The steam rising from the huge bathtub filled the interior like a hazy fog.
As I patted my wet hair and leaned back against my shoulder, steam began to rise over my flushed skin.
'Ah, I think I'll buy it...'
'Ah, I think I'll buy it...'
My body, stiff from the cold and tension, gradually relaxed in the warm water.
I closed my eyes for a while and enjoyed the tired feeling.
Then, I suddenly remembered Cedric's hand unbuttoning the last button of my dress a little while ago.
'This... From now on, I can do it alone. Therefore...'
I turned around and faced him.
'Would you please go out and wait?'
Cedric's dark eyebrows arched high.
He looked at me for a while with an expression of incomprehension and then let out a small laugh.
'...Sure.'
Fortunately, Cedric didn't insist any further and left the bathroom straight away.
Only after confirming that the door was closed did I take off my dress and step into the bathtub.
As Cedric said, the bath water was warm, and a languid feeling of happiness quickly enveloped my entire body.
'Whew, I feel like taking a bath and going to sleep right away...'
That was the only thing I regretted now.
It was a long walk to get to my bed in the dark mansion, but to spend the night here...
'...I don't have the confidence to spend tonight with Cedric without incident.'
I kept crying out of regret.
Today was the last night Cedric and I would spend together at Twins Castle.
Before I leave here tomorrow, I wanted to be with him even just for a moment longer.
The same goes for Cedric. That was the problem.
'If we want to get permission to remarry from the Vatican in a year, we must not get caught up in any scandal from now on.'
Whether it's news of a relationship between a divorced ex-couple, news of a pregnancy, or any other scandal.
I told myself several times to come to my senses.
I was afraid that I would feel relaxed with the excuse that it was the last night we could spend together at the Twins' castle.
'After I finish my bath, get dressed and run straight to the dark mansion without even looking towards Cedric. Yes, I can. I can...'
It was a time when I closed my eyes and repeated it over and over again.
The bathroom door suddenly opened, and Cedric reappeared as if nothing had happened through the hazy vapor.
“Cedric, why suddenly... !”
Cedric leisurely raised the corner of his mouth as he looked at me shouting in a panic.
“Suddenly, I just came back getting ready to take a bath.”
Now that I think about it, he has already taken off his wet clothes from earlier and is wearing a jet-black nightgown.
“Getting ready to take a bath... You’re not saying you want to get in the bathtub, are you?”
I blinked again and asked.
For a moment, he looked down at me with his hands in the pockets of his gown.
The corners of Cedric's lips drew a soft line.
“Is there some problem?”
He looked like he had no idea what the problem was.
Does he really not know, or is he just being pretentious?
When I looked up with bewildered eyes, he gently pushed back my wet hair and muttered.
“Rebecca, I’m pretty cold too...”
The voice sounded mournful at first glance.
'I can't shake it.'
I gritted my teeth, looking away in frustration.
“I know it’s not true. I already heard that mixed-blood demons don’t get cold like humans.”
Cedric smiled slightly and gently grabbed my chin to make me look at him again.
And then he came right in front of me and made eye contact.
He knew that I had a particular weakness for his face.
“Who said this?”
The unique low sound heard up close was extremely captivating.
The interval between heartbeats became shorter and shorter.
“...It’s Mina.”
I said, trying to push Cedric away.
“So don’t try to deceive me for no reason.”
However, his forearm and shoulder that I was pushing away were still firm and motionless.
“Isn’t the constitution of each human being different? I’m not trying to fool you, it’s really cold.”
Cedric slowly cupped my cheek with his large hand.
When I quietly looked up, his eyes curved into a mysterious arc.
“Let me in, Rebecca.”
The distance from him was too close to withstand the temptation.
Perhaps it was because of the warm water surrounding my skin, or because my heart was racing, but my whole body gradually became flushed.
Like a child in front of a sweet marshmallow, I could barely hold on to my willpower, which was as thin as a thread.
‘Wouldn’t it be okay if we just took a bath together? He won't be able to see it well anyway because of the petals floating on the water. If I grit my teeth and don't shake, it might be okay...'
No, no. And then, what if I am tempted by that fox in an instant?
For a long time, I stumbled like a reed at the crossroads of choice.
"Listen... Come here."
Ha... In the end, I couldn't resist the temptation to stay together even for a moment.
'But I will never, ever waver from this ideal!'
It was a time when I closed my eyes tightly and made a promise again.
Suddenly, the sound of something light falling to the floor was heard.
When I slowly opened my eyes, I saw a black object that had fallen at the feet of Cedric, who had turned around.
‘That... It's a nightgown, right?!'
