Chapter 13
Lucius’s hands moved over Celia with clear intent.
His smiling face looked so pure that the word deception didn’t seem to belong anywhere near it. He touched her as if playing the keys of a harpsichord, yet his eyes still pretended innocence.
Just like before.
“Answer me.”
His neat tone carried a deeper note beneath it, one that seemed to wrap around the listener.
His finger brushed beneath her chin and lifted it slightly.
The faint pressure traveled along her throat.
Celia’s breath caught.
“Tell me the things I shouldn’t do to you.”
His voice cut through the air.
If she got swept away again, then just like that night…
She could clearly picture herself turning away and fleeing.
The thought alone wounded her pride.
“You’re asking the wrong question.”
Something rough rose from deep inside her chest, scraping its way out with her voice.
“First, tell me… what exactly you can do for me.”
Celia stood up defiantly, pulling back her shoulders and lifting her chin.
Lucius’s brows twitched slightly.
For a moment, she felt a brief sense of satisfaction at seeing him hesitate.
But she quickly found herself unable to maintain her smug expression.
The smile spreading across his face was far too gentle.
It was like the arrival of spring itself, warm and bright.
“Ha.”
The corners of Lucius’s eyes curved.
A faint flush spread beneath them.
The sound that escaped him was too heated to be called laughter and too sweet to be called a sigh.
It was completely different from what she had hoped for.
“What can I do for you?”
The hand that had been careful moments ago became much bolder.
It slid down to her slim waist.
Her thin nightgown offered no protection at all.
His large hand wrapped around her waist as if claiming it.
Before long, their bodies were pressed together.
“I can kiss every place that brings you happiness.”
Tap.
He rested his forehead against hers.
“I can kiss every place I can see.”
His voice lowered.
“And I’ll explore the places I can’t.”
The air grew thick.
The distance between them disappeared completely.
Held by the arm around her waist, Celia found herself unconsciously rising onto her toes to look up at him.
Their eyes drew closer.
The green in his gaze seemed blurred.
There was something dark and broken mixed into his smile.
“You’ll have to show me even the things you try to hide.”
His fingers traveled along her jaw before his palm cupped her cheek.
His thumb slowly pressed against her jawline.
His breath hovered in front of her lips.
“What should I do, Celia?”
His voice dropped into a whisper.
“My desires are filthier and uglier than you imagine.”
His breath brushed her skin.
“I’m not confident I can keep from making you cry.”
Celia shoved at his chest.
Heat exploded through her head, disrupting all rational thought.
This lunatic…!
But his solid chest didn’t move at all.
Instead, her hand became trapped between their bodies.
She could feel the unmistakable beat of his heart beneath her palm.
“Ah… Celia.”
She clenched her teeth.
She could slap him.
Insult him.
Mock him.
Force him beneath her feet.
Anything would be better than falling apart helplessly under his touch again.
But the hand sliding along her back shattered her determination.
“Ah!”
A tingling sensation raced down her spine.
Standing on her toes, she wavered slightly and tilted her head.
The movement exposed her pale neck.
Lucius’s gaze traced it openly.
He lifted her into his arms and pressed a kiss beneath her chin.
“Whatever kind of man I used to be, it’s obvious I was hiding these desires.”
“Th-that’s not—”
“If that weren’t true, you wouldn’t be struggling this much to accept me.”
His gaze felt suffocating.
The air grew heavy, like being pulled beneath deep water.
Celia’s eyes trembled.
Even her smallest attempt to escape was caught firmly in his grasp.
She couldn’t find room to breathe.
“Celia.”
His voice softened.
“Do I still feel unfamiliar to you?”
Her lashes trembled.
She slowly raised her eyes and saw Lucius reflected within them.
“Do I not feel like your Lucius?”
Did he understand how deceptive all of this was?
These gentle hands treating her as though she might break.
His face buried against her exposed neck.
His soft lips brushing her skin.
Did he realize how absurd it was?
Probably not.
I refuse… to run away from him.
Neither of them truly knew what had gone wrong.
Or where things had begun to break.
A gear fitted incorrectly could never turn properly.
“Do you really think you’re not ‘my’ Lucius?”
Listening to the words of a man who had never once belonged to her, Celia’s expression grew cold.
She grabbed his wrist hard enough to hurt.
Far rougher than the careful way he touched her.
“If you’re only going to ask stupid questions like that, then let go of me first!”
Her angry shout caused Lucius’s movements to freeze.
It wasn’t that his expression disappeared.
It simply stopped.
His breathing shifted once before settling again.
A slow breath left his lips.
He lowered his eyes.
Then looked at her once more.
What is that look…?
“Haha.”
A laugh finally escaped him.
At first it was quiet.
Then it became audible.
“I’ll let go.”
His laughter drifted around her neck slowly.
Very slowly.
He lifted his face from her shoulder.
“For now, I only want to be gentle with you.”
Celia curled her fingers as she stared at him.
His eyes sparkled like glass catching sunlight.
Her nails dug into her palm.
Why does he keep smiling like that?
This wasn’t the Lucius she knew.
The Lucius she knew had cold eyes.
A mocking smile.
Hands far removed from kindness.
Which meant this smile would become meaningless the moment his memories returned.
It was nothing more than a disgusting farce.
Thinking that, she pushed his arm away.
“I’m leaving. Let go.”
The soft slippers scraped loudly against the marble floor.
The hem of her nightgown swayed.
Her loose hair bounced across her shoulders.
Lucius watched her hair scatter as she hurried away.
Then he reached out and stopped her.
“Wait a moment, Celia.”
“You just said you’d let me go!”
She tried to pull her hand free.
He didn’t budge.
Her frustration piled higher and higher.
Just looking at his face was stressful enough.
The fact that nothing was going the way she wanted only made it worse.
She silently vowed that once she returned to her room, she’d avoid running into him at all costs.
“Mm… that’s not what I meant.”
He sounded awkward.
“I just have something I need to tell you.”
One of his knees brushed lightly against her skirt.
His elbow barely touched hers.
Then he spoke.
“His Majesty has invited us to a banquet.”
A warm breath brushed past her ear.
At the same time, his shadow fell over her like flowing water.
“We should start preparing to attend.”
At that moment, the only reason Celia didn’t grab the nearest teacup and smash it over his head was because she had summoned every ounce of patience she possessed.
Damn you, Lucius Windmere!
