Leaving behind the few who were frozen by my bombshell announcement, I stepped into the hall alone. The banquet hall was already filled with guests gathered in small groups and minding their own affairs, so it seemed unlikely anyone would care about my absence. In truth, lovers would occasionally slip out of the hall for private trysts, so rather than wasting glances on those heading outside, people preferred to pursue their immediate interests.
The moment I stepped through the doors, I spotted Khalid standing nearby and beamed. Setting everything else aside, just having him there brought me immense joy. When I took his hand, he drew me half into an embrace.
“Shall we head over that way?”
I pointed toward an area a little farther from the banquet hall. At my suggestion, he smiled readily and matched his stride to mine. A gentle breeze brushed softly across my face. A handsome lover on a peaceful evening—I loved this atmosphere. Above all, recalling the fact that he had broken the engagement so swiftly made my mood soar even higher.
Moving far from the clamorous ballroom seemed to clear my head completely. Khalid took hold of both my arms, faced me, and furrowed his brow slightly.
“Are you not cold?”
“It feels wonderful, actually. The breeze is gentle, and it’s delightfully open here.”
“Even so… you are dressed rather lightly.”
“It couldn’t be warmer. Why, don't I look pretty?”
“You are beautiful.”
He answered without a second’s hesitation, as if he had been waiting for the question. At his compliment, I felt no regret over placing myself in Madame Gisele’s hands today, gently smoothing my hair before speaking.
“Still, it really is lovely here. The air is fresh, and it's simply perfect for a secret rendezvous.”
I glanced around as I spoke. Owing to its scale and prominence, the ballroom had been constructed in a venue specifically chosen to accommodate it. Stepping out of the hall, one side was lined by a wall while the other was supported by colonnades, giving it the peculiar aura of a temple. Because we stood in the path of the gentle breeze, he kept eyeing my dress with a slight frown, but I smiled and coaxed his attention elsewhere.
The word ‘tryst’ felt subtly suggestive. Looking at his face, Violetta's news about the annulment drifted back into my thoughts.
“I hear you broke off the engagement?”
“There has been no announcement yet. How did you know?”
“Who do you think I am?” He stroked my cheek with his hand as if he found me thoroughly endearing. Looking straight into those reddish-brown eyes that gazed only at me, I parted my lips once more.
“Yes?”
“Do you love me?”
“Yes.”
His answer spilled out without the slightest hesitation. I was about to ask why, but the thought struck me that such things didn't matter at all. What reason did two people need to find favor in each other and fall in love? There was love at first sight, and there were feelings that grew over a long acquaintance. What could be more pointless than attaching reasons and measuring the degree of an emotion like love?
With that thought, every worry I had harbored up to this point seemed to dissolve into nothing. I broke into a bright smile at his answer, rose onto tiptoes, and lightly brushed my lips against his.
“Me too.”
A soft kiss echoed between us, sweet and ticklish. He looked at me with startled eyes, but the moment my smile widened, he took my arm and pulled me closer.
Unlike when we were dancing, he locked his arms firmly around my waist and dipped his head to seek my lips. The rich scent of perfume, the sweet note of wine he must have sipped, and his distinct fragrance enveloped me alongside his intoxicating kiss.
Placing my hands on his shoulders, I clung ever deeper to the trace of his profound invasion as it rapidly conquered me from within.
The hand cradling my head felt unyielding and safe. Leaving everything in his care, our tongues sought each other out. Unconsciously shivering at the tingling sensation racing up my spine, I arched my back and clenched my fists around his uniform.
A kiss fierce and passionate.
For someone like me who held passion as the highest expression of love, the fervor he displayed was enough to make my senses spin. His gaze, his movements, the touch of every fingertip gently stirred the little heart inside me. I loved only one person. It felt as though only I existed in his world, and that thought was intoxicating.
His tongue, sweeping through my mouth, began to delve deeper within. As strength flooded the hands resting on his shoulders and my legs lost the power to keep me standing, I wrapped my arms around his neck. Entrusting myself entirely to him and hanging on, I lost myself in a deep, fiery kiss that felt as if it would melt me whole.
When I clung to him tighter with a low moan, strength surged into his arms and hands. His firm grip tightened around my waist, the hand cradling my head pressing me closer. Tangling, parting, and mingling once more, sweeping every corner of my mouth to swallow before biting, suckling, releasing, and chasing after it again. A deep groan threatened to escape from deep in my throat, but his mouth firmly smothered it. My mind grew faint, and my vision blurred.
Ah, honestly.
As the warmth that filled my mouth slipped away, an inexplicable pang of regret washed over me. I gasped for air in the cool night. In that instant, his reddish-brown eyes held me entirely within their depths.
I loved this.
A laugh escaped me without my knowing. Did he know how much a partner’s passion delighted me, or how much passion I gave in return to the one I loved? It was my creed and my courtesy. I demanded only one thing from my lover, and that was unmistakable passion.
And Khalid suited that standard to perfection.
As I caught my breath, he buried his face in my neck. I bit my lip at the faint grazes along my throat. Fresh air filled my lungs, clearing my mind, while his hot breath trailed up my neck, pulling me close and claiming me as his. The hand that had cradled my head slid down my neck, lightly tracing bare skin.
