Rose's eyes slowly narrowed.
"Kiss me, too, please..."
She really was going to drive me crazy.
With a sigh, I grabbed the back of Rose's head and pulled her in.
"Mmph."
Our lips overlapped. Without hesitation, I invaded her mouth.
As I fiercely sucked on Rose's lips, I sought out her tongue and tangled it with mine.
As I traced every corner of the inside of her mouth, the obscene sound of our mixing saliva spilled out.
'Is she drunk?'
Rose was the one who had been drinking, but now I wasn't so sure.
I felt as though I, too, was getting drunk on Rose's sweet breath and hot skin.
"Haa..."
My left hand, with nowhere to go, twitched.
I almost instinctively groped Rose's chest, but my arm was stiff from my injury.
It was unclear whether that was a misfortune or a blessing.
If I could have moved it, I wouldn't have been able to stop there, and I would have unleashed my raw desires.
Seuk.
Exerting the utmost restraint, I slowly pulled my lips away.
Thinking to myself that if I ever found out her heart was set on me... I wouldn't hold back or show any restraint.
"Haa."
Rose wiped her saliva-glistening lips with the back of her hand.
Even though she probably didn't mean to seduce me, the sight was so alluring that I secretly swallowed.
"Your Grace."
"What is it."
Rose gently pressed down on my body with both hands and asked.
"Why do you treat me so well...?"
"Do I treat you that well?"
"I know..."
That was a relief.
I almost smiled with joy but maintained a calm exterior. It seemed my efforts all this time hadn't been entirely in vain.
"You keep buying me this and that... treating me so kindly... and, ah, you keep calling me pretty."
"Because it's the truth."
"Pfft, that's nonsense."
Rose chuckled softly before muttering again.
"No, actually, Your Grace never says things you don't mean... so perhaps you truly do think I'm pret... ty..."
"I mean it."
Seeing her reaction, I was just thinking that I could slowly start to relax.
"Earlier, the princess... said so. That Your Grace really seems to like me..."
"You only just realized that now-"
"How could that be possible?"
"……."
My mind, which had been slipping away from the sweet atmosphere, snapped entirely awake.
'What did I just hear?'
Seeing me freeze, Rose let out a hollow smile. It was a dry smile that looked like it could crumble at any moment.
"For Your Grace to like me... that's ridiculous."
"……."
It had been a long time since I felt so speechless.
'I'm scared? What do you mean by that?'
It felt a bit different from the emotion I had felt in front of Rose when she asked me that.
It wasn't so much anger... as it was sheer emptiness.
Sorrow, injustice, and other unfamiliar emotions I had never felt before surged up within me like a tidal wave.
'This is driving me crazy.'
I felt like a squirrel was throwing away the acorns I had painstakingly gathered for it, or perhaps like I was the one who mistook an empty shell for an acorn and brought it to the squirrel.
'Why?'
Was it not enough despite how hard I tried to show my feelings? How else could I treat her better than this?
A sense of helplessness surged within me as if I had encountered an unsolvable problem.
"You and I, Your Grace, are..."
Even though Rose was close enough for her breath to touch me, she felt incredibly far. Was it just my delusion that I thought we had gotten closer during that time?
"...contractually married, after all."
Suddenly, Rose's muttering slowly coiled around my ear.
'...Contract.'
Was that the problem?
No matter how well I treated her, Rose just concluded in her mind that it was all due to the contract.
'I want to tear up that contract right now.'
If I were at Schmaichel, I would have already done it. The moment I got back, that contract was going straight into the fireplace.
With that in mind, I opened my mouth.
"Rose, about that contract."
I cleared my throat, desperately trying to pull up my sinking spirits.
"Would you not reconsider it?"
The moment I asked that.
"...!"
Even in the dim light, Rose's face visibly paled, turning completely blue.
"What did you say?"
"At this point, it's about time to..."
We're already a perfectly good couple without the contract, so I wanted to tell her to seriously consider throwing away the contract and standing by my side.
"Did I do something wrong?"
The alcohol had faded from Rose's voice, which now turned clear and sharp.
"If I did, please tell me. I'll fix it."
"That's not it,"
"Then why?"
For a moment, my breath caught in my throat. Rose's face looked so desperate, as if she had been driven to the edge of a cliff.
"Rose, what I meant was-"
"Please, don't do this."
Rose's lips trembled pitifully. It was the face of someone who looked like she would fall off the cliff if pushed even the slightest bit.
Ppuk.
Rose suddenly grabbed my gown and pulled it open. The gown parted, exposing my bare skin.
"?!"
I was so shocked that I could only stare blankly at Rose.
On the first day, just seeing my skin through the gap of my gown had made her blush, yet she was making such a bold move now.
Seuk.
Rose carefully searched for the place where my heart was and pressed down on it with her hand.
"I... I saved you. I..."
Rose's incoherent mumbling alone was enough for me to understand her meaning perfectly.
"Yes, you saved me."
Rose didn't reply. She kept her palm resting on my chest and listened to the sound.
Dugeun, dugeun, dugeun.
I could also feel my heartbeat, which had quickened slightly because of Rose.
"That this might... stop. How much I..."
Rose stroked my chest with trembling hands. The sensation of her fingertips brushing against my skin felt strangely arousing.
Because of that, it was hard to fully concentrate on what Rose was saying.
'Damn this body.'
This was no time to be doing this. I needed to get up right then and there and question Rose.
"Rose, wait a min-"
As I tried to push myself up using one arm against the floor,
Kkuk.
Rose grabbed my forearm with both hands and pinned it down.
I could have easily overpowered the meager strength of a woman smaller than me and gotten up. I absolutely should have.
But... I couldn't.
"Your Grace."
Rose leaned forward, bringing her flushed cheeks closer to me,
Chok.
