Chapter 2 (Part 3)

‘What if Priest Ian tells my father about what I did?’  

Unable to shake off her earlier mistake, Cecilia couldn’t sleep at all after returning to her room.  

She didn’t think Priests were the type to gossip, but that didn’t mean she could relax. Ian had clearly been upset by her actions and might demand an apology from her father.  

‘But wasn’t he a Priest?’  

While worrying about her future, Cecilia suddenly had a question.  

She didn’t know much about how Priests controlled their s*xual desires, but she had heard that they underwent training to suppress their lust.  

Wasn’t it too quick for someone who had suppressed their desires to get aroused?  

She hadn’t even touched him much before he was fully er*ect. That’s why she hadn’t suspected he was a Priest. If he had been slow to react, she would have realized something was off.  

What’s the point of analyzing this now?  

Cecilia clenched her hand into a fist, recalling the sensation she had felt earlier, and shook her head. Dwelling on past events wouldn’t change anything. Only the future mattered now.  

As dawn approached, her worries only grew, and in the end, Cecilia stayed up all night.  

“I didn’t sleep at all.”  

She greeted the morning with dark circles under her eyes. Even after stretching, she didn’t feel refreshed. It felt like she could hear her father’s voice outside.  

If he finds out what I did yesterday, he’ll blow up in anger, won’t he?  

She was scared that the familiar sound of footsteps might come closer to her room. Her heart pounded as much as it had the previous night when she had snuck into the Earl’s room.  

Afraid of running into her father, she couldn’t even step out of her room and had to wait inside. Fortunately, her father’s voice gradually faded away, and her heart finally calmed down, but at this rate, she felt like she wouldn’t live long.  

Then, it happened.  

Knock, knock.  

Just as she was feeling relieved, the sound of knocking startled Cecilia.  

Could it be that he’s back? No, it seemed like Father had gone far away.  

With a tense body, Cecilia checked the face of the person at the door. She worried it might be Viscount Bucklew, but fortunately, the one knocking was Rasilia.  

For a moment, relief washed over Cecilia’s face, but it quickly hardened. It was difficult to admit that her plan had failed.  

“Sister, how did the plan go?”  

As expected, the first thing out of Rasilia’s mouth was about the plan they had decided to carry out the previous night. Unable to meet her sister’s expectant gaze, Cecilia lowered her head and replied.  

“I’m sorry.”  

“What? Why? Did it fail? You worked so hard all this time! Why? What didn’t he like about it?”  

Rasilia’s questions grew longer, as if she couldn’t believe it.  

“Well, that’s…”  

“Don’t keep me in suspense—just tell me already. What happened?”  

When Cecilia hesitated, Rasilia pounded her chest twice in frustration.  

“Well, you see, the Earl and the Priest switched rooms.”  

“What? They switched rooms? Don’t tell me you went into the Priest’s room without knowing the rooms had been switched?”  

“…Yes.”  

“Oh my goodness.”  

Rasilia looked as if she had lost the whole world. Feeling guilty, Cecilia lowered her head even further.  

“So? Nothing happened, right?”  

“N-no, nothing happened.”  

There were no secrets between Cecilia and Rasilia. They talked about everything, so under normal circumstances, she would have told her sister what had happened last night. But Cecilia couldn’t bring herself to be honest about it.  

If it had been anyone but a priest, she might have admitted to mistakenly touching his manhood, but since it was a priest, she had to consider his position.  

Moreover, if she kept her mouth shut, it would remain a secret between her and the priest for the rest of their lives. There was no need to spread the story about something involving someone she would never meet again.  

“Well, that’s a relief. So, what do we do now?”  

Fortunately, Rasilia believed Cecilia’s words and didn’t press further. Instead, she seemed more worried about her marriage to the Earl. With a gloomy face, she began thinking about the next plan.  

“Uh, the priest misunderstood and thought I sneaked into his room to seduce him. He looked really displeased…. Because of that, there’s a possibility that your marriage to the Earl might fall through.”  

Cecilia recalled the priest’s displeased expression from the previous night. He seemed determined to stop the marriage between the Earl and Rasilia.  

It wasn’t certain, but Cecilia told Rasilia about it to let her know that the engagement might be called off.  

“Really?”  

Rasilia, who had been lowering her head in thought, suddenly looked up and smiled brightly.  

“I-it’s not certain.”  

“But there’s a chance, right? That’s great. Thank you, Sister!”  

Even though nothing was certain yet, Rasilia’s eyes were filled with hope, as if the engagement had already been canceled.  

Knowing her sister’s impatient personality, Cecilia regretted telling her. 

What would happen if the engagement proceeded after all…?  

