Chapter 3

“My Lady. Why are you coming out so late? I was worried something might’ve happened inside.”

“Really? I lost track of time while praying.”

Selena replied with a shameless face.

“But, My Lady.”

“Hmm?”

“Why are you sweating so much? Are you feeling sick? Your breathing’s rough too.”

Mary checked the back of Selena’s neck and forehead, which were damp with sweat, and tilted her head. Her cheeks were flushed as if she had a fever.

Or was the prayer room just hot?

If she was sick, that would be a real problem.

“First, take off that cloak and give it to me. If you have a fever, you should cool off.”

Since Selena hadn’t gone out with the former Countess, she was dressed in a cloak with a hood. Mary was certain the heat was because of that and wanted to help her cool down.

But Selena clutched the cloak and shook her head.

“If I cool off too suddenly, I might get even sicker. I’ll just keep it on.”

“Oh, that’s true too. Then let’s hurry back to the mansion, My Lady.”

Mary nodded vigorously and hurried her along.

Selena secretly sighed so Mary wouldn’t notice. The book hidden inside her cloak felt heavy. She was worried about keeping it hidden all the way home.

And she thought this was something she couldn’t do twice.

She’d need another plan.

‘After all, maybe I have to get Mary involved?’

Boarding the family’s carriage waiting in front of the temple, Selena pondered how she could make Mary completely her ally.

Mary usually went along with most things, but convincing someone so afraid of her grandmother wouldn’t be easy.

Even after arriving at the mansion, Selena’s worries continued unresolved.

After dinner, when she’d finished getting ready for bed, Selena was finally alone. Naturally, her attention turned to the book she’d hidden as soon as she returned from her outing. Recruiting Mary could wait until after she’d finished reading.

With trembling hands, Selena touched the gold-embossed rose emblem, exhaling nervously. She couldn’t take her eyes off the book until morning broke.

“My Lady, wake up……. My goodness! Did you stay up all night reading again?”

As Selena finished the last page and closed the book, Mary entered, opening the door.

Fortunately, staying up reading was common for Selena, so Mary wasn’t too surprised. Not that she wouldn’t scold her for it, though.

Setting down the washbasin she’d brought, Mary put her hands on her hips and spoke in a deliberately serious tone.

“I told you to read during the day, My Lady. You should sleep at night. Otherwise, your health will—wait, My Lady?”

But Mary’s scolding didn’t last long.

“Are you feeling sick? Why is your face so red…….”

Mary, who’d thought something was off with Selena since yesterday, fussed about calling the family doctor immediately.

“Mary, calm down. It’s just because I stayed up all night. I’ll be fine after a nap.”

“Are you really alright?”

“I said I am. Wake me up later.”

Selena yawned widely, settled comfortably into bed, and pulled the blanket over herself. When Mary entered, Selena discreetly slipped the book she’d turned over into the blanket.

She thought she’d hidden it well while Mary was distracted, but she couldn’t completely escape the sharp eyes of an experienced maid.

Normally, Mary would have let it slide, but since she’d been so worried about Selena’s health since yesterday, she was extra vigilant.

So, stopping Selena from hiding the book again after saying she’d sleep was only natural for a loyal maid like Mary.

Mary quickly reached into the blanket and snatched the book Selena had hidden.

“Ah! Mary, give that back.”

Selena sprang up, trying to snatch the book from Mary, but Mary had already moved far from the bed with it in hand.

“You said you were going to sleep, so why are you hiding a book? Read during the day—”

Mary was rattling off her usual scolding when she saw the title on the cover and her mouth dropped open.

Seeing this, Selena buried her face in her palm and groaned. Her cheeks and even her neck burned with embarrassment.

Mary’s cheeks were also flushed, though not as much as Selena’s. After a long pause, she finally spoke.

“……It’s a bit, um, difficult to read this during the day, I suppose.”

“R-right?”

Selena answered quietly, avoiding Mary’s gaze with an awkward expression. But then she glanced at Mary with a pleading look.

