Each time his hair brushed against her skin, Edith swallowed her dry saliva. With a low voice and swaying head, unlike his honest physique, he had a subtle fox-like aspect.

The approaching body seemed to tighten with each embrace. When she lightly brushed his abs, Balter chuckled and nibbled on her ear.

“Ah….”

Heat spread through her body before the stinging pain. As she sensitively responded, Balter whispered as he lazily kissed her neck.

“If we say we got caught while staying at Lexion Mansion, no one will disagree. Anyone would know that your face will be even prettier when it blushes.”

“Balter….”

Edith couldn’t push him away. Feeling only the weight that seemed to flow comfortably, her chest tightened. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders as he responded to the stimulus.

Balter couldn’t refuse her responding to the stimulation. He lowered his head deeply and swallowed Edith’s lemon-scented lips.

As the soft skin clung without a gap, a peculiar sensation and awakened nerves came into play. As he tasted the flesh in his mouth with animalistic instincts, his grip tightened in her hand on his firm shoulders.

Balter rose, placing his knees between her open legs. With the chair teetering on the verge of falling, urgent kisses continued.

Due to the close contact of their bodies, Edith could tell that he had been suppressing desire for a long time.

Balter finally withdrew his lips just as the heat began to dominate reason, threatening to turn him into an animal. It was astonishing how the mere act of mixing breaths could release such control over the body.

Edith, stealing his silvery sparkling lips with her palm, murmured softly.

“……You didn’t have to make such a provocative request.”
She discreetly leaned against his body, hiding her flushed face. She, too, felt the need to cool down a bit. It felt regrettable that his shirt was tightly wrapped around his body.

When she heard the story about embroidering two lilies, her stiffness was not because she disliked marriage with Balter. It was just that she felt embarrassed about the somewhat foolish things she had done in the past when she desperately wanted to live with him.

‘Even if Lady Leah didn’t say such things…’

“Edith, if Isaac likes it, let’s get married and live together.”

“Lady Leah, can I really do that?”

“Of course. If Edith becomes my daughter-in-law, I’ll be happy too. So quickly make the promise. You know that Isaac keeps his promises better than anyone, right?”

As Lady Leah said, Isaac was a bit sharp but a boy who kept promises well. He even brought a horse into the mansion secretly on a rainy day, knowing that it would cause trouble, just to keep his promise to Edith.

So, remembering the somewhat reckless and coercive way she had told him to get married, she felt embarrassed.

“Edith! Why is there only a carrot in my stew?”

“If you don’t like it, promise to marry me. Then, I’ll put plenty of meat in it.”

“What, what?”

‘At that time, I didn’t know if Isaac was a genuine Lexion.’

Even if she tried to justify herself that it wasn’t for profit or property, the past was still a mess. There were even times when she kissed his cheek while he was taking a nap, fleeing secretly. It was a misdeed committed out of unbearable affection.

To Isaac, who was somewhat innocent, she hadn’t known if he was a descendant of the Lexion. Manipulating the past was not erasing the fact that it was a chaotic history.

“Embroidering is something I’m confident in, so don’t worry. If you want to mend a torn wound, you have to handle the needle very well.”

Edith shook her head as if she had been hanging on Isaac’s marriage, exuding a new charm. His lips, bitten and sucked, were still slightly swollen.

As the martial arts competition approached, the shops began to stock handkerchiefs, craft materials, and other items suitable for gifts for men.

Elizabeth and Gilbert walked side by side down the beautifully decorated street, like any other couple, not wanting to miss out on the New Year’s Festival business.

“Elizabeth, should we stop by the cafe for a moment? Are your shoes uncomfortable?”

Gilbert asked in an affectionate voice. Elizabeth, wearing a winter hat pressed down, gave a formal smile.
“Fine. If there’s anyone who recognizes me after reading the newspaper article, they might wonder if that woman really killed her husband and inherited the fortune.”

Elizabeth’s voice carried a sharpness. In reality, she was in a sensitive state due to the articles leaked from the Lexion side.

With her portrait published in the newspaper, coupled with Lexion’s influence, a special feature article had been running for several days. The small tea party invitations that used to come regularly had abruptly stopped after the article.

“Did Balter leak this, or…?”

Elizabeth thought of Edith, who was clever enough to thwart Sofia’s plans to a certain extent.

Although she didn’t think Edith orchestrated the disclosure campaign, the brief encounter with those sharp blue eyes was enough to make Elizabeth uneasy.

Moreover, there was one more thing that made her uncomfortable.