“I’m asking you, Vivi. Who did this to you?”

Before she could gather her thoughts, Kian pressed her with questions.

Though she felt indignant about what happened with his fiancée, she thought it was somewhat inevitable.

Even if Kian planned to break off the engagement, Penelope was still officially his fiancée, so it was natural for her to be angry. Vivianne thought she should endure some of the woman’s venting.

“Is it someone you can’t talk about?”

He questioned her again. Suddenly, she remembered how he had asked if she’d been with Theodore, and an ominous feeling swept over her.

If she kept quiet, Theodore might get blamed for something he didn’t do.

“…In the lounge.”

Vivianne answered somewhat hastily.

“Your fiancée did it, Kian.”

The moment she finished speaking, his face hardened terribly.

“Let me see.”

Kian examined her cheek and neckline thoroughly, checking for injuries. She could feel him suppressing some murderous intent, which frightened her even more.

She hadn’t done anything wrong, yet her entire body trembled.

“I’m not hurt. Just… the dress.”

“What should I do to her?”

His eyes looked dangerous. But something felt off.

“Tell me. I’ll repay her however you want.”

Her distress wasn’t simply because of how the fiancée had treated her. That wasn’t even the important part.

“Honestly, I don’t care what you do with your fiancée. It’s not that important to me.”

“What do you mean?”

“…Kian.”

What just happened was certainly upsetting and absurd. But she knew that revenge wouldn’t solve the fundamental problem. She wasn’t exactly angry at the fiancée.

What hurt her now was only Kian’s attitude.

She tried to speak, but tears started falling from the hurt she felt.

“You tell me to trust you while acting so ambiguously.”

Kian seemed unprepared for this reaction and remained silent for a moment before letting out a long sigh.

Then he began wiping her tears away with his long fingers.

“Vivi. I’m not going back there.”

“Hic, hic. The, the dress too… you deliberately chose…”

“Yes. I did. I wanted to show her.”

Kian calmly admitted it without any denial.

“The performance has started, and I’m here with you. If I sat next to her first, she’d think I just stepped away briefly. She’s probably waiting desperately. With you.”

Her vision cleared and his face came closer. His breath touched her trembling lips before pulling away.

“While watching me do this.”

“……”

“I only do this with you.”

As his face drew close again, Vivianne turned her head to the side.

She knew well that Kian’s kisses were like the chocolate he used to feed her.

They might satisfy momentary hunger, but emptiness would soon follow.

Kian grabbed her trembling chin and fixed it in front of him. Then he stared intently at her confused blue eyes, seemingly trying to capture her gaze.

She thought he was going to kiss her again. But when their eyes met, he wiped away her tears once more.

“Crying again.”

Suddenly, she remembered how he’d said he couldn’t stand crying women when they first met. She could barely speak through her hiccups. Embarrassed by her foolish appearance, more tears welled up.

Regardless, Kian kept wiping them away with his fingers. Perhaps his touch provided some comfort, because eventually her blurry vision cleared and her sobbing stopped.

“Look. That woman over there.”

Sensing she had calmed down somewhat, he wrapped his large hand around her trembling shoulders and showed her the adjacent box.

“See? She’s watching us instead of the performance.”

Her eyes met with Penelope Steward’s. The contempt in them had deepened since earlier.

“She probably wants to die right now. Because she’s become even less than what she calls a doll.”

Somehow, Kian seemed more vengeful toward Penelope than Vivianne, who had directly suffered the harm.

“This is my revenge, Vivi.”

Her head spun with the strange mixture of reassurance blooming in her heart and the still-burning embers of doubt.

“When someone tries to drag another person down, it’s because they’re so deep in the mud themselves that they want company. They don’t want to be unhappy alone.”

“…Still.”

“Her sending you that dress was an insult not just to you, but to me as well. I made you wear it because I wanted to repay her in the way that would make her most miserable. Do you want something else?”

“……”

“If there’s something you want, I’ll gladly cooperate.”

The low voice whispering in her ear felt somewhat chilling.

Of course not. She hadn’t even had time to think that far.

And as she said earlier, the fiancée wasn’t particularly important to her.

But the idea that the dress incident was an insult to Kian as well…

She hadn’t thought that far.

She couldn’t be certain about his feelings, despite all the excessive kindness he showed while keeping his true thoughts hidden.

“You must have been anxious because of the news in the papers. Thinking that others believed it too must have driven you crazy.”

Unlike her inability to grasp his feelings, Kian understood exactly what troubled her.

“But do you know what travels faster than newspapers? Rumors. I can make that article disappear like it never existed.”

“…Rumors?”

“You’re worried I might marry another woman. So I’m showing people. That it’s you beside me, not her.”

He had targeted her most vulnerable spot deliberately, knowing exactly what she desired most.

“Hmm?”

When Kian asked again, her tear-filled blue eyes wavered.

Even though she hadn’t answered, he cupped her wet cheek and pressed his lips against hers again.

This time, the kiss was longer and more tender than before. When their sealed lips parted slightly, Vivianne released the breath she’d been holding.

“You choose, Vivi. Everyone’s watching.”

Though the performance had begun, Penelope’s gaze remained fixed on them. Looking around, she saw that all the nobles in the boxes were doing the same.

Besides, she’d never seen Kian so talkative before.

Vivianne knew that when someone becomes talkative, it means they’re anxious and desperately seeking confirmation. That’s what moved her heart.

Right. She’d decided to get rid of any pathetic guilt.

She glanced down at her torn neckline. If the fiancée hadn’t behaved so badly, she might not have felt this defiance rising within her.

Vivianne squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her lips firmly against Kian’s. He chuckled at her awkward kiss.

“Will that childish attempt be enough?”

“…What then?”

“Open up.”

At his command, she instinctively parted her lips slightly, and his lips locked with hers as his moist tongue pushed its way in.

Kian’s tongue pressed gently against her stiff one, delving deeper.

Her head grew hazy, and hot breath filled her mouth. The tip of her tongue softened. He twisted his tongue around hers like a snake, then suddenly sucked on it. He seemed so urgent that he even took the saliva that pressed from her glands, not letting it pool in her mouth.

Even if she tried to resist, her small lips were already completely devoured by his.

Their bodies weren’t even pressed together. It was just a kiss, but perhaps because others were watching, she felt her earlobes tingling and her lower abdomen tightening.

The kiss was so intense that Vivianne forgot to breathe again. Just when her vision began to spin from lack of oxygen, he pulled away with a wet sound.

…Haa, haa.

Heavy breaths escaped through their parted lips. The air fluttering at the edge of her lips felt scorching hot.

When she opened her eyes drowsily, his sharp nose bridge was still touching the tip of her round nose.

Kian was biting his lower lip, clearly holding something back, his eyes hazy, as though he were drunk.

She felt his gaze drop slightly lower before pulling away.

“…Damn it.”

He exhaled a heated breath and suddenly took off his jacket.

He draped it over Vivianne’s shoulders and fastened three buttons at the top. This covered her torn neckline, making her wear the jacket like a cape.

Perhaps because there were many people, the hall was stuffy. Vivianne, having just finished kissing, felt hot as well, her body flushed.

“…This is uncomfortable, Kian.”

“Bear with it.”

“I’m hot.”

When Vivianne fidgeted and tried to take off the jacket, he gripped her hand tightly and wouldn’t let go. He squeezed so hard that her knuckles ached.

“That hurts.”

He remained silent despite her desperate calls.

“Please? Let go of my hand.”

“You still don’t understand the situation?”