But just before my lips parted, something slightly different seemed to touch me. Warm and slippery… Was it a hallucination? Unconsciously, I touched my own lips. The sensation felt too vivid.

‘Thank goodness the view is dark.’

Since I couldn’t clearly see his face, he probably couldn’t see mine either.

How should I respond? What should I say? My lips felt glued together, as if a thorn were stuck in my throat.

Yet his hand still encircled my waist, and his eyes seemed to be fixed on me.

Now that things had already happened, it was too late to take back my words. I forced myself to sound as calm as possible.

“…Yes. This way, no one will suspect anything.”

It’s something unavoidable. Didn’t we already do it once in public during the wedding? I answered like that, ignoring the pounding sound of my heart.

“I’m relieved.”

His voice was just as usual. My face, which always flushed easily, couldn’t be seen clearly in the dark—making me uneasy.

It felt as if he had merely fulfilled a duty with that reply. Had I responded with that same mindset? Simply to avoid suspicion about our marital relationship, without any personal feelings?

My conscience pricked me sharply. I felt strangely confused, as if I had used him. But what would this innocent man say now?

“If my lady does the same for me, we won’t be suspected either.”

Doing the same thing would prevent suspicion? I didn’t know where to start correcting this mistake. If he acted like this toward other women, he’d be devoured in no time. Was he really going to be alright?

What am I supposed to do with this harmless man?

“That’s right… If I do the same, there won’t be any suspicion either.”

I then hesitated whether I should scold him. Tell him to value his body more. After our contract ends, if he keeps acting so affectionately, some sly woman will completely swallow him whole.

But as if my rationality had been paralyzed, my face moved closer to his. My hand settled on his shoulder. I could hear his breathing nearby. My heart pounded violently.

‘It must be the sound of my own heart. Why does it sound so loud?’

With that thought, I touched him just as he had touched me. I felt a soft, pudding-like tenderness. Pressing firmly, as if stamping a seal. Our noses briefly touched. I suddenly noticed how high his nasal bridge was.

It felt a little strange to have such a thought. Now that our lips had met, I should just pull away. But my tense body kept pressing my lips down. My breath grew slightly stifled. When I tried to breathe for a moment, a strange sound came from me.

“Mmm….”

Startled, I pulled my lips away—and the hand around my waist suddenly tightened. The grip around my waist felt too explicit, and I involuntarily cried out.

“Y-Your hand—!”

My voice cracked from embarrassment. Hastily covering my mouth with both hands, I heard laughter from Yezar Ferhaem, who had been sitting still.

“Ah… Kk. Ahaha.”

“W-Why are you laughing?!”

“Nothing. It’s nothing.”

He said that, but it was clear he burst into laughter upon hearing my voice.

‘Ugh… Why did my voice have to come out like that?’

Feeling my cheeks burn, I tried to move away from him. But Yezar’s hand around my waist still held firm.

“Why won’t you let go…! It’s time to sleep!”

“I apologize, my lady.”

His voice carried a hint of laughter. Heat instantly spread through my entire body. Truly, I was lucky the surroundings were dark.

The moment I felt his grip loosen, I quickly moved toward the edge of the bed. I was too embarrassed and wanted to distance myself from him immediately.

“Why are you running away?”

“W-Who’s running away?”

“You seem to be avoiding me by moving over there.”

That sharp remark hit the bullseye.

“No, I’m not!”

“Then, won’t you come closer to me?”

To prove I wasn’t avoiding him out of embarrassment, I reluctantly wriggled back to his side. Before he could say anything more, I quickly slipped under the blanket.

Then I heard him laugh again. Ah. I really wish tomorrow would come soon—so I could forget everything about today.

Desperately wishing that, I tightly closed my eyes. Then, he lay down beside me. Normally, he kept a reasonable distance. But today, he lay extremely close.

“Yezar… I have bad sleeping habits…”

If he lay this close, he might get hit by my arms or legs when I tossed and turned in my sleep. But he remained calm.

“It’s fine. Besides, loving couples always sleep close together.”

