Chapter 2.1

As with any other day, she woke up late and was eating in her room when things became noisy downstairs.

“Did we get a visitor?”

“I’ll go check and come back.”

“Okay.”

Roni seemed quite curious and left the room as soon as Ellie gave her permission.

Up until then, Ellie thought it was just a guest for her mother or father.

She was a bit curious, but figured Roni would come back and tell her anyway, so she focused on finishing her sweet pancakes.

“They’re so good…”

The pancakes, drizzled with sweet syrup, were so soft they melted in her mouth.

She took a big bite, her cheeks stuffed, when suddenly the door burst open.

“Cough, cough, cough!”

She was so startled by someone barging in without knocking that the pancake got stuck in her throat.

Coughing roughly and pounding her chest, she saw Roni rush in after, frantically handing her a glass of juice.

After drinking the juice, she felt much better than before.

“Miss, are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

Ellie turned to look at who had entered her room.

It was her mother, and she wore an extremely excited expression.

The moment their eyes met, her mother suddenly smiled and strode toward her.

Feeling uneasy, Ellie stood up from her seat, but her mother grabbed her hand firmly.

“Ellie.”

“Y-yes?”

“Oh, was it really that embarrassing to tell us?”

“Tell you what…?”

Cold sweat trickled down her back.

She looked at her mother with anxious eyes, when suddenly her mother said something shocking.

“You told us you made a mistake with His Grace the Grand Duke, but you were actually seeing him!”

“…What?”

Was that coming up again?

Ellie couldn’t say she’d had a one-night stand, so she’d just vaguely said she’d made a mistake with Feroza and had to leave for a bit.

She’d thought it would get swept under the rug since she hadn’t gone into detail and just glossed over it.

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. The Grand Duke just sent you a marriage proposal.”

“A marriage proposal…?”

What kind of nonsense was this?

Feroza sent something? A marriage proposal?

Now that she noticed, her mother was holding an envelope.

That must be the proposal, so Ellie practically snatched it away.

“Oh my, Ellie!”

“Did you accept? You didn’t, right?”

“He left before you could even respond and said to give him an answer by tomorrow.”

“…Please leave. I’ll explain everything later.”

Ellie pressed her mother’s back, urging her out.

Unable to resist her daughter’s strength, her mother left and Ellie slammed the door shut.

“…Roni.”

“Y-yes?”

When Ellie spoke in a chilling voice, Roni flinched and answered in a trembling tone.

“I need to go see Feroza—no, His Grace Calliet.”

“Y-yes!”

As she washed, changed clothes, and got ready, only one thought filled her head: Feroza had lost his mind.

He couldn’t have sent her a proposal unless he’d gone crazy.

The proposal wasn’t meant for her, but for the heroine!

The carriage raced like the wind and arrived at the Grand Duke’s residence.

Naturally, the door opened smoothly, as if he’d expected her to come running after seeing the proposal and had left word.

The moment the carriage stopped, the door burst open.

And there was Feroza, waiting for her as if he’d been there all along.

“Ellie, you’re here?”

“Your Grace!”

Without any escort, she strode out of the carriage.

She twisted her ankle and stumbled, but Feroza rushed over like the wind and caught her.

“You need to be careful.”

“…Thank you.”

Clearing her throat, she quickly stepped away from Feroza.

He looked at his now-empty arms for a moment, then raised his head to look at her.

“What brings you here?”

“Why did you send me a marriage proposal?”

Despite her growling tone, Feroza smiled leisurely and answered.

“Well, because I want to marry you, Ellie.”

“M-marry?”

Marry? Me? With Feroza Calliet?

The word ‘marry’ left her floundering in shock, and Feroza gently wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close.

“This might take a while—shall we go inside?”

She hesitated, then nodded.

No matter how urgent things were, they both had images to maintain, so fighting out here was not an option.

The mansion was both antique and elegant.

The paintings and decorations on the walls looked extremely expensive at a glance.

‘If I break any of those, I’ll be in debt for life.’

That thought sent a chill down her spine, so she quickly looked away from the vases.

“My room is the best place to talk, so let’s head there.”

