Chapter 2 – One Night (Part 4)

Sixteen.  

“Oppa, just one kiss, please.”

“……”  

The moment Olivie, the debutante of that spring, finished speaking, a gust of wind blew between the two of them.  

It felt like her heart was hanging from her earlobes.

Olivie’s flushed face and reddened neck represented her anxious heart.  

But the person in front of her didn’t even flinch.  

Not even a frown.  

He wasn’t embarrassing her, yet Robin’s gaze, staring at her blankly, was pure indifference, devoid of any emotion.  

Facing those emotionless eyes, Olivie unknowingly clenched her fists.  

‘Of all people.’  

Olivie bit her lip hard.  

She felt like crying. Until now, she couldn’t understand the young ladies who confessed to him and returned in tears, but now, she just felt like crying.  

This was, after all, a rite of passage, a playful prank shared among the young ladies during their coming-of-age ceremony.  

There were things like kissing the man chosen by the lady who drew the queen in a lottery, receiving a handkerchief, or even something as simple as a kiss on the back of the hand.  

There were also romantic gestures like asking for a flower to be plucked.  

But of all things, it had to be Erica Leblanc, the person she got along with the least, who became the queen.

‘It’s an easy one. Just kiss Robin Tanner.’

Recalling Erica’s annoyingly elegant voice, Olivie tightly clenched her fist.  

But the lot had already been drawn, and there was no turning back.  

She couldn’t just go back, hand over her cherished jewel, and drink the punishment.  

‘Absolutely not.’  

She flexed and extended her toes inside her dress, glancing at Robin.

The handsome face remained unchanged, and the cold expression was the same as ever. She bit the tender flesh inside her mouth, seeing no sign that he would comply with her wishes on his face.  

She should have pointed to another young noble.  

‘Isn’t that right?’  

But then, Olivie shook her head vigorously in her mind and looked at Robin again.  

Honestly, there wasn’t a man better than Robin in this place.  

Since things had come to this, she thought it wouldn’t be unfair to kiss or spend a night with the best man here.

She didn’t want to kiss just anyone merely to win a bet. And even if, by any chance, she got rejected, if it was by Robin, everyone would understand.  

Because it was Robin Tanner.  

Even Erica Leblanc, who became the queen this time, had pointed to him because she never thought Olivie would succeed.  

He was a man who didn’t make contact with anyone other than his sister.  

But perhaps, just once, a kiss would be possible since she was his sister’s closest friend?  

‘As long as it’s just the lips.’  

With a nervous heart, she gazed earnestly at Robin, thinking that much would be acceptable.  

“Oppa?”  

“……”  

As she called him with an anxious face, Robin, who had been staring blankly at Olivie, slightly tilted his head. Then he stepped back and glanced at the young ladies gathered in a corner, before looking back at Olivie.  

Seeing Robin’s face, which looked as if he understood everything with just that brief glance, Olivie also put aside further explanation.  

“A kiss, just one will do.”  

“What’s at stake?”  

“The debutante earrings I received from Her Majesty the Queen.”  

One of the Queen’s long-standing pleasures was gifting small ornaments like earrings or necklaces to the lady she fancied each year at the debutante. And this year, Olivie had the good fortune to receive a pair of ruby earrings from the Queen.

As if he knew what those earrings were, Robin nodded.  

But despite the expression that seemed to understand her, he didn’t stand up from his seat. He kept her standing there and tilted his head slightly to the right.  

“And?”  

“Pardon?”  

When Olivie, momentarily not understanding his words, asked again, Robin slightly raised the corner of his mouth in a smile. It was closer to a sneer or mockery than a smile, but even that smile was rare. However, Olivie knew the meaning behind that smile.

‘When my brother smiles with one corner of his mouth raised, it means he’s up to something. You have to be careful.’

Olivie clearly remembered Emily explaining this as she lifted the corner of her own mouth with her right hand.  

Just as Emily described, his right lip was twisted upward.  

That smirk meant he was scheming something.  

She felt like she was sinking into a swamp.  

Unable to move forward, unable to retreat.  

Olivie swallowed dryly.  

‘Maybe I should just ask Lady Leblanc for a different wish.’  

She slumped her shoulders, thinking perhaps she could negotiate with Erica.  

Better to die than suffer.

Thinking she might as well just give up the jewels, she shook her head slightly.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll just…”  

“Ahaha.”  

But at that moment, a high-pitched laugh from behind her pierced her ears.  

It was unmistakably Erica’s.  

‘That, that…’  

For a moment, she felt the veins at her temples tighten.  

Was it resentment over the ruby earrings, or was it dissatisfaction with Olivie catching the Queen’s eye? Whatever it was, as soon as she heard that malicious laughter, she glanced back, and there was Erica, glancing at Olivie while covering her mouth with a fan as she laughed.

At that moment, Olivie, provoked by the laughter, bit her lip and turned her head.  

“…….”  

She gazed at him desperately, with a pitiful expression, but he didn’t move a muscle.  

As she thought about who was better, Erica Leblanc or Robin Tanner, she shook her head.  

She couldn’t go inside and suffer humiliation. Here, she only had to endure the scorn from Robin Tanner.  

‘They’ll tease me endlessly over there.’

It seemed better to receive a kiss from Robin here so that she could hold her head high even if she went over there. Convinced that a kiss with Robin was the better option, she looked at him.  

“A kiss, just one will do.”  

“…….”  

“You know, Oppa, it’s just a debutante’s prank.”  

Although Olivie explained the situation in detail, Robin’s attitude remained unchanged. His heartless reaction made her wonder if he had been bribed by the other side, so she bit her lip and stared at him intently.  

But this man, cold and unfeeling, didn’t budge.  

“You don’t expect me to force it on you, do you?”  

“If you can.”  

Shrugging his shoulders, he stood up.

Then he slowly walked toward her until he was right in front of her, so close as if he was about to kiss her. The murmurs around them suddenly ceased.  

It felt like everyone was watching Olivie and Robin. Olivie clenched her fists tightly, her face flushing red.  

And just in case, she closed her eyes tightly…  

“Fifteen is too young for a kiss.”  

What came instead of a kiss was Robin’s voice, whispering in her ear.  

“Come back when you’re older.”  

“…….”  

“When that time comes, I’ll do whatever you ask, whether it’s a kiss or something else.”  

With a quick poke to her forehead, Robin pushed her away and walked past her without a kiss.