“You don’t have to care so much about my younger brother. Of course, it’s true that loving couples do sleep close together.”

Since Yezar hadn’t said anything wrong, I added that—but immediately after speaking, I wondered if I shouldn’t have said it at all.

Seeing how he clung tightly beside me without any sign of moving away, I felt even more conflicted. He then said goodnight to me.

“Yes, my lady. May you have sweet dreams.”

“You too, Yezar.”

I answered that I would sleep, but sleep simply wouldn’t come. Why had he responded to my words? This was someone who normally would have blushed and panicked, insisting he couldn’t kiss me. Was it because it was our wedding night? Or had the maids’ arranged bedroom somehow affected us strangely?

Considering I had said things to Yezar that I’d never normally say, both possibilities seemed likely. Then, the sleeping man suddenly pulled me tightly into his arms. His warm body heat wrapped around me snugly.

‘Still, isn’t this too close?’

Even as I thought that, I didn’t try to leave his embrace. His warmth was simply too comforting.

‘Right. When couples sleep pressed together, they naturally end up like this. Considering how terrible my sleeping habits are, this is actually quite tame.’

I slightly turned my head and looked at Yezar’s face. The view was dark, so I could only faintly make out his eyes, nose, and mouth. Carefully, I pressed my fingertip against his face.

Seeing him sleep so deeply that he wouldn’t even notice if someone carried him away made me even more worried. Honestly, could I really live peacefully after divorcing, leaving behind this rabbit-like man? What if he fell into the clutches of some venomous woman and lost his purity entirely?

Resolving to do my best to help him find a good partner, I finally succumbed to the overwhelming drowsiness and closed my eyes.

***

When he heard her steady, rhythmic breathing, Yezar opened his eyes. A worried sigh escaped his lips.

‘Why is my lady so pure…?’

From the moment he first entered this bedroom, the scene he witnessed had left him flustered.

A sweet fragrance brushed against his nostrils, and soft candlelight illuminated the room. Red flower petals, matching the color of her hair, were scattered across the pure white bedsheet. In the center sat Julietta Orbetian, her robe loosely tied, gazing at him.

From that moment on, Yezar struggled to restrain himself—desperately trying not to lay a hand on his lady. In places where she couldn’t see, he pinched his own thigh, enduring with all his might.

But the moment Julietta moved closer, the scent emanating from her shattered his endurance. Why did his lady carry such an intoxicating fragrance? Why did everything she did seem so endearing?

And why was she completely unaware of it herself? He almost resented her for it.

‘How far should I go in physical contact with my lady to convincingly appear like a loving couple?’

Even upon reconsideration, it was a question that laid his inner desires bare. Would his lady despise him for such thoughts? Would she draw a firm boundary again?

He tried to retract the words after speaking them, but her reply completely severed the last thread of his self-control.

‘Can’t we just do what we did at the wedding?’

By the time Yezar regained his senses, a silk-soft sensation had already touched his lips. How sweet her breath was. How euphoric the feeling of contact.

Unconsciously, he traced her lower lip with his own before pulling away. He had no idea how she would react. The darkness prevented him from seeing her face. Naturally, he grew anxious.

He was angry at himself for committing such a shameless act toward such an innocent lady, yet he burned with the desperate urge to touch her again.

Overcome by a craving he had never felt before, he clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to calm his heated body.

Unaware of his dark inner turmoil, he longed to seduce her, to draw even closer—yet the sight of her innocent approach made him sigh involuntarily.

His body tensed on its own. Even after wielding a sword countless times, the delicate feel of a woman’s waist was unlike anything he’d experienced with men. Biting his tongue, he struggled once more not to kiss her again.

Then, the startled sound from his lady was utterly adorable. He wished the room were brighter. He wanted to see her flushed face, her red ears, her flustered movements.

Such a perverted thought flickered through his mind. Carefully brushing aside a strand of Julietta’s hair as she slept soundly, Yezar whispered softly.

“What do you know, my lady? You don’t even know about these dark desires of mine.”

The more he looked at her, peacefully asleep in his arms, oblivious to the world, the more his worries deepened.