There are people like that sometimes. The kind who carry an air about them that makes someone as filthy as him feel unworthy of even approaching. The kind whose cleanliness makes him know, without being told, that he is nothing more than dirty wastewater to them, and so he keeps his distance on his own. That woman, Nate O’Hara, was that kind of person.

“Are you… seeing anyone?”

So when he received her confession, Damon felt a strange excitement and thrill stir inside him.

So this woman is nothing special either, when it comes down to it.

“Well. I’m not interested in seeing anyone right now.”

“Oh……”

Seeing her flustered face at his rejection gave him a rush. He never turned down a confession before, to the point where people said he never stopped a woman from coming or going, but Damon had no room to think about that.

That day, he pleasured himself alone for the first time in a while. It wasn’t particularly because she aroused him. It was more the relief, or perhaps the irritation, of knowing that someone who seemed ready to write him off as filthy trash had turned out to be just like the rest. That was what he told himself.

And then, pointedly, Damon met another woman the very next day. Nate O’Hara must have understood. That his rejection wasn’t simply a matter of not wanting to see anyone. It was a rejection of her specifically.

She might have cried thinking about it. The thought of tears falling down that pure, haughty face, and knowing he was the cause, did stir something in him, just a little.

Of course, she was absolutely not his type. He had no patience for that sort of old-fashioned woman.

One season passed like that…….

“Are you seeing anyone?”

The woman turned out to have a surprisingly steadfast side to her.

When Damon Preston received her second confession, he was a little taken aback. He naturally assumed she moved on. So all this time, the fact that she wasn’t seeing anyone else was because of him?

“…I’m sorry. I don’t really feel like seeing anyone.”

And so Damon Preston turned down the same woman twice for the first time in his life. He showed the faintest hesitation, unlike the first time, but he doubted anyone noticed.

“Oh…… I see.”

What exactly do you see?

Turned down twice, and still she pivoted away with a composed face and no fuss. That day, Damon Preston pleasured himself alone again, imagining Nate O’Hara crying over being rejected by him.

Amusingly, the woman’s confessions came just when he was starting to forget her. And each time he received one, he masturbated almost out of habit now. He thought to himself, with filthy amusement, that at this rate he’d end up shamelessly stroking his c*ck right in front of Nate O’Hara someday.

“She’d be shocked if I masturbated in front of her, wouldn’t she?”

He said it after wringing out a full load, and his attendant Marcus creased his brow like he was the one more disgusted.

“That’s a terrible habit, young master.”

“What’s terrible about it?”

“Why do you do that while thinking about a young lady you’ve hurt? If I were Miss O’Hara, I’d be horrified.”

“I don’t know. She might be shocked, but shouldn’t her heart be pleased? Nate O’Hara likes me.”

The last words out of his own mouth sent a thrill through Damon that he couldn’t put into words. The fact that someone he never expected turned out to have feelings for him brought him an extraordinary rush.

Nate O’Hara. She was a woman who got under his skin from the very first time he saw her.

She never did anything to Damon in particular, of course. But that was exactly what he disliked. Every other woman was desperate for a single glance from him, yet Nate O’Hara showed not the slightest interest in him from the start.

‘Young lord Preston, you really are as wonderful as the rumors say. I hope you enjoy yourself tonight.’

‘Thank you for the invitation, Miss O’Hara. You look very beau……’

It was the day they exchanged greetings for the first time, at a party hosted by the Count O’Hara family.

In truth, Damon exchanged the occasional glance with Nate even before that. She was a young lady with a pure, quiet air, unlike any of the women he met before. Perhaps without realizing it, he was waiting for a day when he could properly greet her.

And when that day finally came, Damon was brushed aside by Nate before he could even finish his greeting. It was because other people came to speak to her.

In situations like that, young ladies usually excused themselves from the other party so as not to miss the chance to speak with Damon. But Nate O’Hara did not.

‘Oh, Young lord Preston. You’re still here? Is there something more you wanted to say?’

‘…No. There isn’t.’

Damon felt humiliated. He thought even the tips of his ears turned red. He never felt anything like it in his life.

After that, he stopped approaching Nate. He stopped caring who she spoke to. He was in no position to be so starved for a woman that he’d chase after one with no interest in him. If anything, he was already overwhelmed by the endless stream of young ladies throwing themselves at him.

So what happened that night was a coincidence.

At the party he attended that evening, a sudden strong draft blew in and flung the ballroom doors open with a bang. Young ladies scattered around let out startled cries here and there. Every candle in the ballroom went out at once, plunging the room into darkness for a moment.

“Young lord Preston, I’m so frightened……!”

Some young lady found Damon in the dark with uncanny precision and clung to him. She was probably keeping her eyes on him the whole time before that.

But Damon’s gaze wasn’t on the young lady clinging to him. He pried her off with some effort and moved quickly. His feet carried him to where Nate O’Hara sat alone in the dark, trembling.

“Are you all right, Miss O’Hara?”

He sensed instinctively that something was wrong with her. When he carefully took hold of Nate, he felt her shoulders shaking finely.

She seemed startled by his sudden appearance. But he decided that getting Nate somewhere safe was the priority for now.

“Shall we go somewhere less crowded? You can lean on me. Breathe slowly.”

Damon supported Nate and moved at a slow pace. He felt a flicker of unease that she might push him away, but fortunately Nate followed his lead without resistance.

“Are you feeling a little better now? Should I get you some water?”

Once they were outside, the pallor in Nate’s face eased somewhat. She shook her head at his question.

“I… thank you, Young lord Preston.”

“Not at all. Tell me if you need more help. Shall I see you home?”

“I’d love nothing more than to go home, but… Father probably won’t allow it. Either way, I’m truly grateful for your help today.”

Damon already knew well enough how exacting Count O’Hara could be. So rather than pressing Nate further, he let her choose what was comfortable for her.

Nate kept stealing glances at him. Her face said there was something more she wanted to say.

Damon took his time looking over the way her beautiful teal eyes wavered and her lashes trembled faintly. That face on the verge of tears sent blood rushing south. He felt like his c*ck was about to stand up. No, it was already half-hard.

He glanced down to check the raised outline at the front of his trousers, and Nate carefully parted her lips.

“Young lord Preston, I’m terribly sorry, but… could you perhaps pretend you didn’t see any of this today?”

Damon’s eyes returned to her composed, delicate face.