Chapter 14

Regaining her senses belatedly, Grace reflexively lowered herself out of sight from beyond the window. Grace felt her heart pounding. It felt as if she had been caught doing something bad, her heart raced wildly.

“This is bad. Was I caught? I was caught, right? Oh, what should I say?”

Grace, feeling guilty, wrestled with how to explain this situation. She wanted to check if he had really seen her, but she lacked the courage, fearing she might meet those violet eyes again. Then it happened.

Click—

The sound of the door opening was heard. Startled, Grace shouted without even checking who had entered.

“I didn’t mean to look! So, who told you to do that by the window where others can see?”

Instead of apologizing, Grace came out with a brazen attitude. Even so, she thought it was reasonable. Doing something lewd in such a transparent place was practically saying it didn’t matter who saw it, wasn’t it? Even assuming they enjoyed that type of thrill, it was the fault of the person who didn’t anticipate being caught.

“What are you talking about?”

The voice heard from above was not Cassius’s but a familiar woman’s voice.

“…Huh?”

Realizing it was Anna, Grace relaxed her crouched position and looked up.

“Miss, why are you crouched on the floor like that? Your dress will get all wrinkled.”

Anna looked at Grace, who was crouched on the floor instead of sitting on the sofa, with a puzzled expression.

“Ah, it’s you, Anna.”

Relaxing, Grace slumped onto the floor.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing….”

Grace waved her hand and turned her head towards the window. She glanced up, and the opposite window was covered with curtains. Seeing that scene, Grace showed a regretful expression. Even if she was going to be scolded, she wanted to finish watching the stimulating scene; that was Grace’s desire.

“What were you looking at?”

Perhaps curious about Grace staring out the window, Anna also looked outside. Naturally, Anna couldn’t see anything. Looking at the outer wall of the building opposite, covered with curtains, and the garden and blue sky beside it, Anna tilted her head, unable to figure out what Grace had been watching.

“Just, something very good. Let’s go have dinner now.”

With a face full of regret, Grace stood up. Anna, looking puzzled, followed Grace.

* * *

“Vivian.”

“Oh, Marquis…”

“Oh dear, did you forget again to call me by my name?”

“Ah…. Sorry. I keep forgetting, Cassius.”

“It’s okay. You’ll get used to it soon. I can wait.”

He whispered gently, kissing Vivian’s cheek and pulling back.

“Yes.”

“But, aren’t you bored staying in the room?”

“Ah, yes. I was actually going to ask you if I could use the library, Cassius.”

Vivian spoke to Cassius as if she had just remembered. The day before, she had found a book in his private study and fallen asleep reading it. Although she read it to alleviate her boredom, honestly, it wasn’t to her taste. It was mostly professional or difficult content. Strictly speaking, some things she had studied diligently during her academy days were included, so they weren’t entirely incomprehensible.

However, the problem was that it wasn’t the type of book she currently wanted. She wanted light novels focused on entertainment to alleviate her boredom. Therefore, Cassius’s study was not suitable to satisfy her desires.

“I see. Then, may I join you?”

Vivian blinked at the unexpected answer.

“Cassius, you too?”

“I’m free at the moment. And I want to spend time with you,Vivian.”

“Th-then, okay.”

Escorted by Cassius, Vivian moved to the library.

“Huh?”

Looking for a book to read, Vivian discovered a book placed alone on a table in one corner. Even from afar, the book looked familiar in some way. 

Where had I seen it? 

Pondering, Vivian approached the table where the book was placed. Finally, close enough, she could see the title of the book.

〈A Midnight Tryst〉

Vivian immediately recognized what this book was. It was the problematic book Grace was deeply engrossed in. How could she forget? The book that was the root of all this. Yesterday, she had searched Cassius’s study hoping to find it. Moreover, the content was so provocative that it was unforgettable, even if she tried. In her mind, she automatically envisioned Marquis Rimor stripping and assaulting the heroine Vivian, who was asleep.

‘Here it was. What happens next? What great things does the fictional Vivian do?’

Her hand naturally reached for the book.

“Vivian.”

“Ah!”

“Huh? What were you looking at?”

“Oh, ah…. That…”

Embarrassed by the fact she was reading an er＊tic novel, Vivian blushed and struggled to answer properly. Yet, as Cassius looked at her with interest, Vivian reluctantly opened her mouth again.

“This, this is… actually, Grace was inspired by reading this, and that’s how it all started…”

“Oh, I see. So this is that problematic novel.”