A languid moan slipped past my teeth. My lips felt parched. I needed this man.
Reaching out, I guided Khalid's face away from showering small kisses down my neck so our eyes met again, and then I claimed his lips. Due to his tall frame, my neck tilted back slightly, and I surrendered to the steady strength that held me upright.
A deep kiss began once more. That intoxicating sensation wrapped around my entire body again, and we focused solely on each other, heedless of what was nearby or who might be watching.
Our mouths were slick with moisture, but without any thought of wiping it away or caring what I looked like in this moment, I simply sought his tongue, found it, bit down, and suckled it in, casting myself into an endless, intoxicating mire.
Lewd sounds of tangling tongues and mingling wetness reached my ears, but I paid them no heed. My sole desire was to take everything this man had into my body, into my mouth.
Thus, neither Khalid nor I noticed the footsteps drawing closer. Or perhaps, being a knight, he already knew. Yet he showed no intention of paying it any mind.
“S-Scarlett?”
A faint, familiar voice brushed my ear, but I had no wits left to dwell on it. Letting shallow breaths slip between my teeth and continuing our kiss with a heavily flushed face, my only wish was for that familiar voice cast to the back of my mind to please just go away on its own.
Yet the voice's owner had no such intention. After a long silence, just as that voice began to interrupt us once more, I finally managed to peel Khalid off me by sheer force, though he still clung close, and turned my head.
“Oh, my.”
Breathing heavily, I ran my tongue over my lips. Far more people were standing there than I had imagined. Making no move to hide my face, which was surely bright red, I looked at the group standing across from us while remaining half-wrapped in Khalid's firm embrace.
Lady Walter, her face flushed so red it looked ready to burst as she covered her mouth, and Lady Goslar beside her. Celine, looking utterly thrilled as if watching a scene straight out of a romance novel, along with a few other familiar faces staring at us with intrigued expressions. And finally—ah, dear me.
I let out a pitying sigh at the sight of Isabel, trembling violently with a pale, bloodless face. Oh dear, I had meant to keep this hidden until tomorrow. Even by my own standards, I was being quite the awful bitch right now, wasn't I? Watching her fiancé and her friend engaged in a fierce kiss, I couldn't begin to fathom what thoughts were swirling through Isabel's head.
Even so, I had no desire to push Khalid away. It felt funny putting it this way, but even if it hadn't been publicized yet, Khalid had already called off the engagement. Still, aren't I better than you? You stole what was indisputably mine, after all.
“S-Scarlett… how could you—”
“Oh my! Scarlett, it seems we were disturbing your private time. We'll get out of your way, so please carry on with what you were doing.”
As I watched Isabel trembling with pitying eyes, Violetta cut her off mid-sentence. Her expression was already alight with excitement. Behind her, Olivia, who had been glancing back and forth between me, Khalid, and Isabel with a sneer, let out a chuckle.
Isabel looked like an injured little bird. Dressed in white, she was lovely and pitiable. If I hadn't lost seven lovers to her, if my almost-secured engagements hadn't fallen through because of her, and if I hadn't been the one to introduce her to high society at the expense of my own reputation… I would have knelt before her and begged for forgiveness.
Ah, how childish.
The corners of my lips curved up slightly.
Then I turned my head back. His reddish-brown eyes were still fixed on me alone. Whoever stood over there, only I was reflected in eyes that had never welcomed anyone else. That fact made me remarkably happy. Inappropriate as it was for the moment, I burst into a soft trill of laughter. Then, turning toward Violetta, I spoke.
“Mm, it seems our lovely Isabel is far too shocked to move.”
“Good heavens, girl, get up already. Are you trying to sabotage your friend’s romance now?”
“She seems completely shattered. You should have listened when you were warned.”
Violetta tugged at the arm of Isabel, who had collapsed to the ground at some point. Olivia muttered something, but Isabel was beyond noticing. Watching the spectacle, I lightly wiped my lip with the tip of my tongue. Had I gone too far? Not at all. I was someone capable of far worse than this. A thoroughly wicked person.
Isabel, just as I didn't know you, it seems you didn't know me either.
Even though she had dragged Isabel out here herself, Violetta seemed quite irritated that she wouldn't budge. Celine, however, wore a delightfully satisfied expression, and Lady Walter, having already regained her composure, let out a soft laugh.
“It seems Lady Wither has suffered quite a shock. Lady Dirnant, please understand.”
Lady Walter spoke to me in her usual gentle, refined manner. Though she was addressing me, I took no offense whatsoever.
Letting out a soft breath, I turned my head to meet Khalid’s eyes and spoke.
“It seems our Isabel is far too stunned to move.”
“So it seems. I would prefer they left.”
“What can we do? Shall we go instead? The night is long, and I have no desire to part from you just yet.”
At my sweet whisper, Khalid brushed his finger lightly across my lips. I gave him a brilliant smile and matched my steps to his hand as he wrapped an arm around my waist to turn us away.
Without glancing back once.
