Chapter 3.3

Startled, Carnier flinched and pulled back. Servante also moved his head away.  

“…”  

“…”  

The knocking continued urgently.  

‘Who…?’  

Who dared to interrupt such an important moment?!  

Carnier almost shouted in frustration.  

Servante, on the other hand, seemed to regain his composure. He closed his eyes tightly, and when he opened them, a sliver of rationality returned.  

“…It’s probably Luca.”  

“…”  

“Sigh… Let’s step out for now. We can continue later…”  

“No!”  

‘Not a chance!’  

Before he could stop her, Carnier rushed to the door.  

She grabbed the handle and flung it open. Standing outside was Luca, looking relieved.  

“Ah, here you are. When I went to the box seats, I heard that one of our party had reserved several private rooms nearby, so I—”

“Sir Luca, His Highness and I have something important to discuss. Please ensure no one disturbs us.”  

“…Pardon?”  

“What?”  

Both Luca and Servante were taken aback.  

But Carnier wasn’t finished.  

“When the Duchess of Raymore comes looking after the performance ends, tell her His Highness is escorting me home.”  

“W-What?”  

“Thank you.”  

“Wait…”  

Before Luca could finish, she closed the door. Locking it for good measure, Carnier turned around.  

She walked back toward Servante with determined steps.  

The sheer force of her presence made even Servante flinch momentarily.  

“Now, where were we?”  

“…Carnier.”  

“Oh, right. You said you didn’t want me catching other men’s attention. What came next?”  

For the first time, he began to reveal feelings he had never expressed before. She couldn’t let this moment slip away—it might be her only chance.

• Today, no one will be able to resist you, Carnier.

She swallowed hard. Even she could not help but feel nervous. However, she mustered her courage—not the courage to endure rejection this time, but a different kind of bravery.

“Shall I say it for you? Your Highness, you—”

“Carnier.”

Servante interrupted, brushing his disheveled hair aside and speaking through gritted teeth.

“Don’t say another word. If I… about you…”

His lips moved as if he wanted to speak words he couldn’t bear to utter aloud. Finally, he muttered in a low voice.

“…You don’t understand. What that truly means…”

He ran his hand down his face. But Carnier saw it—the red glimmer flickering between his fingers.

“…!”

It was a gaze she had never seen before, and even though it only brushed past her for a moment, it sent chills down her spine. His hand fell away, and the crimson light in his eyes disappeared as quickly as it had come, but the sensation lingered vividly.

Carnier clenched her fists tightly. Then, rising on her tiptoes, she grabbed him by the collar.

“?!”

Pulled forward by the collar, his face was filled with surprise. Carnier’s deep blue gaze pierced into his eyes, as if searching for the dark hue that had vanished.

“Do you really think I don’t know?”

“……”

“I’m no longer a child.”

The faint ember of hope that had begun to spark while listening to his words now flared into a blazing fire. All that remained was certainty.

“I like you, Your Highness. And I know you—mmph!”

Her rambling words were cut off. Carnier’s eyes widened slowly in surprise.

The red eyes she had been searching for were closer than ever. They brimmed with the intense emotions she had been yearning to confirm.

“Mm… Ngh…”

Before she could react, her lips were claimed. A hot, rough tongue slipped between her parted lips, invading her mouth.

The strength in her hands, which had been gripping his collar, faltered. Instead, a large hand supported the back of her neck.

Though he had been speaking of reason just moments earlier, his kiss was unexpectedly forceful. The soft mucous membranes of her lips were mercilessly crushed by the sharp tip of his tongue, and her teeth ached from the pressure. Yet, instead of showing discomfort, Carnier closed her eyes.

Unaware of how his gaze darkened further.

One step, two steps.

As the kiss grew more fervent, Carnier was pushed backward. And for every step she retreated, he advanced even more.

Her body tilted back, finding no support, and she clung tightly to his shoulders. He held her waist with one hand while the other, which had been cradling her nape, tangled in her hair.

The golden wig that Beth had so skillfully secured began to loosen and eventually slipped off. As if waiting for this moment, his fingers climbed through her scalp, scattering the delicate hairpins. Her original dark blue locks spilled down in strands.

“Ah… Wait, mmph…!”

Her balance was lost to the point she could no longer stand on her own. Staggering as she clung to his shoulders and clothing, Carnier felt a soft sensation against her back and opened her eyes in surprise.