“Uh, Rasilia…”  

Cecilia tried to stop her, but Rasilia left the room without listening. Cecilia tried to suppress her growing anxiety by recalling the priest’s cold gaze.  

The engagement will probably be called off, right?  

***

At the same time.  

Viscount Bucklew was listening to shocking words from Earl Beaufort. The Earl had expressed his intention to cancel the engagement with Rasilia.  

“Why all of a sudden? Did you find something unsatisfactory about our Rasilia?”  

Caught off guard by the unexpected situation, the Viscount looked at the Earl pleadingly.  

How much effort had he put into arranging this marriage? And now, all his efforts were crumbling in an instant—he couldn’t just let it go.  

“I don’t think we’re meant to be.”  

But Earl Beaufort’s attitude was firm.  

“Could you reconsider? Rasilia is a girl who lacks nothing as a wife for you. Did someone visit you last night, by any chance?”  

The Viscount cautiously tried to gauge the Earl’s reaction, wondering if Cecilia had ruined things.  

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Was someone supposed to visit me last night?”  

“N-no, it’s nothing. I must have been so surprised that I blurted out nonsense.”  

When the Earl’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, the flustered Viscount hurriedly backtracked. He didn’t want the Earl to think anything was amiss.  

Judging by the Earl’s expression, it seemed like Cecilia hadn’t met with him directly, but the Viscount still couldn’t accept the situation.  

Why did his mind change overnight? Why won’t he explain the reason?  

Though he wanted to protest out of frustration, the Viscount wasn’t in a position to do so. He had no choice but to swallow his complaints and end the conversation while trying to placate the Earl.  

“I’ll pack my things and leave as soon as possible. Please tell Lady Bucklew that I hope she finds a better match than me.”  

After bowing politely, Earl Beaufort left the drawing room, and Viscount Bucklew, suppressing his anger, could only stare blankly after him.  

***

“You must have slept well.”  

After finishing his conversation with Viscount Bucklew, Earl Beaufort entered Ian’s room and looked at his younger brother with satisfaction.  

“Yes. This is the first time something like this has happened.”  

Ian’s cheeks flushed as he replied.  

How long had it been since he had slept so deeply? Waking up with a clear mind was something he hadn’t experienced in ages. If not for what had happened last night, his mind would have been completely refreshed.  

However, the memory of last night’s events kept swirling in his head, leaving him in turmoil.  

“Perhaps it’s because you’ve been staying in the temple for so long. Changing your sleeping environment seemed to help. Maybe you should ask to take a trip away from the temple for a while.”  

Unaware of Ian’s inner thoughts, the Earl smiled with satisfaction, speculating on the reason for his improved sleep.  

“It’s not certain yet, so I think it’s better to observe for a little longer before making any decisions.”  

“I hope your insomnia is cured if it’s really because of the change in environment.”  

Ian was relieved just to have hope that his condition could improve.  

But at the same time, he couldn’t help but feel doubtful. If it were something that could be resolved so easily, he would have fixed it long ago.  

He had tried taking medicine, visiting renowned doctors, and sleeping in places other than the temple. Yet, none of it had worked. Not once had he experienced a peaceful night of sleep.  

For this reason, Ian didn’t believe that simply changing his sleeping environment was the solution.  

Was it the food at Viscount Bucklew’s estate? The bed? Or….  

As he compared last night’s experience to others, the image of the woman who had snuck into his bedroom flashed in his mind, but he quickly dismissed it.  

It was absurd. She had nothing to do with it. After all, it was because of her that the Earl had decided to cancel the engagement with Lady Bucklew.  

‘Can you tell me the reason?’  

‘I’m sorry I can’t explain in detail, but I don’t think you and Lady Bucklew are a good match, Brother.’  

‘If that’s how you feel, then it must be true. I understand. We’ll call off the engagement.’  

Without needing an explanation, the Earl had accepted Ian’s opposition. It was the first time Ian had ever opposed something so strongly, so the Earl must have assumed there was a good reason.  

Now, all that remained was to leave the Bucklew estate, but Ian was still frustrated because he couldn’t figure out why his insomnia had temporarily improved.  

He didn’t entirely lack a theory, though. Ian suspected that the improvement in his insomnia might have been related to the food. Specifically, he had eaten blue cheese made from local cow’s milk, which he had never tried before.  

He had heard from a doctor that food could sometimes help with insomnia, so he thought the cheese might have had a calming effect.  

But since he couldn’t be sure, he thought it would be worth asking the woman if she had done anything special yesterday. Today would be his last chance to speak with her.  

Although seeing her again would be awkward, it wouldn’t hurt to confirm.