Mirabelle’s brain slowly began resuming its normal functions piece by piece.

While her body was still entirely occupied with the lingering aftershocks, the outside world suddenly crashed back into her senses all at once.

Before, her awareness had been turned completely inward.

Now everything around her felt painfully sharp.

The cool moonlight streaming through the windows into the hallway, making the white stone shimmer softly.

The lanterns swaying gently overhead, casting shifting geometric patterns of light that constantly moved and danced across the walls.

The heavy scent of roses battling with the fresh sharpness of mint until both nearly overwhelmed her senses.

The salty smell of sweat.

The spicy scent of sex still clinging to both of them.

Her own unsteady breathing, loud enough to drown out almost every other sound around them.

Except for Lucien’s low satisfied rumble that sounded dangerously close to a purr.

And his eyes.

They almost seemed to glow from within now as he looked at her like she was the most precious thing in existence.

Then suddenly, reality fully caught up with her.

They were standing in a hallway.

A public hallway.

An openly accessible place.

Anyone could have walked past them.

Horrified, Mirabelle slapped both hands over her mouth.

Her eyes widened as she stared at the fox beast.

And then, finally...

it truly hit her what exactly had just happened between them.

She and Lucien.

Only a few hours after making out wildly with Silas.

’Oh my god. I’m a slut.’

Her knees nearly gave out beneath her, and Lucien immediately caught her by the waist to steady her.

Unfortunately, he interpreted the horror in her expression completely wrong.

"No one could have seen us," he assured her calmly. "My gift allows me to distort perception itself through illusion-based spatial manipulation. Anyone looking this way would’ve only seen an empty alcove."

Then he leaned closer and added in a quieter voice,

"Though admittedly... the actual view was far more beautiful."

The heated flush on Mirabelle’s cheeks immediately shifted into rosy embarrassment.

She had absolutely no idea what she was supposed to say now.

Or how she was supposed to behave.

This definitely had not been on her 2026 bingo card.

Actually...

none of this world had been on her bingo card.

This had been one of the most intimate moments of her entire life.

And it had happened unwillingly.

Not because Lucien had done something she didn’t want.

But because this entire situation was never something she would have consciously initiated herself.

’I am never drinking random beverages again.’

She made the mental note immediately.

Then brief flashbacks of what she had felt moments ago overwhelmed her again.

’In that moment, I would have done anything. And let him do anything to me.’

Ashamed, she looked away.

"Thank you... for not going further."

Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Naturally, Lucien would’ve preferred hearing how incredible he had been.

Still, the fact that she acknowledged his restraint already felt strangely satisfying.

He could tell she felt overwhelmed now.

Unsure how to act.

Carefully, he reached out and tilted her chin back toward him.

"I would never do something you truly don’t want," he said quietly. "Even if you begged me for it while you weren’t in the right state of mind."

Mirabelle genuinely couldn’t decide whether that statement was sweet or deeply overbearing.

Why did this suddenly feel like they were dating?

Shit.

She really couldn’t separate sexual intimacy from emotional attachment.

’Does that mean I’m somehow dating both Silas and Lucien now?

Did I just cheat on Silas?’

Her thoughts spiraled violently.

She knew this society worked differently.

She knew the males fully expected females to have multiple partners.

But to her modern brain...

what she had just done still felt dangerously close to betrayal.

Even if, in that moment, she genuinely hadn’t been capable of resisting.

Lucien noticed the way the color slowly drained from her face and immediately understood that something deeper was troubling her now.

So gently, he suggested they step outside for some fresh air.

Usually so self-assured, Lucien suddenly found himself worrying that she might send him away.

It wasn’t uncommon for females to test males first.

He had genuinely believed he could convince her through tonight.

And admittedly...

his instincts had gotten somewhat out of control as well.

But now, for the first time in years, he found himself afraid she simply hadn’t liked him.

As he guided her toward one of the balconies connected to the dining hall, the lynx female remained silent beside him.

And with every second, his anxiety grew worse.

Externally, he still looked like the elegant, faintly feminine son of a Duchess.

Inside him, however, a storm raged violently.

The moment Mirabelle stepped through the large balcony doors, she felt surrounded by a sea of stars.

The darkness wrapped around her soothingly, almost like an embrace.

Cool night air brushed across her overheated skin while simultaneously drying the thin sheen of sweat still clinging to her body.

The fresh scent of forest calmed her senses immediately and finally allowed her to breathe deeply again.

She stepped toward the ornate railing shaped like intertwined flower vines and leaned her forearms against it.

Before her stretched Rotwald.

The city had mostly quieted for the night now.

Many of the lanterns had already gone dark, leaving only the main streets and a few bridges illuminated.

Everything else rested beneath pale blue moonlight that gave the city a cold, dreamlike beauty.

Instead, countless small lights now glowed warmly inside tree hollows throughout the city.

From up here, Mirabelle could glimpse fragments of different families living their lives.

Some were eating together.

In one home, fathers played with their children.

In others, females curled comfortably against their mates.

The entire scene felt so peaceful that an unfamiliar calm slowly settled inside Mirabelle as well.

Beside her, movement drew her attention.

Lucien leaned backward against the railing so he could look directly at her face.

"Do you regret it?"