The gaze that had been resting on her hair slowly began to shift.

From the exposed white nape of her neck to Dalia’s reddish lips.

And as the man’s eyes fixated on the slightly parted lips, a flash of hot flame passed through them for a moment before becoming secretive.

With a gaze bearing a firm purpose.

‘Huh…?’

Perhaps it was from that moment. When the flow of air surrounding the two of them changed.

‘This atmosphere… surely not…’

The fingers that had been playing with her hair now touched her white nape.

The man’s gentle touch slowed Dalia’s thoughts.

And finally, as Dalia looked at the man leaning his upper body towards her, she let out a short gasp as if belatedly grasping the situation.

A red warning signal blared in her mind.

Thinking she had to avoid what was about to happen, she tried to move her body back, but Clayton’s actions were faster.

Because he had applied force to Dalia’s nape that he was cradling.

There was no escape anymore. Regardless of her will, the two bodies naturally began to overlap.

Heat rose throughout her body, and the hand gripping her clothes became damp with sweat.

As the distance between their faces narrowed and the man’s hot breath tickling her cheek was about to engulf her entire lips at that very moment.

Thwack.

Dalia’s stiffened body moved instinctively.

“……”

“……”

To be precise, she pushed Clayton’s face away with both hands.

Clayton’s movement stopped at the unexpectedly blocked path.

And the strange air flowing between the two instantly cooled as if doused with cold water.

“What are you doing?”

Clayton was the first to break the cold silence. He tilted his head to one side, frowning.

At the man’s fierce expression, Dalia quickly hid the hands that had been covering her lips behind her back.

“Uh, um. So, you see. This is…”

His two red eyes, glowing even in the darkness, demanded a clear explanation. It seemed as if he was questioning what on earth she was doing.

Because of this, Dalia began to quickly rack her brain to make an excuse.

“So, this is… um…”

But no suitable excuse came to mind. It’s understandable that he wouldn’t comprehend this sudden change, given that they had been rolling around in the same bed just a few days ago.

No, there was no need to go back even a few days.

Just this afternoon, hadn’t she been fondling Clayton’s body? So from Clayton’s perspective, this must be even more bewildering.

Her face suddenly grew hot as she recalled her actions from earlier in the day, but she quickly composed herself again.

And inevitably, she decided to use the classic but most effective method. That method was…

“Cough, cough…! Actually, I haven’t been feeling well for a while now. I feel strangely chilly and cold, like I just need to rest quickly… I think I might have a fever too…”

Pretending to be sick.

She deliberately put her hand to her forehead and slumped her shoulders as if drained of energy due to fever.

Not forgetting to cough intermittently.

She couldn’t see Clayton’s face as she lowered her eyes for the act.

But judging by the feeling that he was staring at her without saying anything, he seemed to find it ridiculous that she was suddenly claiming to be sick.

‘Should I have made a different excuse…?’

Who would believe someone who seemed perfectly fine just moments ago suddenly pretending to be sick?

Even a passing mutt would clearly see it as avoiding a kiss.

By now, a perceptive male lead would have already figured out her true intentions.

Feeling that this wouldn’t do, Dalia looked up to meet Clayton’s eyes again, intending to come up with another excuse. But then.

“If my wife says so.”

Had Dalia’s desperation gotten through? Contrary to her expectations, Clayton simply backed away without further comment. He then stood up nonchalantly and looked at Dalia.

“If you think you need a doctor, I’ll call Jason. Though I don’t think it’s necessary.”

The smile at the corner of his lips showed that he knew Dalia was lying.

But Clayton moved his steps without any lingering attachment, as if he wasn’t particularly bothered by her lie.

Thud.

With the sound of the door closing, Dalia’s body relaxed. She leaned back on the sofa, loosening her body that had been stiff with tension.

“Phew. I survived.”

Whether Clayton had noticed or not, Dalia let out a sigh of relief at having averted the crisis before her.

But that was only for a moment, as she sat up as if something had occurred to her.

“Come to think of it, a situation like today’s could happen again, couldn’t it?”

She had gotten lucky today, but there was no guarantee it would pass so easily next time.

After all, the two of them were already past the point of being hesitant about physical intimacy.

“I think I need to come up with some kind of countermeasure…”

She couldn’t keep making excuses about being sick for the rest of her life. Living as a married couple, she inevitably needed to put up some kind of defensive strategy.

