“I was terribly rude yesterday.”

What on earth had gotten into her yesterday?

“Yesterday, I really…… I was terribly rude. I must have been completely out of my mind.”

Yesterday had truly been a strange day.

She slowly retraced her memories. On her way back to her room, she had found a ring. It had turned out to be the Grand Duke’s signet ring, so she had gone to return it to his room, only to find him m*sturbating.

Then he had invited her inside, and they had drunk wine together……

“Are you crying?”

She had cried.

“Miss Amel?”

“……”

“Are you crying right now?”

‘Why am I crying?’

Even when her fiancé had taken a mistress, when that mistress became pregnant, and when she had been dragged into a third-rate scandal and had her engagement broken off, she had never cried.

“Why are you crying?”

“I don’t know. Huh……?”

Tears came tumbling down onto the back of her hand.

Amel wiped them away with the back of her hand. They were like the dew of early dawn.

“Why am I like this? I’m sorry.”

“There’s no need to apologize for that.”

Cervel filled her wineglass again, showing no sign of discomfort.

He poured her more wine, and their glasses clinked together. The crystal rang out clearly.

As the night wore on, the air grew languid from the warmth of the fireplace.

Amel’s heart also felt more at ease.

Just a few days ago, her chest had felt unbearably tight.

Her mother had hounded her constantly, her fiancé had treated her with contempt and the woman he called his lover had continued to irritate her. It had felt as though a heavy stone had been placed on her heart.

But when she was with Cervel, at least she didn’t feel suffocated.

Of course, her mind was noisy for other reasons. Her thoughts were in turmoil, but she didn’t feel that oppressive tightness in her chest.

“Your Grace.”

Then she noticed it.

Pointing toward his lower body, she asked,

“Is that all right?”

“What?”

“It’s been getting bigger for a while now. Isn’t it uncomfortable?”

To be honest, she couldn’t help but keep looking at it. Despite his baggy trousers, the front was stretched taut around his groin.

Her mind was hazy, causing her to speak without thinking.

This was why Amel didn’t realize she was being rude.

A soft laugh came from above her head. When she looked up, she saw Cervel resting his chin on his hand and gazing down at her.

“It’s uncomfortable. My whole body aches, and it feels stiff.”

“……Like muscle pain?”

“Yes. Something like that.”

“Then what should you do?”

“I need to massage it and loosen it up. When you’re tired and your body feels stiff, Miss Amel, your maid massages you to relieve it, doesn’t she? It’s similar.”

‘Oh. So, in any case, it’s similar to a massage.’

‘But that thing keeps getting bigger. Is it really all right for it to get that big?’

“Why are you curious? You can’t take your eyes off it.”

“It keeps catching my eye…….”

“Does it bother you?”

“I don’t know where I’m supposed to look.”

“I’m fully dressed. What’s the problem?”

Even with his clothes on, the outline beneath his trousers was clearly visible. The loose fabric at the front had been stretched taut.

Amel’s thoughts began to grow cloudy.

‘I should wrap things up and go to bed.’

She started to get up, but the strength suddenly left her legs.

“Are you all right?”

Amel slowly sank back down, her body going limp.

Her thoughts were muddled. Her head felt foggy, her reason was fading, and her judgment had slowed.

She closed her eyes and opened them again.

Something was right in front of her.

‘His trousers?’

Her nose was pressed against the front of his trousers. When she rubbed her nose against his firm thigh, the bridge of her nose began to ache.

Somehow, she had buried her face right between his legs.

And even in that situation, seeing it up close……

“It’s huge.”

“It’s big?”

“I’m sorry.”

“You still have enough sense to apologize at a time like this?”

It was larger and more imposing than she had expected. Even through his trousers, its thickness was unmistakable.

She looked up at him again.

This time, she studied his face.

His features were remarkably neat and refined.

“Your lips.”

A single drop of wine clung to his lips.

As she stared blankly at it, his mouth lowered toward hers.

Smack.

His lips touched hers, then pulled away.

Slurp.

A m*an escaped his lips.

Amel parted her lips slightly. She moved them up and down, as though accepting food from a mother bird feeding its young.

“……What was that?”

“Didn’t you look at me as if you wanted me to do it?”

Cervel took hold of Amel’s hand, which was gripping the front of his trousers, and pressed it down.

“I thought you were rubbing your face between my legs for that reason. Was I wrong?”

He gave a quiet laugh and tilted his head.

“Don’t overthink it. If you’re turned on, just say you’re turned on. Otherwise, slap me across the face.”

Perhaps to give her time to pull away, Cervel lowered his head and waited.

He rested his hand on his chin and tilted his head. Amel followed his movements with her eyes before closing them.

Her head was hazy, but she hadn’t been drunk enough to lose her senses completely.

Yesterday, she had acted on impulse.

Then their lips met and their tongues brushed against each other.

Their lips pressed and moved against each other, leaving her breathless.

Yet she didn’t dislike the feeling of being unable to breathe.

