Lora hurried off to fetch her sewing tools, leaving Selina standing awkwardly behind the partition. As soon as Calix turned away, the prickling sensation along her back and waist became impossible to ignore.

‘She must have stuck a pin in the wrong place…’

Gathering the fabric at the waist alone hadn’t worked, so Lora had used pins all the way up Selina’s back. However, she had done so in such a hurry after Calix suddenly appeared that one of the pins was now painfully jabbing into Selina’s delicate skin.

‘I wish I could just take the pin out, but I can’t quite reach it…’

Selina stretched and twisted, trying in vain to grab hold of the offending pin. Eventually, she let out a sigh, resigning herself to staying like this until the shopkeeper returned.

But just then—

Swish.

The curtain drew aside again, and Calix stepped in. Startled, Selina let out an involuntary hiccup. Every time she hiccupped, her body jerked—and once again, the pin dug into her back.

“Ugh—”

She let out a tiny gasp without meaning to.

Calix, immediately noticing something was wrong, spoke in a calm, but firm voice.

“Is something the matter?”

“N-no! It’s nothing, really!”

Selina did her best to brush it off, refusing to ask for help. The last thing she wanted was to seem even more burdensome, especially when he already looked so irritated with her—it felt shameless to ask anything of him now.

But Calix wasn’t fooled. Brow furrowed, he stepped closer and drew the curtain completely closed. Then, without saying a word, he gently turned Selina so her back was to him—clearly having figured out what was wrong.

“Your back.”

Selina swallowed, holding back the gasp threatening to escape her lips.

How had he known without even seeing? Did he hear her struggling with the pin all the way from outside?

With her cheeks flushed deep red, Selina tried to turn her face away, but she couldn’t escape Calix.

“Put your hand on the wall.”

He lifted her hand and pressed it against the wall. With a slight nod, he indicated that she should do the same with her other hand.

“…Yes.”

Feeling like a child caught doing something naughty, Selina meekly obeyed. After all, it was pointless to pretend otherwise when he had already seen through her.

As she placed both hands on the wall and arched her back slightly, Calix reached out and located the offending pin with uncanny precision. He pulled it free in one swift motion.

There were several pins stuck in her dress, but he found the one causing the pain with remarkable accuracy.

“Thank you…”

Her voice was small, almost disappearing as she thanked him. But Calix wasn’t finished. He gently lifted the fabric of her dress where the pin had been, checking her skin.

“You’re bleeding.”

“Oh… I must have scratched myself with the pin. It’s nothing serious, really—you don’t need to worry.”

Selina shook her head at once, desperate not to burden him any more than she already had. He watched her for a moment, then let out a soft, almost incredulous laugh.

“I can’t tell where you end and your act begins.”

He said quietly, his tone cool and edged with skepticism—a trace of mistrust from that night in the forest still lingering between them.

‘What should I do?’

Selina truly wanted to be a good wife to Calix. Although the Marquis had ordered her to find out his weaknesses, she had never wanted to hurt him. If he continued to doubt her, wouldn’t that cause him another kind of injury?

As this dawned on her, Selina bit her lip, hesitated, and finally spoke in a trembling voice.

“That night in the woods—it really was a mistake. If I ever try to leave Thalia again without permission… you can punish me however you see fit.”

Calix’s hands, which had been adjusting her dress, stilled.

Hoping desperately that his silence meant something good, she pressed on.

“I don’t want you to misunderstand me, Your Grace.”

“…”

“W-what should I do for you to believe that I mean it?”

Despite mustering all her courage to ask, Calix remained silent for a long while. Selina bit her lip anxiously, nerves stretched taut by his lack of response.

Suddenly, something hot and soft pressed against the wounded skin on her back where the pin had pricked her.

“Ah—”

She gasped, her back arching in surprise, unable to hold back the involuntary sound.

But the sensation didn’t fade. Instead, it only grew more persistent, his mouth tracing her skin with unrelenting intent.

“I can’t help wondering.”

He murmured, his tongue sliding up along her spine.

“If even your unconscious reactions are all part of some elaborate act.”

His mouth moved higher, tracing her nape. Selina tried desperately to stifle the m*an that escaped her lips, but Calix was not satisfied with her attempts to remain silent.

