I glared at him in protest.

His eyes still barely contained a wild ferocity.

Inevitably, I judged that to escape this uncomfortable situation, I needed to conclude the conversation first.

“Ha, alright. Let’s finish talking first then.”

The thought of it still made my blood run cold. Moistening my dry lips, I spoke calmly.

“Since I said it’s a notification, I’ll tell you. Thinking about it, I don’t remember hearing from you that Lord Joseph had been in marriage talks with Princess Seraphina. Do you know how flustered I was when I realized that fact at the Emperor’s banquet today?”

“There were never exactly marriage talks. The actual marriage talks were between you and Prince Raphael.”

“…That’s an excuse, Lord Joseph. Even if there was no formal proposal exchanged or verbal mention, the atmosphere I felt at the banquet earlier can’t have been a misunderstanding.”

It was clear to anyone that the imperial family members had their sights set on Lord Joseph as a potential son-in-law.

Moreover, while Princess Seraphina was conversing with Lord Joseph, everyone seemed to hold their breath as if on cue, straining to catch their words.

“And isn’t that why you’ve been declining the Emperor’s dinner invitations all this time, because you knew that?”

Even as I spoke, I felt the blood draining from my fingertips.

But I wasn’t finished with what I wanted to say. I quickly continued before he could make excuses.

“Look. By your logic, before attending the Emperor’s banquet today, you should have told me about Princess Seraphina in advance. Isn’t that right?”

“……”

Lord Joseph was momentarily silent at my question.

He simply gazed at me silently with those terribly deep red eyes.

‘He probably has nothing to say.’

Strangely enough, that expectation dampened my mood.

Of course, I know that Lord Joseph has no ulterior motives towards Princess Seraphina.

Throughout their conversation, his responses lacked sincerity. That’s why I, seated with them, was so uncomfortable.

But understanding and the sudden rise of unpleasant emotions were separate matters.

How irrational human thinking can be, often controlled more by the irrational principles of likes and dislikes than by clear rules of right and wrong.

That’s my current state.

That’s why I wanted to talk tomorrow.

‘If we talk now, I might lose control of my emotions and spill out all my unrefined feelings!’

To be honest.

In fact, the moment Princess Seraphina was flirting with Lord Joseph has been replaying in my mind since earlier.

The beautiful princess, like a precious orchid carefully cultivated in a greenhouse.

The vitality emanating from the petite twenty-year-old girl was enviably fresh.

Enough to keep drawing one’s gaze.

Who could resist coveting such loveliness?

I was suffering from an oddly degrading sensation of myself.

Yes, I know.

Lord Joseph will certainly become engaged to me. Barring any special circumstances, we’ll marry in three years.

Let me reiterate, I’m not deluding myself about this.

I’m well aware that all of this is not because we have special feelings for each other.

I merely chose to be engaged to him to protect myself, the children, and Daiern. And Lord Joseph…

‘He needs me for survival.’

In other words, the engagement is just a means to each other’s ends.

As Lord Joseph himself said, because I’m his only option.

Yes.

…I pity him.

“I truly think it’s regrettable. Because of your condition, you’ve been robbed of even the choice. Unable to seize the opportunity to form a connection with the young and beautiful princess, forced to become the second husband of a widowed woman.”

Clicking my tongue deliberately, I looked at him with the most sympathetic face I could muster.

Our gazes met – his, consistently frozen in a chilling expression, and mine, feigning composure with a forced smile.

I flinched for a moment.

The reason was that he suddenly bit the end of his glove with his teeth and took it off. Soon, the bare skin of his fingers, thick-jointed and long, was revealed.

That wasn’t the end of it.

His other hand loosened the cravat constricting his neck, then unbuttoned his shirt from the top.

This revealed his Adam’s apple, neckline, and prominent collarbones that were usually hidden.

“What are you doing, Lord Joseph?”

What is this improper behavior? Surprised, I opened my eyes wide, then quickly turned my head away and closed them.

“Listening to you made me a bit heated. I’ve already been rude anyway, so I’ll apologize in bulk later.”