‘Do I really need to take contraceptives…?’

She thought about getting jamyeoncho to eat, but she was afraid of the fact that it was a poisonous herb and the side effect of infertility.

‘I should visit a doctor in the capital later.’

Surely there must be other contraceptive drugs besides jamyeoncho.

Vowing to inquire about a reliable doctor as soon as possible, Dalia’s day came to an end.

Meanwhile, the one who greeted Clayton upon his return was the butler Jason, who had been tidying up the bedroom.

Having started cleaning up belatedly after confirming that the Duke had gone to the Duchess’s room, Jason couldn’t help but be flustered at Clayton’s unexpectedly early return.

This was because the Duke, after bathing, always went to Dalia and spent the night there.

Jason hurriedly approached the Duke.

“I apologize, Your Grace. I thought you would be sleeping in the Madam’s bedroom tonight… I’ll finish tidying up quickly.”

But Clayton issued a different order, as if unconcerned.

“That can wait. More importantly, as soon as dawn breaks tomorrow, inform Marquis Landrofil. Tell him I will attend the garden party in two days’ time, along with the Duchess.”

Jason questioned with a puzzled look at Clayton’s order.

“Pardon? But the garden party starts at one o’clock in the afternoon…”

“I know.”

Despite knowing this, he still intended to attend the garden party. Jason tilted his head, not understanding Clayton’s sudden change in behavior.

As the person who knew best how much he avoided daytime activities.

Because of this, Jason carefully spoke to Clayton with a voice of concern.

“Has there been any other change in your body, perhaps?”

“Change, is it.”

Clayton, who had answered Jason’s question plainly, tilted the bottle of alcohol placed on the table.

“Rather than a change, let’s call it a discovery.”

Clayton, now holding a glass filled with alcohol, flicked his wrist.

The orange-colored liquor in the glass swirled greatly. Like waves rushing in on a calm sea…

“It was like waves.”

He muttered in a low voice, as if reciting something to himself.

Today was a day when an unforgettable event occurred for him.

As always, the unpleasant weather, the park that evoked no particular emotion, and the annoying attention of people. Everything was no different from previous years.

Except for one thing. The woman who filled the empty space beside him.

Yes, perhaps that could be called a change.

Clayton, recalling Jason’s words asking about changes, looked at his own hand. Then, the feeling from that moment came alive as vividly as if he had just experienced it.

The warmth of the afternoon sunlight and the coolness of the wind. And the liberation from the thirst that had been choking him as if about to ignite.

And all of that rushed over him like waves the moment he joined hands with Dalia.

At first, he dismissed it as just an illusion, never having experienced such a strange change before. But.

‘It wasn’t an illusion.’

It was neither an illusion nor a dream, but reality.

Clayton, who had been staring at his palm while recalling the earlier incident, clenched his fist.

As soon as he left the mansion, despite it being morning, unpleasant emotions began to creep up.

The swear words that rose in his throat at the clearly foreseeable state of his body subsided momentarily.

Strangely enough, he realized that from the moment he touched Dalia, the unpleasant feelings melted away like snow.

Surprised by this unprecedented situation, he tried to act nonchalant while hiding his emotions. Of course, he almost grabbed Dalia when she tried to go elsewhere without realizing it.

He thought he was holding up well, but when Dalia fell into his arms at that moment, all his self-control crumbled.

‘Thanks to that, I left my seat with a flimsy excuse.’

He couldn’t have noticed until now because he had never engaged in daytime outdoor activities with Dalia before.

Although they had coupled physically a few times at night, his body had no issues at night to begin with, so he couldn’t even recognize the change.

Just in case, he had gone to Dalia’s room to confirm, but he couldn’t even attempt to check, let alone confirm.

‘Cough, cough…! Actually, I haven’t been feeling well for a while now.’

Clayton pulled at the corner of his mouth as he recalled Dalia, who had just pushed him away with the excuse of being sick.

Jason, who had been watching Clayton, asked again in an even more serious voice than before.

“Your Grace, has there really been some problem related to the curse?”

The long-standing curse of the Sayer ducal family. It was also the reason why Clayton had difficulty with daytime activities.

Clayton raised his head towards Jason, who looked ready to call for the personal physician at any moment.

“Well. Whether it’s a problem or a miracle, we’ll see in time.”

The smile on the man’s lips deepened even more.