“Oh, no!” 

“Oh, I’m sorry!” 

The drunken residents of the territory were dancing in high spirits when the incident happened in an instant. 

“Elliope.” 

Kallian’s firm grip kept her safe, but Elliope let go of the doll she was holding. 

“Oh dear.” 

The black woollen doll, shaped like a soft puppy, rolled down the slope and fell directly into the lake beside them. 

Although the reflection of the moonlight and surrounding lights on the lake at night was incredibly beautiful, once the black puppy doll sank into the water, it became impossible to determine its exact location. Except for the areas touched by the light, the surface of the water was completely shrouded in darkness.

Elliope looked at the lake with a somewhat regretful expression. Her heart sank a little. 

‘That was something he gave me.’ 

Wasn’t it one of the very first gifts she’d received from him, apart from the wedding ring? 

It was also a doll she had kept close to her heart because she thought it resembled Kallian. Losing something like that didn’t feel good at all. 

‘I should have kept it.’

She felt a lingering sense of regret, but it was difficult to express it openly. 

After all, it wasn’t a person who had fallen into the lake – just a doll – so she should consider herself lucky. 

“It can’t be helped. I’m sorry.” 

Just as she forced herself to look away from the lake, Kallian suddenly sat her down on a bench by the shore and took off his cloak, draping it over her shoulders. 

“Kallian?” 

Elliope reached out to grab his collar, but before she could stop him, Kallian quickly descended the slope and disappeared into the lake, as if swallowed by it. 

A small splash echoed in the quiet night. 

Elliope jumped to her feet, startled. 

“Kallian!” 

In that brief moment, countless thoughts raced through her mind. 

‘Even when the water is calm…!’ 

The lake, shrouded in the darkness of the night, made it impossible to gauge its depth. From what she had heard, the deeper parts must be higher than a grown man. 

And the water must be freezing. Wasn’t it dangerous? 

As she panicked and shifted her feet, a few people began to gather around her, drawn by her distress.

“What’s going on?” 

“Someone fell in the water!” 

As she muttered incoherently in panic, someone rushed to grab a rope that had been used to secure a nearby stall. 

Splash! 

The sound of something emerging from the water was quickly followed by the steady sound of footsteps. 

Elliope’s lips parted slowly in surprise. 

Completely drenched, Kallian approached her, casually brushing back his wet fringe as if nothing had happened. 

“……”

He walked towards her, holding the pitifully soaked puppy doll in his hand. In any other situation, the sight might have seemed ridiculous, but the real problem was that it wasn’t funny at all. 

The moonlight and the scattered glow of the fireworks reflected off his wet hair and sharp jawline, casting a hypnotic glow over him. 

The black shirt he was wearing clung tightly to his body, accentuating the defined contours of his chest and the well-defined ridges of his abs. 

Only then did Elliope realise that she had rarely seen Kallian’s n*ked body before.

Kallian had always been the one to rush to her with such urgency, as if he had never had time to take his own clothes off, almost tearing hers off in the process. 

The memory of always being the one left n*ked, clinging to him, made her face instantly flush. 

But even as embarrassment washed over her, she couldn’t tear her eyes away from him. 

His impossibly sculpted physique, the intense, almost predatory look in his eyes, and a face so flawlessly crafted – as if the gods themselves had meticulously perfected every proportion – kept drawing her in, refusing to let her look away.

If not for his wet hair, shining like silver, he would have looked exactly like the moon god of ancient myths. 

And it wasn’t just Elliope who noticed – even the people who had rushed over with a rope suddenly stopped in their tracks, their mouths agape in amazement. Regardless of age or s*x, everyone had the same reaction. 

After shaking some of the water off his body, Kallian approached Elliope, holding the drenched doll as if it were a bouquet of flowers. 

“I didn’t expect to get so wet… It seems to have fallen further than I thought.”

“Ah…” 

“You shouldn’t have let it go.” 

“……” 

“It’s your dog after all.” 

Why did these words sound as if they weren’t about the doll, but about a person?

Just as she reached out with a flushed face, Kallian moved the doll he was holding, as if to hand it to her, behind his back. His eyes suddenly took on a look of realisation. 

“It’s wet.” 

“That…” 

“I can’t let my wife get wet too.” 

Even as he said this, he was staring intently at Elliope’s outstretched hand. 

‘Does he want me to take it or not?’ 

Uncertain of his intention, she unconsciously moved her hand to his forehead instead. 

Ignoring the dampness, she gently brushed away a few strands of hair that had stuck to his forehead. As she did so, Kallian’s lips curled slightly, almost as if he was suppressing a smile. 

It was such a rare expression that Elliope found herself completely transfixed. 

“…Ah!”

Soon Kallian was pulling her into a tight embrace. 

The eyes of the onlookers slowly drifted away, accompanied by soft laughter. She could sense people returning to their stalls or continuing on their way, their movements subtly conveying that they had no intention of disturbing the affectionate moment of a newlywed couple. 