My wide-open eyes reflexively looked upward.
Long, smoothly stretched legs and a well-balanced mound on top of them.
An inverted triangle-shaped back with well-muscled muscles, broad shoulders, and the nape of the neck that leads to a beautiful face.
His back looked like a work of art created by a sculptor who put all his effort into creating it.
For a moment, I looked at him as if I was fascinated.
I quickly looked away when he seemed to be looking back.
***
When he turned around, he saw Rebecca with her head turned and trying to look somewhere else.
She was trying hard to pretend she wasn't, but before she knew it, even her earlobes were dyed red.
'... It's cute.'
Cedric bit his lower lip and slowly walked towards the bathtub.
Finally, his beautiful tall body was submerged in the water.
But for some reason, Rebecca still had her eyes fixed elsewhere and did not look at him.
Because of that, his eyes naturally fell on her white and smooth back.
Next, the soft light and shade of her wing bones and the graceful curves of her slender shoulders.
And when his eyes finally reached the moist nape of her neck, a hot breath escaped Cedric's lips.
He was pretending to be relaxed, but in reality, it was Cedric who was more impatient and anxious than anyone else at this moment.
‘Your Highness, the news of your divorce appears to have been leaked from the Vatican. And His Majesty... It is said that he only ordered that the former Grand Duchess' residence be moved as soon as possible.'
Cedric immediately understood what the imperial name meant.
The Emperor hoped that Cedric would turn a blind eye to the mistakes of the Holy See.
In fact, even if it wasn't because of the Emperor, there were more reasons for Cedric not to side with the Pope.
A year later, permission from the Vatican was essential for his remarriage with Rebecca to be accomplished without disruption.
So even if he's angry, he has no choice but to overlook this mistake.
He was that desperate to remarry Rebecca.
To Cedric, the one year he had to spend apart from her felt as long as eons.
Cedric's eyes turned to Rebecca again.
She was a more beautiful and attractive woman than anyone else.
That meant that if she regained her single status, there was a very high chance that she would be courted by numerous men.
'If any of them shake Rebecca's heart...'
The longer Rebecca remains single, the more likely it becomes.
But it's been a year.
That very thing made Cedric uneasy.
“...Rebecca.”
Cedric moved closer to Rebecca's back and rested his chin on her shoulder.
Then Rebecca started to tremble.
"Why? Why are you like this, suddenly...”
Her cheeks turned bright red again.
Cedric loved Rebecca like that and felt like he was going crazy.
And at the same time, he was filled with a devilish desire to keep her tied up like this so she wouldn't go anywhere.
His greed became even more extreme when he remembered the sight of other men's eyes on her leaving his own castle.
Cedric lightly bit the nape of her white neck.
“...Ah!"
He didn't miss the moment when Rebecca moaned in surprise.
With his right arm, he tightly wrapped his arms around Rebecca's waist, and with his left hand, he turned her face towards him.
And he immediately kissed her.
“Cedric, if we do this...!”
Shocked, Rebecca tried hard to push Cedric away, but that only provoked him further.
Of course, Rebecca's request to wait for later came to mind for a moment.
But it was too much to calm the instinct that had already overflowed like lava.
As the resistance continued, the restraints became stronger, and each other's breaths gradually became more densely mixed.
They continued to share a deep kiss for a long time.
Cedric barely separated his lips from hers, trying hard to suppress his desire to push her further.
“Ha, we really shouldn’t be like this...”
Cedric felt even more saddened when he saw her pushing him away with tears in her eyes.
He gazed at Rebecca, who was now facing him.
And he muttered quietly.
“I want confirmation from you.”
His lips touched Rebecca's cheek as he let out a sweet bass tone.
“Even if today is the last time we spend time apart...”
Cedric continued to kiss her cheek while speaking softly.
Then his lips stopped in front of Rebecca's lips again.
“Something like the certainty that you will always want and want only me.”
Rebecca's eyes twinkled like red rubies submerged in the water.
Her hands, which had been pushing Cedric all along, gradually lost strength.
Soon, Rebecca gently touched Cedric's cheek.
“You’re anxious as expected, you.”
Cedric leaned his face further into her hands, but she didn't respond.
Rebecca looked worried for a moment.
She spent a long time hesitating between her desire for Cedric and her worries about reality.
However, no matter how hard the two lovers, who were about to break up, tried to suppress their yearning for each other with discernment, they could not be suppressed.
“...Come here, Cedric.”
The two people's lips touched again, and water flowed out of the bathtub.
Their night finally began.
And it continued on and on until dawn seeped through the curtains.
Comments
Post a Comment