In a distance close enough to feel his scent, Rozelia casually pushed away his chest, which seemed to be on the verge of touching.

“I was just swept away by the atmosphere for a moment.”

Saying so, Rozelia didn’t meet Klaus’s gaze.

“Healthy adults might engage in such things. That’s all.”

In response to Rozelia’s carefully chosen words that scratched at his temperament, Klaus grabbed her wrist, pulling her into his arms.

“There’s expertise in making people nosy.”

Saying that, Klaus held Rozelia’s chin, making her look at him.

“Being able to do that even with Jeongin, that’s true love.”

“Don’t mock me. It was just a mistake.”

“A mistake?”

At the mention of ‘mistake,’ there was a flicker of a sinister flame in Klaus’s eyes.

As Rozelia chewed on her lips, thinking that she misspoke, Klaus’s gaze insistently fixated on her lips.

“Then, is this also a mistake?”

Before fully understanding what he meant, Klaus wet Rozelia’s chin, pulled her waist with one hand, and in the blink of an eye, his lips engulfed hers.

Surprised, she tightly grabbed Klaus’s arm.

Instead, Klaus’s arm around her waist tightened even more, feeling more pressure.

Due to this, her body clung to his without a gap, and she had to incline her head more to accommodate him.

Taking advantage of the situation, Klaus moved his hand from her chin, supporting the back of her neck.

Caught in the whirlwind of his hot breath and entangled heat, Rozelia had no choice but to respond passionately.

In no time, both of them were half-laid on the long sofa in the office.

Without Rozelia realizing the situation, Klaus’s hand explored her waist while his lips lingered on hers.

Where his touch reached felt warm as if it had been burned.

However, due to the hot breath streaming into her mouth, Rozelia couldn’t regain her senses.

Then, in that somewhat surreal sensation between dream and reality, his hot hand began to stroke up from her waist, caressing the edge of her ribcage.

In an instant, Rozelia’s mind snapped back to reality.

Startled, she opened her eyes, firmly grasping his hand that was about to move toward her chest, and took a deep breath.
Just like Rozelia, Klaus, who had been breathing roughly, uttered in a low, husky voice.

“Is this still a mistake?”

In response to his leisurely laughter-filled voice, Rozelia hastily pushed him away and stood up.

Without any resistance, Klaus smoothly retreated and, leaning against the sofa, stared intently at her.

Adjusting her disheveled clothes, Rozelia ignored the rough breathing and tried to remain calm, taking a deep breath.

“Fine, I admit it.”

Rozelia, with the remnants of the previous kiss still warming her up, skillfully avoided Klaus’s persistent gaze and opened her mouth confidently.

“I quite like kissing the Duke. I admit that my body responds to the Duke.”

Although it wasn’t praise, Klaus’s lips oddly crept up as Rozelia spoke.

However, just as Klaus was in a peculiar mood, Rozelia drove a wedge like pouring cold water.

“But that’s all.”

Yes, it’s just Rozelia’s body responding to Klaus. That’s the original Rozelia’s perspective.

Damn it, like her, giving everything to the Duke and dying being used, her body is also drawn to him.

As if making a resolution, Rozelia faced Klaus with determination.

“Even if our bodies respond, I have no intention of betting the future on this meaningless relationship.”

“What…?”

A meaningless relationship… that word made Klaus uncomfortable.

How can this woman make every word she chooses so irritating to his feelings?

“With the Duke, it’s not more or less than being financially entangled debtor and creditor. Isn’t that correct?”

Sharp-tongued Rozelia’s words left Klaus momentarily speechless.

It precisely pointed out their relationship. Until recently, he, too, had the same thoughts as her.

However, now, strangely, those words made him uncomfortable.

Facing his eyes straight, Rozelia asked firmly.

“If, for example, I were falsely accused of being a villain and sent to the gallows, would the Duke rescue me?”

“What…?”

Unable to catch the sudden turn of the conversation, Klaus frowned.

But for Rozelia, the anxiety she had carried in her chest from the beginning.

The reason why the original Rozelia died. Becoming a Duke’s dog, she climbed the gallows as a villain, even without showing her face.

And she was now resisting that reality, but maybe nothing had changed, causing her unease.

Perhaps she wanted to hear from Klaus that there would be no such thing.

With a self-deprecating smile, Rozelia continued.
“The Duke would never do that. He would never do anything that harms himself.”

Why does it hurt so much in my chest even though I’m saying it myself?

“If he thinks it’s a loss, the Duke can cruelly discard it.”

To avoid getting hurt more, to avoid facing the same ending due to a wrong choice, she had to be resolute.

In this place, she was the only one who knew the ending.

“So, don’t shake people for no reason.”

After saying that, Rozelia turned around, opened the office door, and disappeared outside.