It was strange. Despite the commotion, no one came running. Flora, who was about to go to the butler’s room immediately, soon changed her mind.

Waking the duke was the most urgent matter. When she returned to the bed, the duke was still sleeping, unaware of anything.

Just in case, she placed her finger near his nose and felt a faint breath. That was a relief.

“The fastest way to eliminate the effects of the sleep fragrance is…”

Flora, who had suddenly come to her senses, leapt down to the first floor through the window that the escaped assassin had used. Then she hurriedly went to the garden and rummaged through the grass.

“I’m sure I saw it somewhere around here…”

After searching in the darkness for a while and getting grass stains on her hands, she spotted a small blue flower. Flora plucked a handful along with the stems and quickly returned to the room.

There was no time to waste. If he couldn’t wake up with this much, it meant the intoxication was quite severe.

She poured out the water from the glass on the bedside table and thoroughly crushed the roots of the flowers she had brought. Only after seeing the blue color spread like a haze on the water’s surface did Flora head towards the duke’s bed.

But here was the problem.

“How should I feed him?”

Since he was unconscious, there was no way to make him swallow the herb.

After pondering for a moment, Flora first opened his mouth and haphazardly put in the crushed herb. He furrowed his brow, seemingly uncomfortable with the quite bitter smell. Then he suddenly burst into coughing.

“Ugh… cough.”

As he tried to spit out what had entered his mouth, Flora quickly pushed her index finger in to push the contents towards his throat.

Soft flesh touched her fingertip. His slippery tongue moved slowly along her finger.

It was ticklish and she wanted to pull it out, but Flora endured and waited until he swallowed the herb. After stirring the moist inside a few times, his thick Adam’s apple finally moved with a gulp as he swallowed the herb.

How long had she struggled like that?

The duke’s tightly closed eyelids moved slightly. Eventually, his eyelashes lifted, and her figure was reflected in his cool gray eyes.

“Your Grace, are you conscious?”

Flora asked, observing his reaction.

He slowly opened and closed his eyelids without replying. It seemed the medicine was taking effect, though it was a temporary treatment.

Feeling somewhat relieved, Flora withdrew her hand and explained the situation to him.

“There were intruders who broke into the mansion and attempted to take Your Grace’s life.”

But his condition seemed strange somehow. His pupils reacted slowly, and his eyes were hazy, showing no sign of understanding her words.

“Your Grace…?”

Flora called out to him once more, bringing her face closer. By now he should have regained his senses, but there was hardly any movement, to the point of being sluggish.

After calling him several times in succession, his hazy eyes fully focused on her.

Just as she was about to open her mouth, thinking he had finally come to his senses, suddenly, a large hand reached out and cupped her cheek.

Flora’s shoulders flinched at the cool touch. His thumb stroked the skin around her cheek a few times, then caressed the wound below.

For a moment, his expression became ambiguous.

“You’re hurt.”

He showed an expression as if it greatly pained him.

“It’s nothing. More importantly, we need to call the knights right away…”

This wasn’t the time for this. The fact that the mansion had been quiet until now meant that the knights had also fallen victim to the sleep fragrance, so someone needed to be called.

When Flora turned her back to check the situation outside, her wrist was suddenly grabbed by a large hand. With the pulling force, Flora’s body was abruptly seated on the bed.

Flora was overwhelmed with bewilderment, finding herself unexpectedly in the duke’s arms.

The sensation of his cool skin touching hers was transmitted. Because she was being held in his large body, his breath circled around her cheek.

Flora, who had turned her head with effort, calmly opened her mouth.

“…Your Grace, please let go.”

She tried to pull her body back belatedly, but her waist was encircled by his thick arm.

His firm hand lightly gripped her chin. As his breath drew closer, his scent also felt more immediate. Flora flinched and tried to retreat, but the arm strength constricting her waist was tremendous.

He muttered quietly in a low, sunken voice.

“…Blood.”

What did he just say?

Before she could ponder this question, the fingertips that had been loosely holding her gradually applied more force. Her chin was pulled, slightly lifting her head, and then hot breath poured onto her lips.