This realisation made her feel a little embarrassed. 

Meanwhile, the front of Elliope’s dress was slowly becoming damp from the water dripping from Kallian. 

As she noticed his soaked shirt clinging to his skin, faintly revealing the outline of his chest, Elliope muttered under her breath.

“You just said you couldn’t let me get wet…” 

“It’s your fault.” 

“Why is it my fault this time?” 

Elliope, annoyed that he always seemed to blame her for everything, looked up at Kallian with a slightly sulky expression. 

“It’s not my fault this time…”

Elliope started to continue, but suddenly stopped. 

Kallian’s gaze, fixed on her damp form, had darkened. 

“…….” 

From the way their bodies were pressed together, she could sense a reaction she couldn’t ignore. 

This time, however, Elliope made no attempt to pull away. She simply remained in his arms, numb, as if she had been completely submerged in the humid heat that surrounded them. 

For a moment, she found herself surprised by this side of Kallian. 

‘He reacts so much to a mere touch…’ 

Then why had he looked at her like that in her past life? And how had those rumours about him not liking women got started in the first place? 

‘Did he really dislike women?’

Come to think of it, he hadn’t seemed particularly displeased when Charlotte had touched him earlier… 

As her thoughts continued to swirl, Kallian whispered softly, 

“Did you enjoy it?” 

“Yes.” 

Since it was the truth, at least, she answered without hesitation. Kallian returned her honesty with a whisper so transparent that she could see through it. 

“I know a way to make it even more enjoyable.” 

“…….” 

“Would you like to try it?” 

Instead of answering, Elliope simply rested her head on his damp shoulder. 

* * * 

She couldn’t even remember how they had made it back to the manor.

After holding Kallian’s hand, who was carrying a load of items but still moving quickly, Elliope suddenly realised that they had already arrived at the main entrance of the manor. 

“Welcome back, my lord, my lady.” 

Dylan showed no sign of surprise to see the master and mistress of the house soaking wet. 

Instead, he greeted them as if nothing was out of the ordinary, pretending not to notice as Kallian took Elliope’s hand and led her to their bedroom. 

Without a word, he simply began to sort through the wet belongings and food. 

For some reason, a faint smile of satisfaction seemed to linger on the old man’s lips.

“Wait…!” 

Elliope didn’t even have a chance to return Dylan’s greeting before she was suddenly lifted and carried straight into the room. 

“Ah, hngh!” 

The moment they entered, Kallian’s lips pressed against her soaked dress. 

The white dress she had chosen to wear to the ladies’ gathering – to present herself as a modest and refined woman – was now soaked, clinging tightly to her skin, revealing the pale glow of her complexion underneath. 

It was just like the time she had stood in Theodor’s room, wearing only a delicate negligee, her body soaked with fruit juice. 

“Ah, wait… Kallian!” 

Her already wet br*ast became even wetter as Kallian’s lips moved over the fabric, his saliva seeping through. The sensation of his lips against the soaked fabric was so raw and vivid that Elliope shivered, her waist arching involuntarily.

“……!” 

She couldn’t tell how, but Kallian immediately grabbed a part of her dress and pulled it off. The buttons on her back were undone just as quickly, one by one, in a matter of seconds. 

He seems to be getting better at undressing. 

If it had been any other time, Kallian would probably have torn her dress as he removed it, but now he skillfully took it off, just as he skillfully put clothes on her. 

“Ha… hngh.”

She was quickly stripped down to her underwear. But even these were soaked, making them useless to cover her body. Under the wet, almost transparent white chemise, the pink of her n*pples cast a shadow.

The moment Kallian saw it, he cupped her br*asts without hesitation. 

“W-Wait a minute…”

Elliope weakly tried to stop his hand. 

“…My Lady?”

Kallian’s brow furrowed slightly. 

With trembling hands, Elliope gently reached out and placed his hands over his clothes. 

“…This time.” 

“……” 

“This time you… take off your clothes too.” 

Now that she thought about it, it always felt like she was the only one getting undressed. Somehow it felt unfair. 

“I’ll… undress you.”

As she said that, she grabbed his shirt weakly and tugged at it. Kallian muttered something in a low, rapid voice. 

She couldn’t tell if it was a curse or an exclamation of admiration, but Elliope clumsily pushed his shirt up again. 

Kallian did not stop her – he just watched her with deep, intense eyes.

As the shirt she was pulling off gradually lifted, Kallian’s firm stomach was exposed, with drops of water trickling down his well-defined abs. Elliope couldn’t help herself and unconsciously swallowed. 

Even when covered by clothes, she had guessed – but now that she saw it fully, his body was even more breathtaking than she had expected. 

She thought it would be covered in scars, but instead his skin was smooth and flawless, as if to prove how strong he was as a warrior. The realisation made her heart race. 

Droplets of water traced the sharp contours of his finely sculpted muscles, as if they had been meticulously carved to perfection. Elliope unconsciously tensed, gripping his shirt tightly.