Chapter 3

“I have high expectations for you and the Duke’s daughter. Do your best for her and make sure to build a harmonious family.”

The Emperor, who had never once summoned him before, had suddenly called him over and started spouting nonsense. So this was what he had intended.

Zeke’s dark red eyes slowly swept over Janette as though caressing her.

At a glance, she was dressed as though she had firmly resolved to seduce him, and a sweet scent strong enough to sting his nose clung to her.

The scheme was so blatantly obvious that it nearly made him laugh.

“I was expecting a somewhat more original trick, but isn’t this far too obvious?”

“Um••••••.”

“But sometimes, falling into an obvious trap isn’t so bad either.”

Contrary to his casual words, Zeke’s dark red eyes gleamed even more sharply beneath the shadows.

At his ominous presence, Janette flinched and pulled together the chemise that barely covered anything in the first place.

“It seems you’ve misunderstood something. I think an explanation is necessary.”

At that moment, Zeke suddenly strode forward and trapped Janette between his large body and the door.

With nowhere left to go, she darted her eyes around, trying somehow to escape, when Zeke lowered his head.

Then, approaching until their lips were almost touching, he……

“You don’t have to say anything. I know better than you what kind of situation this is.”

“……”

“My lovely wife must have gone through quite a lot. You even dressed yourself up this much for me.”

The breath brushing against her ear sent a tingling sensation through her entire body, as though electricity were running through it.

Janette’s eyes trembled violently as she stared at Zeke, her body even stiffer than before.

But all of Zeke’s attention was focused on the voices of the Emperor and Duke’s confidants standing beyond the door.

“It seems to have worked.”

“It’s still too early to relax. Not until we return with definitive proof.”

“By definitive proof, you mean?”

“At the very least, shouldn’t there be blood on the bed?”

Apparently, they had no intention of leaving quietly.

In that case, he would have to use another method.

Zeke whispered into the ear of Janette, who was still completely hunched up like a frightened squirrel.

“Unfortunately, it seems the people outside have no intention of leaving until they’ve confirmed that we’ve consummated the marriage.”

With a meaningful smile, the back of Zeke’s hand briefly touched Janette’s exposed shoulder.

“What do you think, my lady? Should we live up to their expectations?”

Janette immediately shook her head vigorously.

It was absurd.

To sleep with Zeke, a man she did not love and whom she had not even known for a full day.

Besides, now that the door was closed, they had no way to confirm it directly anyway.

After thinking for a moment, Janette eventually looked up at Zeke with determined eyes.

“Even if we can’t simply pretend nothing is happening and walk out, there must be some way to deceive them. You don’t truly want to sleep with me either, Your Highness.”

The corners of Zeke’s mouth curled upward as he watched Janette answer in a clear voice.

Only moments ago, she had been keeping her distance from him with considerable wariness, yet at times like this, she suddenly became proactive.

Had her audacity stirred his competitive spirit, or was his disposition simply rotten by nature?

Suddenly, he became curious about how she would react if he gave her an unexpected answer.

“You jump out of your skin from the slightest touch. What exactly are you planning to do?”

“That……”

“A half-hearted performance would be worse than doing nothing. They wouldn’t have stationed people here who could be fooled by something that flimsy.”

“Then what are you planning to do? Are you really going to sleep with me?”

“If it means avoiding this annoying situation for a while, that would be much better.”

“What?”

Zeke’s large, long fingers caught Janette by the chin.

His thumb pressed against her trembling red lips as he moved toward her in an instant.

At a distance where the slightest movement would bring their lips together, he looked at the wide-eyed Janette and spoke.

“If you’re doubtful, shall we test it?”

“What are••••!”

At the same moment, his soft lips met hers perfectly, as though refusing to allow even the slightest gap between them.

It was Janette’s first time kissing a man, and her mind went completely blank.

She had never imagined she would press such an intimate part of herself against a man who might eventually become her enemy.

But Zeke’s strange behavior did not stop there.

Smack, smack.

He kissed her loudly enough for the sound to carry, then once again captured Janette’s lips.

Along with the unfamiliar sensation of their moist lips touching, a strange vibration ran through her waist.

“Nh•••.”

A suggestive m*an slipped from Janette’s lips.

