“……”
Viscount Delta seemed relieved when Sahara stopped.
“You’re trying to tease me.”
“No.”
Hitting him would surely cause problems. Sahara tried not to clench her fists. He was unarmed and seemed to be misunderstanding something. Truly dangerous men were usually rougher and more forceful.
“I don’t want to hurt you, so please step back.”
“Step back? Weren’t you seducing me? Leading me to the balcony, taking off your shoes to show your bare feet…”
What do bare feet have to do with anything? As Sahara pondered this nonsense, Viscount Delta grabbed her wrists and pressed her against the balcony door. She allowed him to hold her wrists, thinking she should at least have justification before kicking him. She could easily break free by twisting her wrists if needed.
As she debated whether to give another warning or just kick him, click. The door next to where Sahara was leaning opened from inside.
Turning her head, she saw Cheshire standing there.
“……”
Her first thought was wondering why he had such an expression. His eyes were so icy cold that Sahara blinked.
“Viscount Delta.”
He called out without even looking at the Viscount.
“You seem to have found the wrong balcony.”
“Your Highness… I clearly received permission to enter.”
Viscount Delta protested indignantly. True, she had nodded when he asked if he could enter. Though how that translated to permission for rudeness, she didn’t know.
Cheshire shifted his gaze from Sahara to Viscount Delta.
“Then I suppose Sahara invited you as a spectator.”
“……? What?”
Their confusion didn’t last long. Cheshire’s hand cupped Sahara’s cheek, and his lips met hers.
“!”
Still held by Viscount Delta, Sahara felt Cheshire’s lips sweetly taste hers. His soft lips suckled hers several times before his tongue slipped between her startled, parted lips. His tongue gently caressed the inside of her mouth.
“Ah, hnn…”
She couldn’t speak. Cheshire’s tongue and lips played freely with her lips, mouth, and tongue. Each time his tongue stroked her retreating tongue and swept across her palate, her vision blurred. Cheshire watched her with cold eyes, as if observing. Though Sahara never closed her eyes even before an incoming sword, now she had to shut them, drawing in breath at the trembling sensation in her fingertips.
She didn’t even notice when Viscount Delta’s hands released her wrists. Somehow, she found herself clutching Cheshire’s jacket. His kiss was too sensual for innocent Sahara to handle. He persistently stroked the tip of her tender tongue and swept circles across her palate until she moaned.
“…mmn.”
An inevitable moan escaped between her lips. She tried to open her eyes in embarrassment but had to close them again from the brightness. Cheshire’s eyes were still watching her. Was it her imagination that they seemed less cold than before, even hot?
His hand that had been cupping her cheek was now embracing her waist.
Only when Sahara could no longer hold her breath, her chest heaving, did their lips part.
Her face was flushed with a subtle red. Her heart was pounding as if it might burst, and her skin’s fine hairs stood on end. Still trembling and unable to calm herself, she opened her eyes to find Cheshire gazing into them.
She had expected to see that satisfied smile like before. That playful, mischievous cat-like look of satisfaction.
“…ah.”
Cheshire’s eyes were darkly intense. He wasn’t smiling at all. Faced with this completely expressionless look she’d never seen before, Sahara unconsciously stepped back, but before she could take even one step, Cheshire grabbed her arm and pulled her inside the balcony.
Her hips touched the soft couch, and once again, his lips met hers. Her mind went blank, as if her vision was blurring. In an instant, she found herself half-reclining against the couch. His hand slid down her waist, caressing around her collarbone, and as he began to pull down her dress slightly, he paused.
Finally able to catch her breath, Sahara blinked and saw Cheshire, now sitting astride her knees, taking off his jacket. Should she say, ‘You can’t do this’? ‘Stop’? Should she tell him to stop? Did she even want that? As Cheshire removed his vest and began unbuttoning his shirt one by one, Sahara swallowed the saliva pooling in her mouth.
As she bit her trembling lips, unsure what to do, Cheshire reached out and brushed his fingers over her lips. The places his fingers touched, wet with saliva, grew hot.
“I think this is more than enough to make my point.”
At Cheshire’s words, Sahara blinked. What did he mean? As she tried to process it with her dazed mind, there was a rattling sound—Viscount Delta.
