11

The first to wake was Elsia. She was able to sleep deeply without nightmares, just as she had hoped.  

As soon as Elsia opened her eyes, she swung her arm around. Her whole body felt light. Her thighs ached, but that was all.  

She’d heard that after one’s first night, the body would feel heavy and sore, as though suffering from muscle pain….

―If you meet the perfect match, even after hours together, your body won’t feel heavy but as light as a feather.

At that moment, Elsia remembered Richel’s words, and looking at herself now, she could confirm Richel had been right.  

‘I was sure I’d be sore all over the next day…’  

Except for the ache between her legs, Elsia was surprisingly fine.  

She slowly sat up.  

At that moment, she felt emptiness in her body, and when she looked down, she saw herself n*ked.  

Feeling embarrassed, she quickly glanced at Adrian. Thankfully, he was still asleep.  

Elsia looked around for something to cover herself. The bed was a mess, traces of last night scattered everywhere.  

‘So embarrassing…’  

Remembering what happened last night, Elsia felt her body heat up again.  

So she quickly grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around herself, then looked at Adrian sleeping beside her.  

His closed eyes were still beautiful.  

‘How can a man have such smooth skin?’  

Elsia leaned closer to look at Adrian.  

“Huh?”  

The more she looked, the more questions arose. His face felt strangely familiar, as if she’d seen him somewhere before.  

But that couldn’t be. If he were such a handsome man, Elsia would have remembered.  

Besides, he didn’t seem to recognize her either.  

“Maybe we just passed each other on the street.”  

Elsia thought so and gently stroked Adrian’s hair.  

The softness at her fingertips made her feel good.  

He was a man she could watch for hours without getting bored. She didn’t know what to do next.  

She had intended to end it as a one-night fling, but her heart didn’t want that.

‘No! I shouldn’t let myself get attached to a man I barely know.’

Elsia shook her head, trying to regain her rationality. But the more she looked at his face, the more her reason seemed to fade.  

She leaned down and pressed her lips softly to Adrian’s. The tender sensation made her recall last night, and Elsia suddenly felt embarrassed.  

She tried to pull away, but Adrian’s hand wrapped around her neck and held her down.  

Because of that, their lips met again. The moment their lips touched, Adrian seemed to wake up.  

The gentle kiss made her whole body tingle pleasantly.  

‘Dangerous.’  

Elsia felt as if she might fall for his tenderness. Just kissing him made her feel weak.  

“Are you trying to tempt me into doing it again?”  

As soon as their lips parted, Adrian spoke.  

“N-no…”  

Embarrassed, Elsia tried to deny his words.  

But his lips touched hers again, and with repeated kisses, Elsia could only follow his lead.  

When their lips parted, Adrian turned Elsia’s body, and she felt his firm presence against her back.  

“J-just a second…!”  

Elsia cried out, but his hardened desire began to brush between her thighs, heating her body again.  

She wanted to stop, but as it slid between her legs, all her nerves seemed to focus there.  

‘Why does my body keep reacting?’  

In the end, Elsia surrendered to the pleasure Adrian brought her, and when her body was fully heated, he began to enter her again.  

The pleasure felt different from when they faced each other.  

As his movements sped up and thr*st deeper, a wild storm began to rage inside her.  

After another passionate cl*max, Elsia regained her senses to find it was already broad daylight.  

The strong sunlight streaming through the window made her squint as she opened her eyes.  

From yesterday afternoon to today, she had spent 24 hours with Adrian.  

Elsia had lost track of time, intoxicated by him.  

She had met him while her father was away from the mansion, but if she stayed too long, her mother might become suspicious.

Hurriedly getting out of bed, Elsia tried to put on the dress she’d prepared, but it was difficult alone, so Adrian had to help her.  

Feeling his breath behind her made her body heat up again, but thankfully he didn’t do anything.  

Once she was ready, Adrian offered her a cup of tea.  

“I prepared this in advance in case there are any consequences.”  

Elsia guessed it was tea with contraceptive ingredients.  

The tea tasted bitter enough to numb her tongue, and as she drank, she looked at Adrian, who smiled gently at her.

‘Can I really cut him off?’

Seeing Adrian’s smile, Elsia lost confidence in her decision that this would be the first and last time.  

