“Berenice.”

At Roberto’s voice calling Berenice, she finally came to her senses.

“Ah…”

“Your complexion doesn’t look good.”

“No, it’s nothing. I must be a bit tired.”

Roberto stood up. Then, he pulled the blanket on the bed while urging Berenice.

“Quickly lie down, Berenice.”

“Uh…”

Berenice rolled her eyes.

He probably said it to encourage her to quickly lie down because she seemed tired, but it was unfair to say such a thing with that posture and that face. It would be better to say the whole sentence from beginning to end. Why cut it off there…

Berenice swallowed dryly.

Roberto’s thick fingers, holding the bedsheet, twitched.

Is there something wrong with Berenice’s ears that makes her hear ‘lie down next to me’ instead of ‘Lie down because you’re tired’?

“Berenice.”

At Roberto’s urging, Berenice’s cheeks turned red.

Why did Roberto’s disheveled appearance keep catching her eye…

Berenice hesitated and then lay down beside Roberto. Unintentionally, Roberto furrowed his brow. It was because the scent that Berenice brought with her when she lay next to Roberto was overwhelming. When Roberto was about to cover Berenice with a blanket while gently breathing,

Their eyes met.

Berenice’s bright green eyes were trembling. Roberto realized that Berenice was feeling the same thing as him.

Roberto naturally touched Berenice’s face with his hand.

Moist hair, transparent skin, red lips.

Everything was magnified, filling all his senses. Berenice’s moist hair touched his fingertips. The moist hair wound around his fingers, and Roberto’s flesh clung to Berenice’s transparent skin.

Roberto didn’t realize his gaze seemed fixed on Berenice’s red lips.

He felt certain that if he crossed this line now, he would cross an even greater one.

He also felt a strong conviction that once he tasted Berenice’s lips, he would never be able to part from her. Every time he inhaled and exhaled, it felt like Berenice was filling his lungs.

Roberto’s pupils sank darkly.

The spicy breaths between the two, who had drawn closer, were so stimulating that it made their heads spin.

Once again, Berenice and Roberto’s eyes met.

“Ah…”

Roberto let out a soft sigh.

Both Roberto and Berenice desired the same thing, but what seeped into Berenice’s eyes was fear.

She didn’t know what the fear was for. But what mattered was that Berenice was hesitating.

Roberto distanced himself from Berenice.

Berenice took a deep breath, and the magical moment between the two was broken.

With a trembling voice, Berenice asked,

“…When will you sleep, Roberto?”

Brushing his hair back, Roberto answered as casually as possible,

“Shall I put out the light? I was just about to go to sleep myself.”

Berenice tightly closed her eyes. The sound of Roberto extinguishing the light and lying down on the bed was provocatively ringing in her ears. The rustling sound of the blanket, his slightly rough breath from moving, and even the vibrations she felt right beside her.

‘Oh, what should I do.’

It wasn’t like her to be so shaken by Terenzio’s words.

But Berenice wasn’t the only one feeling that way.

Roberto lay frozen in a proper posture. He had been sharing a bed with Berenice for quite some time, so why was he suddenly conscious of her today?

To create a child…

To stop his thoughts, Roberto began counting sheep.

One sheep, two sheep, three sheep, one child, two children, three chil…

‘Roberto, snap out of it.’

The two of them had to endure the suffocating silence while lying in bed with eyes wide open for a long time. Feeling each other’s breath.

Chapter 12. If Our Relationship Wasn’t a Contract

Recently, Roberto felt that Berenice was avoiding him. Although they used to see each other often outside of work, these days, even when they had business to discuss, she would mostly communicate through Selphine and seemed busy enough to finish their meal quickly and return to her office after meeting at the restaurant.

At first, he thought it was a misunderstanding. Even if she finished the Cyrilov Branch construction project, her work was truly demanding. When people are busy, it can be difficult to run into each other, even when they’re living in the same house.

But he increasingly felt that it wasn’t the case. She was not just busy, but excessively so. It went beyond suspicion to a conviction that she was deliberately avoiding him.

‘Why? What did I do wrong?’

Roberto searched his memory and reflected on his behavior. He realized that the last time they had a proper conversation face-to-face was the night of the Cyrilov Branch completion ceremony. Surely, until they returned from touring the market and the castle, her mood didn’t seem particularly bad.

‘Could it be because of that incident?’

Suddenly, he remembered what happened in the bedroom that night. The dampness that lingered in her hair despite drying it, the sensation of her soft skin, his own reflection in her bewildered eyes, and her red and plump lips…

Berenice’s breath that he felt in front of him was deep and sweet, like a well-matured wine, and felt as sweet as sugar. Enchanted by that scent, he involuntarily tilted his head.

Perhaps if he hadn’t noticed the faint fear mixed in Berenice’s eyes at that moment, he might have just bitten her lips and greedily tasted the scent within.

Even now, just recalling that moment made him feel a burning sensation in his throat.

“I’m having such ridiculous thoughts.”

Roberto buried his reddened face in his palms. However, once the image surfaced, it didn’t easily leave his mind. At the same time, he somewhat felt that it was unfair.

‘But how much did I endure that day.’

He did nothing but lie quietly next to Berenice, counting sheep. Later on, he gave up counting sheep and counted children instead.

But he understood Berenice’s heart.

They weren’t a couple bound by a marriage contract from the beginning. Roberto buried his face in his palms. This relationship wasn’t supposed to start with this. When Berenice first made that proposal, he shouldn’t have accepted it.

Deep regret engulfed Roberto. He seemed like he had ruined a relationship that should have been built slowly from the beginning, like a building done without even laying the foundation but putting up the framework. It felt like his feet were being sucked into a swamp.

He found himself in a situation where he couldn’t do anything but look at Berenice.

“Why are you like this?”

Alfonso asked with a puzzled expression.

The newlyweds, who should be enjoying their honeymoon phase, seemed too…

Pathetic and pitiful?

“Did you have a fight with the Duchess? Huh? Surely not… You didn’t make such a mistake, did you?”

Certainly, he heard that Roberto fell asleep in the marital bedroom yesterday, and this morning, he also emerged from the marital bedroom at an early hour.

“There’s no way.”

Roberto replied bluntly.

“Then why are you like this?”

He was looking at Roberto like he was looking at a younger sibling. This was especially true when it came to Roberto and Berenice’s issues. The phrase ‘learning about love through books’ seems to fit them perfectly nowadays.

Roberto, like a novice in love, was awkward, needing Alfonso’s help from steps one to ten.

Alfonso believed that if it weren’t for his help, they might not have even made it to marriage.

Of course, it was a misconception.

From the beginning, didn’t Roberto and Berenice start their relationship with marriage as a premise? Alfonso had no inkling that this was the problem.

“Tell me everything.”

“Sigh…”

Roberto sighed deeply and lowered his head. His contract marriage with Berenice was a secret known only to Roberto, Selphine, and Viscount Dante.

If he were to spill that secret, it felt like everything would fall apart.

At this point, he couldn’t deny it any longer.

Roberto liked Berenice.

More than he thought.

That’s how Roberto accepted Berenice.