Chapter 30

As Ian’s gaze followed her intently, Elcia stood up and leaned in to press her lips to his cheek. His blue eyes widened, then grew hazy with confusion.

Maintaining a step’s distance from him, she tried not to tremble as she spoke softly.  

“This… this is just to comfort a weary friend. You’re very tired, after all.”

“Ha. That’s… funny.”

“What?”

Ian pushed the empty glass aside and, with a piercing look, whispered,  

“Your lips are far too warm to be just a friend’s.”

“……!”

His eyes flashed as if he’d solved an old riddle.  

“And friends don’t look at each other like that. Ha, I’m not a fool.”

Even when Ian was thoroughly drunk, he was still Ian. Elcia, who had summoned her courage to guess his feelings and even dared such a bold touch, trembled slightly. If, because she tested him, their relationship grew distant from tomorrow—she absolutely didn’t want that.

“Am I right?”

Ian’s low whisper snapped Elcia out of her fearful daze. She decided that, since things had come to this, she had no choice. She was the one who, while talking about friendship, had done something reckless to test him.

Elcia slowly spread her arms so Ian could see and confessed,  

“Check for yourself. Whether my lips, as they move toward you, and my gaze, as it looks at you, mean we’re just friends or not.”

“…….”

Her lips approached Ian at a tantalizing pace and touched his, which still tasted of alcohol. The moment she kissed him, Elcia felt like crying. Ian’s blue eyes, heavy with drunkenness, stared at her but did not pull away.

Thud.

The chair that had supported Ian until just now tipped backward, and he stood up. As Elcia kissed him and placed her hand on his shoulder, she squeezed her eyes shut.

There was no turning back now, no escape.

She wanted to have him, even if only for a single night!

“Mmm.”

Between the lips of the man and Elcia, a moan of burning desire escaped. Her arms slipped around Ian’s wavering waist, and his hands soon roughly explored her body.

Being held in his arms felt wonderful, and when he hugged her tightly, she wriggled as if trying to escape—a lovely creature, like a baby rabbit or a fledgling bird with new feathers. Ian could hardly contain the rush of emotions. If he didn’t act on his desire immediately, he thought he might lose his mind.

Ian slid his hand down Elcia’s smooth, porcelain-like back. The sensation was even more exquisite than he had imagined. He liked it so much, he couldn’t stop. The man murmured unintelligible words as he repeatedly stroked the inviting curve above her hips.

Swoosh—

Just then, the rain, which had barely let up, began to pour violently again. In the capital, only this region was plagued by such unlucky, torrential downpours.

Ian’s reason, already scattered, was snuffed out like a candle in the wind. In his clear blue eyes, there was only her—the one who drenched his soul with gentle rain in his arms. Ian Kypris still needed comfort and endless love. Staggering, he carried her to the bed.

“I want you… too.”

At those words, Elcia’s disheveled body tumbled onto the bed first.

Ian, almost falling on top of her, indulged the desire he’d never released in his life. Elcia’s sharp cries of pain soon melted into sweet moans that softened his ears like honey. Even as he fumbled with the bed’s drapes, their love did not end until the humid air was thick with their passion.

Elcia’s wandering sorrow was transformed for both of them into exultant pleasure filled with gasps.

The rain poured down, relentless.

Until their bodies became entwined and fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

At dawn, Elcia awoke, feeling discomfort in her body.

“Mmm…”

She groaned softly, wanting to scream. Oh, what on earth happened? Her head spun as if she’d drunk, she couldn’t easily open her eyes, nor muster the strength to kick away the sheets. On top of that, her waist hurt with a dull, strange pain that wouldn’t go away. All her symptoms combined felt as if she’d been beaten and abandoned in a back alley.

She thought she should get up, so she reached out with a trembling hand—and was startled. There was a warm, firm, indescribable sensation…

‘I… Ian?’

Elcia quickly opened her eyes, nearly fainting in shock. On her bed, her beloved Ian was asleep, eyes closed. Having unknowingly touched his bare skin, Elcia recoiled as if struck by lightning. Then, the pain in her waist reminded her of the memories she’d forgotten.

Yesterday…

Something incredible had happened here!

‘Ah!’

Elcia was horrified. She was n*ked, just like him! And yesterday, without even drinking, she’d gone and done something unbelievable.

For a moment, the throbbing pain made her realize she needed to act fast—she couldn’t just do nothing. If she stayed frozen like this, she might lose the upright Ian forever.

Gritting her teeth, she summoned Lea from outside the bedroom. That was all she could do for now.

Elcia gestured to Lea to be silent and whispered,  

“Lea, quietly take me to the guest room. He mustn’t wake up!”

Lea nodded silently at the signal to be quiet.

As soon as the loyal doll carried her to the chilly bed in the guest room, Elcia spoke rapidly.

“Now go back to my bedroom and dress Ian, and take away all the clothes I left lying around. He mustn’t find out about any of this. If he’s about to, escape quickly. Understand?”

Lea hesitated for a moment.

「Master, but don’t you need my help more right now?」

Lea was perceptive, as always.

“You can help me after you’ve dressed Ian. Or I’ll leave it to Udis. Just do as I say.”

Every time she spoke, the pain in her waist intensified, but Elcia gave another firm order.

Lea had no choice but to leave the guest room to carry out her master’s wishes.

Finally alone, Elcia squeezed her eyes shut.

She’d done it because she desperately wanted to.

Was it too reckless?

She might lose Ian forever.

