Startled by the sudden kiss, Lily slightly hunched her shoulders, but that was it. She didn’t bite or push away the rude invader who penetrated deeply as if it were his territory.

Instead, she even raised her arms as if responding, embracing his neck deeply, and Herald expressed his desire to his heart’s content.

A heat hotter than the midsummer sun engulfed her mercilessly. There was no time to even make a sound, let alone breathe. Feeling as if she would melt like a candle at this rate, Lily, suddenly frightened, slightly pulled her head back.

“!”

However, as if Herald would not allow even the slightest gap, he clashed his lips against hers again, and Lily was thrown back into the hot flames once more.

Squishy sounds echoed like a reverberation in the large bedroom. Even though he was exploring her lips, his thirst continued. With the greed to explore even deeper, Herald pushed his body tightly against hers.

The small and fragile body, pushed by the mercilessly strong force, was buried in the sofa backrest. The thin silk sleepwear rode up along her leg lines. Everywhere his hands touched turned red.

It was when Herald’s lips, which had been frantically exploring her lips, descended along the slender neckline and reached the hollow.

Rumble, boom-

A thunderous sound loud enough to penetrate the tightly closed outer door and windows was heard. Lily, startled by the sound and coming to her senses, pushed Herald away with a start.

“……”

Likewise, having come to his senses but with the flames of passion not yet fully extinguished, Herald slowly blinked and looked at Lily. Lily was arranging her skirt, which had ridden up, and fixing her disheveled hair.

“……”

Then, as their eyes met, Lily was startled and lowered her gaze. Her face was bright red, and her lips were glistening, soaked. Perhaps because they had been excessively tormented, they were slightly swollen.

Lily, too, seemed to be bothered by it, as she bit her inner lip. That sight added fuel to the faintly remaining embers of passion. As the flames of desire threatened to rise again, Herald hurriedly turned his head.

“I’m…sorry.”

With his eyes tightly closed, he placed his hand on his eyelids and apologized. The pile of ashes left behind was as large as the flames that had been burning fiercely.

“I said I wouldn’t lay a finger on you if you didn’t allow it…I’m really sorry for doing this.”

She was the first to whom he had been unable to control his burning desire and pounced on like a beast. Even when the woman said to be the most beautiful in the continent’s pleasure quarters threw herself at him, Herald didn’t even bat an eye.

…So why did he become a beast in front of her?

These feelings were all new to Herald, so they felt unfamiliar. He didn’t know what to do either. In the midst of this, her excessively sweet lips kept coming to mind, making him feel like he was going crazy. He’s not even a real beast, so what was he trying to do? Feeling so pathetic, he could only let out an empty laugh.

I should avoid her for now.

“Since it’s late at night…I’ll take my leave now. Get some good rest.”

Feeling like he would cause a major accident if he stayed here any longer, Herald turned around. He was about to leave the bedroom right away when Lily gently grabbed the collar of his clothes. It was a feeble force, like a kitten biting and pulling on a collar, but it was enough to stop him.

“…What’s the matter?”

Feeling like he shouldn’t look at her, Herald asked while still turned around. He felt her fidgeting behind his back. It seemed like something difficult to say. Thinking it might be related to the rudeness he had just committed, Herald had no choice but to turn his head. Then, he heard a voice as small as an ant crawling.

“…You don’t have to.”

Herald paused halfway through turning his head.

“Since I allowed it…you don’t have to apologize.”

Only then did Herald fully turn his head and met her tearfully wet eyes. Lily, who had grabbed him and was startled, hesitated for a moment, then gripped his collar tightly and spoke with determination.

“I decided…not to deny the fact that I like you. So…it’s okay.”

Even her tensed expression looked pretty, probably because he liked her. Realizing anew the depth of his feelings for Lily, Herald smiled faintly and removed the strands of hair stuck to her cheek. The moment his fingers touched her, her long eyelashes fluttered.

“Next time.”

Herald tucked that strand of hair behind her reddened ear. With his other hand, he gently removed the hand tightly gripping his collar.

“Let’s talk about it again when your feelings are a bit more sorted out.”

Left alone as Herald left, Lily collapsed to the floor as if she had fallen. Her trembling hand touched her lips. Her eyes, trembling even more, stared blankly at the floor and then disappeared under her eyelids.

“…I don’t regret it.”

