Damon knew perfectly well that a man should not grab a woman’s hand without care. He kept his grip loose, mindful of hurting her. In other words, she could have pulled free whenever she wanted.

But somehow that small, unremarkable consideration drained Nate of any will to refuse him. She simply wanted to know why he was angry.

Damon stepped out of the hotel building and looked for the carriage Nate arrived in, then changed his mind and walked toward his own. The coachman hurried to open the carriage door.

“Young Lord Preston……!”

Nate called after him again. Damon stopped and turned to look at her.

“Get in. I’ll take you back to the O’Hara County.”

Judging by his low, even voice alone, he seemed like a man who wasn’t angry at all. But Nate spent the last five years watching him from close by, and she knew his mood was not good right now.

“…I’m not going. I didn’t come alone, either.”

“And if you didn’t come alone?”

“…….”

“You came with Young Lord Lovitz? To Ombra?”

He was definitely angry. The more they exchanged words, the colder Damon’s expression became.

Nate couldn’t understand him. She had no idea what part of this made him angry.

Though, trying to figure that out was a little absurd in itself. What kind of relationship did she and Damon even have, that either of them should be angry or not angry over the other? Nate cared for him for a long time, but Damon never once accepted her.

“That’s right. I came with Roderick.”

So she answered in a flat voice. He had no reason to tell her what to do.

Damon laughed coldly.

“I’m fairly certain I told you before just how filthy a place Ombra is.”

“I remember. That’s exactly why I came with Roderick. I heard it isn’t that dangerous if you’re with someone you know.”

“Ah, so that’s how Young Lord Lovitz lured you in? By saying you’d be fine as long as you were with him?”

“Yes. So please don’t concern yourself with it, Young Lord Preston.”

She shot back at him and moved to leave toward the hotel entrance.

“Why do you keep treating people differently?”

But Damon gently closed his hand around hers and closed the distance between them. She stared up at him with wide eyes and stepped back. The shadow of a large man swept over Nate, swallowing her whole. Damon cupped her cheek in his hand.

“I told you to call me by my name.”

“……!”

“You say Roderick’s name just fine. It’s infuriating.”

He stepped toward her, one step at a time, and guided her into the carriage so naturally that it seemed like magic, Nate thought to herself. His unreasonably beautiful face seemed to work like some kind of spell. Though in reality, she simply kept backing away from him as he advanced and ended up inside the carriage without quite meaning to.

Nate sat down on the carriage seat, and Damon turned briefly to address the coachman outside.

“We’re going to do something indecent, so make yourself scarce.”

The coachman bolted.

Nate heard what he said and let her surprise show.

“Young Lord Preston, what did you just…….”

Damon turned back to her and replied with indifference.

“You really don’t listen, do you, Nate.”

“Pardon……?”

“Call me Damon.”

His calm tone created a strange kind of pressure. In the end, Nate watched his expression and gave a small nod.

“Damon… I want to go outside.”

“Did you not hear what I just told the coachman?”

“…….”

“I’m going to do something indecent. To Nate.”

Nate asked, sounding genuinely confused.

“Why? Because you think I came to Ombra knowing nothing about it?”

“That’s right. Because Nate is too naive.”

Damon said this and leaned down in front of her. His striking face was suddenly right before hers. He swept her hair back over her shoulder and continued.

“After avoiding me all this time.”

Nate’s eyes widened slightly. She never imagined Damon actually noticed her avoiding him, let alone that it bothered him.

He went on, his words unfinished.

“It’s a little irritating that you don’t question a single thing Young Lord Lovitz says.”

Nate felt a flash of stubbornness at his words. He really did seem to see her as a naive woman who knew nothing. That stung her pride.

“I wasn’t without suspicion. I know what I need to know.”

“And knowing all that, you still came with Young Lord Lovitz? That’s exactly what knowing nothing looks like.”

Damon shot back at her words, sullen. His tone made it clear her answer didn’t sit well with him at all.

She deliberately kept her voice calm.

“I came knowing full well what it was. So please don’t worry about it. Whatever I do with Roderick is none of your concern, Young Lord Preston.”

Damon’s words came out cold.

“You talk like you’ve already forgotten all about me, Nate.”

She lied on purpose.

“…I’ve nearly forgotten.”

“Oh, is that so? How fast. Five years of caring for someone, and it takes less than a month to forget.”

Damon added with a low, scornful laugh.

“Were you really in love with me all that time? I’m starting to wonder, you forgot so quickly.”

Nate’s face showed genuine hurt.

“How can you say something like that? Do you have any idea how much I…….”

How much it hurt me……

She couldn’t bring herself to finish.

Facing him, Nate decided it was better not to be around Damon anymore. It was a feeling she needed to end regardless. She had no reason to prove her heart to him.

“I want to go.”

Nate moved to step out of the carriage.

“Don’t go, Nate.”

But Damon grabbed her again with a desperate urgency and pressed his lips to hers in a rush.

Damon felt a tightness in his chest so suffocating it seemed to cut off his breath. When did it start? Thinking back, he always felt that way when he saw Nate. From the very first time he met her. A sharp, stinging ache somewhere in his chest, and an emotion that surged up without warning.

It grew more intense recently. When he saw Nate with Roderick, when he realized she was deliberately avoiding him, he felt the emotions inside him spinning in a wild, dizzying spiral.

But the moment it all began was probably when Nate suddenly declared she would erase him from her heart.

“Hng, D, Damon……! Mmph!”

Nate seemed startled by the relentless press of his lips. He knew he should keep from frightening her, yet his feelings refused to settle.

He shifted his weight and Nate naturally lay back against the seat. Damon naturally moved over her.

Nate struggled to take in the thick tongue that pushed urgently into her mouth. No matter how she tried to retreat, he followed relentlessly, rubbing his wet, pliant tongue lewdly against hers.

Their teeth knocked together and saliva trailed down beneath her chin. Damon seemed unable to rest until he had thoroughly worked his tongue through every corner of her mouth.

“Mmng, mm, ngh…….”

Small, pained sounds slipped out between Nate’s lips.

He was so very good at kissing. She didn’t have much experience, but it was something she came to recognize every time she received his kiss. Every time their tongues met, a hidden desire stirred and boiled up inside her. The ache between her thighs kept building, and her heart pounded hard.

“Haa, Nate…….”