Clara realized from her own answer that she herself hoped he wasn’t that kind of person. Even though she didn’t know enough about him yet to give a definitive answer.

Clara bit her lip firmly. Countess Brock noticed this and casually rose from her chair.

“I’ll bring you something to eat. Try not to fall asleep, alright?”

“Yes.”

“Good, you should eat something and then get some rest.”

Countess Brock gently stroked her daughter’s hair and left the room. After closing the door, she stood still and let out a long sigh.

She knew this day would come eventually, but to think her daughter, who had been closer to horses than people, would come home in the morning with a man. Countess Brock pressed her hand to her forehead.

‘Darling, it seems our Clara is going to experience romance now.’

If she told her husband, he would weep and wail, so it would remain a secret for the time being.

It would be better to observe their relationship a bit longer before saying anything. After all, relationships between men and women are known only to those directly involved.

Countess Brock looked out the window as she descended the stairs. She had always felt guilty for not giving her daughter siblings and had desperately wanted her to experience love and romance, to find a true match like she had. But now that it might actually happen, a part of her heart felt sad.

“What am I thinking…… It’s not like she’s getting married right away.”

Countess Brock recalled the confident young man who had spoken with conviction yesterday.

‘I’m sincere. I’ve secretly liked Miss Clara for quite some time already……’

Why had such a fine young man spent so long watching Clara from afar, suffering in silence?

Countess Brock hoped her daughter would find a partner without too much pain. But she knew better than anyone that this was a big wish.

Love, by its nature, stirs emotions. Pain is inevitable. If she endured that process well, her daughter would truly become a proper lady.

⁕⁕⁕

It was a space where various horse tack hung on the walls—saddles, bridles, brushes—and the strong smell of hay and earth permeated the air.

This was the stable inside Count Brock’s residence, twice the size of stables in ordinary noble mansions. All thanks to the Count’s only daughter, Clara, who loved horses.

“Good, well done.”

Clara held a carrot to the brown mare’s muzzle. Though she still had muscle pain and couldn’t go to the riding grounds, she intended to spend time with the horses kept at home. The horse crunched the carrot loudly and then gave a long whiny.

“Is it that delicious?”

Clara smiled, stroked the brown horse’s nose, and gave it a kiss.

“What’s that one’s name?”

At the sudden voice, Clara whipped her head around. A man dressed in black stood at the entrance.

“Oh…… What brings you to my home?”

Clara approached Dylan.

“Is it a stallion?”

“No, it’s a mare.”

Dylan extended his hand. Clara instinctively gave him her hand in response to his naturally outstretched one.

Dylan kissed the back of her captured hand. The spot where his lips touched burned intensely, as if she’d been scalded.

“Are you feeling better now?”

He was saying he had visited her residence because he was worried. Pink roses bloomed on both of Clara’s cheeks.

“I’m fine, as you can see……”

“I’d like to take a walk with you. Could I ask you to guide me through the garden?”

“Sure.”

Clara glanced down at their joined hands and gave a slight tug. Dylan followed without protest. It felt somewhat like holding a horse’s reins. There was something slightly amusing about the large man obediently following wherever her hand led him.

The two strolled slowly through the beautiful garden. With various flowers in full bloom, the garden looked like a scene from a fairy tale.

“Why did you ask about the horse’s gender?”

“I was wondering if I had more competition.”

Clara laughed softly, making a deflated sound, unsure how to take a man who so casually said he would compete with a horse.

“You know you’re really strange?”

“I am not strange.”

Another firm answer.

“But if that’s how you perceive me, then I suppose it must be so.”

Yet his tone also suggested yielding, as if taking a step back.

“Did you dream of me?”

Clara didn’t answer immediately and looked at Dylan. She wanted to try speaking like him. Cutting to the chase and flustering the other person, yet obtaining the information he was curious about. Then manipulating things as he wished.

“Do you hate carrots?”

“Pardon?”

Dylan’s eyes widened slightly at the response that diverged from his question. Seeing his expression, the corners of Clara’s mouth twitched.

“In my dream, I offered you a carrot, but you refused.”

“My goodness, I refused something you gave me, Clara?”

