Just as a startled Vivianne tried to pull away, Kian captured her lips more deeply. A wet sound echoed as their mouths connected, their lips sliding against each other before locking together.

When his tongue naturally slipped between her teeth, the bittersweet taste of chocolate mingled with the soft bubbles of champagne, making her head spin.

Something felt strange. Her toes tingled and her ears burned hot while her heart raced with nervous anticipation.

Somehow, this dangerous sensation wasn’t entirely unfamiliar to Vivianne, yet she didn’t want to become accustomed to it either. They might have known each other before, perhaps they had even been deeply in love, but this sudden intimacy was overwhelming.

With the precarious feeling of walking a tightrope, she squeezed her eyes shut and gently pushed against Kian’s collarbone. Their lips separated, though their noses still touched, and someone’s breath, she wasn’t sure whose, scattered against her ear.

“We… we shouldn’t do this.”

“What did I do wrong?”

“You just… kissed me.”

“That wasn’t a kiss.”

“What?”

“Don’t you remember? This is how we always ate chocolate together.”

He smiled, seemingly intoxicated, and planted a quick peck on her lips.

“I did that?”

The action seemed too outrageous to have been something she would do. Though it was natural she couldn’t remember, Vivianne’s eyes trembled slightly, on the verge of tears.

“You asked what happened between us in the past.”

Finding her reaction adorable, Kian pressed his lips against hers once more.

“This is what we were. A couple who kissed constantly, who burned passionately for each other.”

She clearly couldn’t believe what he was telling her. Vivianne’s face flushed bright red like a girl experiencing her first kiss.

‘To think my second first kiss with her is also mine. Could there be a more satisfying feeling?’

“B-but… that was before. We’ve broken up now.”

“We never broke up. I lost you.”

They hadn’t separated. They couldn’t separate. They shouldn’t have separated.

Because I can’t live without you.

Fortunately, you can’t live without me either now.

“I never wanted to break up with you.”

“…Maybe I wanted to.”

“Perhaps. I wouldn’t know.”

No, he did know.

He remembered the moment she had struggled desperately, saying she’d rather die than stay by his side. Knowing she had nowhere else to go, he’d been so anxious about her leaving that he’d even put shackles on her.

He recalled how she had sobbed that she felt suffocated, how her hands had trembled too much to stab him with a knife. He remembered her swearing she hated him, promising she could never love him.

Despite her loathing him so terribly, he had to keep her.

Not because he didn’t want to break up, but because he couldn’t.

He had imprisoned her out of selfish desire, and within that prison, she had withered day by day.

Nevertheless, in the end, she couldn’t kill him. She had tried to leave but was ultimately captured again.

Even without her memories, she couldn’t hide her glances, and to survive, she would have to conceive this “man of poor character’s” child once more.

What a cruel and persistent bond they shared.

Vivi, you saved me. You asked me to keep the compass, promising to repay me when you grew up.

Because I must save you, I have no choice but to deceive you, even knowing why you left.

“When I came home, you were gone. I searched desperately for you.”

This wasn’t a lie. He had sent knights throughout his territory to search anywhere she might be, and had scoured the sea hoping to find even her body.

He had waited for reports of anyone resembling her, confirmed they weren’t her, and been disappointed again and again. Whenever he closed his eyes, he had nightmares of her being devoured by the sea spray.

“…I finally found you.”

His hot lips met hers deeply once more before pulling away.

“Mmm…”

“So from my perspective, we didn’t break up, I lost you.”

Despite her trembling fingertips, Vivianne pushed him away and turned her head to avoid his lips, breathing heavily.

“I… I didn’t ask because I want to go back. So please, no more kissing.”

“If you say so.”

“I’m satisfied with my life now. And even though I don’t remember… I must have had a good reason for leaving.”

“I’m sure you did. So tell me when your memories return, okay? I was too foolish to realize I couldn’t live without you until after you disappeared.”

At his pleading tone, Vivianne cautiously faced him again. His expression matched exactly how he had looked at her during the dinner party when she had hidden behind Theodore, utterly devastated and sad.

