"D-don't do that, Etienne."
She fled awkwardly while sitting, avoiding his gaze, and soon her back hit the headboard of the bed.
As her body touched the cold metal, she felt dizzy. To keep from losing consciousness, Shioana bit her lower lip until it turned white.
"Are you running away?"
Etienne, who had approached her before she knew it, grabbed Shioana's ankle tightly.
"No. What do you mean..."
Shioana, still covering her chest with her hand, stammered. Etienne's red eyes curved beautifully toward her.
"Miss, I will give myself to you. Please."
"...Ah."
Shioana was completely captivated once again by his alluring smile.
As Martha said, he was undoubtedly a hell bird.
'They say that if you look into red eyes, your soul will be stolen.'
The advice Martha had given her the day her father first brought him here lingered in her ears. However, making the advice seem futile, her first love had blossomed in the fields of Regbell.
'I don't even know when on earth these feelings started.'
She climbed mountains and ran with Etienne. They got rained on and laughed heartily. At some point, her heart would pound whenever she looked at the shoulders, which had grown much taller than her.
She had stolen glances at Etienne time and time again, wanting to see his two eyes sparkling like jewels one more time.
As she held his hand, held him in her arms, and kissed him, Shioana kept growing more and more greedy.
Just like this very moment, right now, she felt an irresistible urge. It was the first time in her life she had wanted something so ardently.
“So what’s the answer?”
He crumpled the chemise on her thighs and urged for an answer.
Today, Etienne was very different from usual. He was rough, but he also exuded a desperate air. Staring into his beautiful eyes, Shioana bit her swollen lip. Small tears welled up in the corners of her eyes from the stinging pain.
'...I hate you.'
The answer was already decided from the beginning.
Since the time the two met in Regbell's drawing room.
It was destined to be like this...
"...Yes."
As Shioana's lips parted, Etienne hugged her tightly. He could feel how fast the hearts facing each other were beating.
A large hand rolled up the chemise, and Shioana's thighs were clearly exposed under the moonlight.
As she tried to close her knees, Etienne, who was positioned in the middle, firmly secured her ankles.
As she squirmed to try and free her ankle, Etienne, who had been watching her, let out a breathless sigh.
"Miss..."
"E, Etienne!"
In an instant, he entered Shioana. Shioana bit the soft flesh inside her lip, overwhelmed by the pressure of his heavy body as he pushed in, both slowly and quickly.
The process of the two becoming one was more overwhelming than she had thought.
“You know. Ha..."
As Shioana thrashed her arms in surprise at the unfamiliar sensation, Etienne kissed her forehead.
"I am yours forever, Miss."
"...E, ti..."
Unlike his affectionate words, his rough gestures left Shioana unable to continue speaking. Just as he had said, Etienne ceaselessly proved his love.
Affectionately, sometimes roughly.
With his fingers intertwined with hers, Etienne could not take his eyes off the lovely woman blooming red beneath him for a single moment.
The breathing of the two, now perfectly united, grew heavy, and tears welled up in Shioana's beautiful eyes.
"Don't cry, my lady."
As he wiped away his tears with his fingertips, Etienne whispered roughly. The hushed sounds of the two mingled with the banging of Regbell against the bars.
***
Could the world really change this much in just one day?
She didn't know when she fell asleep at dawn, but when she opened jer eyes, everything had changed. Regbell Hill was certainly the same, but Shioana was no longer the woman of yesterday.
'I'm not alone anymore.'
She was lying in her bedroom, thanks to Eli allowing her to return early in the morning, for some reason.
Shioana, who had been staying in bed all day under the pretext of having a cold, stomped her foot. When she moved slightly, her legs, lower back, and whole body got stuck, and she let out a groan.
"... I miss you."
Even though they were together all night, she already missed Etienne.
Her cheeks flushed bright red at the thought of him, and she cleared her throat. Considering he used to try to avoid even eye contact, Etienne was far from being shy.