“Yes…. I-it’s not that I wanted to see any lewd content. I was just curious about how it ends.”

“Is that so? I’m interested in the ending too, like you, Vivian.”

“Huh? Cassius, you too?”

“Didn’t Grace say she thought of us while reading it? So how could I not be curious? Perhaps I might feel like I’m glimpsing our ending in advance.”

As he spoke, Cassius’s gaze turned to Vivian. The subtle smile on his face made Vivian’s heart race.

“Our ending…”

For Vivian, who had longed for him, hearing that he was dreaming of a future with her felt like a dream.

“Do you know what it’s about?”

Cassius asked.

“I only know the character settings Grace told me.”

Vivian explained the novel’s characters, Ian Marquis Rimor and Vivian, as she had heard from Grace.

“Hmm…, the characters in the novel seem just like us. A young marquis with silver-gray hair and amethyst eyes, and Vivian with brown hair staying at the estate….”

Cassius glanced at Vivian with a wink.

“Th-that’s right….”

As Cassius immediately linked the novel’s characters to themselves, Vivian felt somewhat excited.

“Of course, compared to the ordinary Vivian in the novel, my Vivian is a beautiful woman with green eyes.”

Cassius whispered in a teasing voice.

“Ahem, well, if you’re curious, would you like to read it together?”

Unaccustomed to compliments, Vivian cleared her throat and tried to change the subject.

“Is it alright if we read it together?”

Vivian’s head nodded automatically at Cassius’s question.

“Of course.”

“We can’t read the whole thing, so how about starting from the last chapter, the ending?”

“Oh, yes! That sounds good.”

Vivian nodded vigorously, accepting the suggestion. As she agreed, the pale pages fluttered in Cassius’s hand. Meanwhile, Vivian’s gaze was on Cassius’s hand turning the pages. It was a rather large hand that didn’t quite match his beautiful face.

Yet, the long, delicate fingers with thick joints and the white hand turning red towards the fingertips seemed so fitting for him that she thought it couldn’t suit him better.

“…….”

Beautiful yet clearly a man’s hand with prominent bones and veins, it appealed to her even more. She stared blankly at Cassius’s pretty hand and suddenly recalled the time it had caressed her. She felt her face heat up instantly.

“Vivian?”

“Ah! Yes!”

“Your face is red…. What were you thinking?”

“Oh, nothing! I wasn’t thinking anything lewd!”

“…….”

Cassius’s mouth gradually curved upwards as he silently watched Vivian’s outcry.

“!”

Vivian only then realized her mistake.

“Hmm, I see.”

“No, really, it’s not. It’s true!”

“Yes, yes. I understand. Since Vivian says so, I must believe you.”

“…Sigh, yes….”

Cassius didn’t seem to believe her, but Vivian decided to let it go, wanting to get past the situation.

“Here, I found the last chapter. This book seems to be composed of five chapters.”

Cassius pointed to the subtitle of the open chapter. Seeing the subtitle, Vivian read it aloud.

“Eternal…Night….”

“I can’t imagine what it might be about. Then….”

Cassius turned the pages with a delicate touch.

The ending of ‘A Midnight Tryst’ was as follows. 

The female protagonist of the novel, Vivian, who was staying as a guest at the marquis’s estate, continuously sneaked into the bedroom of the sleeping Marquis Rimor and mingled with him without his knowledge. Subsequently, Marquis Rimor dreamed of having intimate relations with Vivian every night and found himself drawn to her, unaware that she was indeed visiting him nightly to violate him. Marquis Rimor, whose feelings deepened, was tormented by his inability to forget the figure from his dreams. Then one day, while passing by the guest room and seeing the door open, Marquis Rimor discovered the sleeping Vivian, secretly entered, kissed her lips, and teased her body through the open nightgown that revealed her chest.

That night, Marquis Rimor returned to his bedroom but couldn’t sleep. He felt guilty, recalling the shameless act he had committed against Vivian during the day. Even while thinking such thoughts, he found himself obsessed with the soft texture of Vivian’s skin he had felt at his fingertips, her sweet scent, and the visually pleasing sight of her n*ked body, feeling as if he had gone mad.

Though he didn’t go all the way, he was already imagining the irreversible final act in his mind. While feeling guilty, he also experienced a strong desire to connect with her in that way. With such complicated thoughts, dawn arrived, long past his usual sleeping time.