‘No.’

Perhaps what happened last night was the first and last happiness she’d ever know.

He hadn’t rejected her—he’d accepted her completely.

Until Lea returned, Elcia wore an odd expression, neither smiling nor crying, as she hugged herself.

* * *

The rain that turned the lands of Baron Bennett into muddy water continued its noisy downpour for two more days before finally stopping. Looking out the window, Elcia suggested to Ian,

“Ian, go back quickly. The roads aren’t good, but if the rain clouds return, you’ll be in trouble.”

Rain in this area tended to fall heavily from late summer into early autumn, meaning no one could predict when it might pour again. Ian glanced at the slightly haggard Elcia. Could he really leave her here alone? Hesitant, he made a careful suggestion.

“…Why don’t you come with me to the marquisate for a month or so? I’ll send word to the servants who haven’t returned yet.”

They were truly shameless. If they’d spent a night out, they should have returned the next day, but not a single one had shown up! Ian resolved to replace all the knights, the head maid, and the rest when he got back to the marquisate.

“No, it’s fine. They’ll be back soon, so I just have to hold out one more day, right? If I don’t go home for several days, my family will worry, so you should go, Ian, okay?”

Unaware of Ian’s concern, Elcia smiled brightly and rose from the rocking chair. With flawless steps, she approached and elegantly handed him the hat he’d left on the wall. Her face was a little drawn from the rain, but otherwise she was the same as she’d been days ago. Yet, for some reason, Ian felt uneasy. He had a strange premonition that he needed to take care of Elcia.

Still, if the madam said she was fine, there was nothing he could do. Ian took the hat and reluctantly left Ceylon House.

One step, two steps.

Even as he mounted the horse Udis had brought from the stable, Ian felt heavy-hearted. Elcia, who came out to see him off, wore a gentle smile, but he felt a nameless anxiety. If she wanted, he would have put her on the horse right away—or played the humble coachman for a day just to bring her to the marquisate.

But he couldn’t force her if she refused. She was a proper noble now, and her wishes deserved respect. Ian, reluctantly, looked back and bid her farewell.

“All right, Elcia. Then go inside and rest well. Don’t do anything else.”

She smiled sweetly.

“Ian, take care not to get sick from all that drinking! I’ll keep what happened that day a secret, okay?”

“…Yeah, I understand.”

It was embarrassing. Elcia spoke so cheerfully, which made it even worse.

Two nights ago, he’d gotten drunk in Elcia’s bedroom and collapsed, sleeping there like a fool. He’d shamelessly taken over her bed and slept soundly, apologizing to her several times after waking up. To have acted up three times in front of such a precious friend! Even though things had gotten serious, the rain had trapped him at Ceylon House, so he couldn’t even face Elcia properly.

Moreover…

Maybe because he’d enjoyed drinking after so long, he’d had a bad dream he could never tell her.

In that secret dream, he and Elcia had shared passionate love.

Just having such a dream was unacceptable, but Ian had been a complete madman in it. He’d embraced her n*ked body, exchanged heated breaths, and explored each other’s bodies with fierce desire… She confessed her love to him again and again, moaning, and he kept asking her to say it more. And then, moving his hips wildly—no, lewdly…! And finally, with her limp, he…

“Madman. How could you think such things about her!”

Only after he’d left Ceylon House far behind did Ian shout at himself for his lustful thoughts about his precious friend. If pure, gentle Elcia ever found out about his dirty dream, how shocked and afraid would she be? To try to make someone as clear as a lake into an object of desire! Everyone in the capital should spit at and despise Ian.

‘Is this normal friendship? No, impossible. Then why can’t I shake these wicked thoughts?’

It made no sense, but it was strange.

Hadn’t he been friends with Elcia for months?

But in just one night, he’d started seeing her as a woman.

Alcohol might have broken him down, but it wasn’t supposed to change a person’s feelings.

Was something wrong with him?

Maybe his memory was distorted from drinking, but he thought he’d looked at Elcia as a woman even before he got really drunk. Was it when he drank tequila? Wine? Or something else? The hazy, elusive memories kept tormenting Ian.

Unable to bear it, he slapped his thigh with the riding crop as he returned to the marquisate. Even then, guilt over his shameful behavior in his imagination didn’t fade.

When Ian returned, looking very pale, the Marchioness greeted him with a displeased expression.

“Oh, you’re finally back? I thought you’d taken on some urgent new assignment when you suddenly spent several nights out. But when I asked Alteon, he said that wasn’t the case.”

“I’m sorry.”

He hadn’t even said he was going to Ceylon House, so he had nothing to say. If he said he’d gone to see Elcia, he could quickly replace the lazy servants there! But if he explained everything now, Elcia might get caught up in bad rumors, so he kept silent. Whether her son was embarrassed or not, the Marchioness had something else she’d been meaning to say.

“That’s enough. It’s pointless to scold a grown son about his whereabouts. You’re old enough, after all. Come here.”

“Mother?”

The Marchioness suddenly called Ian to the gallery. But the family’s famous paintings, displayed for over a hundred years, were all gone. What he saw was a strange scene: just one wall covered with white cloth hanging from the ceiling. At that moment, Ian realized what was about to happen.

“Butler?”

“Yes, Madam.”

The butler deftly pulled aside the cloth, and as expected, there were portraits of several familiar noble ladies. Each wore a forced, unnatural smile, their faces powdered to look like pale dolls. Their lips were all bright red, as if painted with the blood of roses or beasts.