Chapter 70
The hands, with their bulging veins and thick knuckles, were a contrast to Shariette’s in every way, from their size to their shape.
“Ah…”
For a moment, she reflexively tried to back away, but it was brief.
Sensing a presence right behind her back, Shariette hunched her shoulders.
“That tickles, Caisa.”
The man who had pinned her against the railing, trapping her in his embrace, was nuzzling the nape of her neck with the tip of his nose.
His deeply sunken golden eyes stared at her, who had let her guard down and become defenseless.
His gaze lingered for a long time on Shariette’s cheeks, which had reddened like ripe apples.
“Your body is hot.”
A large hand stretched out, pressed against her forehead, and then pulled away.
“It doesn’t seem to be the time to enjoy the banquet. Let’s return now.”
“So soon?”
At her flustered question, Caisa hesitated.
“Do you wish to stay longer?”
“No, but…”
It wasn’t that the banquet was particularly enjoyable, but rather, as the host, she felt she ought to stay in her place.
“I have to greet the guests…”
“You’ve greeted them sufficiently enough.”
Was it really alright to leave without a word?
It was quite worrisome, but Caisa’s attitude suggested it was no problem at all.
‘Certainly.’
Shariette blinked her heavy eyelids.
She thought she would feel better if she rested a little, but it seemed the drunkenness had only intensified.
“Let’s head to the bedchamber now.”
Caisa effortlessly scooped up the hesitating Shariette and left the terrace.
In the middle of the bustling ball, as she emerged being carried in Caisa’s arms, the surrounding gazes poured onto the two of them.
Feeling the eyes on her, Shariette’s face flushed bright red.
“It’s alright, I can walk. I’ll go on my own two feet!”
Even though she had resolved today to be as little of a burden to him as possible.
But Caisa did not easily back down.
“The banquet hall is crowded. It will be difficult to walk in your current state.”
He wasn’t wrong.
The banquet hall was packed with people, and there were many fragile items like wine glasses and glass decorations.
Wandering alone with a drunken, unsteady body could lead to trouble.
Shariette quickly conceded.
“Alright.”
As Caisa began to walk, the distinguished guests in the banquet hall parted to the left and right, making way.
Before long, the two had exited the hall, and the noisy atmosphere instantly faded away.
However, even after leaving the main banquet hall, there were still eyes watching.
As many outsiders had visited, knights were stationed throughout the castle for safety and security.
But the corridor was much more spacious and quiet than before.
“You can put me down now.”
Caisa’s steps, which had been advancing down the corridor, came to an abrupt halt.
Unable to overcome Shariette’s insistence, he let out a sigh and set her down.
“Just… help me.”
“Understood.”
The bedchamber where the master of the palace resided was on the second floor.
Normally, she thought it was nice to be able to look down at the view, but climbing the stairs in her drunken state was no easy task.
Because of this, by the time they were about halfway up the stairs, Shariette’s legs had already gone weak.
“Careful.”
He hastily caught Shariette as she almost stumbled.
She looked up dazedly and gazed at the high staircase ahead.
“So many stairs.”
It was a sight that made one sigh involuntarily. She counted the remaining steps.
Two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve…
The man noticed Shariette’s crestfallen expression.
“Perhaps I should carry you…”
“No.”
Feeling Caisa’s hands about to lift her, Shariette refused repeatedly.
She didn’t want him to see her so unable to control her body due to the alcohol.
“What if others see and gossip?”
“There’s no one here right now.”
She was taken aback by his blatant lie.
“What are you talking about? They’re right there.”
“Where?”
Right there.
Down the stairs, the knights standing guard were making awkward expressions upon hearing their conversation.
Caisa, who remained brazenly unperturbed despite the people made uncomfortable because of him, gestured with his chin.
“There’s no one. Right?”
At his gesture, the knights swiftly turned their heads away.
See but pretend not to see, hear but pretend not to hear, be there but pretend not to be.
It was an unspoken rule all those who worked in the palace implicitly followed.
“That should suffice now, right? Let’s go.”
Before she could chastise him for his casual abuse of power, her body was lifted into the air.
Caisa had slid his hands under her knees and lifted her up.
Startled by the feeling of floating, she wrapped her arms around his thick neck, and he laughed, the sound rumbling in his throat.
Realizing the situation, Shariette buried her face in the man’s neck.
Somehow, this felt even more embarrassing.
Next time, I shouldn’t be stubborn for no reason.
“You can hold on tighter.”
Caisa acted as if he couldn’t feel her weight at all.
Perhaps because his legs were so long, he even took two or three steps at a time.
Still, she was concerned.
“Am I heavy?”
No matter what, she was a grown woman.