She didn’t regret kissing him or saying those words. She was just worried about what would happen next. Herald had said that she didn’t have to accept his feelings, that she just shouldn’t push him away, but from Lily’s perspective, that was no different from accepting them.

Knowing that, she had responded to his kiss and confessed to him. That meant nothing less than being willing to become his wife.

“If you want, I will gladly become your wife.”

Recalling what Herald had said before, Lily squeezed her eyes shut. Although he hadn’t directly asked, considering Herald’s reaction, his determination wouldn’t have changed from back then.

The same went for Lily. That’s why she had boldly declared earlier that she had no intention of becoming someone’s wife, and that feeling hadn’t changed even now.

Then how should I define my relationship with him?

As long as she was the Viscountess Benjamin and as long as her husband was Fredrick Benjamin, there was no way to define their relationship other than as a wife. It was an inappropriate relationship to use the sweet term ‘lovers’.

“Do I have to put aside my pride after all…?”

Lily smiled self-deprecatingly and washed her face. Unlike him, who lacked desire to an excessive degree, she was too greedy. She was selfish, too.

So she must have forced a sacrifice on Herald. This was truly useless pride. The useless pride that Fredrick had said until his mouth was sore, the kind that was of no help at all.

Knock knock-

“Pardon me, young lady.”

Hearing the maid’s voice, Lily stood up awkwardly and allowed her to come in.

The maids neatly cleaned up the traces of the tea time. While one maid was arranging Lily’s bed, another maid held out a small bottle to her. Thinking it was a fragrant oil for her hair, Lily shook her head.

“No need for fragrant oil.”

“It’s not fragrant oil, but medicine.”

Medicine? Lily opened the bottle. A foul and pungent herbal smell. It definitely wasn’t fragrant oil. When she tilted the bottle, a sticky liquid flowed out like a spider’s web.

“The young master said it’s a good medicine for bruises.”

“That’s right. He strongly instructed us to apply it to the young lady.”

“He also said he was sorry he couldn’t apply it himself.”

At the last words, Lily was startled and looked at the medicine on her fingers. Thinking of Herald applying this to her body, the touch of his hands on her body came to mind, and her body heated up. The hottest part was where his hands had touched, even if only briefly.

“I will apply it for you, young lady.”

“It, it’s okay.”

Feeling like it would be strange for anyone to touch her in this state, Lily refused.

“I can do it myself, so you may leave now.”

Left alone again after sending the maids out, Lily stood in front of the full-length mirror and examined her body.

“It’s a mess.”

Dark bruises were visible around her chest, sides, and here and there on her legs. They were caused by being hit by the hands and feet that her mother had wielded fiercely during her fit. Naturally recalling her mother, a dark shadow fell over Lily’s face.

“I hope her condition doesn’t get any worse.”

She didn’t even wish for it to get better. She just desperately hoped and prayed that the terrible situation where her mother would forget everything wouldn’t come. Lily sighed and opened the medicine bottle. She didn’t want to apply it because both the smell and texture were unpleasant, but since Herald had strongly instructed it, she applied it thoroughly.

Fortunately, the medicine was absorbed immediately, so the unpleasant feeling from the sticky texture didn’t last long. The smell was still foul, but she could endure this much.

Rumble, boom-

Around the time she finished applying the medicine, a rough thunderclap penetrated her eardrums. It had happened earlier too, so perhaps the window wasn’t properly closed. Lily put the medicine bottle on the dressing table and stood in front of the window. When she drew the long curtain, she saw the tightly locked window. The outer door was also closed.

If she could still hear the thunder despite this, it must be raining heavily. Suddenly curious about how much it was pouring, Lily slightly opened the outer door.

Whoosh-

She only opened it a little, just enough for one hand to barely slip through, but the sound of the fierce rain could be heard. The sound of it hitting the window was so intense that it was scary.

Lily tried to close the door again, but her hand slipped, and she ended up opening it wide instead.

“Oops.”

Lily, who was trying to quickly close the outer door, narrowed her eyes when she noticed something in the dark garden where the rain was pouring heavily. At first, she thought it was a tree, but it was in the shape of a person.

“Is it a statue?”

Due to the superstition that having a statue in the garden invites guests, it was usually avoided. However, since there couldn’t possibly be a person in the fierce rain, Lily was convinced it must be a statue and dismissed it as trivial, carefully closing the outer door and window again.