Chapter 90
A damp, sticky sound echoed through the room as Lilien quickly pulled away, feeling saliva trickle from the corner of her mouth.
“Sorry.”
Reaching for a handkerchief, she realized the last one had gone to Eisen, so she ended up wiping the spit from Cairn’s lips with her bare hand. Cairn stuck out his tongue and licked her fingertips.
“Don’t mess around.”
“Okay.”
She finally snatched the napkin he’d been holding and dabbed at his mouth herself.
Still caught up in the afterglow of their kiss, Lilien’s breaths came out warm and unsteady. Cairn, on the other hand, looked completely unaffected.
She wiped her damp fingers on her already-soiled skirt, not caring if it got any dirtier.
“That was… gross, right? I didn’t think my saliva would drool like that.”
Without warning, Cairn lifted Lilien and set her on his thigh. He grabbed a handful of her hair, taking in her scent, then gently ran his hand down her waist. The subtle sensation made her clutch his shoulder in surprise.
“Lili, tell me—what did it feel like?”
Lilien half-heartedly hit his chest with a weak fist.
“No way!”
“After all that, you won’t even tell me? I gave you permission.”
“It’s embarrassing…”
“If you tell me, I’ll let you kiss me whenever you want.”
Tempted by the offer, Lilien buried her face in his broad chest, hesitating.
“Well? I want to know, too.”
Wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, she mumbled.
“It felt all… soft and tingly.”
“Tingly?”
“Yeah. Like damp, fluffy cotton touching my lips.”
“And?”
“And, um… it felt like… down there was getting wet, too.”
Without shame, Cairn’s rough hand slid up her skirt, caressing the inside of her thigh. He pressed where her garter belt met her stockings.
“Here?”
She wanted him to go further, but his hand stopped there.
“Y-yeah.”
She couldn’t bring herself to tell him she meant even higher, so she just agreed.
“What else?”
“My whole body… it gets sensitive and itchy.”
Cairn kneaded her soft arm.
“Like this—does that help?”
“…Not really. There’s a spot that’s even itchier.”
“Where?”
Lilien hesitated. There were a few places she wanted him to touch right now, but she was too embarrassed to say it out loud.
“I can’t tell you that!”
At her flustered outburst, Cairn simply leaned against her shoulder and laughed.
Their kiss had been deeper than before, and this time, it had tasted like apricots.
* * *
After being discharged from the hospital, Count de Bermore called Lilien and Christian together and launched into a long lecture. As a result, Lilien had to sit through another reminder, on the eve of her wedding, of just how lacking she was as a wife in her father’s eyes.
He advised her to be obedient, to mind her manners, to maintain her modesty, and not to indulge in extravagance. He even listed off specific things she was forbidden to do—like publishing opinions or making public statements.
“Lilien, you must never bring disgrace to the name of de Bermore. Do you understand?”
Lilien couldn’t quite comprehend it. He kept insisting she was no longer his daughter, yet her actions still seemed to belong to him.
Unable to watch any longer, Christian steered the conversation elsewhere.
“By the way, what do you plan to do about the estate?”
“Well, since we’ll get fair value for the townhouse and some of the development rights, I think we can avoid selling off the land itself.”
Thanks to Cairn buying them time, they’d been able to sell off assets step by step. Even the buyers who’d previously tried to lowball the price of the villa changed their tune after hearing about Lilien’s marriage, all now offering reasonable amounts.
“Father, are you going to sell the villa in Chesner, too?”
“Chesner…we’ll probably have to, if we want to save the estate. There’s no way around it, Lili.”
“…Okay.”
Christian gave Lilien a reassuring smile.
In the southern resort town of Chesner, in the Klatt Empire, was a small villa Lilien cherished. It was where her parents had first met, and where they’d built their love, side by side with the sea.
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