The Prince’s Taste - Chapter 7.9

“Hey, don’t say that.”

“I’m working hard to make you happy, and you should be proud of that.”

She closed her eyes, her lips quivering, and at that moment, his lips touched hers. Before she could come to her senses, his tongue was probing her mouth. When she couldn’t breathe properly, he pulled away for a moment. After catching her breath, he pressed his lips against hers again.

Judy Esther felt like she might faint from the kiss. Her whole body was tingling to the point where she thought she might actually lose consciousness, and the obscene sounds that she didn’t recognize as her own breathing kept leaking out of her lips, making her dizzy. She opened her eyes with a hazy expression.

“Will you do this with me for the rest of our lives?”

After a moment’s pause, Richard asked again, the silken thread dangling between his lips and hers. The sharp tip of his nose brushed against hers, almost touching, tickling her nose. She admitted it now. Richard is a very good kisser. It was a shame to break the kiss. His breath and saliva are sweet and mesmerising.

“Judy Esther.”‘

Richard murmured her name, biting her lower lip lightly. His grip on her waist tightened, and his golden eyes sparkled as he looked straight at her.

“I, Richard, do swear by Adrian, that I will honor and love Judy Esther Emers as the only wife of Richard Adrian.”

“Richard.”

“So accept it. Will you marry me?”

“Yes. I already said yes, why do you still keep asking?”

When the thing she had been longing for happened, it felt unreal. Richard, the male protagonist of this world, was proposing to her. On that day, in that place, when he was supposed to fall in love with the female protagonist.

“You have to accept it exactly for the contract to be valid. If you give a vague acceptance, you can always change your mind, right?

“…I’m not that smart.”

“I love you, Judy Esther.”

“I love you too…….”

Before Judy could finish her reply, her lips were enclosed by his. His large hands held the back of her head and her waist. Their tongues intertwined, sticky and slimy, and the silent space was filled with lustful moans. Her hands clasped firmly around his back and neck.

She couldn’t tell how much time had passed, he and she frantically explored each other. Their lips that had been touching without even an inch of gap separated.

“My partner. Now you can’t escape me.”

“Is that what I wanted to say?”

She couldn’t help but love this man. Seeing Richard’s earnest expression, Judy Esther’s lips curved into a smile. Then, her gaze shifted beyond his face, and her pupils shook violently.

“Your Highness, you left the curtains open.”

Inside the window, many people were sneaking glances at them.

Judy Esther buried her face in Richard’s chest to avoid their stares. It was rather late for that, though.

“Richard, everyone’s watching us.”

“I left it open so they would.”

“Oh, my.”

She nearly cursed, unable to keep her composure.

Among the onlookers was the Marchioness of Emers. Every time her fan flicked, a crescent smile appeared. Beside her, Countess Ingrid was laughing softly.

“By any chance, were my father and brother in the hall when you came in earlier?”

“If they were, do you think it’d be this quiet now?”

“True.”

Watching Richard’s composed demeanor, Judy Esther let out a small sigh. The fact that the hall wasn’t in an uproar meant her father hadn’t arrived yet, but it still felt like the calm before the storm, and that unsettled her.

“Do you know where my father is?”

“Probably having a serious conversation with my father.”

“Ah… so His Majesty knows about us now, doesn’t he?”

“Judy, you seem to have forgotten, so I didn’t mention it — but your father and mother were both at the first night’s ball.”

Judy Esther’s eyes widened in shock. That meant they had acknowledged their relationship from the very start.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to see you anxious like you are now.”

“…Really?”

Judy Esther shot a playful glare at Richard, who only grinned mischievously. Richard teased, saying that when she opened her eyes like that, she looked like a flounder, and stretched the skin around both her eyes with his fingers. She couldn’t quite hide her displeasure.

At that moment, she caught sight of Ella. The heroine of this novel was looking at Richard. When Ella’s eyes met Judy Esther’s, she quickly turned away. Judy Esther couldn’t quite read the expression on Ella’s face.

“Is someone there?”

“No, it’s just that the only person who might have come between us is gone now.”

If that was the case, then the original story really was completely off course, wasn’t it? Her heart, which had briefly calmed, began pounding so fiercely she thought it might burst right through her chest.

“There’s no such person. Judy, shall we go back inside now?”

Richard chuckled softly as he looked at her.

“Don’t laugh. I feel like I’m going to die of embarrassment.”

“We’re getting married, what does it matter?”

“..…”

Marrying him still felt like a dream.