Chapter 27
. Business Kiss
2023.10.27
“Your Grace, is that really true?”
At Camilla’s words, the eyes around us sparkled with curiosity.
“Did you say ‘separation’? Don’t tell me your relationship has gotten worse?”
“Oh, oh my! What are we to do….”
Each of the noble ladies looked unable to conceal their excitement over fresh gossip.
So that’s why it felt ominous. This was the reason she dragged me here.
Camilla hurriedly rose from her seat, waving both hands as though to hush the restless ladies.
“This was my mistake! So please, everyone, don’t you dare breathe a word of this anywhere!”
She acted as if she were desperately trying to protect me.
I simply gazed at her, observing.
Even while telling the ladies to hold their tongues, the corners of Camilla’s mouth twitched from time to time, as though she were struggling to hold back immense amusement.
Camilla, when I read about you in the novel, I never realized… you’re actually quite stupid, aren’t you?
I gave a small, derisive laugh and spoke in a calm voice.
“Camilla, you don’t need to try so hard.”
Her frantic movements suddenly stopped.
When she turned her head, I caught a faint flicker of unease in her eyes.
Crossing my legs slowly, I looked at her and said,
“It’s true that my husband and I are living separately. But why should I bother denying it?”
The ladies exchanged shocked glances with one another.
The silence dragged on, heavy and stifling.
Then whispers began to ripple among them.
“Oh my, my! So it really is true?”
“See? I knew it. The two of them were distant from the very beginning.”
They whispered as quietly as they could, but of course, I heard every word.
Even though she had succeeded in embarrassing me just as she’d wished, Camilla still wore an unsettled expression.
It must have bothered her that I looked so utterly unruffled.
Rolling her eyes, Camilla forced a smile and spoke again.
Her lips trembled faintly as she did.
“Your Grace… are you sure it’s wise to acknowledge such a thing so easily?”
“And why wouldn’t it be?”
I asked back, tilting my head, and her brows furrowed slightly.
As I thought. You’re an open book.
I gave a leisurely sneer and turned toward the other ladies.
“As you all know, it’s true that His Grace and I were distant for years. But we’ve been working on it, and our separation is part of that effort.”
“Oh, oh my….”
“If that hadn’t helped, we would have ended things entirely. But in the end, thanks to that, our relationship…”
I wrinkled my nose playfully, giving them a sly grin.
“…has become very, very passionate, day and night.”
“Oh my goodness… oh my!”
The ladies bit their lips, faces twitching as if they couldn’t stop imagining it.
With flushed cheeks and clasped hands, they looked at me with envy.
Meanwhile, Camilla’s lips quivered faintly again.
“Your Grace… even if you’re upset, how could you try to cover up a truth that will soon come to light?”
“A truth that will soon come to light?”
“I’m sorry to say it, but there’s no way your relationship could be repaired so easily… all the ladies here know that well enough.”
She smiled at me with mock sympathy.
And just like that, the ladies who had just looked envious began to waver again.
“W-well, I suppose their relationship wasn’t so good, was it?”
“Yes, it’s hard to believe it would improve so quickly….”
Camilla shrugged, regaining her composure.
I looked her straight in the eyes and smiled faintly.
“It’s only natural that you, of all people, would doubt me, Camilla. You were by my side back when His Grace and I were at our coldest.”
“Your Grace, no matter what you say…”
“True. Our estrangement was no secret, so it must be just as hard for the other ladies here to believe me, isn’t it?”
The ladies simply looked at me, neither agreeing nor denying.
I smiled gently at them and turned to command a servant.
“Bring His Grace the Duke here.”
At my confident tone, Camilla’s brows creased further.
So, Camilla, things aren’t going the way you wanted, are they?
As I caught her biting her lip in frustration, I gave a leisurely smile.
“Your Grace, the Duke has arrived.”
The servant bowed, and I turned to see Cedric walking toward me.
In that instant, everything else blurred away, and only Cedric’s form moved toward me in slow motion.
All eyes fixed on his elegant stride.
“I hear you were looking for me. What is it?”
That familiar, alluring baritone washed over me.
I hadn’t realized he had come so close until then.
Even the noble ladies were overwhelmed by his presence.
They exhaled sharply, as though they had been holding their breath, and scrambled to greet him.
“W-we greet Your Grace, the Duke….”