“Huh? Oh, yes. That’s fine.”

As long as she could talk and cancel the proposal, anything was okay.

She naturally followed Feroza into his room.

She’d expected a cold atmosphere, but it was warm.

As she looked around, Feroza asked,

“Why do you look so amazed? It’s just a room.”

“It’s just… I thought it would feel cold, but it doesn’t.”

He smiled softly and pulled out a chair for her.

She hesitated, then sat down carefully, and as if waiting, the maids entered, set down refreshments, and disappeared.

“Let’s talk while we eat. The brownies are really good.”

It seemed Feroza wouldn’t start the conversation until she ate, so she had no choice but to pick up a fork.

She broke off a piece of brownie and took a bite—it was sweet and dense, exactly her type.

Her eyes widened, and he asked,

“It’s good, isn’t it?”

“Yes…”

She took another bite, almost in a trance.

The sweetness calmed her nerves a little.

“Try this too.”

What Feroza offered her next was a bite-sized macaron.

It was so small there was no risk of crumbs falling.

It would be rude to refuse, so she picked one up and put it in her mouth.

This was delicious too.

She savored the taste without realizing it, then snapped out of it and finally spoke.

“Your Grace, why did you send me a marriage proposal?”

He looked a little disappointed, but then flashed a dazzling smile as he answered,

“Well, because I want to marry you, Ellie.”

“…We only met for the first time that day.”

In other words, was it normal to propose marriage after a one-night stand?

“What’s wrong with that?”

He sounded so carefree, she could burst from frustration.

She couldn’t exactly say, ‘You’re supposed to marry someone else!’

She could only sigh deeply in exasperation, but then Feroza leaned closer and asked,

“Do you dislike it?”

“Well…!”

She was about to say of course she disliked it, but when their eyes met, she couldn’t speak.

She stared blankly into his sparkling violet eyes, and Feroza stood up and came closer.

“Ellie.”

“Y-yes…?”

Before she knew it, she was kissing him.

“Ah, mm…”

His kiss took away all her breath, leaving her gasping.

At some point, she felt soft sheets beneath her back.

Without breaking their kiss, Feroza’s hand slipped under her dress.

Startled, she shivered, but he gently stroked her thigh as if to soothe her.

“Ah, hngh…”

His touch sent shivers down her body.

At the same time, a dull ache tightened in her lower belly.

“Ellie.”

“Uh…”

“Lovely Ellie.”

Feroza captured her lips again.

The ribbon on her dress came undone, revealing the chemise underneath.

He smoothly untied the chemise ribbon as well, sliding it down.

Without hesitation, he took her full br*ast into his mouth.

“Ah, ah, mm…!”

His slow licking of her sensitive peak made her squirm.

“Wait, wait…”

“No.”

His hand slipped further under her dress, pulling down her underwear.

Her panties, dangling from her toes, soon dropped to the floor.

Feroza kissed her lips again.

While she was lost in his kisses, she felt his fingers touch her below.

At some point, her dress had been removed, and embarrassment made her face burn.

But unlike her, Feroza was still fully clothed, which felt unfair.

Before he could move his hand further, she suddenly sat up and pushed him away.

“Huh?”

He hadn’t expected that—his eyes widened as he fell back.

“Ellie?”

“…This isn’t fair.”

Mumbling, she reached for the buttons on Feroza’s shirt.

He seemed to catch on quickly, chuckling as he moved his arms and grabbed her hips.

“Kya!”

“What are you waiting for, not undressing me?”

She glared at Feroza and began unbuttoning his shirt, one by one.

As each button came undone, his firm chest was gradually revealed.

For some reason, she felt nervous and swallowed hard, making Feroza’s smile deepen.

“Are you embarrassed?”

“N-no, I’m not!”

Not wanting to lose, Ellie shouted back.

She finally managed to get Feroza’s shirt off, lowered herself a bit, and reached for his pants.

Even without taking off his pants, his impressive manhood was already clearly visible.

‘It’s fine. It’s not my first time.’

Still, she didn’t know why she was trembling so much.

Maybe it was because it was so unusually large to begin with.