“Then… will you help me remember? You promised to answer my questions if I had dinner with you.”

Kian hesitated.

Would helping her be the right thing? Thinking of the taxidermy room, he wondered if she could withstand learning about her miscarriage.

“What kind of person was I?”

Should he tell her the truth?

That she wasn’t human but a mermaid. That she had traded her soul for legs because she wanted him. That she would turn to sea foam if she couldn’t bear his child.

If he told her, would she accept him? Could he save her?

He couldn’t be certain.

It had seemed like a fairy tale, hard to believe at first. This woman, who firmly believed herself to be human, would likely feel the same.

“Was I someone who appraised jewels? I can distinguish fake pearls from real ones. Even something trivial would be fine. Please tell me anything.”

Vivianne looked desperately eager. He couldn’t ignore that desperation, feeling he should tell her something, anything, as she asked.

“You loved ribbons.”

“…That’s right. I do love ribbons.”

A smile spread across Vivianne’s face. How simple it was to make her smile.

Why couldn’t he have done this all along? He smiled, feeling oddly deflated.

“You loved sweet things like chocolate. You liked croissants too. You’d ignore the meat and only eat bread, so I had to cut up your steak for you. Probably because you weren’t familiar with dining etiquette. You turned pale when you saw all the forks and knives. And because your mouth is small, you’d get food all over your face while eating, just like today.”

Her expression suggested she might have done the same at the Baldwin estate.

“I’m better now. I learned from an etiquette teacher. As for only eating bread… I just really like bread.”

“Some things never change. You still can’t lie.”

How did he know it was a lie? Vivianne’s face turned bright red.

“Back then, you wanted to try champagne just like today.”

“Um… about the champagne. Could I have just one more sip?”

Seizing the opportunity when champagne was mentioned, Vivianne asked cautiously.

“Do you want to kiss me again?”

“You said it wasn’t a kiss.”

“Our lips still touched, though.”

“N-no, I’m just thirsty from eating all those sweets…”

That made sense.

“You’re really not drunk?”

“Not at all. I can drink more, so don’t treat me like a child. I’m an adult, so this little amount won’t make me drunk. Probably.”

Her bristling at being treated like a child and insisting she was an adult remained unchanged.

Her addition of “probably” suggested she wasn’t entirely confident. Did she want to drink that badly?

Kian silently smiled at Vivianne’s fidgeting.

“I won’t eat any more chocolate. So we don’t need to touch lips, right? I couldn’t properly taste it earlier, which was disappointing.”

She likely hadn’t had the opportunity to try champagne at the Baldwin estate. Since the Marchioness didn’t enjoy aperitifs, Vivianne probably felt she might never get another chance if she missed this one.

“Because of the kiss?”

“I’ll just… drink it myself. Please give me the glass.”

When directly questioned, she completely avoided the topic.

Clever girl. Kian handed her the glass, pretending to give in. One more sip shouldn’t matter. Despite her rambling, she didn’t appear intoxicated.

She was probably just nervous, making her mouth dry. He was curious to see what she planned to do.

Though she had promised just one sip, Vivianne gulped down all the champagne in the glass and placed the empty vessel on the table.

Was it his imagination, or had a rosy flush appeared on her cheeks?

“…What else? Was there anything else I liked?”

“I think you’ll dislike hearing it.”

“What is it? Please tell me, anything is fine.”

Seeing her eager eyes made him want to tease her more.

“Are you sure you’re okay with it?”

“Yes. It doesn’t matter.”

“You’re promising.”

Nodding repeatedly, Vivianne assured him.

“You loved my medals. You found them fascinating and kept touching them.”

“Do you have medals, Your Grace?”

“You should call me Kian.”

“Kian, do you have medals? Really?”

He wouldn’t lie about that. Why did her eyes sparkle over something so ordinary?

He recalled the day he had returned after receiving his first medal, how she had continued talking about it even while undressing him, unable to focus on anything else. The memory irritated him.

“Yes. You coveted them so much that I had one made for you too.”

“How?”

“Should I make you one now?”