3.12

Clara opened her eyes.

How much had she endured? From that garden all the way to Lucius’s house.

It was to the point where Clara wondered if it had all been a dream. He had pounded into her over and over again.

Lucius had tormented her relentlessly until he was completely spent, and Clara had no choice but to cry out and take him throughout the night.

“W-Water…”

Clara’s throat was completely hoarse from how much she had screamed. Every time she tried to make a sound, she endured the stinging pain as she fumbled around her side.

“Here, water.”

At that moment, a gentle hand lifted her body slowly and brought a cup near her lips. Lucius carefully patted her back, ensuring she didn’t drink too hastily, and let her sip the water at her own pace.

“Phew, huff.”

“Well done.”

Lucius watched Clara lean against him comfortably after finishing the water. He stroked the corners of her swollen eyes with a satisfied expression. Her puffy eyes and slightly torn lips looked so beautiful to him.

Thinking about the events of the previous day made his lower body stir again, but now wasn’t the time to act on such impulses.

“Let’s wrap up yesterday’s conversation, shall we?”

“Wrap up?”

Clara flinched at his words and pulled away from him. 

Did this mean things still weren’t finished?

Her lower body, which had already grown sore to the point of throbbing, was far too tender to handle him again.

Seeing the serious look on her face, Lucius let out a small chuckle.

“I’m not talking about doing it again. I mean discussing the misunderstanding we had yesterday.”

“Oh…”

A misunderstanding.

Was there really anything to call a misunderstanding?

Clara knew that Lucius still desired her, and now, she had confirmed it with her body. What he had done for the Madame must have been out of pure goodwill. Now, she was certain—he could no longer share his body with any other woman as he did with her.

As he watched Clara’s face gleam with satisfaction, Lucius flicked her forehead with a playful snap.

“Ouch!”

“Be honest. You were frustrated yesterday, weren’t you?”

“W-What?”

“I thought it was strange that you were nitpicking over trivial things. You were annoyed because you were sexually frustrated, weren’t you?”

“That’s not true! I was mad at you!”

“Why, though?”

“Well…”

If she were to explain why she was angry, it wasn’t exactly Lucius’s fault. In truth, what she had wanted to bring up was why they hadn’t been intimate.

‘Then that means I was frustrated.’

“Why were you mad? Hm?”

Ugh, how could I phrase this in a way that made sense?

“Do you remember me saying I had something I wanted to talk about?”

“Yes.”

Fortunately, unlike yesterday, Lucius didn’t seem to be in a bad mood. He held Clara tightly in his arms and kept stroking her gently, his actions full of affection.

“Well, you have been busy lately, and because of that, we’ve only been seeing each other briefly or just exchanging a few words before parting. I guess that felt a bit… unsatisfying.”

“See? That’s s*xual frustration.”

“It’s something else entirely!”

“Liz told me everything. She said you were wondering if I was becoming impotent.”

“…”

Ah, so Liz had already hinted at this. Clara had nothing left to say and simply buried herself deeper into his embrace.

Fine, so it’s true. Let’s admit it.

I’m sexually frustrated.

Lucius kissed Clara’s hair affectionately, then slowly began to speak.

“Clara.”

“Yes?”

“If you ask why I acted that way, it’s because I thought that’s what romance was. And before, we only communicated physically. I wanted to try approaching things differently.”

“I see.”

“I didn’t expect you to be dissatisfied.”

Lucius teased her by whispering near her ear, making Clara shiver from the tingling sensation along her back. She lightly tapped his chest in protest.

“Well, this is my first time too. I’ve always just liked you from afar, Lucius. I’ve never experienced this kind of give-and-take before.”

“That’s true. I didn’t consider that. Belle, you’re experiencing everything for the first time with me too.”

Having said that, Lucius felt a sense of relief.

Why had I agonized over something so simple?

“I remembered all the faces of those ladies from yesterday. I thought about tearing their mouths apart, but that seemed excessive, so I’m coming up with another plan.”