Her mind grew hazier, as though she were slowly sinking into a warm fog. It felt as if something inside her had gone wrong.

Her breath was hot.

As she stammered through her heated breaths, he traced the edges of her teeth, sending shivers through her body.

Cervel then laid Amel on the bed and kissed and licked her all over before entering her.

He thr*st without hesitation, filling her completely.

“Ah, nngh, nnh! Ha—ngh, mmph!”

‘I think my mind has completely broken.’

Yesterday, she had been thoroughly bewitched, as if possessed by something.

“Miss Amel.”

“Miss Amel.”

“Miss Amel?”

“Ah—what? Yes?”

Amel lifted her head, drawing in a hurried breath. Her chest rose and fell heavily, and her lungs heaved.

As she exhaled deeply, her eyes met Cervel’s.

Amel’s pupils widened.

Cervel called her name again.

“What are you thinking about? I called you several times, but you didn’t hear me.”

“N-nothing.”

Amel returned to reality and brought up the matter at hand.

“I’m asking just to make sure.”

“Yes?”

“Yesterday, did we……”

“We slept together.”

“Did we sleep together?”

They spoke at the same time.

Amel pressed a hand against her throbbing forehead, which ached like a headache.

“So we did.”

“Yes.”

Amel slipped her fingers into her hair and raked them through her scalp. The hair she had painstakingly combed with her hands became disheveled again.

The strands tangled haphazardly, much like the thoughts swirling inside her head.

“Do you remember?”

“Ah, well…….”

“Don’t you remember?”

“No. I do remember. About yesterday, I’m sorry.”

“Are you apologizing?”

“About what happened yesterday…… Could you please forget it?”

“That might be difficult.”

“Would it really be difficult for you to forget?”

Asking him to forget what had happened the previous night was another way of asking him to pretend it had never happened.

“Miss Amel.”

“Yes?”

“We’ve already shown each other our bodies, and we’ve masturbated in front of each other. And now you’re asking me to forget? Do you really think I can?”

He spoke in the gentlest voice imaginable, but his words sounded cutting to her ears.

‘His body?’

The way he phrased it was so startlingly direct.

“Your Grace, how can you say something like that so openly……?”

“Did I say anything I shouldn’t have?”

The Grand Duke hadn’t said anything untrue, but still……

“Did you dislike it yesterday?”

“Pardon?”

“I was wondering if you were acting this way because you disliked it.”

“No. It’s not that…….”

“Then how about we see each other casually for a while?”

Amel tousled her hair and looked at him.

“……What do you mean?”

Cervel spoke calmly to Amel, who was hesitating.

“I’m simply suggesting that we continue seeing each other for a little longer. You said you were on your way to a recuperation retreat, right?”

“Pardon? Yes.”

“Was it Blianna you were heading to?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then would you like to travel to Blianna together? I have some business at the Haska Mine, myself.”

The Haska Mine was a silver mine located in Blianna. It belonged to the Imperial Family, while the Madillert family had been responsible for managing it.

Amel considered their route.

“……It’s on my way, actually.”

“Would you like to see each other casually for a while?”

Their eyes naturally met.

“It’s a little surprising.”

“It would be just like now. Whenever our schedules line up, we can meet, have a meal, and drink together, just as we did here. We can spend time that way in Bliana, too.”

“And sleep together, too.”

Cervel let out a quiet laugh.

“Only if we both feel like it.”

He held her gaze, looking directly at her.

“What if one of us wants to stop seeing the other?”

“Then we should wish each other well as we go our separate ways.”

“Would we be breaking up?”

“That sounds too serious. We can simply smile, say goodbye, and let each other go.”

Her heart was in turmoil.

Her thoughts were tangled, confused, and noisy.

She wasn’t offended so much as caught off guard.

‘How am I supposed to take this?’

‘Wasn’t last night supposed to be nothing more than a one-night affair?’

At first, she had wondered whether he thought less of her because they had slept together so easily.

But they had already slept together. It felt rather pointless to start worrying about propriety now.

She began searching for excuses in her mind.

‘We’re bound to run into each other while coming and going from our rooms anyway. We’ll keep seeing each other, so we can simply continue spending time together as comfortably as we are now.’

It sounded reasonably convincing.

She was surprised by that herself. It really did sound plausible.

‘Still, I need to be careful.’

This was a time when she should be exercising restraint, having been thrown out immediately after her engagement was broken off.

‘And here I am, drawing a man into my life instead of keeping a low profile…….’

Then, all at once, she felt wronged.

‘Daniel cheated on me, got his mistress pregnant, and still had the nerve to hold his head high. And I’m supposed to exercise restraint? What did I even do wrong? Why should I?’

After her broken engagement, her mother had thrown her out and told her to spend some time reflecting on her conduct. But Amel couldn’t understand why she was the one who had to do so.

Her heart stirred restlessly, and, carried away by her frustration, she answered impulsively.

“All right, then.”

She had allowed herself to be swept away by her unsettled emotions.