Especially since he was someone who shuddered at anything forceful.

But he had to stop after taking just a few steps.

“Your Grace, do you hate me?”

How much had she drunk? Her pronunciation was completely slurred. Yet to him, it was an incredibly provocative voice.

When he turned his head, there was Levedi, half-raised from the bed wearing only a chemise, staring at him.

His face grew hot at the glimpses of flesh visible through the chemise.

“No, it’s not that I hate it……”

“Then come here and sleep with me.”

“What.”

Assel had to swallow a hollow laugh. Did this woman truly know?

Late at night, on their wedding night no less. At this moment when red dominated the entire room, saying such things while wearing only a chemise, how stimulating it could be.

The possibility that “sleeping together” would be taken in its innocent meaning was extremely low.

“……This is maddening.”

He couldn’t help but mutter under his breath.

Having brought the blanket, he placed it next to Levedi. And originally, he had planned to spend a torturous night trapped in this blanket.

But the moment he lay down to sleep, he felt the last seal of his reason being released.

Slender, long arms wrapping around his neck, the soft and delicate sensation touching his back. Finally, the sweet voice whispering:

“Kiss… me……”

At that moment, the breath tickling his nape carried the sweet scent of red wine.

“Earlier, we couldn’t do it properly.”

Earlier? When was she referring to? Perhaps after the officiating ended?

But it didn’t matter anyway. Whenever it was, his reason had already completely left him.

“……My bride is truly unfathomable.”

“……”

“Sometimes meticulously calculated, sometimes confusingly defenseless.”

That’s why she drove him crazy like this.

“Let’s make one thing clear.”

Having turned his body to face her eyes, hazy with intoxication, he whispered softly:

“You touched me first.”

“Mmm……”

Even her responding voice was lovely. To the point where he thought that if they couldn’t be together, rushing toward destruction together wouldn’t be so bad either.

After gazing at her for a while, Assel gently bit her lips.

When he slightly raised his teeth to bite her lower lip, surprisingly, it tasted refreshingly tangy. A taste so refreshingly tantalizing it drove him mad.

His breathing deliberately roughened.

Perhaps Assel thought he might become addicted to kissing. Levedi’s lips were sweet. Like they were coated with sugar water, every place he indulged in tasted sweet.

Moreover, every time he moved his lips to gently bite her nape, the gasps of “huk, eut” that jumped like a ball gradually depleted Assel’s reason. His mind went blank. As if this moment was his entirety, he wasn’t even given time to care about anything else.

As the kisses intensified, Levedi’s arms fumbled across Assel’s back. The touch of her fumbling, unable to fully wrap around his broad back, was endearing.

Assel lifted Levedi’s arms to wrap around his neck, then with one hand encircling her waist and the other bringing Levedi’s delicate body close to the leather headboard.

As their kisses became increasingly wet, their bodies pressed closer together. Levedi’s body, fully felt against his, was delicate and soft unlike Assel’s rough and hard one. It seemed so fragile that it might break with just a slight touch, precarious yet the strangeness from that difference drove him mad.

Assel felt a gradual throbbing below. But unsure if he should proceed further, he looked into Levedi’s eyes as if seeking consent.

Levedi’s violet eyes, clouded with intoxication, trembled as if surprised by Assel’s sudden gaze.

Assel broke away from their locked lips. The two separated their breaths, and gasping breaths filled the space between them. Finally, as Assel’s breathing calmed and he interlaced his fingers with Levedi’s to seek consent, meeting her gaze once more,

“Leve……”

“……Sleepy.”

With slurred pronunciation, Levedi uttered those words, then immediately rested her head on his shoulder. Assel’s eyes widened.

“……vedi?”

“……”

Surely she hadn’t fallen asleep. But he could feel the heavy sensation weighing on his shoulder and the feeling of her hand falling from around his neck.

“Levedi……?”

“……”

As if his ominous premonition had come true, there was no answer from Levedi. Assel carefully grabbed Levedi’s delicate shoulders and pushed her away.

At that moment, there was no strength felt in Levedi’s motion as she collapsed against the headboard.

Sure enough. Soon, Levedi’s eyes were closed. Her completely lowered eyelashes clearly indicated she was sound asleep.

After staring at that sight in disbelief for a while, a chuckle escaped from between Assel’s lips.

“……Huh.”

First she clings to him asking for a kiss, then she falls asleep at the crucial moment.

“Really… this woman.”

“……”

“I can’t figure you out.”

Levedi was difficult for Assel to understand.

He had watched her for two years and kept her close for months, but he still couldn’t grasp her.

Just when he thought he had gotten close, she would suddenly take two steps back.

But when he tried to end the relationship first, realizing there was no future for them, she pulled him in.

Despite knowing ge was being used, Assel helplessly responded to that pull, and a futile hope sprouted within him. Despite knowing that the moment she discovered it, she would coldly draw the line.