“Mary……. Are you going to tell Grandmother?”

Selena’s purple eyes were moist, as if tears might fall at any moment. She knew Mary was weak to that look.

If her grandmother found out, the hard-won book would be thrown into the fireplace to be used as kindling.

Her grandmother always said that if she hadn’t fallen in love with her grandfather, she would have become a priestess serving the goddess ‘Pamila.’

As a devotee of ‘Pamila,’ who valued chastity and modesty, her grandmother was extremely old-fashioned.

She could lecture for hours about a woman’s virtue. To her, a book like this would be considered dirty and impure.

Men and women falling in love and being intimate anywhere, anytime.

To Selena, just imagining it made her heart race, but to her grandmother, it would seem vulgar and improper.

So, she absolutely had to keep it a secret from her grandmother.

Selena pleaded with her eyes, hands clasped together. Seeing this, Mary sighed with a troubled look.

“But, My Lady.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t tell me……. Did you sneak out of the temple yesterday without me? Lied about being in the prayer room?”

“What? Th-that’s……”

Selena had been so focused on hiding the book from her grandmother that she hadn’t expected Mary to catch on so quickly, and couldn’t even make an excuse, just fidgeting nervously.

A noble watching a servant’s reaction might seem odd, but Mary, having been with Selena since the estate, was like an older sister to her.

Selena clasped her hands and scratched her thumb with her index finger—a habit when anxious or embarrassed.

Mary didn’t need to hear the answer; she already knew. She sighed deeply and spoke in a weary voice.

“You should’ve just asked me. Why did you do something so risky alone? What if you got kidnapped again…….”

“But…… It was hard to ask you because the book is a bit…….”

“Well, that’s true. I’d be a little surprised if you asked me for something like this.”

Mary glanced at the book’s title again and shrugged. Unlike earlier, when she’d been shocked, it was clear that wasn’t the main issue.

Selena felt she’d missed something important and asked cautiously.

“Um, Mary.”

“Yes, My Lady?”

“Are you upset because I read the book, or because I went out alone?”

“Of course, it’s the latter! I’m worried about your health and safety. And as for books like this……. I read them too.”

“What?”

Selena felt all her worries about persuading Mary last night had been for nothing.

“Anyway, you managed to get Goldrose’s new release, My Lady. You’re quite resourceful.”

The blush coloring Mary’s smiling face was, Selena realized, not embarrassment, but anticipation.

* * *

“Mm……. Haah.”

Late at night, soft m*ans echoed in the bedroom. Selena tried to keep her lips tightly shut so no sound would escape outside.

Her knees were drawn up and legs slightly apart, so her nightgown had ridden up, exposing her pale thighs.

Slim fingers carefully moved over her damp underwear between her legs.

Pressing and moving up and down over the split between the mound, her fingertips brushed a small nub, making her parted lips release another m*an.

“Ah!”

Startled by the louder-than-expected sound, Selena bit her lip. She knew the sound wouldn’t carry outside, but she was still cautious.

When she stopped, her body, which had tasted a shallow pleasure, begged for more stimulation. The dampness inside her underwear tingled, asking to be touched.

Trying to resist, Selena pressed her thighs together, but it only made things worse. Unconsciously, she rubbed her thighs together.

Carefully moving her hand again, Selena grabbed her br*ast over her nightgown with her other hand. The soft, full flesh filled her small palm.

Her n*pple, already hard, pressed against her palm.

Gently rubbing her n*pple through her clothes, Selena recalled the man’s hand—different from her own.

The owner of the hand was the bookstore clerk. For some reason, Selena kept thinking of him.

Was it because he was the first stranger she’d met since coming to the capital?

His large hand handing her the book was vivid in her mind.

She imagined that hand could easily grasp her entire br*ast. And if his rough fingers touched her n*pple……

“Haah…….”

Just imagining it made her m*an, and the fl*id pooled inside her dripped down, wetting her underwear.