It was Kian. He strode in confidently, wearing a light shirt.

“It’s been a while”? She had visited him less than a week ago.

Of all times, she was wearing only a chemise and undergarments, preparing to try on clothes. 

Not only had he barged into a changing room where someone was dressing, but he greeted her with a calm face. Vivianne found his eccentric behavior difficult to understand.

“What are you doing?” she demanded.

“What do you mean? Why else would I come to a changing room?”

Was he suggesting he had accidentally entered an occupied changing room just to change his clothes? Anyone could see this was no coincidence.

Despicable male. Vivianne’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.

“Don’t lie. You came here deliberately because of me.”

“You’re right about that. I came specifically for you—to get new clothes made so I could impress you.”

Kian admitted it surprisingly readily. Seeing him answer so casually with a raised eyebrow made Vivianne’s temper flare.

He began unbuttoning his shirt. As the front opened and more skin was revealed, Vivianne’s face turned pale.

“Why are you staring so intently? Is this your first time seeing a man’s bare body?”

Their eyes met while she was flustered. He was smiling mischievously. Embarrassed, Vivianne whipped her head away.

“If you wanted to see me that badly, why didn’t you come? I would have shown you as much as you wanted.”

“Put your clothes on and leave quickly.”

“No.”

Was he doing this on purpose? His movements as he removed his shirt were excruciatingly slow.

When the garment came off, his strong, muscular upper body was revealed. She expected him to put on the new shirt he had brought immediately, but instead, Kian approached the frightened Vivianne from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Ah, ahh!”

Vivianne’s body swayed and fell limply into his strong arms like a doll.

Surely he wasn’t planning to mate with her here? Memories of things she would never dare do while sober flashed through her mind like a kaleidoscope.

Vivianne struggled desperately to break free from his embrace.

“T-Theo is outside. He has a sword. I’ll scream!”

“Call him in.”

Surprisingly, Kian readily agreed to this.

“You must be close enough to show your n*ked body to that guard of yours.”

“T-that’s not it…”

“If it’s not, how can you say such things so fearlessly?”

Even while scolding her, he planted soft kisses on her round crown, her white nape. He was starting to kiss her all over again. The danger signs were clear.

“The person who helps with dressing will be coming. If they see us like this…”

“They won’t come, so don’t worry.”

“What? What do you mean? Why won’t they come?”

Vivianne furrowed her brow as she realized what he meant, and when she looked up at him with sharp eyes, he chuckled.

“Don’t look at me so fiercely. If I hadn’t done this, you wouldn’t have met with me.”

“I want to leave.”

“Are you going to leave without clothes?”

She had no response. The dresses here weren’t the kind Vivianne could put on by herself.

“…”

“Prolonging this argument won’t do you any good. Think about what people will assume if you and I stay alone here for too long.”

“I can’t leave anyway. I can’t put on clothes by myself.”

“I’ll help you dress.”

“What? The dress? Can you really help me put it on?”

Usually, dressing assistance was a maid’s duty, so she seemed incredulous. Vivianne kept asking to confirm.

“Yes. If you behave, I’ll just help you dress and leave. Like nothing happened. How about that?”

“Really?”

“Do you think I only know how to undress you? You may not remember, but I’ve bathed you, fed you, dressed you. I’ve done everything I could.”

Come to think of it, even when they dined together, he focused more on feeding her than eating himself. He had cut her steak into bite-sized pieces and wiped food from her mouth.

Remembering this, her heightened wariness subsided somewhat.

“If you keep resisting, I’ll have to live up to people’s expectations.”

“…Fine. Please dress me quickly.”

“Good. Let’s try having a conversation, at least while you’re getting dressed.”

Though she responded reluctantly, Kian seemed pleased.

Vivianne stood stiffly before the mirror, captive to him.

When Kian began to move, Vivianne’s spine froze rigid. He took the dress hanging on the rack and helped her into it, beginning to tie the knots on her back.

Fortunately, Kian was genuinely just helping her dress without ulterior motives.

“Why are you avoiding me?”

“I’m not avoiding you, I just didn’t go.”

“So why didn’t you come?”

“Why should I go there?”

Vivianne asked with a somewhat prim tone.

“We had s*x. You should take responsibility for that.”

“You never said anything about… that.”

