CH 14.3

When they had finished their tour of Michael’s dormitory, the two walked together under the already darkening night sky.

They had been on the road all day, and they were not tired at all. Lila held onto his warm hand as they strolled through the gardens of the ducal estate.

“Is it that good?”

He laughed, and she nodded vigorously.

“It was so nice to see Michael after a long time. He seemed to have gotten bigger even though he had only been away for a little while. Don’t you think so?”

“Hmm… Is that so?”

“Oh, come on, can’t you tell? He was under my chest before, and now he’s up here.”

Lucas stretched his lips as he watched her explain, even gesturing with her hands.

“I don’t know.”

“It’s too bad his uncle is so indifferent. Surely Michael has grown taller since the last time we saw him.”

Lucas, who had been staring at her gesturing in front of her chest, asked her, along with her gestures.

“Michael, who was this big, grew to be this big?”

Lila smiled as she watched him mimic her gestures.

“Yes. I guess he’s gaining the height he never had. And since the Duke is so tall, I’m sure Michael will be too.”

She wanted to ask about Michael’s father, but Lila held back. She remembered the look of anguish on his face when he’d told her about his brother before.

Lucas’s eyebrows shot up as he watched her ponder. Her inability to understand his teasing brought out the grumpiness he’d been holding in all day.

“Whose wife is my wife…”

“… You’re not jealous of your nephew again, are you?”

“I don’t know.”

“My husband worries about everything.”

He loved hearing the word husband come out of her mouth. The corners of Lucas’s mouth drew dark lines, as if he’d forgotten he’d been grumbling.

“Wow, the roses are so pretty.”

Lila exclaimed as she walked into a room full of pure white roses.

“I’ve never really been into flowers, but since you like them, I guess I’ll have to start.”

At his words, Lila’s face blossomed. She wondered if she could ever be this happy.

She didn’t have to cover her face with makeup, and she didn’t have to mumble to herself.

She was happy just to be around someone who would answer her when she spoke, someone who would ask her first.

It was also heartwarming to be looked at, not with contempt, ridicule, or malice, but with pure favor and affection.

As he watched her fingers play with the roses, Lucas casually reached out and grasped her waist.

“My lady has her eyes elsewhere, so I’m jealous of the flowers, too.”

Lila’s eyes widened at his words.

“I didn’t realize you were jealous.”

“I was planning to take an interest in roses from now on, but I guess the first impression isn’t good.”

“You’re not the only one with a bad first impression, Lucas.”

“Me?”

When he scratched his head with a completely incomprehensible expression, Lila said, remembering.

“Just smiling with your mouth, what does that accomplish? Your eyes were raised sharply like this, like this.”

“That was the most polite expression I could muster.”

“I knew it then. Oh, this man’s personality is not good, I said to myself.”

Lucas, seeing Lila boasting about how her instincts were correct, grabbed her waist and raised her chin.

Lucas wanted to respond to her playfulness with his own playful retorts. His left eyebrow shot up as he stared at her small, playful, snowy-white face.

As she spoke, his mouth, which had been smiling, hardened into a tight line.

Lila stiffened, surprised to see his face washed of expression.

Lila’s eyes fluttered, and Lucas chuckled to himself as he watched her look seriously troubled for a moment.

All he wanted to do was be alone with her, but she was too busy thinking about other things.

He was fully aware that it was unreasonable, but he desperately wished he was the only one in her head.

Treading a thin line between reason and instinct, he was tempted to play a little prank on her.

“You don’t like guys with bad personalities?”

“… Yes?”

Lucas said and nudged her. Grabbing her around the waist, he pushed himself up and burrowed through the rose vines.

The rich, sweet scent wafted into his nostrils.

“My lady keeps telling me I have a bad temper, and I’m tempted to live up to it. I can’t go against my lady’s wishes, can I?”

He ran his tongue lightly over the tip of her nose.

“This is a passageway frequented by the servants, do you see that?”

Her cobalt eyes turned to where Lucas had pointed with his fingertips. She hadn’t been able to take her gaze off his face the entire time, and for a moment, she felt her eyes twitch.

Lila closed her eyes tightly and opened them. Her eyes widened as she blinked several times, noticing an outbuilding.

“I heard that employees use that place at their disposal.”

“What?”

The outbuildings belonged to the Duke, so why would the servants use them?

As if he knew her every thought, Lucas said.

“They say it’s the perfect place for lovemaking, and there are different lovers there every day.”

Lila looked up at him from where she’d been squeezed between the vines that bore an abundance of large roses.

“We must use this pathway to get to that outbuilding.”

Ducking his head even closer, Lucas flashed her a toothy grin.

Lila’s heart thumped in her chest. She couldn’t help but tense up as she watched Lucas lick his lips, smiling lasciviously, like he was trying to seduce her.