Sahara, who had completely forgotten about his presence, tried to quickly look up at him, but Cheshire wouldn’t allow it. He toyed with her lips and strongly sucked the skin below her earlobe on her neck.
“Ah…! Ah.”
Her lips parted at the intense sensation. Stars burst before her eyes. Her thighs, pinned under Cheshire, jerked upward, and she grabbed onto his arms as if clinging to him.
“Get out.”
Cheshire said curtly while undoing the buttons on the back of Sahara’s dress. When she managed to look up at the Viscount, she saw his face had turned bright red with embarrassment. Stumbling backward, he fled the balcony as Sahara winced with moistened eyes while her neck was being kissed.
Bang, as the door closed, Sahara closed her eyes. Though she couldn’t understand why Cheshire had suddenly caressed her like this or what he was thinking, at least it was over.
Cheshire rose from her body. Even with his weight gone, the lingering sensation remained. Sahara couldn’t get up immediately and pressed her trembling hand to her forehead. Her mind was in chaos from the heat.
As she tried to rise and fix her dress with its few undone buttons, she suddenly looked up. Cheshire, whom she thought had already left for the Hall of Joy, was standing in front of the door.
Click.
This time the door locked. So no one could enter or leave.
Welcome Ceremony (3)
From the moment Sahara appeared, tension filled the Hall of Joy.
Is that the infamous crow? How can the monster of the North be so beautiful? Even those who had already seen Sahara meet the Emperor in the Hall of Sun held their breath at her entrance.
“That dress…”
“Surely it must be… just a similar dress.”
Countess Cheryl said it couldn’t be, but her lips trembled behind her fan.
There was a portrait of the former Empress on the way to the Glass Garden, prepared for noble ladies’ tea time in the Imperial Palace. While men, including Cheshire, rarely went there and didn’t know, all women who frequented the palace knew about that dress. Even those who couldn’t recall immediately realized which dress it was from the whispers around them.
“That hair ornament looks like the Princess’s. Isabella’s Tears.”
“My, using that as a hair ornament? She was saving it for her own wedding!”
“What could this suddenly mean? Surely His Highness isn’t actually planning to marry…”
“That’s impossible. It must be another one of his mischievous pranks.”
Though this seemed a bit excessive, those who knew Cheshire put more weight on ‘prank’ than ‘he actually brought Sahara to announce an engagement.’ Perhaps he had made some sort of bet with the Princess. Thinking that way, they could even see subtle tension between the Princess and Crown Prince.
“How could it be, when they’ve only known each other for days… It’s nonsense.”
While most people were in denial, Viscountess Holt fluttered her fan excitedly despite her surprise.
“See? Didn’t I say he was treating her specially?”
“Surely they couldn’t have known each other before?”
“Could that be… why he said he’d go to greet her?”
Doubts and rumors flowed through the crowd.
“Oh my, the Crown Prince is asking her to dance.”
As someone said, Cheshire bowed to Sahara, requesting a dance. After they exchanged a few words, she took his hand.
“Goodness, they match so perfectly.”
Was this why her husband had asked her to look after her? Countess Colodova sighed, touching her cheek. They were such a well-matched pair, like dolls. platinum blonde hair and black hair. Both beautiful as angels.
As the two moved to the center of the hall, others who wanted to dance also moved toward the center. Count Colodova came to find his wife and requested the first dance.
Everyone watched the two while dancing or standing around. Sahara, who had initially followed the dance awkwardly, now moved smoothly with Cheshire.
“She is cute, just as you said.”
When Countess Colodova commented while watching Sahara, Count Colodova asked with his characteristic painted-on smile.
“When did I ever say she was cute?”
“I thought that’s what you meant? Isn’t she cute? Look at her. Just like a young lady. Reminds me of my debutante days.”
“Hmph, you just stood against the wall then. What’s so pleasant about that memory?”
When the Count teasingly laughed about how she couldn’t get a single dance request and stood like wallpaper, the Countess laughed brightly.
“That day, you kept stealing glances at me standing by the wall. I thought you were a complete fool, unable to ask me for even one dance while not being able to take your eyes off me.”
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