For a moment, her mind went blank. Her body reacted slowly to the unexpectedly unfolding situation.

Her teeth parted involuntarily, and a warm flesh aggressively pushed in between her tightly sealed lips.

Even Flora, who was usually unperturbed, was at a loss for how to handle the current situation. The intimate flesh of another person, which she had never touched before, was now ravaging her insides. Each time his tongue pressed down inside her mouth, small moaning sounds escaped.

“…Mmph, Your… Grace…”

The call she managed to utter after barely regaining her senses was cut off before it could continue. It was because he quickly thrust in through the gap of her parted lips, pressing the center of her chin. His tongue invaded everywhere in her oral cavity, as if to steal not only her saliva but also her breath.

She tried to push him away, but his stubborn tongue entered deeper, licking along her palate. As the intensely continuing kiss progressed, her breathing became shorter and her sounds rougher.

It was only after her lips had been sucked by him for quite some time that she realized what she was doing with the duke was kissing.

For a moment she had been swept up in the atmosphere, but any further would be dangerous. Reconsidering his temperament, Flora pushed hard against his chest to move away from him.

Only after Flora, breathing heavily, pushed him away could she meet the duke’s eyes. As the saliva that had been stretched long between their parting lips broke off with a snap, gray eyes that seemed unsatisfied came into view. His narrowed eyes, frustrated at not getting his way, exuded an atmosphere dangerous enough to make even Flora tremble.

Why is he suddenly like this?

The key to breaking the intoxication of the sleep fragrance extracted from rahel flowers was clearly that plant, but…

Unorganized thoughts tangled and intertwined in her mind. Flora, steadying her trembling breath, calmly opened her mouth.

“…You’re in a state of intoxication from the sleep fragrance. So,”

“Shut up.”

He immediately cut off her words. His languid voice was chillingly low.

It was a tone imbued with intimidation, just like when she first encountered him in the barracks of the west.

Is he angry?

Perhaps he was offended that a mere maid had entered the master’s bedroom without permission.

“The antidote doesn’t seem to be working. We should call a healer…”

“…Flora.”

He called her name precisely. Flora, whose name was called for the first time, was seized by an unfamiliar feeling.

Does he recognize me now?

In her confusion, she examined his face. In reality, all she could see was a blurry outline, but she could tell that beyond his deep eyes, keen pupils were directly gazing at her.

“Your lips… are bleeding.”

“……?”

Flora hurriedly felt her lips with her fingers. On her lips, wet with his saliva, a small amount of blood that she didn’t know when it had flowed was smeared.

“Here too… you’re hurt.”

In an instant, he pressed his lips against the inside of her captured wrist. Whether or not it had been slightly grazed by a sword, his moist tongue lightly touched and left the thin line where blood had beaded on the skin.

Her body, instinctively trying to escape, was lightly subdued as her waist was pulled. He carefully pressed his lips down on the fine hairs rising on her slender arm. Each time the moist tip of his tongue swept over her dry skin, lewd sounds of ‘chu, chu’ split the space between them.

“Ah…! It’s… fine.”

The man’s breath rubbed against her sensitive areas over and over. Flora bit her lip at the hot breath blowing over her skin, now wet with his saliva.

Regardless of her confusion, the duke did not let her go. She strained to break free, but it was futile.

The man who had been acting dully until just moments ago had long since disappeared. The strength of the man, who clearly believed the detoxification was incomplete, was truly formidable.

A quiet struggle ensued. The hand that had been desperately trying to break free was suddenly caught firmly by the Duke.

Realizing the inevitable difference in strength, she tried to persuade him with a deflated voice,

“Please… let me go.”

However, the Duke continued his actions as if he could no longer hear her words. His lips descended on the inside of her wrist, moving slowly. He alternated between gently licking the delicate skin with his tongue and pressing his lips together to suck and devour it, quickly leaving red marks on the tender flesh.

He paused his action of tracing long lines with his tongue and raised his neat eyebrows. His sculptured face tilted slightly as he gazed at her steadily. She swallowed hard under his penetrating stare.