“…We greet Your Grace.”
Their dazed, dreamy expressions looked as though they were bewitched.
I know exactly why they’re like this. Even I, who live under the same roof, sometimes feel the same when I meet him.
And now that Cedric has entered and captured their gaze, it’s time to put on a real show.
I rose, straightened my dress, and approached him.
“Cedric, the ladies and I were just discussing the reason for our separation.”
“…The reason for our separation?”
His brows shot up in sharp arches.
Though unlikely, I feared he might carelessly mention ‘divorce.’ So I quickly continued.
“Yes. We chose it to mend our strained relationship. And…”
I stepped closer to him.
Though I had once said we shouldn’t give Bianca false hope, given the situation, I had no choice.
I slipped my arms around Cedric’s neck and spoke softly.
“…it’s made our relationship rather passionate again.”
As our faces drew close, faint waves rippled through his blue eyes.
The space between us closed until we could hear each other’s breaths.
“Cedric.”
I whispered at his ear.
“This is only business.”
Then I brushed my fingers across his lips—a signal.
Thankfully, I felt no rejection from him this time.
He merely gazed down at me, understanding, and said nothing.
Those crystalline blue eyes, glittering like the sea.
The bob of his Adam’s apple as he swallowed.
The tip of his tongue wetting his lips.
Each subtle movement pulled my gaze deeper, and my heartbeat thundered harder.
Suppressing the tide of emotions, I leaned in and pressed my lips gently to his.
His shoulders stiffened at first.
But soon, he moved in time with me, soft and sure.
The reason for our kiss, the crowd of eyes around us—
All of it dissolved like an illusion at the meeting of our lips.
The kiss was so dangerously sweet, so tempting, that it consumed me entirely.
My pulse pounded violently, painfully loud in my ears.
Heat flushed my skin, burning hotter with each second.
I should stop. No… I don’t want to stop.
The fierce, intoxicating struggle played out in my head until finally—
“…Enough.”
I whispered, as though breaking free from an addiction, and pulled away.
My mind swam, hazy.
When I lifted my dazed gaze, Cedric’s eyes met mine.
He looked down at me like a man waking from a dream.
Another wave of ripples stirred in my chest.
I can’t calm down….
Turning my head away, the cool air brushed across my damp lips, clearing my head slightly.
I looked around.
Every eye was fixed on us.
Most of their gazes brimmed with admiration, envy, shallow desire.
All except one.
…Adrian? When did he arrive?
His violet eyes, usually gentle, now brimmed with sorrow—and a heavy sense of defeat.
I couldn’t tear my eyes away.
At that moment, Cedric, who had been gazing down at me, slowly shifted his gaze in the same direction.
And when his eyes finally met Adrian’s, they lingered there.
If Adrian’s here… then somewhere nearby, Bianca must have seen us too.
Flustered, I turned back toward the ladies.
“…Surely, now you can all believe me?”
The ladies nodded blankly, their eyes still glued to Cedric.
Their expressions were vacant, as though their souls had left them.
That should put an end to any gossip about our separation.
I glanced at Camilla.
Her face was flushed, and she was biting her lip furiously.
When our eyes met, she forced a smile.
“I’m so glad… that your relationship has improved, Your Grace….”
I sneered faintly at her trembling lips—
And then Cedric finally broke his silence, turning to Camilla.
“It seems we had to prove ourselves for the Countess’s sake.”
Camilla froze, unable to hide her panic.
She must have taken his words as reproach.
“N-no, of course not, Your Grace! How could I ever doubt Her Grace’s words!”
Her desperate protests grew increasingly frantic.
But Cedric’s gaze was utterly devoid of feeling.
His silence stretched on, and Camilla fidgeted, opening and closing her mouth without meaning.
“There’s no need to be so flustered. In fact, I almost feel like rewarding Lady Demetri for it.”
His cryptic words hung in the air as his gaze returned to Adrian.
Adrian’s face hardened further.
Meanwhile, Cedric’s lips curved upward in a calm smile.
“Rebecca was right. Our marriage has made remarkable progress lately.”
“…”
“We can hardly bear to be apart anymore.”
With that, Cedric tilted my chin upward with his fingers and added,
“Why, even a short time apart just now left me aching with thirst.”
And with that, his lips descended softly on mine once more.