She had been pushed back and back until she finally reached the bed.

Only after being laid down on the bed did the long kiss come to an end. Gasping for breath, she looked up at him, his hand planted firmly beside her. His face, shadowed in the dim light, was darker than ever.

“…Yes, I dared to harbor feelings for you.”

“…!”

Carnier, breathing heavily, stared blankly at his face, shrouded in deep shadows, and his lips glistening with saliva. He chuckled bitterly as he looked at her.

“So, the moment I lose my reason, I end up doing something like this.”

“I…”

“I, more than anyone, know that you are no longer a child.”

His hand seemed to grasp her slender neck but then slid down slowly. Carnier flinched slightly.

“That’s why I’ve been holding back, suppressing the urge to tell you to cover yourself up, even in the peak of summer, so not an inch of your skin is exposed. Are you satisfied now?”

“…?”  

“Does it make you feel better to know that your fiancé is a man who has harbored impure thoughts about the little girl he’s known since childhood?”

“Ah…”

The hand that had been tracing her collarbone moved over the curve of her chest. Carnier held her breath. Wherever his touch landed, it felt as if flames were blooming on her skin.

Looking into her flushed face, Servante whispered.

“That’s why I told you not to say any more. Because what a man like me wants next isn’t conversation.”

“……”

If he were honest, he had thought she would be scared by now.

But he was wrong.

The hands gripping his shoulders tightened, and she lifted her head. Thinking she was trying to get up from the bed, Servante moved aside—only to freeze when her soft lips brushed against his.

A brief, light kiss.

“…The knot is on my back.” 

Carnier murmured.

“…What?”

“The knot. On my back.”

Carnier reached behind his stiffened shoulders and wrapped her arms around his neck. Pulling herself closer, she simultaneously blocked any chance of retreat.

“I can’t reach it… Please untie it for me.”

“……”

His gaze shifted entirely.

***

The theater performance was reaching its climax.  

In a private room on the top floor, where the lights had been extinguished, an intense heat had just begun to rise.  

“Mm…”  

Carnier twisted her head, unable to endure it any longer. The ends of her golden hair, which had fallen forward, tickled her neck.  

Beneath her, a sticky sound, as if sucking on a sweet candy, echoed faintly.  

As the knot at her back came undone, the sleeveless evening dress slid down effortlessly. The undergarment that covered her rounded br*asts was also pushed aside with a light gesture. In the moment his eyes gleamed, catching sight of the white mounds glowing even in the darkness, Carnier lost sight of his face.  

“Ahh…!”  

She could distinctly feel the sensation of teeth grazing inside the lips that had enveloped one of her br*asts. The ar*ola, sucked into his hot mouth, was pressed and teased by his tongue, pinched mercilessly by his teeth.  

The other br*ast, which had been left reddened and swollen from earlier torment, was now being rubbed between his fingers. Her once pristine white skin was now covered in red marks from his touch and kisses.  

Carnier gasped for breath. At first, she had responded, unfastening the buttons of his shirt and slipping her fingers into the gap between his collar. But as he buried his head into her chest for several minutes, exploring every part of her she didn’t even know existed, she found herself clutching his head in surrender.  

It wasn’t just his lips that were exploring her.  

One hand, which wasn’t gripping her br*ast, slid down her slender back. Slowly, it pulled her dress down further.  

“Ahh!”  

The blunt tips of his fingers brushed along her spine, sending shivers down her body. When she instinctively arched her back, he seized the opportunity to tug at her dress. The skirt, now unobstructed, slid down to her legs and fell to the floor. Only then did he lift his head.  

Through his hair, his crimson eyes glimmered faintly. Carnier swallowed nervously, wondering how she must appear in his gaze.  

From her flushed, tense expression to her neck and chest, now marked with red as though flower petals had fallen upon them, and further down to her untouched, pure white n*ked body—  

He took in every detail of her with an intense gaze, even as he consciously diverted his attention from the bulge in his trousers that had grown taut. He didn’t want to frighten her. First, she needed to grow accustomed to his touch and kisses.  

His hand, which had been teasing her stomach and the valley of her chest, returned to her soft mound. Despite the overwhelming desire that threatened to burst forth, his movements were gentle, like the brush of a feather.  

“Ahh…”  

Even though the area had been touched and kissed repeatedly, it only seemed to grow more sensitive rather than dulled. Carnier now met his approaching lips with a semblance of familiarity.