Clara almost said, ‘Is that really necessary?’ but stopped herself. After all, it wouldn’t be bad for them to experience the pain they caused her.

“Not all the ladies were like that. Some sided with me.”

“Alright, let me know later so I don’t accidentally punish the wrong ones.”

“Okay.”

Only then could Clara comfortably lean against him and relax.

It seemed reconciliation was best achieved through physical intimacy. A strange lesson, but a lesson nonetheless.

***

[Baron Lucius Tempe ends his debauched lifestyle and finally settles down?! Announces proposal to Lady Clara!]

[Lucius Tempe, recognized by the Imperial Family for his contributions, rises from Baron to Earl!]

Clara skimmed through the headlines in the newspaper, letting out a hollow laugh at the absurdity.

She thought there was nothing left to surprise her, but why did she have to learn about her man’s news through the newspaper?

“He said we’d be honest with each other. He said he’d tell me everything from now on!”

Clara roared in frustration alone in her room. She could understand that he’d been recognized for his contributions and promoted to Earl. That was something she could learn about through the news.

“But why do I have to find out about his proposal through the newspaper? I haven’t even received a simple ring!”

And what did they mean by ‘ending his debauched lifestyle’?

“That ended a long time ago!”

Crumpling the newspaper in frustration, Clara slumped into her chair. 

This wouldn’t do.

Now that the proposal had made the headlines, she needed to take the initiative and push for marriage.

She understood why he hesitated about marriage and the lingering insecurities in his heart, but Clara was ready to accept all of it.

Of course, the article claimed he had announced his proposal, but who knew if that was true?

‘I’ve been burned by false articles before.’

So, she decided to propose first.

“I knew you’d be like this. Good thing I came running as soon as I saw the article.”

It was at that moment.

The window to Clara’s room flew open, and Lucius leaped inside in an instant.

Startled as she was about to write a letter, Clara dropped her pen and fell onto the floor with a thud.

“Why are you always so impulsive, my lady?”

“L-Lucius?”

Why was Lucius here? And why did he climb through my window?

“The Earl still seems upset. He wouldn’t let me into the mansion, so the door was locked.”

“So, you climbed through the window?”

“Yes.”

How reckless!

Clara quickly stood up and smacked Lucius’s arm. Of course, her palm hurt more than Lucius felt any pain.

“The Countess is on my side, so it’s fine. She gave me permission to climb through the window.”

“Lucius!”

“If I hadn’t done this, you’d have beaten me to it again.”

With that, Lucius immediately knelt on one knee. Clara, startled by his sudden action, tried to pull him up, but froze when she saw the case he pulled from his pocket.

“I thought about how to do this and decided a proper proposal would be best.”

“Then… that article was true?”

“It was supposed to be published on the day of my proposal, but it was accidentally released early.”

Lucius was proposing to me.

This was real.

More than the sparkling diamond in the case, Clara loved the way Lucius’s eyes sparkled as he looked at her.

“Let’s truly become a family. Marry me, Clara.”

Before he even finished speaking, Clara threw herself into his arms, wrapping her hands around his neck.

Lucius, worried that her sudden action might hurt her, caught her and tumbled to the floor with her safely in his embrace. Clara landed securely in his arms and laughed brightly.

“That was dangerous, really.”

“I love you, Lucius. I’ve loved you ever since the first time I saw you, and I still do.”

Moved by her heartfelt confession, Lucius replied, 

“Me too.”

As they gazed into each other’s eyes and leaned in for a kiss, Clara suddenly paused, feeling something press against her.

Wait, this sensation… it was all too familiar.

“Ah, see? I told you it’s strange. Why does it always get up just from touching you?”

Blaming Clara as if it weren’t his fault, Lucius looked at her with an innocent expression. Clara, feeling wronged, shouted loudly in protest.

“That’s not what I meant to get up!”