I don’t understand what kind of forced logic this is.

Still saying it would be uncomfortable, Lord Joseph resettled my hand that had been awkwardly floating in the air, back onto his shoulder.

It seems the hand I had placed on his shoulder to push him away had lost its place due to the shock from earlier.

Only then did I manage to turn my gaze and steal a glance at Lord Joseph from the corner of my eye.

Fortunately, his appearance wasn’t embarrassingly undressed, but it would take a bit more time for my pulse, which had started racing at the unexpected rudeness, to calm down.

“…So. Have you finished speaking?”

Haah. I had to do my best to regulate my breathing for a moment.

It was only after quite some time that I was finally able to prepare myself to continue the conversation.

“From the way you ask, it seems you have something to say to me, Lord Joseph.”

As if to say, well then, go ahead and speak, I willingly yielded my turn to him.

Lord Joseph didn’t hesitate and opened his lips.

“Honestly, if we’re talking about youth, isn’t Prince Raphael even younger than Princess Seraphina?”

“What did you say?”

“At least the princess and I have a seven-year age gap. You and the prince have a whole thirteen-year difference.”

Ah.

“So from my perspective, you’re the one who should be pitied. For the sake of the children and Daiern, instead of a young man to your liking, you’re forced into the harsh fate of marrying a man who’s going mad day by day, and what’s more, is actually of lowly birth…”

“Stop.”

That’s when I heard enough. I cut off his words, giving up on listening to the end.

“It’s uncomfortable to hear. You keep mentioning Prince Raphael, Prince Raphael… I don’t understand why my showing goodwill towards the prince is such a grave mistake that it disgusts you this much.”

The conversation could only distort my expression.

No, it was fortunate that I didn’t shout in anger at that moment.

There are other things to compare.

How can you put my relationship with someone who will be a friend to the children on the same level as a romantic relationship between a man and a woman?

“You don’t know?”

“Ugh…!”

That was the moment. Lord Joseph roughly pushed towards me.

Thanks to that, the distance between us that I had barely maintained by tensing my thighs was closed in an instant.

As if my resistance was nothing from the start, his chest pressed against mine.

The tip of his nose and mine barely touched, and our foreheads lightly bumped.

“If you don’t know, I’ll tell you.”

Even though there was nowhere to escape anyway, he firmly held my waist and nape with his large hands, fixing me in place.

“…It’s not really just simple goodwill, is it?”

His low, husky voice poured out with a growling breath.

My pupils dilated widely at the pressure.

And what filled my vision was Lord Joseph’s fierce gaze, pouring out red madness unrestrained, as if a dam had broken.

“If it’s not simple goodwill then…”

What on earth does he mean?

However, I couldn’t finish my words.

Every time I moved my lips, his barely grazed mine.

The hot breath he exhaled made even my breathing run wild.

“It seems I should tell you something in advance…”

“Ah, wait…!”

Even though it should be difficult to get any closer, he acted as if he wasn’t satisfied.

He made my legs, spread to their limit, wrap around his waist, and my arms, pressed down on his shoulders, encircle his neck.

I could only move my limbs as guided by his touch, like someone in a trance.

“It would be better to sort out your feelings for Prince Raphael before our marriage, no, before our engagement.”

“What…”

“I’m telling you that I will never share either your body or your heart with that man.”

“Ah.”

For a moment, my body stiffened as if struck by lightning.

It was because I suddenly realized what his words meant.

However, separately from that, my stupid brain seemed to have difficulty fully accepting that meaning.

‘Could it be, did I understand correctly?’

Is he now…

‘Jealous?’

An inexplicable, strange exhilaration pierced through my spine.

My vision blurred white, and I felt as if I was floating, to the point of mistaking my senses.

What is this?

What kind of emotion is this…?

“There’s one more thing I’d like to add.”

It was before my thoughts could be organized.

He tilted his head slightly and continued speaking. However, I couldn’t respond to his following words.

“I don’t feel this kind of possessiveness towards Princess Seraphina.”

The fierce and hot breath he had been holding back instantly swallowed my own.