Chapter 35
35. Flame (4)
Their lips met again. This time, it felt more urgent and less relaxed. Not rough, but intense. He delved straight into her mouth, losing his composure as he devoured her wet flesh. The overwhelming kiss scrambled her mind into a dazzling mess. Thoughts vanished completely. Only sensations remained. The touch tingling through her fingertips, the pressure on her skin, the scent her nose remembered, the taste clinging to her mouth… These were all she could perceive now.
“……?”
The frantic kiss suddenly stopped. Liene opened her eyes in confusion, and Black whispered softly with glistening lips.
“Someone’s here.”
“Pardon?”
His words were true. Knock, knock.
“Princess, are you awake?”
It was Madam Flambard.
“Oh… What am I going to do?”
Her cheeks flushed. Liene flusteredly placed her hands on Black’s chest and sat up.
“What should we do?”
Black looked at Liene for a moment before nodding once. The heated expression had cooled down appropriately.
“Should I hide?”
“……?”
“Under the bed would be difficult… I suppose I could hang from the windowsill.”
“……”
An unpleasant sense of déjà vu brushed past her nose at those words. Not long ago, Laffite had been the one who had to hide on the windowsill in this room. Laffite had come to a place he shouldn’t have and was in a place he shouldn’t be. Liene felt humiliated as she hid him against her will. It felt like she was becoming a dishonorable person doing something she couldn’t be proud of.
“Just stall for time. Until I hide.”
Black got out of bed. She didn’t know if he had deliberately mentioned the windowsill to poke at what had happened that day, but judging by his actions, it wasn’t just a casual remark. He was willing to hang from the windowsill for Liene’s sake.
“No, don’t do that. There’s no need.”
It wasn’t wrong for Black to be in the same bed with her now. Black was her official fiancé, and there was no reason for him to be treated like Laffite Kleinfelter. Hiding him would be even more dishonorable.
“We’re engaged. It’s not proper or in accordance with etiquette for my fiancé to hide from the eyes of a servant.”
“……There will be misunderstandings. No one will believe I was just lying here quietly.”
“What does it matter? We’ll be officially married in a few days.”
“……”
Black, who had been looking at Liene, frowned. But it wasn’t out of displeasure or disagreement.
“……Ah.”
Suddenly, he hugged her tightly and covered her lips with his, cutting off her words. The kiss that invaded her mouth was more intense than before. Knock… knock.
“Princess, are you inside? I think I hear you, but why aren’t you saying anything…”
The uninformed Madam Flambard seemed to be hesitating outside, wondering whether to open the door, but Black didn’t stop kissing her. Rather, he seemed to be getting even more heated.
“Princess?”
The passionate kiss stopped just before Madam Flambard couldn’t bear it any longer and tried to open the door.
“Ah… Why are you doing this…”
“Suddenly…”
“Suddenly?”
“Because you’re too beautiful.”
“……Pardon?”
She never expected to hear those words from him. As Liene stood there blankly with her mouth open, Black leisurely kissed her lips again. A peck, a gentle bird kiss that left a soft sound.
“Shouldn’t we open the door?”
“Ah, we should open it now…”
It was too late.
“Princess, I’m sorry, but I need to see if you’re inside. I think I hear you, but why aren’t you saying anything…”
Click! The bedroom door opened.
“Princess… Princess…? Princess!”
The Madam who entered the room became a statue, still holding the doorknob. Her complexion was pale, almost gray.
“Oh, dear… How… How could this…”
“Good… Ahem, good morning, Madam Flambard.”
She didn’t feel as humiliated as she had then, but she was embarrassed. Liene ignored Black, who was wiping the corners of her mouth with his fingers, and pushed him away.
“There’s no need to be so surprised. Lord Tiwakan slept in this room last night. My fiancé deserves to be treated the same as me.”
“Y-Yes… But it’s so s-sudden…”
“Madam.”
Liene’s stern voice made Madam Flambard close her surprised mouth. She tried to look stern, but her cheeks were as red as apples, so it didn’t have much effect.
“I understand. Then I’ll… Uh… Ah, I’ll prepare the water for washing.”
“Yes, I’d appreciate that.”
“Yes, yes, Princess. Of course. Of course.”
The Madam, still looking flustered, hurried into the bathroom. Liene let out a long sigh of relief.
“Now… Ahem, I hope Lord Tiwakan will also prepare to greet the morning.”
It was a polite way of saying he should leave.
“I don’t feel like it at all.”
“……What did you say?”
Liene looked too serious, and Black chuckled briefly.
“But I’ll go.”
“Please do.”
Even though it was brief, Black’s smiling face left a deep impression. I wish he wouldn’t smile like that. Otherwise, I might want to hold onto this morning… Ah, really. What am I saying? Why am I doing this?
“Princess.”
As they were getting out of bed, Black called out to Liene.
“Yes?”
As Liene turned her head towards him, Black quickly grabbed her and kissed her lips. His lips touched and parted from her forehead, the bridge of her nose, her cheeks, and her philtrum.
“May I join you for breakfast?”
“That would be nice. But why do you keep kissing me… It’s taking even longer this way.”
“So you won’t forget.”
Black ran his gaze over her lips one last time before letting go of Liene.
“I’ll see you in a little while.”
