Cecilia gasped for breath.

Realizing she had been so immersed in the kiss that it left her breathless, her face grew hot.

However, his calm breathing somehow annoyed her.

But when her eyes met his, her thoughts changed.

Unlike her, who had startled and pulled away from the heat, his gaze was still burning.

It seemed like he might pounce on her if given the slightest signal.

Yet Cecilia wanted to stop.

Even this much was overwhelming.

“…I already told you, I have nothing more to say.”

She managed to squeeze out the words from her completely blank mind.

Turning her body, Cecilia pried away the hand that had been holding her waist.

“Cecilia.”

Even though he wasn’t holding her anymore, Cecilia stopped as if she were still caught.

“This wasn’t a mistake. Not for me.”

“……”

“How about you?”

Cecilia turned her head back to face him.

The heat in his gaze had subsided now.

There was no sign of nervousness in his expression.

‘Why am I not scared?’

Despite being alone with an overly excited man, Cecilia wasn’t afraid of his response to her saying it had been a mistake.

She felt an odd certainty that he wouldn’t harm her.

What a strange man.

The world mocked the people of Lagos as barbarians.

But Cecilia had never seen a man as gentlemanly as the one before her.

“Idiot.”

For a moment, Cecilia thought his expression truly resembled that of a fool.

“If I didn’t like it, I’d have bitten your lips to pieces.”

Throwing out those words, Cecilia fled into the bedroom.

Russell stared blankly at the closed door.

Then he let out a dry laugh.

Her words always felt like a riddle.

Did ‘I didn’t dislike you’ mean she liked him or not?

‘Not today… just not today.’

He had seen from her expression that she desperately wanted to escape the situation.

And now, he didn’t feel like himself either.

‘I’ll try talking to her again tomorrow.’

But he was worried that she might avoid him tomorrow.

Letting out a small sigh, he ran a hand through his hair.

Then he glanced downward.

The inside of his right thigh bulged noticeably.

His center, trapped inside his pants, had grown to an unmistakable size.

If he went out like this, his gait would be awkward, and running into someone would be humiliating.

‘…Ha. This is going to take a while.’

Russell looked at the closed bedroom door before turning away.

Staring at that door wouldn’t help him calm down at all.

For a long time, he stood against the wall, as though serving a punishment.

 

❖ ❖ ❖

 

After entering the bedroom, a delayed wave of embarrassment washed over Cecilia.

She rolled around on the bed.

‘I’ve gone mad, absolutely mad. What did I just do?’

She remembered her actions during the kiss—how she had touched him.

It wasn’t the kind of behavior befitting a dignified lady.

‘Hmph. It’s not like I ever received proper training to become a refined lady anyway.’

Cecilia had grown up freely, or so she thought.

It wasn’t until much later that she realized—

It wasn’t freedom at all.

High-ranking nobles thoroughly educated their daughters, preparing them to become the future madams of households.

But in the grand duchy, Cecilia had never been properly taught.

It wasn’t until her fifth marriage that she became responsible for managing a household for the first time.

And that’s when she realized—

She didn’t know anything.

A surge of anger toward House Jericho rose again.

It wasn’t just the grand duke.

They were all complicit.

Fuming for a while, Cecilia eventually touched her lips.

He had kissed her so strongly that her lips were swollen and puffy.

‘What is this? They’ll probably swell even more by tomorrow.’

Despite her grumbling, she didn’t feel angry.

Letting out a small sigh, she felt a shiver run through her body as the memory returned.

It was a kiss she would never forget for the rest of her life.

After tossing and turning a few more times, she eventually fell asleep.

The Sunset Wine she had earlier helped.

 

❖ ❖ ❖

 

But Russell’s situation was entirely different.

Even after returning to his room, he struggled, unable to cool the heat coursing through him.

He busied himself with paperwork that wasn’t urgent and only lay down on his bed at dawn.

Yet his eyes remained wide open.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

He had never been this sexually aroused before.