Chapter 4 – Seize (Part 6)

As the lady said, everyone knew about Robin’s cold demeanor. Wasn’t Robin famous for not even granting debutante pranks or wishes?

‘He even refused Olivie’s request for a kiss that day.’

So Erica couldn’t understand it even more.

‘Did she catch him at a weak moment?’

If not, no matter how much Emily asked, Robin wouldn’t attend the banquet with Olivie, let alone pretend to be in such an affectionate relationship.

‘What could it be?’

Erica stared intently as if she would uncover the truth between the two.

And that intensity did not subside until the moment the music ended, and Olivie, with a flushed face, bowed to Robin and took a step back.

Instead, it was at that moment when she couldn’t take her eyes off the backs of the two as they retreated from the stage.

“……It seems like the Elphano is trying to connect with the Tanners after the engagement was broken, doesn’t it?”

“What?”

Erica turned her head to the voice of the lady echoing in her dazed ears. At her sharp reaction, as if it was nonsense, the lady covered her mouth with a fan.

“If not, why would the two of them attend the banquet together?”

Robin and Olivie?

‘Impossible.’

How could she, who just broke off an engagement, be with Robin? Was that even possible?

“Surely not.”

Erica shook her head, barely managing to compose her expression, which seemed about to twist.

“Lord Tanner is a bit too much for Miss Elphano.”

“Is that so?”

The lady let out a nasal hum, glancing up at Erica while lightly tapping her mouth with the fan and then crossed her arms.

“Isn’t there always the possibility of a one-in-a-million chance?”

“That kind of thing…….”

“If such a thing really happens.”

“…….”

“It would be a good thing, wouldn’t it? They are friends, after all.”

The lady, smiling brightly and staring at Olivie, lightly nodded her head and turned her body.

At that moment, Erica’s face flushed red as if she had been exposed, feeling as though her innermost thoughts had been revealed. Despite everything, she thought, ‘It can’t be.’ Even at that moment, unable to acknowledge the appearance of the two, Erica quickly turned to find her maid.

“Madame.”

“Tell Elton to follow the Tanner’s carriage.”

Erica whispered urgently to the maid who approached her side and then averted her eyes from the sight of the two standing together.

“Tell him not to lose them.”

* * *

At that time.

Having finished the dance, Olivie spread her skirt wide to both sides and bowed her head. Although it wasn’t an intense dance, her chest heaved with breaths as if she were out of breath.

“As I felt back then, your stamina is terrible.”

Robin lightly chided Olivie as he reached out his hand to her, and she turned to him with a flushed face.

“This is pretty good. What good is it for a Lady to have great stamina?”

Olivie, mentioning the ladylike modesty her mother had tirelessly recited, took Robin’s hand and linked arms with him, turning her body.

“You like moving around, don’t you?”

“That was in the past. I’m over twenty now. I have to be modest.”

Though her chest still heaved, Robin appeared calm throughout. Even though she had danced much more at the banquet, his familiar demeanor made Olivie look up at him.

“But you’re good at dancing, aren’t you? I don’t think I’ve seen you dance much.”

“Not really, I don’t like it.”

“Why not?”

“Because touching and being touched isn’t pleasant.”

Oh, come to think of it, she hadn’t really seen him dance with anyone other than Emily.

‘He dislikes it.’

Nodding her head, thinking that could be the case.

But at that moment.

‘Then what about me?’

Before she could catch it, her imagination began to unravel.

‘Why?’

‘Because I’m his sister’s friend?’

‘Or……’

As Olivie bit her lower lip, unable to properly conclude even her inner thoughts.

“What are you thinking about?”

He reached out and pressed his thumb against Olivie’s lower lip, pulling it out.

“Why is your face turning red again?”

Not satisfied with that, he pressed firmly with his fingertips, caressing it as if tracing it, and Olivie looked up with her lips smudged by his subtle touch.

Thump-thump-thump- Her heartbeat echoed loudly as if it would reach her ears.

At this moment, she couldn’t feel the gazes of others.

“Tell me.”

“……”

“What you’re thinking?”

He removed his hand from her lips and met Olivie’s gaze.