The moment she kissed me softly and sorrowfully.
"……."
I couldn't hold myself up, as if all the strength had left my body.
Rose's warm, moist flesh burrowed into my mouth. She carefully traced my teeth, found my tongue, and intertwined with it.
It was a slow, sticky movement. As if she were trying to prove that she was doing well.
'Damn it.'
My head told me this wasn't right, but my body was uselessly honest.
Rose's lips pressed against mine felt incredibly sweet. I was on the verge of being addicted to their soft texture and moist surface.
At first, not knowing what to do, I just kept my tongue still, but having seemingly adapted, her moving tongue had become more skilled.
"……."
I tried to avoid Rose's tongue to somehow regain my senses, but it was in vain. A game of tag inside a narrow mouth was bound to end with being caught quickly.
Before I knew it, I had fallen completely into the tangled movements of our tongues.
What was so great about a mere piece of flesh, what was so great about this contact that made it feel so good? If I could, I would want to do this all day long.
'...No, no.'
If I was going to do this all day, just this wouldn't be enough.
There was still more progress to be made with Rose, so I couldn't be satisfied and stop just here.
Tak.
I grabbed Rose's wrist, which had been tickling my chest, and pulled it away. Then, I forcefully pushed her face back a little.
"Rose, let's talk for a bit- mmph."
Whenever I tried to say anything, Rose blocked my mouth with her lips.
While she did that, Rose's body pressed down on me heavily. The strange pain grew stronger and stronger, making it hard to endure.
"-Rose!"
In the end, I pushed myself up, grabbing Rose by the shoulders and pushing her away. Panting, we stared at each other for a moment.
'...What the hell.'
I couldn't shake the feeling that something had gone wrong.
'Why, exactly?'
Was telling her to reconsider the contract that shocking? Did she not want to extend it?
Meanwhile, Rose moved her lips.
"I haven't completely cleared Your Grace's lungs yet."
"I know. But-"
"The contract period is one year."
Rose murmured with a bloodless face, as if making a vow.
"When that time comes, you won't even have to tell me. I'll leave on my own two feet."
Ttiring-
My mind went blank, as if an invisible hammer had struck the back of my head. My brain seemed to turn completely white.
'Did she really want to leave that badly?'
She had never brought up the contract period or what came after it in front of me even once.
Was she afraid I might try to extend the contract period that she had to make it so clear and nail it down like that?
'That much...'
Did she really not want to be by my side?
I felt like I had truly done my best to treat her well, but it must have been no use. Enough for her to state so firmly that she would leave on her own in a year.
'What was the problem?'
The dresses? The jewelry? The food? Was the amount of magic stones too little? Was developing the Magical Device too much for her?
To think she might have found another man was impossible, considering how cleanly she kept her surroundings. I had even eliminated her contact with Arikx, which I had been most worried about.
'Why, exactly?'
No matter how much I rack my brain, I couldn't pinpoint the reason.
The only remaining possibility was that she wanted to focus solely on her magical research and her revenge against her family.
'Couldn't she do that at Schmaichel?'
No, actually, being at Schmaichel would be more advantageous for her.
Yet, for her to say it so definitively, Rose seemed to have no lingering attachments to life at Schmaichel.
Was staying by my side really such an unappealing option for Rose?
'Why...'
I blankly stared at Rose's face.
I was bewildered as to how such cold words could come from those same lips that had just shared hot breath with me.
It felt as if someone was squeezing my heart, making it hard to breathe for a moment.
'Damn it.'
And yet... even though she was causing me so much pain, I couldn't bring myself to hate Rose for it.
It was truly maddening.
Even in this moment, rather than hating Rose, my brain was entirely consumed with thoughts of how I could change her mind.
"...Haa."
But no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't see the answer. Anyone trying to harm or interfere with Rose could just be eliminated, but...
An immense sense of helplessness crushed me, greater than even when Rose had been injured. She said she wanted to leave herself, so I had no idea what to do.
"...Why?"
Rose looked at me with a sorrowful smile. Why was she smiling like that after saying such a thing?
"Why do you have that... look on your face, Your Grace?"
"...Rose, you are."
All sorts of things I wanted to say ballooned up from deep within my chest.
"...This contract,"
But I hesitated for fear of making a mistake if I blurted them out in a fit of emotion.
She was already wearing such a fragile smile right now; if I accidentally shattered it, I felt like I could never take it back.
'What on earth should I say...'
I always thought I lacked a way with words, but it had never bothered me before.
That was how it was being a Duke. I just had to give orders, and that was that.
But right now, I was agonizing over how to fully and accurately convey my feelings without causing any misunderstandings.
I wished I could just open my chest and show her.
"Huu..."
All I could do was let out a deep sigh rising from the depths of my chest.
Rose tilted her head as she looked at me.
"It's true. That's our contract- mmph."
I abruptly swallowed Rose's lips.
Because I hated those lips that only spouted cruel words—no, because they were so damn lovely.
"Uh..."
Rose let out a shallow moan, but I didn't care and focused on devouring her lips.
I lightly bit and released them, tickled her with the tip of my tongue, and tormented her as if savoring a sweet candy.
"Haa..."
As I slowly pulled my lips away, a long string of saliva stretched between our mouths.
'This is better, anyway.'
It was less painful when Rose wasn't talking. Sweet moans spilling from lips that had only poured out harsh words were far better.
'Is there only one method left?'
I had tried so hard to make Rose want to stay voluntarily, but if that was useless...
'I just have to make it so she can't leave.'
I just had to carve my mark into every corner of Rose's body and cover her with my scent.
Seuk.
The moment I thought that, my body began to move.
I pinned Rose's body down with my stiff left arm, and my free right hand groped along her waist.