It was somewhat amusing how seriously he responded despite being told it was just a dream. Clara nodded with a slight smile.

“Yes, you did.”

“I was quite impertinent in your dream.”

“Yes, you were.”

“How impertinent was I?”

At Dylan’s question, Clara recalled the dream she had last night. In the dream, Dylan angrily told her to put away the carrots and give him something else.

‘I don’t like hard things like carrots.’

‘Carrots are so good for your health. Are you going to hurt the carrot’s feelings like this?’

Clara brought a carrot to Dylan’s mouth. He knocked it away with his chin and abruptly rose from his chair. He circled around the long table and approached her.

‘Clara, carrots don’t have ears. But I have a tongue that knows taste.’

Like the day of their first conversation, a passionate kiss followed. He tore off her dress, lifted her body onto the table, and said quietly:

‘Please spread your legs.’

His hand was touching her p*ssy. The pressing hand had already penetrated between her l*bia.

‘The nectar that comes from here tastes the best.’

He aggressively kissed her p*ssy. She embraced his large body and moaned. Eventually, she even begged him to put it in, shamefully.

Heat seemed to rush to her face again. Clara fixed her gaze on a red rose, trying to cut off the lengthening reminiscence. The strong floral scent invaded her nostrils. It was a powerful fragrance that seemed ready to spread throughout her entire body.

Clara suddenly thought that Dylan resembled a rose. Because he seduced people with his attractive appearance. Before you knew it, you were already enchanted by the scent and bringing your nose to the flower……

“The roses are still blooming.”

“Indeed they are.”

Dylan nodded calmly. Clara observed him carefully and then blurted out the curiosity she had been harboring.

“You said you’ve liked me for a long time?”

Dylan pulled his gaze away from the red flower and slowly turned his head.

“……Yes.”

“Why?”

Clara boldly raised her eyes.

“We only spoke for the first time that day.”

Dylan’s expression stiffened slightly.

“……That’s right.”

“Then did you just like my body?”

Anyone listening might think it was tremendous confidence, but Clara was genuinely confident in her figure from years of horseback riding.

“Do you like my body or me as a person?”

Whether he’d lost his words at her directness, Dylan didn’t answer. Clara felt a chill in her chest.

“……I see, it could have felt that way.”

“What?”

Not a denial but agreement. Clara blinked her eyes as her voice rose. This man truly defied expectations every time.

“But I really do like it. Didn’t you like it too?”

His face suggested there was no problem. Clara burst into a hollow laugh at his brazen attitude.

“So you’re saying you like my body? Not me?”

“I like your body. And I like you, Clara. Your body belongs to you anyway, so I don’t see the problem.”

“No…… that’s not what I meant.”

That wasn’t what I was asking. Clara exhaled a shallow breath.

“You asked why I like you, Miss Clara.”

Dylan suddenly hit the core issue. Clara narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. He had seemed unable to understand, but was he just pretending?

“Your face, body, smile, slender waist, full hips, and large br*asts that bounce when you ride horses—I like all of it.”

The man who openly admitted liking her physical attributes had the most sincere look in his eyes. Clara was about to argue that wasn’t a valid reason for liking someone, but she closed her mouth. She had her own experiences. Despite his rudeness, she had felt s*xual attraction to his well-proportioned body and long, well-shaped legs.

“Although we…… that day, first…… had a conversation.”

Dylan’s eyes wavered momentarily.

“I’ve always been watching you, Clara.”

“……Since six months ago?”

That was when Dylan had bought the Willingham Riding Grounds. And it was much earlier than when Clara had first noticed his gaze.

“……Yes, since six months ago.”

Again, his ash-gray eyes wavered for a fleeting moment. Clara, maintaining eye contact, saw all these changes. She couldn’t discern everything from his eyes alone. But…… that momentarily subdued attitude bothered her strangely.

“If you can’t trust me right now, couldn’t we get to know each other going forward?”

Clara stared at the tip of Dylan’s ear. It was flushed red like a rose. He was clearly embarrassed.

What was that wavering in his eyes earlier? Was everything this man said true? He was a man who admitted liking her body without making excuses. Would it be okay to get engaged to someone like him? Honestly, she didn’t know what to believe.