Her heart was beating too fast.

Was it because they had just finished dancing? Her breath rose and fell rapidly in the upper part of her chest.

All the words she had repeatedly told herself not to waver seemed to fade away at this moment. As if this moment wasn’t herself.

Perhaps that’s why, as he stared at her and smiled, her mouth opened impulsively.

“The thought, ‘Am I okay?'”

“……”

“No, the thought, ‘Why am I okay?'”

His gaze, which had been softly relaxed, gradually hardened, becoming as sharp as a well-honed blade. But Olivie, noticing the tremor in his eyes that he couldn’t hide, took a step closer to him.

“Shall we go out?”

“……”

“I’ll tell you the answer outside.” 

Robin nodded briefly at Olivie’s words as she slightly raised her head.

Along with her rapidly beating heart, her breath was still short.

To the point where she completely forgot who she was.

* * *

“Ah.”

As soon as they entered the mansion, without any signal, the two pressed their lips together, embracing each other as if to indulge in one another. His fingertips, which had been trailing down her waist, wrapped around her neck.

“Ha.”

Tilting his head, he licked the nape of her neck with the tip of his tongue and teased her white, translucent skin with his lips. Biting, licking, as if determined to devour her completely, his teasing kisses made her shiver.

“Ugh.”

Olivie tilted her head back and clutched Robin’s clothes. Her legs felt weak, as if she would collapse if she didn’t hold onto him.

She had already been drained since the carriage ride, and it was overwhelming even for her to keep up with his relentless onslaught. 

Moreover, this corset—never before had her undergarments felt so cumbersome and annoying as today. 

Olivie glanced around. If she had a pair of scissors, she would have snipped it off immediately; it was so tight that she couldn’t take it off without someone else’s help.

So…

“Help me with my clothes.”

There was no choice but to ask him for help. His own restraint was likely reaching its limit too.

“Take them off for me.”

Robin, who was looking down at her, gently lifted Olivie. Then he climbed onto the bed, laying her down so that she faced the headboard, supporting her lower abdomen lightly. The position, with her hands pushing against the floor and her knees bent, seemed almost animalistic, but it didn’t matter. Olivie enjoyed this position as well.

She just wanted to get rid of this cumbersome thing as quickly as possible.

“Hurry.”

With a voice that flowed out like a sigh, he, who was brushing his lips along the line of her shoulders, bit the string of the dress below her shoulder blades and tugged it loose with a swift pull.

“Ha.”

As her breath escaped like a lament, he quickly untied the corset strings that had been fastened with clasps, revealing her ample bosom over the fallen dress fabric. The joy of being able to breathe freely was overwhelming.

Once again feeling that sense of liberation, she took a long, deep breath, and at that moment, he grasped her br*ast firmly with one hand, pinching the er*ect n*pple between his fingers.

“Ugh.”

As if it were his own, his hands kneaded and squeezed her br*ast, making Olivie bite her lower lip. It felt as though her moans would escape too explicitly.

She tried to hold back a little, but—

“Ha.”

As his hand pulled down her dress fabric, exposing her to the cold air, a soft moan slipped through her clenched teeth. Goosebumps rose all over her body. Every place his touch reached made her hair stand on end, sending a chill down her spine.

It wasn’t even cold.

His touch made her tense.

“Ugh.”

His lips descended to where the dress fabric had vanished, replacing it. From the nape of her neck, he licked the protruding bone on her thin skin as if teasing it. As his lips and breath slowly caressed her body, moving slightly downward, Olivie shuddered and tilted her head back.

“Ha.”

As a faint breath escaped her, she couldn’t muster the strength in her arms to push against the floor. Just as her face seemed about to collapse forward onto the bed, Robin’s hand, which was supporting her lower abdomen, tightened its grip.

“Weak.”

With a hint of laughter in his voice, Olivie bit her lower lip. She wanted to protest, but she didn’t have the energy. She had been worn out all day, and it seemed her stamina had weakened just as he said.

“So do it quickly.”

“Hmm.”

At Olivie’s impatient urging, his nasal voice lingered lazily as one corner of his mouth twisted into a smirk.

‘Oh no.’