“……”
Liene stood there and watched him leave the bedroom. It felt like her heart had become a lake. Suspicious waves surged endlessly. What does he want me not to forget… I wish he would have told me that too. If he doesn’t tell me, I’ll only remember the sensation of his lips that he diligently pressed all over me. * * *
“Princess.”
Madam Flambard, who was already in the bathroom, had mostly recovered from her shock.
“Come here. I’ll roll up your sleeves for you.”
“Thank you, Madam. I’ll wash myself.”
Madam Flambard neatly folded the ends of her sleeves so they wouldn’t get wet while she washed her face. But even as Liene leaned over the basin, she showed no sign of leaving.
“Excuse me, Princess, but I really must ask. Did you really sleep with him last night?”
“Well… Ahem, it wasn’t exactly as it seemed…”
“You didn’t, did you?”
“……No.”
In fact, it seemed like the Madam would find out anyway. She was quick-witted and knew her better than she knew herself when it came to her work.
“No matter how I think about it, sleeping together is too absurd. There’s no way you would do something like that impulsively. Besides, considering what happened yesterday, it’s even more unlikely. Surely the head of Tiwakan is angry and misunderstanding you because of what Lord Kleinfelter did?”
“That’s right.”
“How could you possibly sleep together in that situation? With someone who might do anything when angry.”
“……”
Liene’s expression became strange. Black was definitely different than usual. The sharp voice that pierced her ears, demanding a price, still stung her heart when she thought about it. But he didn’t do anything. Because he’s not that kind of person.
“Madam, I’d appreciate it if you refrained from saying such things. Lord Tiwakan is now…”
Madam Flambard was lost in thought, tilting her head, and missed Liene’s words.
“Anyway, that’s what I thought, but isn’t there something too strange about it? Surely there was such a huge misunderstanding, but why does it seem to my eyes that the Princess and the leader of Tiwakan are as affectionate as a newly formed pair of lovebirds? What on earth is going on?”
“……”
“Princess?”
Liene hesitated, and Madam Flambard urged her to answer.
“That’s……”
That’s right. How did it come to this? That man suddenly offered to apply medicine. Saying that since I had done it before, I shouldn’t even think about refusing. Then he said he would kiss me. When I closed my eyes, I remembered the tingling sensation of his lips on the back of my neck.
“Princess?”
“……Ah, I was thinking about what happened.”
And he said he would sleep in my room… I brought him a blanket, and then… …In the morning, he found the mole below my earlobe. He kissed me, saying I didn’t know anything… and that I was so pretty.
“So, am I right in what I saw? You’ve opened your heart to him?”
“I don’t know……”
All of that just fell like rain and flowed like a river. Black definitely didn’t clear up the misunderstanding. He didn’t seem to want to believe it either. I could only say it was a misunderstanding. I couldn’t say anything more. I didn’t trust Black either, and I had to keep lying to him, just like I had lied to him so many times before. But I didn’t dislike him at all. The gaze that found the things others couldn’t see was tender, and his touch made me tremble. Why those feelings wouldn’t subside in this situation, I couldn’t understand at all.
“You don’t know?”
“Yes…… I don’t know.”
Madam Flambard, who had been looking at Liene for a moment, sighed.
“I heard it’s usually like that…… It really is.”
“What is?”
“Matters between men and women. It happens in the blink of an eye, and no one knows the exact reason.”
“I think…… it might be a little different……”
Madam Flambard shook her chin, implying that there was nothing different about it.
“Princess. I may not know anything, but please listen to this. About having a child… it would be best to announce that it’s not true, if possible. I may be ignorant about politics, but I know a little more about matters between men and women, so that’s why I’m saying this.”
“……”
I knew that the Madam’s words were for my sake. But I just couldn’t do it. Not yet.
“I can’t.”
“Princess…… Once you’re married, such lies won’t do you any good.”
“I know, I know that. I want to say it too. That there’s no child.”
That there’s no other man I can’t forget. That it’s really a misunderstanding. That I’ve never thought of that person even half as much as I think of you.
“……But there’s something I need to know before that. I can’t pretend I don’t know it.”
“What on earth is it that makes you say that?”
Maybe it was time to tell the Madam.
“There’s someone who says that Lord Tiwakan has another reason for proposing to me… that it’s not for marriage, but for another… terrible reason.”
“What? No, who’s saying such a thing? How do they know that?”
“I don’t know if it’s true or false. But I can’t pretend I don’t know. If it’s really like that, even just in case, it’ll be irreversible.”
“That’s…… Yes, that’s right.”
“Sir Weroz has left to find out about it. But I don’t know if he’ll be back before the wedding.”
“Then what should we do? Shouldn’t we postpone the wedding?”
“Maybe.”
Liene took Madam Flambard’s hand. It was the moment to ask for a dangerous favor.
“But I think there’s someone else who knows about it besides Sir Weroz.”
“Who is it?”
“Can you meet that person?”
I wouldn’t be able to move around easily for a while. With Laffite imprisoned, I didn’t know what Kleinfelter was planning to do, and since Black said he didn’t trust me, trying to meet someone would only add more suspicion. This was a more dangerous secret than the misunderstanding about Laffite.
“I will, Princess.”
The Madam, who had rarely gone outside the castle since becoming Liene’s nanny, bit her lip and nodded several times.
“Who do I have to meet?”