"I'm telling you, he's really annoying."
They didn't have enough time to talk yesterday, so they couldn't discuss much, but she decided to leave for now. She wasn't foolish enough to believe that Eli and her father would approve of the two of them.
'Just you wait, I'll definitely gouge out that bastard's eyes.'
She could vividly picture Eli looking for Etienne and swinging a fire poker when drunk. Her brother was certainly the kind of person who would do such a thing. Although, until now, she had only watched as Etienne got hurt.
"I can't just stand by and watch anymore."
Because he became a precious person to Shioana.
The two of them would be together for the rest of their lives. It was enough to make Martha faint if she found out.
'Because that happened even before the wedding.'
She knew, in truth, that it wasn't exactly something to be proud of. However, Shioana didn't regret it at all. They were adults, and they had made a promise just between the two of them.
She was recalling that magical night when she heard a sound outside. She quickly pulled the covers over her head and pretended to be asleep, but Martha came in.
"...Miss, Miss. What am I to do about this!"
It was the first time she had heard Martha's voice sound so unusual.
Shioana felt a sudden pang of guilt and tensed up, wondering if Martha had found out about what happened last night. As she quietly pulled down the blanket, Martha approached and grabbed Shioana's hand.
"Well, I heard the Lord has passed away."
"...What?"
"I just received the news. A trading ship heading to Urcheka has run aground in a storm."
"Martha, what are you talking about?"
Her father's face, having said goodbye and promised to buy a gift, is so vivid in her memory.
"What am I to do about our poor young lady?"
Martha slumped down right there and started crying uncontrollably like a child.
"Nanny, I'm scared, so don't play games like that."
It could not be said that she had a good relationship with her father. She could never become the daughter Viscount Evgenia wanted, and he would never share even a single smile that Shioana desired. However, she never wanted her father to die.
"Since even the Madame has left for the Lord's side, our young lady is so pitiful..."
Martha, her face covered in tears, clutched Shioana's hand tightly, but Shioana still wore a dazed expression. It simply didn't feel real. She felt as though she would soon see her father boasting about making a fortune once she went down to the restaurant.
"Martha, did the Viscount really pass away?"
"They say not a single person was rescued from the shipwreck."
"...Ha."
In just one day, everything surrounding Shioana was turned upside down. Her world, which had sparkled with rosy light, was instantly covered in rain clouds.
Clutching her churning stomach, she reached out her foot under the bed. Martha quickly sat up and held her hand.
"You're not feeling well. Are you sure you'll be okay?"
It was hard to look at Martha's face, knowing she had simply caught a bad cold. What had she been doing while her father sank into the deep sea?
Shioana, biting her lip tightly out of guilt, wiped the corners of Martha's eyes.
"I'll get dressed, so Martha, would you go out and help with the rest of the preparations?"
"I'll help you."
Martha, having stopped crying, was about to touch Shioana's body. Startled, Shioana pushed Martha's back.
"I'm fine. Hurry up."
Martha sobbed again as she watched the young lady, who showed not even a tear at the news of Evgenia's death. How shocked must she have been for her face to turn so pale?
"Then, Miss, if you have anything for me to do, please call me."
As soon as Martha left, Shioana vomited. Too much work had suddenly piled up, making it difficult to endure.
"Etienne, I miss Etienne..."
It felt as though she could only soothe her restless heart by being held in his arms. However, since that was not an option right now, Shioana, having washed her face and wiped the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief, slowly took off her robe. As she did so, the red marks remaining on her neck, shoulders, and here and there were as vivid as summer roses.
"...Ha."
She could hardly remain composed in the face of her father's death. She buttoned her black dress all the way up to her neck and sat at the dressing table. Tears flowed, but she couldn't quite tell why she was crying.
Is it because my father passed away that I'm sad?
Or perhaps it is because she resents her father, who disapproved of her until the very end.
Even as she put the pearl necklace she had taken from the jewelry box around her neck, Shioana could not find an answer.
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