Ines began to unbutton the robe as she spoke.

With a clicking sound, the rustic buttons reluctantly came undone one by one at her fingertips.

Her hand, transparently shining under the moonlight, trembled delicately, as if creating an illusion. The blue veins on the back of her hand became vivid and then blurred repeatedly as Ines moved.

Carson couldn’t even catch his breath, merely watching her actions.

“Ines.”

Struggling to utter her name, Carson tightly grasped her white hand.

“Now… What are you doing?”

However, his grip lacked strength.

In the silent imperial bedroom, the sound of thick fabric sliding down resonated. As Carson’s gaze, which had been directed at the fallen robe with a loud noise, lifted, there stood a dazzling woman emitting a white light.

As she strained to make a decision, even just thinking about the woman who had walked down the corridor with a trembling heart made his chest tighten.

When what she was wearing became vividly apparent, Ines blushed shyly. Still, she couldn’t provide any answers to his question. It was ultimately Carson who felt impatient as he gazed at her, shining transparently before his eyes.

“If you won’t become my concubine…”

Carson’s voice, which usually felt chilly, came out lower than usual.

“That’s right.”

“But?”

“I want to be the Emperor’s lover.”

“Lover…”

The word sounded awkward in her mouth, as if saying it for the first time. As if someone had forcefully pressed on her head, her eyes welled up slightly. After that, she didn’t say anything else.

Ines gradually lost her confidence in Carson’s silence.

Since declaring that she would become the Empress, she had not slept peacefully for a single day. She had made up her mind, but the path to him was not smooth.

It was not easy to request a meeting with Prefect Boniface. But in the end, she met him and took the first step towards Carson on that day.

Of course, it was not said and done. The uncertain situation of what might happen in the future remained.

However…

“I’m in a hurry.”

At those words, Carson’s chest swelled, and his chin lifted.

“It’s too far on the way. So, it’s difficult to wait any longer.”

She expressed her honest feelings. Worried about what might happen in case there were any moves from enemies that could separate her from Carson, Ines’s heart became unbearably anxious.

Carson reached out, grasping Ines’s chin and brushing her cheek with his thumb. Her eyes involuntarily closed at the warm touch.

“I want it to be over quickly, even if it’s just for a day.”

“What do you mean…?”

“The Emperor’s lover, a beloved woman.”

“It’s already like that.”

Carson, who had been brushing her cheek with the finger that had been stroking her cheek, pressed his lips lightly against her slightly parted, reddened lips.

“So… You don’t dislike it?”

Ines opened her eyes and looked at Carson. When their eyes met, he smiled as if saying, ‘Is that even a question?’
Carson couldn’t make the woman who had been waiting for him for a very long time wait for even a moment. He had no room for even a bit of resentment; the situation was too dire. Impatience surged within him, fearing that the incoming waves might vanish like foam.

He gently embraced Ines, pulling her close. As her body, much hotter than her hand, leaned against him, moist breath escaped involuntarily. To prevent his heart-shaped hand from becoming too urgent, he had to console himself.

“Close your eyes.”

With a simple phrase, Ines’s chest sank. He led her to his bed. It was a white night that couldn’t even be revealed to the moonlight.

Carson opened the first drawer of the bedside table right next to the bed.

Taking out Ines’s necklace from inside, he went behind her and hung it around her neck. The chilling sensation touched her neck, and Carson’s hot lips descended onto her throat.

The indescribable sensation made Ines take a deep breath, standing straight.

It was a spring night that hadn’t yet turned cold. It had been several years since she met him at the age of 20.

“I’ll keep only this and get rid of everything else.”

Suddenly feeling mischievous, the cold voice met with a strange feeling.

Reaching out his arm, Carson’s hand swept down from her shoulder. Along with his touch, Ines’s clothes were pulled down. Goosebumps appeared on her exposed white skin.

Kissing every exposed part under the transparent moonlight, he whispered earnestly.

“It’s amazing.”

“What… are you saying?”

As she struggled to regain her fading consciousness along with his touch, Ines managed to answer faintly.

“Is it urgent?”

Dragging his lips heavily along her shoulder line, he suddenly inhaled deeply.

“Is waiting difficult?”

Although there wasn’t much pain, Ines let out a weak moan at his relentless actions.

“So, do you dislike it?”

While a laugh mixed with his words was heard, Ines’s body turned around. Ines hugged his neck as if a person standing on the edge of a cliff. It was a desperate movement.

Soon, an indistinguishable breath deeply connected.