Chapter 56

The two began strolling around the mansion, matching each other’s pace. As they walked, they talked about many things, but most of their conversations revolved around the past—about the times before the lies they had buried and left unspoken.  

Perhaps it was the pleasant moonlight, the cool autumn breeze, or the fact that they were back at the family home after such a long time.  

Marie, wanting to be honest, spoke first.  

“When I first saw you, I really disliked you.”  

Kalik, shocked by the sudden confession, tightened his grip on her hand. His expression looked as though the sky had fallen, and Marie struggled to hold back her laughter.  

“I meant my father, not you. I hated how he couldn’t reconcile with his friend and let things escalate to this point.”  

“I understand.”  

Kalik nodded, relieved that he wasn’t the object of her dislike. He had thought the same thing himself at one point.  

While it wouldn’t have been easy, there could have been a way to cleanly resolve the situation by apologizing and admitting their mistakes.  

“Do you remember the first time we met before the wedding?”  

Kalik paused as if thinking, then answered that he did. It wasn’t something he could forget, as it always lingered in a corner of his memory.  

Only the Emperor had spoken. Albrecht had sat there groaning as if bound by invisible ropes, while Peter had worn a solemn expression, as though heading off to war. Elise and Viola were slightly better, but they weren’t bold enough to ignore their husbands and carry on a conversation.  

By the time they came to their senses, the Emperor’s command of “Get married” had turned into “Congratulations on your marriage.”  

The fathers, who had belatedly arrived to protest the unjust order, were even worse. They had argued at the gates over who should enter first and ended up missing their chance to raise objections.  

And when they finally came to their senses again, it was already the wedding day.  

“At that time, I didn’t like you much either.”  

“Why not?”  

“You seemed negligent in your duties as a child.”  

The “duties” Marie referred to were about actively encouraging reconciliation. While her brothers had remained indifferent as if it were someone else’s business, she had tried so hard to mend things.  

In the end, she had lost her resolve early in their marriage, thinking she was the only one working for the sake of both families.  

Kalik apologized for his indifference. It wasn’t that he hadn’t cared, but he had thought that such childish fights could be resolved at any time. His mistake was underestimating how stubborn Albrecht Odillia could be. In the end, half the blame lay with Albrecht.  

“What should we do now?”  

Before they knew it, they were standing in front of Marie’s room. She pointed to her room while looking at the annex across the way, where the banquet was still ongoing.  

“Should we rest for a bit?”  

Having moved around so much, her corset was starting to feel tight, making it hard to breathe. Marie opened the door, thinking that even if Kalik didn’t want to rest, she would take a break herself.  

“Let’s go in together.”  

Kalik entered first and turned on the light. He removed his coat and loosened his tie. If this had been an ordinary dinner, he would have worn a simple cravat, but since the Emperor was attending, he had unnecessarily worn a stiff, overly starched knight’s uniform.  

Finally, he could breathe. As soon as he took off the heavy coat, his body felt lighter, and loosening his tie brought the faint scent of old petals. It was the scent of Marie’s room, left untouched since she had moved to Escael.  

Thinking Marie might feel the same, he loosened the laces of her dress. She could always ask a maid to help her put it back on, but for now, he wanted her to be comfortable while resting.  

“Ah, I can finally breathe.”  

Seeing that Marie’s complexion had returned to normal, Kalik helped her fully remove her dress. Honestly, he only intended to give her something more comfortable to wear.  

But Marie completely misunderstood and, excited, began undressing herself.  

Layer after layer of skirts fell away like magic. Just when he thought the blue skirt was the last, a sky-blue skirt appeared underneath, and when he thought that was it, a pink skirt emerged.  

“Did you… wear all of this?”  

“I think I added more because it’s autumn. In the summer, there are fewer layers.”  

Marie’s answer was simple. It was colder now, so she had added more layers for warmth.  

Kalik interpreted this as her protecting and insulating a specific part of her body. He thought she had wrapped herself in layers like a shield to protect her stomach.  

“These layers didn’t make me look that big!”  

Marie said proudly, refusing to take off her corset until the very end. Lily had once joked that if she loosened it, the flesh inside would spill out like a flood.

Suddenly, he felt grateful to her.  

“I’ve never thought you looked big, but even if you were, it wouldn’t matter.”  

“As big as Earl Nobel?”  

Kalik wrinkled his nose as he picked up the skirts Marie had discarded.  

“Maybe as big as Lord Orz? I heard Lord Orz has now surpassed his father, Earl Nobel.”  

Then, he approached Marie, who was sitting on the bed, swinging her legs. In his hand was a blanket to cover her now-bare upper body.  

Marie closed her eyes. Based on past experience, this was the point where he would kiss her lips and naturally lay her down.  

“Um… Are you sure this is okay?”  

Kalik hesitated, draping the blanket over her shoulders. The atmosphere was perfect, but he worried that it might be too much for Marie, who might not be alone in her body.  

“Ah, you’re not doing anything?”  

“I’m not sure if it’s okay…”  

She realized that she had misunderstood him on her own again and covered her face. She couldn’t lift her head out of embarrassment.

Once, Natalie had asked her what she would cover if there was a fire while she was bathing. At that time, Marie had said that the lower part was more important, so she would cover that, and Natalie had scoffed, saying, “In such cases, you should cover your face,” giving a strangely correct answer.

This was exactly that situation. Her exposed chest and legs were fine. As long as her face wasn’t visible.

“Ahhh. Forget about it!”

She hugged the pillow and buried her face in it. It had been like this recently, but she felt as if she was the one always taking the lead, and things seemed to be progressing in that direction.

But soon, she felt a weight on her back. Kalik had climbed onto the bed and positioned himself behind her.

Marie grabbed the pillowcase to avoid Kalik’s gaze as he looked down at her.

“You can just rest.”

Well, it might have been too much to leave in the middle of the banquet just because she wanted to be with him.

Kalik chuckled softly and ran his finger between Marie’s br*asts. A bit of sweat had gathered, making it slick. The stiff boning of her corset made it difficult to remove. Breaking it, however, was easy.

“Do you like this corset?”

“Not… particularly? A corset is just a corset.”

“Then that’s fine.”

Before she could ask what he meant, there was a snapping sound, and the chest part of her corset bent outward. He had broken the boning with just his fingers.

He then pulled the corset down to her stomach.

“……!”

“I don’t know how to deal with the strings. Sorry.”

As soon as Kalik gave this dry apology, he bit Marie’s chest. Because she had been lying curled up on her side, her n*pple, which was tilted upward, was in the perfect position to be bitten.

“Ah… mm…”

His soft tongue circled the hardened peak with excitement. Every time it brushed against his teeth, the hard and unfamiliar sensation made Marie stifle a moan. She tried to suppress her voice, covering her mouth with one hand while gripping Kalik’s arm with the other, her nails digging in.

“We always seem to end up doing this in hiding.”

“Take your mouth off and say that!”

The hot breath on her chest was unbearably ticklish and stimulating. On top of that, her n*pple, caught between his teeth and stretched, kept sending sharp jolts through her body whenever his tongue moved against it.

He only chewed gently, leaving deep marks on her chest instead of sucking or licking. It seemed like he was doing this to help her relax and ease her tense posture.