She could hardly believe the sound had come from her own mouth.

It was strange.

She knew she should push him away, yet she could not summon any strength.

It felt as though she had been swept away by a violent wave, carried along without anything to grasp.

Her trembling fingertips hovered helplessly in the air.

With his eyes slightly open, Zeke noticed her agitation and intertwined his fingers with hers.

Then he roughly pressed her against the solid door.

Thud.

The sound echoed through the room.

The whispering beyond the door intensified.

Apparently, the people outside had heard it as well.

“See? Now that we’re actually doing it, they aren’t suspicious outside either.”

Zeke, who had been ceaselessly exploring Janette’s upper and lower lips, briefly pulled away and whispered.

The faint scoff he let out brushed across her lips, creating another unfamiliar sensation.

Janette’s body suddenly staggered as dizziness swept over her.

His firm arm immediately wrapped around her waist, pulling her even closer.

Their lips met again, and with a soft smack, their breaths intertwined.

“Nh, ah, wait••••••”

Thud, thud.

Janette’s body struck the door, creating a steady rhythm of noise.

There was no longer even the slightest whispering outside.

They were probably trying to listen carefully to the sounds coming from inside the room.

“Open your mouth.”

Just as she was about to ask what he meant, something soft and warm traced along her even row of teeth.

The instant she realized it was his tongue, Zeke reached deeper into her mouth.

“Nh.”

Their tongues tangled together before eventually separating.

A thin strand of saliva stretched between them, plainly revealing what the two had just been doing.

Janette had barely managed to catch her breath when—

“Ah!”

Zeke suddenly lifted Janette with one arm and extinguished the lamp illuminating the room.

Then, easily restraining her struggling body, he headed toward the canopy bed.

“We’re only getting started. You can’t be tired already.”

“Wait!”

“You entered my bedroom however you pleased and provoked me first. And now you’re telling me to stop?”

Did he truly intend to sleep with her?

When there wasn’t even the slightest trace of love between them?

There was no way he felt anything for her.

There was nothing in the eyes that looked at her.

Then perhaps he was still acting.

But judging from what he had said earlier, he also seemed somewhat resigned.

He had even tried to persuade her that simply sleeping together once would make things easier for both of them if they wanted to escape this situation.

“Let’s talk this out first. You’re not doing this because you genuinely love me.”

“Love?”

Zeke continued with a cold sneer.

“You don’t need something like that for this.”

“What are you talking about? Why would you deliberately walk into their trap and—nh!”

Before she could finish speaking, Zeke’s soft lips naturally traveled from her jaw down toward the nape of her neck.

Smack, smack, smack.

His lips continued downward until they stopped at the ribbon near her chest.

For an instant, an awkward silence fell between them.

Only Janette’s ragged breathing echoed through the room.

Something is dangerous.

The moment she thought that and tried to raise herself, Zeke’s hand moved first.

“Ah!”

Zeke lightly brushed the peak of her br*ast with one long finger while his other hand stroked her waist.

“Hah••···.”

“Shh.”

Zeke made a soothing sound as though calming Janette, then slipped his thigh between her restless legs and held her in place.

“Don’t be so frightened. I’ll give you what you want soon enough.”

While Janette panted for breath, Zeke used his teeth to loosen the ribbon covering her chest.

Rustle.

The chemise parted to both sides, revealing her pale br*asts.

Zeke flicked one pink peak lightly, then lowered his face and took it fully into his mouth.

And then•••··•.

“Ahh..!”

S*ck.

Zeke repeatedly sucked deeply at the peak and released it, roughly kneading the rounded br*ast.

Her br*ast shifted beneath his hand as his fingers repeatedly squeezed and released it.

“Nh, ah!”

The unfamiliar sensations she was experiencing for the first time, and the suggestive sounds she could hardly believe were coming from her.

Startled, Janette raised both hands and covered her mouth.

But that alone was not enough to stop the m*ans that had already escaped.

While part of her wanted to run away immediately, Janette could feel her body heating up from the stimulation.

No. This can’t happen.

Contrary to her thoughts, Janette’s body could not push Zeke away.

And so, the two continued moving busily beyond the draped canopy.

Leaving behind the gazes watching them through the gap in the open door.