?"

Her voice lowered.

"Do you want to point out my conduct right now?"

"It is a request to refrain from actions that could cause misunderstanding. Staying alone with a strange man, and in a sealed space for hours at that is…."

"Kalian."

Frederica cut off her brother's words abruptly.

Her eyes raised fiercely.

"Since when did you act as my guardian?"

"Not a guardian, but advising as the Head of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Family."

"Head of the Family? Ha!"

She burst into a hollow laugh as if dumbfounded.

"Right. You are the Head. And also an accomplice who drove me into an unwanted marriage and bound me with the leash called the rules of that damn prestigious family."

Kalian's pupils shook.

That was the most painful reverse scale (Achilles' heel) to him.

His sister's unwanted marriage. And his brother-in-law, who was his confidant and friend, becoming a vegetable.

Even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the sense of debt that he was at the center of all those tragedies.

Frederica was stabbing exactly that part.

"It's my private life. Whether I choose treasures, sleep, or dance inside. It means it's none of your business."

Frederica bumped Kalian's shoulder and passed by.

There was no hesitation in her gait.

The knights were flustered and cleared the way.

"Sister!"

Kalian called urgently, but she didn't even look back.

What was left was only the thick scent of perfume wafting from her strangely disheveled attire, and the fishy scent of the night laid beneath it.

"……."

Kalian clenched his fist tightly.

And slowly turned his head to glare at Kang Jin-ho, who was still standing in front of the door.

"They say siblings fight well originally."

Kang Jin-ho was raising the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠corners of his mouth as if he had watched an interesting spectacle.

That shameless attitude scratched Kalian's nerves.

"Fist Emperor."

Kalian called Kang Jin-ho.

"What happened inside?"

"What happened?"

Kang Jin-ho feigned ignorance and shrugged his shoulders.

He spread open the hem of the coat he was wearing.

"As you can see, there were too many items, so I had a hard time choosing. Your sister recommended this and that. I had to choose only one, so I had to be cautious, right? So it took some time."

Kang Jin-ho's eyes saying so were relaxed.

"……."

Kalian looked deeply into Kang Jin-ho's eyes.

"…This is the North."

Kalian knew the difference in martial power.

Therefore, hoping his guess was wrong, he warned.

"It is different from the promiscuous social circles of the capital. One who defiles the rules and honor of this place, no matter who he is, will not be forgiven."

"Yeah yeah, do as you please."

Kang Jin-ho answered perfunctorily.

It was an attitude with no intention of keeping it in mind at all.

Usually, he would have gotten angry asking how dare he question him.

But now, everything was just annoying.

Because now was the so-called Sage Time (post-coital clarity/lethargy).

"Then I'm tired, so I'll be off. The bedroom your sister guided me to seems very cozy."

Kang Jin-ho walked past Kalian.

It was the moment he brushed past.

A faint scent drifting from Kang Jin-ho's body.

It felt like the scent of a woman, identical to what came from Frederica just a moment ago.

Crack.

The sound of bones came from Kalian's fist.