2.

Morning sunlight hit her face. Clara struggled to lift her heavy eyelids. Someone was touching her body. It was Dylan.

“Stop it now……”

After doing it all night, he wanted more? She had thoroughly witnessed his bedroom prowess and now just wanted to catch up on much-needed sleep. Clara closed her eyes again and spoke as if throwing a tantrum.

“I was putting your clothes back on.”

Clara opened her eyes again and looked down. The dress that had been removed was now being put back on her body.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

Dylan, who had been caressing her long, slender ankle, laughed softly. His laughter, like scratching his throat, sounded quite pleasant. Clara was a bit surprised at herself for thinking this.

“I need to take you home. It’s morning already.”

“Never mind, just call a carriage for me.”

Clara made a groaning sound and tried to raise her upper body but screamed. The moment she tried to rise, a stiff pain enveloped her entire body. Her lower abdomen ached, and her legs felt as heavy as lead.

Goodness, she couldn’t move. Like when she had overdone her first horseback riding as a child and collapsed, she had suddenly used muscles she normally didn’t use, causing her body to protest.

“Wh-what is this……”

“What’s wrong?”

Dylan asked with an innocent face. He looked perfectly fine. Somehow, she couldn’t shake off the feeling of unfairness.

Clara glared at him resentfully before sighing.

“Since it’s my first time using my body this way, I can’t move……”

Dylan smiled brightly. Clara had never seen a smile that seemed to scatter starlight from someone’s eyes.

“You find this funny? I can’t even move a muscle!”

Clara raised her voice, lifting her well-shaped eyebrows.

“I’m sorry. Your first time in a place like this……”

Dylan covered his mouth with his hand, his face turning bright red. He seemed to be trying to hide his grinning lips, but it was useless.

“Stop laughing.”

“I can’t help the laughter escaping.”

“Are you that happy?”

“Yes.”

It was an immediate answer without a hint of hesitation. Dylan tucked Clara’s disheveled hair behind her ear.

“I’m pleased to be your first partner, Clara, but since you can’t move, I can carry you home.”

Dylan, who had been examining Clara’s face, continued in a gentle voice.

“You look especially beautiful today.”

After spending the night doing that and not even having a chance to tidy herself up while entangled with him, Clara felt heat rushing to her face at the sudden compliment about her appearance. How could he say such embarrassing things without changing his expression?

“You just became even prettier.”

He was teasing her about her reddened face. Clara covered her face with both hands.

“Don’t tease me.”

“I’m just stating facts.”

Dylan murmured in a calm tone.

How can he say such things without his face changing color? Clara slightly spread the fingers covering her face. She peeked at Dylan through the gaps.

Languid, elongated eyes, sparkling dark gray irises, and hair that was damp—perhaps from washing—pushed back to fully reveal his face.

His eyes, shining beneath dark eyebrows, were clear and clean, and his straight nose and red lips were in perfect proportion. Overall, it was a harmonious impression.

His gaze, which she had only thought of as gloomy, was deep and calm. Had her eyes been wrong all this time? Honestly, Dylan’s current appearance was as captivating as a masterpiece painted by a great artist.

“You can just look openly.”

“I wasn’t looking!”

Clara hastily turned her head away. She heard a soft chuckle. The heat that had risen to her face showed no signs of cooling down.

⁕⁕⁕

The carriage ran through the streets with barely any shaking. The coachman was sticking to well-maintained roads.

Though this made the journey home longer, Clara deliberately chose not to mention it. She also pretended not to mind Dylan holding her hand, though it bothered her.

‘The truth is, I’ve kept you in my heart for a long time, Miss Clara.’

His confession of having liked her for a long time came back to her. No matter how she thought about it, it had been a sudden confession. Since when had he liked her? Since two months ago when she first noticed his gaze?

Clara’s curiosity surged, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak. If she asked him, she would have to provide a proper response in return. And she hadn’t decided what to do yet.

At that moment, his gray eyes shifted direction. His gaze was gentle and calm, yet subtly sparkling. He looked quite pleased.

“Are you uncomfortable?”

The carriage was lined with velvet cushions and arranged so she could lie down. It was for her benefit, as she could barely sit straight due to muscle pain.

