Chapter 52

“Charlotte is late.”

While elegantly slicing her steak along the grain, Johanna spoke. The Rothschild mansion, embodying the essence of Sonne, was the setting. In the sophisticated and refined dining room, Charlotte’s parents, Caspar and Johanna, were dining with Lucas. 

It wasn’t unusual for the business-savvy family to miss meals together due to work. However, since Charlotte had moved to Hamern, the atmosphere had shifted significantly. Her absence, once negligible, now felt glaringly large, as if the youngest daughter, who would usually arrive early and chatter away, was missing.

At Johanna’s question, Lucas flinched but tried his best to appear nonchalant as he sipped from his champagne glass.

“Oh, she said she’d stay over at a friend’s house after finishing her work with Dietrich today.”

The sound of a knife scraping against a plate abruptly stopped. It was Caspar. His hands holding the fork and knife tightened. With suspicion in his eyes, Caspar looked at his son.

“A friend?”

“Yes.”

“Which friend? Does Charlotte even have any female friends?”

“Father….”

“Could it be Sir Elias?”

The barrage of questions carried an unspoken assumption that Charlotte wouldn’t have female friends. Johanna, agreeing with her husband’s sentiment, also turned her gaze toward Lucas.

Oh, Charlotte. What kind of life have you been living?

Although Charlotte had changed slightly since her coming-of-age ceremony, the Rothschild princess, known for her arrogance, was believed by the family to only have Elias, her childhood friend, as her sole companion. 

The connections forged during Johanna’s time as a marquise were too ambiguous to be considered true friendships.

Lucas had already known that the Shuvluv Hotel was reserved under Charlotte’s name. While he didn’t actively track his sister’s romantic endeavors, booking an entire hotel out of season, especially by someone who would eventually inherit it, wasn’t a common occurrence, so the news had reached him quickly.

This is why I told her to make some friends, just in case something like this happened. But no, my sister never listens. 

Lucas let out an invisible sigh and offered an excuse.

“It’s not Sir Elias, Father. It’s a friend she made before receiving her title.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Fortunately, Caspar seemed to accept the explanation and resumed cutting his steak. However, Johanna’s suspicions lingered.

“Son, is Charlotte dating someone these days?”

Her voice carried a sharp edge.

Although Johanna was the daughter of a fallen baron, unlike most nobles who calculated every relationship based on gain and loss, she had given her children freedom. Caspar’s influence as a romanticist of the century played a significant role in this.

Her sudden interest in Charlotte’s romantic affairs stemmed entirely from her daughter’s impulsive marriage and subsequent divorce.

At her mother’s question, Lucas swallowed hard.

“Well, I’m not sure, Mother.”

“She’s been acting suspicious lately.”

“She’s an adult now; she can handle herself.”

Lucas shrugged indifferently. His mother, sensing there was nothing more to dig up, resumed her meal as well.

Charlotte, Mother is truly a formidable opponent. 

Lucas chewed his steak, swallowing his unspoken thoughts.

***

What did it feel like to be intoxicated? No, not even alcohol could make one’s heart race so wildly, as if it might burst.

It felt as though they had surrendered themselves entirely to each other, losing all sense of reality.

Charlotte tightened her embrace around Erhen’s neck as he fervently explored her mouth, while he instinctively ran his hands over her back.

Though the room contained only Charlotte and Erhen, they clung to each other as if they feared being separated.

“Ah…”

Charlotte let out a soft moan as their kisses grew increasingly fervent. It seemed to act as a catalyst, making Erhen’s Adam’s apple bob noticeably.

However, he managed to restrain himself and pulled back for a moment. His gaze, directed at the seated Charlotte, was languid.

“Charlotte.”

A mixture of saliva, whose origin was unclear, glistened on Erhen’s lips. It wasn’t a dignified sight.

No, it was simply sensual.

It was enough to make her willingly offer herself to him.

And so, it was Charlotte’s urgency that led their lips to meet again.

