The gown Philip was wearing was a dark gray one meant for couples, the very honeymoon gift brought by Laila and Marlboro!

“He said he wouldn’t wear it?”

But I didn’t have a grain of intention to point out his action that contradicted his words.

Because in his gown, he looked like a god of beauty had appeared.

I immediately realized why Ellen craved Philip’s affection and clung to him.

It wasn’t just his face.

His halfexposed sculpted body provided ample reason for all the illogic.

No, could a mere sculpture ever follow the beauty of that body?

“God, I have opened my eyes to true beauty! Humanity’s hope was here all along!”

Such nonsense spontaneously welled up from deep within me.

But I still squinted my eyes, forcibly holding back a triumphant smile.

Because if he shrugged me off and changed his gown right away, it would affect the wellbeing of my eyes.

As I looked him up and down, his face turned even redder as he looked towards the window.

“Mo, mostly I was going to try it on just once because it’s a gift, and then put it on display. But you’re looking so serious.”

I pretended to be uninterested in his appearance.

“What does it matter?”

“……What?”

“But… well, it suits you quite well. Our children’s gift sense is very good.”

With sincere praise, Philip’s face turned bright red as a beet. He looked as if he doubted his ears.

His hesitating appearance looked adorable.

I quietly observed Philip’s mood.

He looked flustered, but he didn’t seem to want to push me away and stand up from the chair where I had trapped him.

He also didn’t seem hostile, which made me curious.

How much cooperation could I get from him right now?

In truth, the more cooperation I could get from him, the better it would be for increasing my survival chances.

Because Marlboro and Laila would be heavily influenced by Philip’s attitude.

After briefly thinking about how to verify this, I recalled something Philip had said before.

‘I won’t kiss you since I don’t love you.’

This part seemed good to use.

After all, we were a couple who had already seen everything of each other.

Even if I made an excessive request now, he wouldn’t get angry.

‘If he dislikes it, he’ll just grimace.’

I relaxed my consciously suppressed expression, and a bright smile naturally appeared.

“I’ll keep the fact that I saw you in a gown a secret…”

“……”

“Can we… do it once?”

“……What?”

“Kiss.”

His eyes widened. His expression was greatly bewildered.

“A, a kiss?”

“Yes, we’re still a married couple, aren’t we?”

I waited for his reaction.

Philip shook his head vehemently.

“You always reveal yourself when there’s an opportunity. You’re really hopeless.”

It was a refusal, but his tone was not as cold as before. I felt relieved.

There had been several things happening lately, and it seemed that his hostility had somewhat softened.

This was a success.

If things went well, cooperating with each other might become a bit easier in the future.

I felt hopeful.

I needed to release him, trapped between me and the chair.

I was about to step back when Philip shivered slightly, wrapping his arms around himself as if to protect his body.

And he tightly closed his eyes.

“Th, th, then, just once.”

‘What?’

He even puckered his lips.

I wondered if I had been overly aggressive, so I subtly examined his expression.

But no matter how I looked, he didn’t seem to particularly dislike the kiss itself.

It was a truly unexpected result. Feeling a little further from the deadend, my confidence grew.

“Open your mouth.”

My imperious demand made his face turn bright red. Nevertheless, he cautiously opened his lips.

Those red and moist lips were enchanting.

Instead of kissing his lips, I lightly kissed his forehead with a peck.

I felt good.

Whether it was the sensation of kissing his handsome forehead, or the fact that his hostility had lessened more than I expected.

Philip’s eyes widened, and I couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“What’s the matter! Philip! You’re so cute!”

He covered my mouth with the back of his hand.

“You, you tricked me.”

“I felt like playing a prank because you were so flustered.”

“What? A, a prank?”

“That gown is yours anyway, isn’t it?”

I stepped back a couple of steps from my chair.

“If the owner of the dress wants to wear it, they wear it.”

At my lively response, Philip let out a small laugh.

“……That’s true. It’s my gown.”

He looked up at me with a more relaxed expression.

“So, why have you come at this hour?”

“I checked the finances.”

“I see. I don’t expect you to understand my situation, but it seems I have been proven to be incompetent. As you said earlier, I must be close to a beggar by my wife’s standards.”

‘No, there’s no need to say that much……’

Most of the money was spent by Ellen, but here I am Ellen.

I couldn’t meet his eyes, as my conscience pricked me.

“Don’t say you’re incompetent.”

Philip held his breath, and I took a deep breath.