Even at this moment, it was like that.

Assel stared at the unbelievable situation for a while, frozen, then shook his head.

It was because he couldn’t imagine doing anything to someone who was asleep. Assel wanted Levedi, but it wasn’t just her body he desired.

He wanted a relationship where their innermost hidden depths touched each other.

Mixing bodies without hearts might feel heart-burstingly good right now, but he knew emptiness would rush in afterward.

The problem might be that it seemed like the day his wish would be fulfilled would never come.

He felt somewhat bitter. Despite feeling like he might burst below, the emptiness from the uncomfortable truth was much greater.

With a bitter smile, Assel put his hands under Levedi’s nape and thighs and lifted her.

After laying her briefly on the sofa, he quickly tidied up the bed.

Eventually, he placed Levedi’s head on the pillow and positioned her body so she could sleep comfortably, then covered her with the blanket up to her neck.

Having finished his task, Assel lay down beside her.

Suddenly, the fact that he had become her husband felt real. Even though it was a contract marriage, it was amazing that he had become someone who shared a bed with her like this.

‘Perhaps, we could get closer.’

Even though he already knew her heart, a futile hope bloomed again in Assel’s heart.

That if he tried, this answerless relationship might change.

But nevertheless, if Levedi truly ended it, if she distanced herself from him…

At the hypothetical thought, Assel unconsciously felt strength entering his fist.

“That absolutely cannot happen.”

Especially when he thought about Levedi embracing another man or being embraced by him, he was overwhelmed by the urge to destroy everything.

That will never happen. He won’t let her go, and she must never be taken by another man.

But there was a contradictory aspect to his emotions.

He clearly wants to break her two wings and fracture her ankles to place her in his cage.

But at the same time, he loved her freedom. He also knows that Levedi would wither away in that cage before long.

“Really……”

I’m going to go crazy.

A long sigh escaped from between Assel’s lips as he looked at the sleeping Levedi.

It was because he had no idea what to do with himself, foolishly loving this woman and knowing the ending that would be given to them both.

Would Levedi ever know? How many worries and thoughts engulf him as he sits beside her sleeping form.

Even if she knew, he knew she wouldn’t care, so he closed his eyes with a bitter smile.

As he tried to sleep, Assel thought that the warmth from the spot beside him was both welcome and maddeningly cruel.

If something was unreachable from the beginning, one could give up, but something that seems reachable yet never is tends to make people miserable.

Assel tossed and turned for a long time before finally falling asleep after several hours.

❀❀❀

I opened my eyes to the sensation of sunlight piercing my pupils. My expression involuntarily contorted at the intense sunlight penetrating through the window.

I looked around with narrowed eyes and then raised my body. At that moment, with a swoosh, the blanket covering me fell down, and the cold air of the bedroom enveloped my skin.

“……?”

Huh, why is this happening? I’m sure I fell asleep wearing pajamas, so it shouldn’t be this cold.

Instinctively wrapping my shoulders with both hands, I realized from the touch of my bare shoulders against my palms.

That I was wearing only a chemise. But the problem didn’t end there.

As my eyes gradually adapted to the sunlight, my blurry vision became clear. When everything finally became distinct, my heart sank at the black back of the head that came into view.

……Is it too idealistic to hope that this is a dog’s or doll’s head?

‘Of course it is.’

At the answer that came from within my heart, I felt my hope crumbling. The man in front of me was clearly the Duke. Which means, the Duke must have seen me like this too.

‘What on earth happened last night?’

Given Assel’s personality, he wouldn’t have pounced on me first. He was slick, but he always maintained boundaries with me. Even our first kiss, he asked for my consent before doing it. I remember that even on the day we went to get wedding gifts, despite the atmosphere in the carriage, he asked permission for everything and pulled away without regret when I pushed him away.

‘……Did I pounce on him then?’

No way, surely not.

I bit my lower lip at the ominous sensation creeping over me. Hoping desperately that it wasn’t so, I tried to remember what happened last night.

And soon, things I had forgotten, buried in sleep, started to surface.

Yesterday, because the Duke didn’t come in until late, I drank a lot of wine alone in the room. And I think I took off my clothes because I was hot… strangely, I couldn’t remember anything after that.

‘Nothing happened, right……?’

Please let it be that I just threw off my nightgown because I was hot and then fell asleep.

Repeating such wishes, I got up from my seat. Going straight to the bathroom in that state, I froze when I saw my reflection in the mirror.

My lips were swollen. If I were to apply lipstick in this state, it would surely smear unevenly.

A sudden ominous feeling struck me. This state of my lips…

It’s exactly like.

‘……Like I’ve had a round of kissing?’

No way, did I kiss the Duke while I was drunk? If I did, it means I pulled the Duke in.

‘……That can’t be.’