His strong hand traced her slender neck, lingering as though memorising every line and shiver. For a long moment, he simply looked down at her as though she were a fragile bird that might break if he touched her. Then, deliberately and slowly, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her towards him.

“Shall I find out whether it’s real or not?”

His voice was low and dark, vibrating through her as his touch grew bolder—wrapping around her like stubborn vines she couldn’t shake free.

Selina wanted to speak, to object or explain, but she was left breathless, clinging to the wall as her mind grew hazy from his closeness.

But the dizzying heat was suddenly interrupted.

“I’ve brought the sewing kit.”

Came the voice of the shopkeeper, Lora, from just outside the curtain.

Selina’s eyes went wide with panic as she turned to Calix. But he, completely unfazed, only flashed her a sly smile—then, in one smooth motion, pulled her into his lap, settling her on his thigh.

“W-wait, just a moment!”

Selina blurted out, unsure if she was pleading with Calix or Lora.

“Is something wrong?”

“I—I’d just like to change on my own, please! If you could wait just until I’m finished undressing…”

Selina managed to call out, doing her best to sound composed despite her embarrassment.

The thought of being found alone with Calix by anyone else made her mind spin. Struggling to regain her composure, she tried to buy time by speaking steadily.

“It’ll be much easier if I help you change, miss.”

“P-please, don’t come in!”

Selina couldn’t help but practically shriek in response to the shopkeeper’s well-meaning offer—because Calix, having settled her on his lap, was tracing his thigh up between her legs in a way that sent an electric jolt of sensation through her.

“Please…”

She clung desperately to the front of his shirt, her voice little more than a trembling plea.

“Are you begging me to keep going?”

Calix whispered at her ear, his words maddeningly brazen.

“That’s not…!”

“Then I suppose I should do as I’m asked.”

He replied coolly—because Calix was a man who only ever did as he pleased, hearing only what he wished to hear.

In the confined space behind the curtain, he began to move his leg again. The pressure building between her thighs made Selina bite her lip; she was dizzy with need and humiliation. Bracing herself against the wall, she barely registered the shopkeeper’s uncertain voice.

“Is something wrong, miss? And come to think of it, the gentleman you arrived with—where did he go…?”

“H-he stepped outside.”

Selina replied, forcing herself to exhale slowly, hoping the shopkeeper wouldn’t catch on.

“Ah, I see. Then shall I just proceed with the alterations on a different dress?”

“That’s…”

Selina tried to answer, but her mind went blank and her body refused to cooperate. However, she knew that staying silent would arouse more suspicion, so she forced herself to nod and say ‘yes’, but was interrupted.

“Yes, that would be best.”

Calix called out, answering in her stead while his hand continued its cruel mischief beneath the cover of fabric.

Snapping out of her daze, Selina whirled to look at him—only to see him watching her with an infuriating, amused smile, as if this whole scene was nothing but a delightful game.

“Wait—were you in there together all along?”

Lora, the shopkeeper, asked with a flustered voice, finally starting to piece things together.

As a flustered voice drifted in from beyond the curtain, Selina’s face flushed so red it felt as though it might burst.
“Yes. Don’t worry—I’ll help her out of this dress. It’s better to use a different gown for the alterations.”

Calix replied, his tone as cool and unaffected as ever, despite being the cause of all this chaos.

“Ah…! Th-then I’ll just go and fetch another dress, and I’ll take my time.”

Lora said, placing pointed emphasis on ‘take my time’ as she hurried away.

The moment Selina was sure the shopkeeper was really gone, she scrambled off Calix’s lap, her voice shaking as she turned on him in dismay.

“What on earth was that…!”

But Calix only gave her a calm, unreadable smile, utterly unbothered by her mortification.

“There is a way, you know.”

Selina blinked in confusion, not quite following.

“A way for what…?”

He leaned in closer, the corners of his lips curving into a dangerously captivating smile—one that made her heart skip a beat despite herself.

“If you truly want to prove your sincerity to me…”

He spoke in a gentle voice, as though coaxing a child. Yet an irresistible undertone lingered beneath it, making it impossible for her to look away.