Though Erhen’s jaw tensed momentarily, he soon responded to her kiss, albeit cautiously, as if trying to maintain his composure.

A space solely for the two of them.

A night where no one could intrude.

Were they aware of its implications?

Whether she knew or not, this foolish woman kept provoking him. Even if they had once acted impulsively under the influence of alcohol.

But it was at that moment, when his fragile self-control seemed on the verge of snapping, that Charlotte pulled back to catch her breath and looked up at Erhen with an innocent gaze.

Then, as if embarrassed, she smiled shyly.

“…Ah.”

Why did that make him feel uneasy? The distance between them only heightened his anxiety. Was he truly this lacking in self-control?

Erhen pulled Charlotte into a firm embrace, lowering his head. She flinched as his warm breath brushed against her neck.

To stifle another moan threatening to escape, Charlotte bit her lip and tilted her chin upward. Her trembling fingers clenched his shirt, wrinkling it in the process.

As his lips trailed down her pale neck, her eyes fluttered shut.

“Charlotte.”

Erhen’s voice, laced with suppressed desire, called her name again as he pulled back. Her trembling figure, like a squirrel before a predator, seemed pitiful.

Yet, unaware of his resolve, Charlotte gazed at him with hazy, unfocused eyes.

Eventually, her lips parted.

“Why…”

Her voice, hoarse and filled with longing, faded into the air.

Perhaps it was her intoxicating aura that made Erhen swallow hard again.

But only for a moment. Clenching his teeth, he growled.

“I can’t…”

“…”

“…stop anymore.”

So run while I still let you.

His deep, shadowed eyes seemed to convey this message.

Charlotte looked at Erhen in silence. At this moment, she wanted to take everything from him.

Having already resolved their relationship in her mind, she knew her desires were selfish. Crossing this line would undoubtedly lead to greater pain.

Yet, she loved the man before her too much. He was so irresistibly endearing that she couldn’t help herself.

She wanted all of him.

Charlotte cupped Erhen’s face with both hands.

“…It’s okay.”

With a soft murmur, her plump lips brushed against his eyes before pulling away.

Seeing his startled expression, she smiled gently and pressed her lips to the tip of his nose.

“I…”

Her voice, tinged with longing, trailed off as she tilted her head slightly. Then, with a soft sound, her lips landed on his cheek before retreating.

Pressing her nose against his, Charlotte whispered again, her gaze shimmering as it lingered on his lips.

“It’s okay.”

With those words, her lips captured his fiercely.

Charlotte’s words were nothing short of a command to surrender before her.

Damn it. Sweet. Too sweet.

The sound of buttons popping off filled the air as Charlotte’s blouse was roughly torn open, revealing her smooth, round shoulders glistening under the moonlight.

Erhen, who had been worshipping her like a holy grail, lifted her into his arms. Though his bedroom wasn’t far, they wasted time as they clung to each other, reluctant to part.

Once he laid her on the bed, Erhen climbed on top of her, casually unbuttoning and removing his shirt.

Can a mage’s body really be this perfect?

As if watching a slow-motion video, Charlotte’s eyes were captivated by his chiseled abs until they met his gaze.

“It’s okay.”

Her shy smile resurfaced as her earlier words echoed in his mind.

It’s okay? No.

If you knew how I felt, you would never say it’s okay.

If you knew how many times I suppressed the urge to silence your lips and keep you by my side by force.

If you knew how desperately I wanted to hold you in my arms, throwing open your door in that narrow hallway of your home in Heringen.

If you knew how difficult it was to suppress the heat that surged every time your face crossed my mind.

If you knew how hard it was to hide the beast-like instincts I had become when facing you after that night.

You would never…

But there was no time for further thought.

Erhen’s lips descended from Charlotte’s lips to her collarbone, while his large, firm hands gently caressed her body through the thin camisole.

“Ah…”

As her mind went blank from the overwhelming sensations, Charlotte let out an unfiltered gasp.

The true beginning of their night.

It was the start of a long, long night.