Chapter 6
After finishing his conversation with Charlotte, George happened to glance out the window. A pitch-black darkness had settled in. The break had gone on much longer than expected.
George heaved his heavy body up to return to his study. Then, struck by a question, he asked Charlotte.
“By the way, where’s Jeremy?”
“He went out.”
Charlotte answered as if it were only natural, and George raised his thick eyebrows.
“Again?”
“He’s only twenty. Of course he wants to have some fun.”
“But he’s the head of a minor noble house now. He hasn’t changed a bit from before.”
George clicked his tongue in annoyance. Times like this made him inevitably compare his son to Enoch.
Enoch had been trained as the head of his family from a much younger age than Jeremy, and with his innate diligence, he had smoothed over the impulsive mistakes George himself made after becoming head of the family more than once.
‘There was no one better to have by your side.’
But now, it was no use lamenting.
What was done was done.
Even though he was left alone in the room with Agnes, Ergon’s attitude didn’t change. It was as if he had become a different person.
“How have you been?”
“You’re suddenly speaking formally to me.”
Agnes wasn’t accustomed to Ergon’s gentle expression and affectionate tone. However, Ergon looked at her discomfited face with loving eyes.
“I only speak formally to a woman who is sincere.”
An awkward smile appeared on Agnes’s lips. According to plan, she should be happy that Ergon had become sincere towards her, but she felt an indescribable unease.
“Ah, well then, your formal partner must change every three months.”
So, Agnes found herself speaking sarcastically. At that moment, the playboy Ergon, who was only devoted to love for three months at a time, saw the smile disappear from his eyes. Even though his lips still curved in a bow.
“Just joking, joking.”
Agnes quickly added, watching Ergon’s expression. It wasn’t even confirmed that Ergon and Victoria would break off their engagement yet, so she couldn’t afford to upset him.
“That’s a rather sharp joke. Haha.”
Ergon laughed heartily. Agnes narrowed her large eyes half-shut and asked coyly.
“Oh my, shall I bring out something sweet to cleanse your palate?”
“If it’s something sweet, isn’t it right here?”
At Ergon’s counter-question, Agnes tilted her head in confusion. Then Ergon wrapped his long arm around her waist.
“Your lips.”
Agnes flinched at Ergon’s suddenly close, chiseled face. It was clearly a cheesy line that belonged only in third-rate novels, but coming from a face like sculpted marble, it sounded incredibly romantic.
Indeed, a playboy is different.
As Agnes was inwardly admiring him, Ergon led her to the central couch sofa. Then he laid her down on the sofa and climbed on top of her.
“Are you going to break up with sister Victoria?”
“No.”
“No?”
Agnes braced herself on the sofa as if she would stand up immediately. Ergon stared at the single white glove she wore on one hand and continued.
“I intend to make you my mistress. I have an agreement with the Earl of Winchester, so breaking the engagement will…”
At that moment, Agnes shot upright. As a result, Ergon ended up practically sitting on her thighs.
“Mistress? That’s not acceptable!”
“And why not?”
Agnes, dumbfounded by Ergon’s brazen attitude, let out a disbelieving laugh.
As expected of a great playboy, his way of thinking is certainly different, so different. To think he could be this greedy and shameless.
“I won’t settle for anything less than being the lawful wife.”
Agnes clenched her ungloved hand as she retorted. A moment of silence passed between them.
“Fine.”
Compared to the absurd proposal he had just made, Ergon’s deliberation was short.
“I will break up with Victoria.”
Agnes’s eyes and mouth flew wide open in an instant.
‘He changes his mind that easily, just like flipping his hand?’
Whether he knew of her confusion or not, Ergon slowly laid her back down. Then he brought his hand to the ribbon fastening the front of her dress, just below her chin.
Today, she was wearing a modest dress that covered her up to the neck. It was a look that seemed somewhat stuffy at first glance, completely different from when he had seen her on the balcony.