My teeth chattered with shame as soon as I imagined the situation. There’s no way I would have done that. There’s no way I would have kissed…

Just as I was trying to deny everything, I noticed my neck, which was as patchy as my lips. The meaning of the neck covered with red marks, as if branded, was all too clear.

Unless it was mosquito bites, this…

‘Did I really kiss him?’

What on earth happened last night? Just as I was internally alarmed, I heard movement outside the bathroom. Then the door opened with a clunk, and I froze as my eyes met with a man’s.

“……”

If there were a mouse hole, I would have wanted to hide in it right away.

Chapter 6. Is This Really a Contract Marriage?

At my soft call, the Duke lowered his eyes to meet mine and asked in a gentle voice.

“……Levedi, you’re awake.”

His voice was husky. It felt somewhat unfamiliar to hear the Duke, who had always shown a perfect image in front of me, speak with a voice not fully awake.

But that’s not what’s important in the current situation.

‘……Why is he so calm?’

Isn’t it difficult to be calm in a situation like this? Or am I being too sensitive?

‘For just one kiss, maybe I’m being overly sensitive on my own……’

But soon such thoughts receded. With my neck and collarbone full of his marks, isn’t it different from just mixing lips once? I don’t know for sure, but if we’ve progressed this far, it doesn’t seem like we just kissed…

Since things always led to bed after this next step with my ex-husband Alex, I couldn’t easily dismiss my suspicions.

But perhaps my anxious appearance was visible to the Duke as well. He looked at me with a mix of curiosity.

“Why are you staring so intently?”

“……Well.”

“Do you have something to say to me?”

I hesitated for a moment. During that time, one possibility crossed my mind.

Perhaps the Duke’s calm demeanor was deliberately so, to be considerate of me.

Could it be that he’s pretending not to know to avoid embarrassing me, after I pounced on him despite acting like he shouldn’t cross the line?

If that’s the case, it’s too embarrassing and I’m sorry.

After hesitating, I finally made a decision. No matter how embarrassing, such things should be clarified.

“……Last night, perhaps.”

“Did something happen last night?”

As soon as I started speaking, the Duke carefully asked while examining my expression. His gaze was burdensome, but I continued speaking as if nothing was wrong.

“……Did I do anything last night?”

Let’s go with a probing approach first.

At my question, the Duke tilted his head.

“What do you mean, did you do something……”

“……”

“Ah.”

But his puzzled expression was brief; soon he let out a short exclamation as if remembering something.

Despite it being a minor reaction no different from what he usually does, my heart sank.

“You did seem to have had too much to drink last night.”

“……!”

At his subsequent words, I could only think that what I feared had come to pass. A kind of ominous feeling that my prediction might be correct.

Rather than hearing about my embarrassment from someone else, it would be better for me to speak directly.

Having made up my mind, I quickly interjected before he could continue speaking.

“Y-yesterday, I’m sorry!”

At my words, the Duke looked at me with wide, round eyes.

“Why are you suddenly apologizing……”

To the Duke’s question, I suppressed my desire to die and answered:

“……Because I think I pounced on you!”

At my answer, the Duke’s eyebrow twitched.

“What do you mean by that?”

“……What?”

“Are you apologizing for pouncing on me last night?”

“Yes.”

At my words, the Duke stared at me with an indecipherable expression, then burst into laughter.

“How on earth did you come to that conclusion?”

“Well… when I woke up, I was only wearing a chemise.”

Fortunately, I’m wearing a robe now, but earlier I was only wearing a chemise, and I can’t express how embarrassed I was.

Of course, there’s no need for modesty between a married couple, but since he and I have a contract marriage, we’re essentially strangers.

Not quite strangers, since we’ve kissed a few times… friends maybe? Still, it’s embarrassing to show myself wearing just a chemise.

The Duke gave me a strange look.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

When I asked, unable to understand the intention behind that look, the Duke smiled and said:

“I think my wife is quite peculiar.”

“……?”

“Usually in this situation, one would think the man pounced first.”

“……”

“Isn’t it unusual that you think you pounced and are apologizing? Like someone who feels guilty about something.”

The Duke’s last words pierced my heart like a dagger. As the Duke said, I did feel guilty, so my face burned as if it would catch fire, but in this situation, I decided to be brazen.

“I do… feel guilty, no, that’s not it.”

D*mn, I got my words twisted from the first sentence. This would make me look more suspicious. I continued speaking, pushing aside my complicated feelings.

“It’s just that I didn’t think Your Grace would pounce.”

The Duke let out a chuckle. With a faint smile on his lips, he asked teasingly:

“You didn’t think I would pounce? Do I look impotent or something? If so, you’re misunderstanding. How should I clear up this misunderstanding……”

The moment I met his slyly curved eye corners, I sensed it. Though it seemed like a joke at first glance, it might be serious.