The rose scent that had been so overpowering had faded, and his scent filled the air around her, making her dizzy.

It was like being dropped in the middle of a lush forest. Cool, enveloping, sweet, and intoxicating.

Lucas chuckled quietly as he looked down at her. He inhaled deeply and pressed his nose against the nape of her neck.

A dark obsession and madness had begun to creep into his once bright mint-colored eyes.

He wanted to let everyone know she was his. He wasn’t much of a public person, but when it came to her, he was willing to do anything.

Closing his eyes tightly, intoxicated by the rich, sweet scent of Lila, Lucas let go for a moment and crouched down in front of her.

He grabbed her ankles with both hands. Snapping his fingers at her startled squirming, Lucas slowly ran his hands down her legs and into her dress.

His fingers slipped past her soft stockings and pressed firmly against her garter-belted thighs.

Long fingers peeled off her bottom with familiarity, skimming over her thickly scented mound.

One hand gripped her ass tightly, then lifted it lightly.

“Gah!”

Unable to breathe at his sudden action, Lila let out a small scream and grabbed at his firm shoulders.

She shuddered involuntarily at the low, hushed voice right next to her ear.

“Why are you shaking, am I going to eat you?”

A lump of flesh licked and sucked at her ear.

“Wh-where is here? Out, outside?”

Lucas untied the front of his shirt and she made a startled sound.

After muttering a curse under his breath with his damp fingers fumbling in the wrong places, he sighed and answered.

“I know.”

Lila floated unsteadily to her feet and threw her arms around his neck, holding on tight. Her mouth went dry at the feel of their bare skin against each other through her dress.

“The, the servants, are coming, and I just…”

“Yeah, that’s why you can’t make a sound.”

As he brought his lips closer to her ear to speak, Lila unconsciously wrapped her legs around his waist.

“You’re doing good, hanging on tight.”

He stood up stiffly, his desire burrowing slowly into the sensitive spot.

“Hmm.”

Lila’s eyes widened at the unexpected sensation and she threw her head back.

“Haa…”

Lucas, who had been supporting her as firmly as a rooted tree, slowly shifted his hips.

“Mmm…”

He moved, and a familiar rush of pleasure shot through her. Lila quickly forgot she was outside with the scent and pleasure coursing through her body.

“Mmmmm.”

The moment he entered her deeply, a cry erupted, her throbbing toes screaming inside her heels.

“Shhh, do you think someone’s coming?”

She was sure he was lying, but the footsteps were real, and Lila stopped breathing and listened.

“Honey, did you hear something?”

“What do you mean… I must have heard it wrong. It’s our turn today.”

“Is that so?”

“When is the Duke going back, anyway? He seems to be staying in the capital longer than I thought…”

“I mean, he’s a pain in the ass.”

Lila’s face grew white with annoyance. Lucas leaned over and whispered in her ear, the corner of his mouth quirking up.

“Are you in trouble?”

He whispered as if it had nothing to do with him, and suddenly he began to move hard.

Clinging to him as he arched his back and thrust in and out of her, Lila bit her lip hard. The sound of approaching footsteps drew her full attention.

Lucas, who had stopped moving, whispered softly.

“Ha, can I help you?”

She bit her lip hard, and he clicked his tongue.

He wondered if he had pushed her too hard.

But when he saw Lila nodding desperately with tears in her eyes, he couldn’t help but salivate.

The raised cheeks were cute. Her tear-streaked eyes were beautiful, and her lips were ruddy from biting down hard.

And her sweet scent enveloped him and wouldn’t let go. It was irresistible. He could not help but torment her.

There was no way he would leave her exposed for anyone to see. No way they would be seen by a servant traveling to a place so different from where they were.

But her voice might leak out. He had no intention of sharing any of her little things.

If anyone did, he would erase them from the world, he thought as he pursed his lips in a pathetic attempt to make Lila smile.

“Will you open your mouth for me?”

Lila parted her lips at his words. At this point, he was worried that the slightest movement would cause her to moan.

As if waiting for her, Lucas captured her lips with his own. The hot flesh found her tiny tongue and curled around it.

With their lips locked, Lucas began to move faster. A lustful sound accompanied the rustling of her rolled-up dress.

Every moan Lila emitted found its way into his belly. Their scent had already overpowered the scent of the roses.

Even amongst the heavily scented rose vines, their scent did not fade at all. On the contrary, it grew thicker and thicker, as if a thick essence had been dropped.

As the vines tangled, so did their scents. Their bodies, lips, and scents merged into one, with no space between them.

Lila clung desperately to him in a blindingly intense ecstasy.

It was just the two of them, until he stroked her trembling legs and stopped his frightening pace.