“Now? Is this enough now?”

“No. Not yet.”

“Just how long do I have to do this to satisfy you.”

Karina felt like she wanted to cry.

“Do you know how many minutes it’s been?”

“About ten minutes have passed.”

By now, she could definitely say that her s*xual harassment was more serious than the impropriety Dominic had committed against her.

However, the inflexible man before her, regardless of her situation of fondling a man’s chest for several minutes, shook his head with a strict face.

“I still don’t feel like Lady Crawford is a lecher or a pervert.”

“I’m telling you I was just being oversensitive about it. Honestly, making me continue for several minutes for what only lasted a few seconds is a bit…”

“The length of time isn’t what’s important, it’s that Lady Crawford felt those emotions that matters.”

So the current problem between them was that the situation wouldn’t end with Karina half-heartedly touching Dominic’s chest in this unavoidable situation.

Because he was insisting that he couldn’t back down until he felt the same emotions.

Karina had already been fondling Dominic’s chest muscles for several minutes.

Honestly, her embarrassment about Dominic’s hand touching her chest had completely disappeared by now, and she only felt like wondering what on earth she was doing.

“How long do I have to keep touching?”

“I also want this situation to end quickly. So how about approaching it with a more serious attitude?”

Hearing Dominic’s comment that seemed to blame her, Karina pressed her finger firmly against his chest in disgust.

Lecher and pervert.

She needed to make him feel these emotions.

She really couldn’t understand why she had to do this.

She knew he was rigid by nature, but she never knew Dominic Winchester was such an all-or-nothing person.

Karina glanced at the clock. As he said, more than ten minutes had passed.

Feeling that prolonging this would only make things more awkward, Karina swallowed hard.

‘No choice.’

Though she didn’t understand why things had progressed this way… since this situation would only end when she made him feel like she was a lecher and pervert, she had no choice.

‘If we don’t end this quickly.’

Dominic’s unannounced visit to the mansion was already problematic. If rumors spread that he came to see her instead of her brother and spent a long time alone with her in a room, it would tarnish Dominic Winchester’s spotless name. This shouldn’t happen to the male protagonist who was meant to win Olivia.

Karina grabbed Dominic’s shoulders and rose from the sofa. Due to their height difference that barely reached his chest, she had to kneel up. Meeting his eyes, Karina grabbed his collar and pulled him close.

There was barely an egg’s width of space between their faces. To Dominic who blinked at the sudden situation, Karina asked one more time to confirm his intentions.

“Do you really want me to act like a lecher towards you, Brigadier General?”

“It’s only fair.”

“Fine. I won’t try to stop you anymore. But don’t complain if you get more than you bargained for.”

“That won’t happen.”

Hearing Dominic’s answer, Karina pulled his collar. She pressed her lips right against his right ear and whispered.

“You better be prepared.”

* * *

Dominic’s lips tightened.

He could clearly feel Karina’s shallow breathing in his ear and her lips gently nibbling his ear cartilage.

It was an unexpected stimulation in an unexpected place.

He had only thought that ears existed to hear sounds. But the sensitive feeling of her soft lips made him newly realize just how sensitive an organ the ear was.

Her actions were so bold it was hard to believe she was the same person who had been poking his chest with her finger. These were actions no proper noble lady would know about.

What noble lady would think of nibbling a man’s ear?

“Pay attention.”

When Dominic’s mind briefly wandered, Karina gently bit his earlobe with her teeth. His body jerked significantly. It was an unconscious reaction. At that response, Karina’s low laughing voice came through his now highly sensitized ear.

All this had started because of a hand touching her chest.

However, making that reason seem meaningless, Karina and Dominic’s bodies were now pressed tightly together. His heightened senses were clearly aware of her soft br*asts pressing against his arm.

Ah.

He thought it would be simple, but the situation was starting to flow differently from Dominic’s expectations.

All his bodily senses were focused solely on understanding Karina. Her breathing, her body temperature, her lips, the arm around his neck, and even the thin fingers parting his hair to grip the back of his head.

Karina smiled slightly. The fact that Dominic’s previously statue-like body was gradually becoming rigid meant her seduction was working quite well. Though Dominic had shown little reaction to having his chest touched, since he’s unfamiliar with women, he couldn’t be immune to such high-level harassment.

Karina’s hand slowly slid down from his neck across his shoulder.

After touching it so many times, she had become completely comfortable touching Dominic’s chest muscles. But this was different from before. Dominic’s previously composed breathing became rough.

Thump. Thump. She could feel his heart beating violently enough to be caught in her hand. His quickened pulse meant he was now in a state of *rousal.

“Stop.”

As Karina had expected, Dominic’s declaration of surrender burst out, unable to endure any longer. Karina quickly separated from him as if she had been waiting for this.

Unlike Dominic whose face had turned bright red, Karina looked relieved as if all her trials were finally over. She looked at the clock again. About 20 minutes had passed since Dominic’s visit.

Twenty minutes was relatively safe. It was too short a time for a serious conversation. It could be explained that they just had a chat after he came to visit her brother.

Who would believe that ‘Dominic Winchester’ had his chest toyed with and earlobe bitten by a woman for 20 minutes? The truth-teller would probably be labeled the liar.

“Well. It seems our accounts are now settled. Right?”

Karina dusted off her hands with a grin. Her attitude seemed somewhat annoying, as if she had been waiting to separate from him. But Dominic was in no state to consider such things.

“Now get up. If you stay here too long, people will find it strange.”

“…Understood. I’ll just wait for my face to cool down a bit.”

“Ah, um. That’s… true.”

Dominic’s face was as red as a radish. Karina blinked and nodded. It certainly looked a bit strange. Even his usual straight-backed posture was disheveled. With his back hunched and head lowered.

‘He seems quite shocked.’

She wondered if she had gone too far, but it couldn’t be helped.

He wouldn’t have backed down otherwise.

“Remember, where there’s a will, there’s always learning.”

Karina cleared her throat with a “ahem, ahem” and said, feeling embarrassed.

“Between people who are nothing to each other like us, these actions would be those of a lecher and pervert, but in a romantic relationship, being unable to show physical affection is also a major flaw. You know you absolutely shouldn’t approach Lady Lindid like this right now, right? But there will come a time when it’s necessary.”

There was no response from the other party. Seeing Dominic looking almost dazed, Karina also began to feel embarrassment creeping up.

Karina jumped up from her seat.

“Well then, fix yourself up properly in a while and come out. It would be troublesome if we’re together, so I’ll leave first.”

* * *

Voices could be heard from beyond the door.

“Miss, has the Brigadier General already left?”

“Ah, no. He went to the bathroom for a moment.”

“Ah. The bathroom… you say?”

“Yes. Perhaps he drank too much tea? Ah! Please pack some tea leaves.”

“Pardon? Tea leaves?”

“Yes. He came to ask about what leaves were used in the tea he had with Brother, remember? It was those leaves we drank today. So let’s send him some. Write down the origin and type too.”

“Ah, yes. Understood.”

Karina’s lies were so smooth without even blinking that it was almost laughable. But while that was just a manner of speaking, Dominic was in no state to laugh.

Only after Karina left did he raise his crouched body. His indiscreet lower half was pushing against the fabric of his white uniform as if it might burst through.