When she asked worriedly, Caisa responded as he strode up the stairs.
“Not at all. It seems your weight is similar, whether you’re a rabbit or a person.”
“That can’t be right!”
At his nonsensical words, Shariette protested.
While they were lightly bickering, they had already arrived at the bedchamber.
Opening the door and entering, the cozy room welcomed the couple.
“It’s faster and more convenient than the finest carriage.”
Shariette, laid down on the bed, joked lightly.
The alcohol had loosened her inhibitions enough to make such an action possible.
She lightly tapped his thick forearm as if praising it, but Caisa grabbed her hand and pressed his lips together.
“That service is only provided to special guests, so please use it frequently.”
Seeing his playful expression, she found herself laughing along with him.
In the midst of her innocent, tinkling laughter, Shariette felt his breath against her cheek.
Caisa, who had closed the distance without her noticing, was looking down at her.
Naturally, she parted her lips, ready to accept him, when…
“I need to wash up a bit. You can go to sleep first.”
He got up without any hesitation.
‘Huh?’
It ends like this?
A flustered Shariette rolled her eyes. Based on her experience so far, she was sure he was going to kiss her…
Having seen how he had tempted her before entering the banquet hall, she thought he must have been feeling frustrated too.
“What.”
Her body moved before her mind did.
“Aren’t you going to do anything?”
She wasn’t even conscious of what she was saying.
The man quietly looked down at her hands clutching his lapel.
“You’re drunk.”
At his hesitant hands trying to shake her off, a sense of unreasonable disappointment washed over her.
She wasn’t so drunk as to be unconscious.
“Weren’t you lonely, Caisa?”
Because she liked him, she wanted to touch him more, even just a little, and be closer to him.
Surely she wasn’t the only one who felt that way.
If only she had never known the joy of touching him, she wouldn’t feel this craving, nor would she feel this hurt.
But she already knew the sensation of being tightly held in the man’s solid arms.
“I… was lonely.”
A ripple stirred in his golden eyes as he registered her words.
Just as she thought his Adam’s apple moved…
“Euk…!”
His heavy body covered hers, a little roughly.
Surprised, a gasp escaped her parted lips, and a thick tongue instantly pushed its way inside.
The movement that teased the cramped space of her mouth and meticulously checked each of her teeth.
While she was being swept away in a daze, it instantly coiled around her small tongue.
“Hua.”
Her whole body grew languid.
“Kissing… feels good…”
Using the alcohol as an excuse, Shariette expressed her feelings honestly.
At her unadorned remark, the man covering her froze stiffly.
“So you’re determined to make me into a beast who assaults a drunk person.”
Caisa whispered lowly and rubbed his prominent nose bridge against Shariette’s white neck.
His long fingers tried to undress her with movements more delicate and gentle than a musician playing a string instrument.
But the dress was complex enough to require a maid’s help to put on. Taking it off was no easy task either.
Caisa’s hands pulling at the laces grew impatient.
“Haa, damn it.”
Shariette stared blankly at him, whose cheeks were flushed like hers and was even gritting out curses, unlike his usual self.
Seeing him lose his composure, a strange sense of satisfaction welled up inside her.
“Fufufu.”
Hearing her laughter, the line of Caisa’s mouth relaxed.
“What’s so amusing?”
Just then, the last string holding the dress in place came loose with a whisper.
As the fabric fell open, her bare skin was revealed in its entirety.
Her perky breasts rose and fell with each breath she took.
“Lovely.”
Caisa muttered in a low voice.
The focus of his golden eyes, which always stared straight ahead so vividly, was half-lost.
“They look delicious.”
“Euk.”
The thin, trembling red berries were instantly swallowed by his mouth.
“Haa…”
Perhaps he had lost his reason for a moment.
The golden pupils, which had been unfocused, grew clear again.
Caisa swept back his damp hair.
A bead of sweat that had formed on his temple smoothly traced the hard line of his jaw, gathered at the tip of his chin, and fell.
“Shariette? Are you asleep?”
The woman in his arms had fallen fast asleep.
Again, like this.
Even though he thought he shouldn’t push her, he ultimately couldn’t control himself.
He was thirsty.
No matter how much he held her, his greed wasn’t satisfied, and he grew thirsty.
He wanted to fill her inside more thickly. He wanted to go deeper, beyond the physical realm, into a place even more profound.
If only they could become one like this forever.
“Ha…”
Caisa mocked himself.
He knew without checking. By now, he would be making a face he could never show anyone.
A face distorted by the vulgar desire to possess another.
“…….”
This face—he could never show it to her.
Curling his large body, he burrowed into the arms of his sleeping lover.