“Don’t you think it’s so obvious that it doesn’t need to be said?”

Their eyes met through the mirror. Though he wasn’t glaring, his gaze was resolute. While what happened that day might have been a mistake, it wasn’t proper behavior, so an explanation seemed necessary.

“That was just… I was drunk that day and got caught up in the moment. It was a mistake because of the champagne, so please forget it.”

“A mistake.”

When she stammered her response, a disbelieving chuckle scattered above her head.

Suddenly her body was spun around. Vivianne, who had been facing the mirror, found herself trapped between the mirror and Kian, her back against the glass.

The front of her dress, not yet fully fastened, was precariously exposed.

“I guess there’s no choice. If a mistake happens repeatedly, it becomes intentional. I’ll just have to make you keep making mistakes until you admit it.”

“I don’t like when you do this.”

Though she was angry enough for her eyes to sting, Vivianne deliberately spoke firmly and clearly. The approaching face stopped, and a crack appeared in his dark eyes.

“You say you love me, but does my will not matter at all?”

“What?”

“Just seeing you act like this, I understand why I decided to break up with you.”

She had struck right at his core. An awkward silence fell between them.

“…I’m sorry.”

Kian was the first to break the silence. Thinking himself pathetic, he rubbed his face and let out a long sigh.

“I’m sorry, Vivi.”

When there was no response, Kian apologized once more with emphasis.

“After seeing you again, I was too eager… I guess I couldn’t see straight.”

“I…”

Vivianne started to speak but paused to take a deep breath, collecting herself.

“…I don’t know what happened in the past, and that makes me anxious. You said you don’t know why I left either.”

The crack she had tried to ignore threatened to collapse their relationship entirely.

“Perhaps it’s because I didn’t… cherish you enough. Everything that happened between us was my fault.”

Though he couldn’t tell her the whole truth now, Kian decided to acknowledge part of it.

“I didn’t mean that I did nothing wrong and couldn’t understand why you disappeared. I just thought it would be more accurate to hear it from you.”

“What can I do if I can’t remember?”

“I’ll help you recover your memories. You said you wanted to know about your past.”

Even if winning back her heart was too much to ask, he had to prevent her from hiding away until she turned to sea foam.

“I mean it. I want you to come back, but if you decide not to, I’ll respect that.”

“…”

“Just give me a little chance too.”

Vivianne seemed to be lost in thought after hearing Kian’s words, her mind growing complicated. After a moment, she finally spoke.

“I feel guilty about sneaking out behind the Marchioness’s back. She rescued me and showed me such kindness. It feels like I’m committing a sin.”

“That’s what was bothering you?”

“Of course. She’s like a mother to me.”

No, it was Matilda who cared for her like a mother.

Perhaps it was her affectionate nature, but everyone loved Vivianne. Enough to make his own efforts to reclaim her seem trivial.

* * *

‘Was I too harsh?’

Though she tried not to think about it, it kept bothering her. Vivianne, massaging Marchioness Baldwin’s shoulders in her bedroom, recalled what had happened at the boutique.

‘But… what can I do if that’s how I truly feel?’

Kian had carefully fastened the open front of Vivianne’s dress, meticulously arranging her appearance, and then surprisingly let her go without resistance.

Thanks to that, she had returned home appearing completely normal, but her heart remained unsettled.

Just then, there was a knock at the door, and Josephine rushed in, flustered.

“M-Madam! Something terrible has happened!”

“Terrible? Has war broken out somewhere? Please stop making such a fuss.”

She seemed to have run all the way there for this urgent matter. She was panting, unable to continue speaking.

“Josephine, are you alright? Here, have some water.”

When Vivianne offered her a glass of water, Josephine quickly took it and moistened her throat. After catching her breath for a moment, Josephine finally spoke.

“Duke Larson has arrived.”

“What is that man doing here again?”

It was rather crude language to use for a man of noble birth. Though Marchioness Baldwin was aristocratic to the bone, she had not the slightest desire to show respect to such a rogue.

However, no matter her true feelings, making it too obvious in front of Vivianne wouldn’t be appropriate.

“Tell him he cannot set foot in Baldwin and to leave.”

—

T/N: “Just seeing you act like this, I understand why I decided to break up with you.” YAASS QUEEN GO TELL HIM! (ง •̀_•́)ง