“I’m fine.”

She wasn’t fine, but Clara shook her head.

Her body felt as heavy as waterlogged cotton. Yet strangely, her heart felt light. There was a sense of guilt for finally having done the deed, along with a feeling of truly becoming an adult.

The thrill and anxiety of having crossed a line rushed in all at once. Since she occasionally stayed overnight at the horse farm, being away from home for a day wouldn’t be a problem. The issue was being carried into the house in some man’s arms and not being able to move her body at all.

Clara already wore a weary expression as she imagined her mother making a fuss, asking what kind of relationship this was and if she was now thinking of marriage.

“What’s wrong?”

“This won’t work.”

Clara tried to pull her hand free and slightly raise her upper body. Her body still ached. Her lower abdomen, waist, groin, and inner thighs were particularly unbearably sore.

How rough must their s*x have been for even her body, accustomed to horseback riding, to creak like this? Did everyone else experience this too?

“……What do you mean?”

Dylan’s eyes froze in an instant. Clara looked at his face, clearly tense.

“I’m sorry for not being able to control myself yesterday and for hurting you, Miss Clara.”

Dylan, who had hesitated momentarily, apologized in a low voice.

“I did prepare you as much as I could…… Being considerably larger than average size, I admit I unintentionally made things difficult for you. But to be disqualified after just one night—”

He rapidly poured out words in an urgent tone. Clara found his suddenly changed attitude puzzling.

“Wait, that’s not what I meant.”

“……Were you not about to say you couldn’t accept me as your fiancé?”

Dylan carefully asked, raising his thick, dark eyebrows.

“You misunderstood, that’s not it……”

Wanting to clear up his misunderstanding, Clara unconsciously placed her hand back on top of his. He drew in a short breath.

Even though they had done much more intimate things than holding hands, such an excessive reaction to just hand-holding was strange. The more they talked, oddly enough, the less she felt she understood him.

“I was thinking that when we enter the mansion, it might be better to call one of our family’s knights to support me. That would look more proper, don’t you think?”

“I hate that.”

“What? Why do you hate it?”

Wouldn’t that be easier for him too? Clara looked at Dylan with an uncomprehending expression.

“Having another man support you—do you know how close bodies get when someone carries you?”

“Yes, that’s why I said it’s a problem.”

Dylan’s eyebrows drooped slightly. He looked both upset and disappointed.

“Clara…… are you ashamed of me?”

Dylan closed his eyes and reopened them very slowly. The languid movement was almost like a plea, enough to seem seductive.

Clara reviewed whether she had done something wrong. Wasn’t he the one who had done wrong?

“Um…… I’ve definitely never thought of you as shameful. Think about it from my perspective.”

Clara noticed the corners of Dylan’s mouth gradually turning upward. Strangely, she felt relieved.

“If I suddenly arrive being carried in a stranger’s arms, won’t everyone be shocked?”

“That’s exactly what I want.”

Dylan gazed at Clara intently and smiled. His eyes were full of undisguisable affection.

Clara was once again captivated by his intense gaze. Under the morning sunlight streaming through the window, his gray eyes sparkled with bright light.

“Above all…… I’ve been so curious about the room where you grew up—I can’t miss this opportunity to see it.”

His attitude was unnecessarily resolute.

“Since things have turned out this way, I could also greet Countess Brock.”

“Wait a minute? I haven’t agreed to an engagement yet.”

“I know. But I can still pay my respects, can’t I?”

That was true. He could at least greet her. Not as a fiancé, but as a visitor to the mansion. Dylan was making that point. And the fact that he considered such ordinary greetings important.

Clara glanced at Dylan. Why was he so pleased about something so trivial? His horizontally long eyes were curved into circles and showed no signs of straightening.

“You really do whatever you want. Nyx listens to me well, you know.”

“I’ll correct that. I’ll listen well in bed from now on.”

“Who said we’d do it again?”

“I apologize. If you give me one more chance, next time I’ll……”

Their conversation continued with a strange disconnect.

The carriage diligently moved forward smoothly and reached the Brock residence. In the end, things went according to Dylan’s intentions. After a brief squabble, Clara could only exit the carriage by being carried in his arms.