She thought that after joining him once, it would be over. All her worries would be solved. But it wasn’t so.  

Just as Richel said, if she hadn’t known, she could have stayed ignorant, but now that she’d tasted his body, she felt she would seek him out again.  

But all this started as a one-night adventure born of curiosity, so she had to stop here.

‘Today is really the last time.’

Elsia shook her head. She shouldn’t be agonizing over this. She repeatedly promised herself that today would be her last meeting with him.  

As soon as she set down her teacup, Elsia left Adrian’s villa without even saying goodbye.  

He didn’t stop her.  

It would be a lie to say she didn’t feel a pang of regret, but she thought it was for the best.  

Adrian surely thought of their night as nothing more than a fling, just as Elsia did.  

After all, Adrian only did as she wished because he lost their bet.  

“Today is really, really the last day I’ll see him.”  

Elsia kept repeating those words to herself, as if hypnotizing herself.  

Since they parted without any promise of next meeting, Elsia believed that not seeing him again would let her burning heart and body settle down as before.

* * *

A week passed since Elsia spent time with Adrian, and that week brought new changes to her life.  

The world seemed more beautiful than ever.  

The clear sky without a single cloud, the leaves fluttering in the breeze—all seemed to smile at her.  

Even bugs she used to hate felt like friends when they landed softly on her arm.  

No matter what she did, she felt good. In fact, she was almost giddy every day.  

She wanted to deny it, but the time spent with Adrian had brought vitality to her life.  

For some reason, she had fewer nightmares. The nightmares she used to have every night now came only two or three times a week.  

Instead, she dreamed other dreams.  

Instead of dreams of childhood, Adrian began to appear in her dreams.  

In her dreams, he always tempted her, and sometimes she accepted him, sometimes she refused.  

Waking from those strange dreams, she felt embarrassed.  

It seemed to unconsciously deny her determination never to see Adrian again.  

The sense that she was becoming more wanton made her blush, but she didn’t feel bad.  

Knowing a new world she hadn’t before—that alone felt good, and after dreaming of him, the morning was always bright and sunny, so she was happy.

But there was one thing Elsia feared these days, even in her happiness: news of Mars’s visit.

[I’ll visit again today. I look forward to seeing you after so long.]

Upon receiving Mars’s letter announcing his visit to the Portman family, Elsia felt gloomy.  

She still hadn’t sorted out her feelings, so she didn’t want to see his face yet.  

She wanted to meet him only when her heart was completely clear and she could face him confidently.

“I want to refuse….”

That was how Elsia felt right now.  

But his visits were always one-sided notifications, so she couldn’t refuse.  

After sending a letter, Mars didn’t care about her schedule and simply showed up at the mansion.  

Elsia couldn’t turn Mars away at the door. Since he rarely came to the capital, she had to accommodate him.  

But today, she really didn’t want to meet him.  

She thought about escaping to Richel’s house, but Marie, sensing her mood, stopped her.

“Where are you trying to run off to? Even if your heart isn’t ready, you need to meet him often to build affection. So don’t avoid him.”

Marie knew that Elsia’s heart hadn’t turned toward Mars yet. But since family matters were involved, Marie had to keep Elsia from running away, even though she understood her feelings.

Under Marie’s watchful eye, Elsia dressed up, and when she heard Mars had arrived, she went out to greet him.

“It’s been a while.”

Mars waited for Elsia on the first floor, smiling at her.  

Elsia forced a smile as she greeted him. She was confident she could make it look natural—she’d practiced dozens of times. Mars also smiled at her.  

It was his usual smile, but after spending the night with Adrian, Mars looked different to Elsia.  

His smile toward her felt like he was wearing a mask.  

‘No way…’  

Elsia shook off her suspicions and extended her hand to Mars, who took it and led her to the garden.

Drinking the prepared herb tea, Elsia looked at Mars. His smiling, silent demeanor still felt strange to her.  

‘Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him frown.’  

Mars’s expression rarely changed when visiting the Portman family. He always wore a dignified smile.  

Except for the time he laughed loudly when her necklace got caught on her dress, she’d never seen another expression.  

But a person’s expression can’t always be the same.  

‘Maybe he’s just pretending to smile, like me.’  

Elsia’s doubts about Mars began to multiply.  

His kindness toward her felt less genuine, and she wondered if his actions were all calculated.