The dress was designed for easy solo wear, with a long slit running from the navel to the neck, threaded with a ribbon so it could be cinched back tight. He undid the ribbon that zigzagged up at regular intervals and tied at her neck. Loosening the tight cord slightly, the slender neckline he had seen that day was revealed.
Below that, Agnes’s straight collarbone was also exposed to the air. Ergon buried his face there.
“…Hngh!”
Agnes found it hard to maintain her composure under his breath caressing her soft skin, but she gritted her teeth desperately.
‘Pull yourself together, Agnes. This man is the empire’s greatest playboy. He might just be lying to sleep with you once, right?’
She needed to know his true feelings. To do that, she had to touch Ergon.
Agnes’s gaze turned towards Ergon’s uniform.
‘Fortunately, my right hand is bare, so let’s try touching him.’
Having made up her mind, Agnes slowly moved her bare hand to grab his collar, when—
“Ah!”
Ergon suddenly gathered both her wrists in one hand, pressed them down against the cushion above her head, and pinned them there.
“You stay still.”
“Wha—?”
Startled by the sudden development, Agnes’s voice rose. In contrast, Ergon’s voice grew lower.
“I’ll take care of everything.”
“Ah, no, this is, wait!”
Agnes twisted her wrists this way and that, trying to escape Ergon’s grasp, but his large hand didn’t budge an inch. Eventually, she changed tactics.
“I want to touch Your Highness, too.”
She curled the corner of her mouth ambiguously and pleaded with him in a suggestive voice. Looking back, she had probably made a similar expression on the balcony, and it seemed to have worked well.
“No. Tonight, I want to be the one to please you.”
But tonight, Ergon wasn’t easily swayed. Instead, he whispered sensually against her lips. Feeling his breath seep between her teeth, Agnes inwardly stomped her feet in frustration.
If she couldn’t touch him, she couldn’t find out anything. Not his true feelings, not the truth.
Agnes racked her brain desperately and soon came up with a good idea.
“Then, kiss the back of my hand.”
“Hm?”
“As a sign of your oath.”
To kiss the back of a hand, contact is unavoidable. Agnes was aiming for this point.
“Ahem.”
While a hesitant Ergon cleared his throat, Agnes quickly sat back up. As she did so, she removed her remaining glove as well.
“Hurry up.”
Agnes held out her hand. Ergon stared at it for a moment. Soon, he silently reached out and grasped her fingertips. Then, gazing intently into Agnes’s eyes, he brought his lips to the back of her hand.
The moment his lips touched, Agnes snatched her hand away. Her face had noticeably turned pale.
“Why… are you putting on this act?”
“Why do you think it’s an act?”
For a moment, Agnes thought she saw something flash in his eyes.
“Because I can’t feel any sincerity.”
“Dear me. I’m wronged.”
Ergon’s smile deepened. He took her hand again and slowly brushed it across his own face, from his hair down over his entire visage.
Her hand, swept over his slicked-back, glossy blonde hair, his handsome forehead, thick brows, and straight nose. After tracing his smooth cheek to his firm jawline, it brushed past his uniform collar and finally settled on his lips. Ergon kissed her palm.
Meanwhile, various scenes had flashed through Agnes’s mind.
“Hup!”
Agnes was so shocked she froze. Because what she had seen there was completely different from her own thoughts or the public rumors about him.
She couldn’t count how many women had passed through his life, but Ergon didn’t seem to allow any significant contact with just anyone.
Rather, he would turn his head as if even touching them was dreadful, avoid them, and if they still clung on, he would even hurl harsh words to push them away.
“Do you dislike physical contact?”
The empire’s one and only playboy?
“You’ve caught me.”
Ergon muttered insincerely and pushed on Agnes’s shoulder.
The force made Agnes fall back onto the sofa. Ergon leaned over and climbed on top of her.
“You…”
Having shed the mask of a devoted lover, Ergon asked in a dangerously growling voice.
“What are you, really?”
