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Under his gaze, Eileen felt a rush of shame.
She knew that her disguise in men's clothing was clumsy at best, and she could only wonder what Cesare thought of it.
She cautiously met his gaze.
When their eyes met, Eileen flinched.
She had expected to see pity or amusement in his expression, but it was nothing of the sort.
In his eyes, she saw something entirely new—something she had never seen there before.
His red eyes looked like crumbling ruins, filled with a deep-seated pain and despair.
It was impossible to believe that these arrogant and flawlessly shining scarlet eyes now seemed so broken.
But that fragile look vanished in an instant.
Cesare smiled with his usual impassive expression, leaving Eileen to wonder if she had merely imagined it.
*‘Perhaps I was mistaken?’*
While Eileen remained in a state of confusion, he rose from his seat.
Then he sat down beside her and took one of the cookies lying in her lap.
Casually unwrapping it, Cesare said, "What are you so afraid of?"
Without waiting for an answer, he lightly tapped the cookie against her lips.
Eileen slowly parted her mouth, and he instinctively placed the treat inside.
"I’m not planning to do anything terrible to you.
Except perhaps kiss you."
Eileen nearly swallowed the cookie whole without chewing.
While she hurried to crunch the treat, he unwrapped a second one.
She was completely overwhelmed.
It felt incredible to be speaking with him about things like "kisses." The sudden change in Cesare’s behavior left her reeling.
Everything that was happening felt like an earth-shattering shock.
When he moved to feed her the second cookie he’d unwrapped, she hastily took it from him herself.
In response, Cesare instead lightly brushed the crumbs from her lips.
Swallowing the first cookie at last, Eileen asked in a raspy voice, "Are you truly planning to marry me?"
Cesare asked back impassively, "What, do you still have doubts?
Do you want me to convince you again?"
"N-no, it’s not that.
Just..." Eileen protested quickly, clutching the cookie in her hand and continuing cautiously.
"You never acted this way with me before.
Of course, circumstances have changed now, but still... you’ve changed so abruptly that it’s a little frightening."
"Seven years is more than enough time for a person to change."
"Seven years?"
The war had ended in three.
Eileen was about to correct him, but Cesare only smiled silently.
Shaking off the brief feeling of awkwardness, she continued.
"Anyway, what I wanted to say was... is there really no other way?"
She didn't dare say it directly: *‘I have dared to love you, and I don’t want a marriage without love.’*
Marriages among the nobility were always transactions.
Her dreams of love were nothing more than childish whims.
Suddenly, the memory of their kiss flashed through her mind.
At the burning recollection, Eileen bit her inner cheek.
To Cesare, it was likely a trifle, but for her, that moment had become a memory of a lifetime.
She hadn't been able to sleep properly for the past few nights because of it.
*‘My first kiss...’*
Ever since she was a child, Eileen had kept her distance from men.
Her father was to blame for that.
In addition to his drinking and gambling, he was also a womanizer.
Eileen had grown up watching her mother suffer because of her father's infidelities.
Naturally, this had bred in her a distaste for the opposite sex, and she had buried herself in her studies.
Even when someone occasionally showed interest in her, Eileen had no desire for a relationship, and they soon gave up.
And those who tried too persistently to pester her were "discreetly handled" by Cesare’s knights.
Thanks to all of this, at her age, she had not only never been kissed, but she had never even been properly embraced by a man.
The most she’d experienced were light touches while being escorted by the knights.
By the standards of capital city socialites, Eileen was an unsophisticated country girl.
A boring, nauseatingly naive, and old-fashioned partner.
But she had no great desire to attract a man's interest anyway, so she was perfectly content with her situation.
And now, this very Eileen was being hit with these overly suggestive actions.
The more she remembered, the more her lips tingled where that passionate kiss had touched them, and the strange sensations she’d experienced then flooded back into her memory.
"Eileen."
A deep voice pulled her from her thoughts.
The man who had caused her one of the most shocking experiences of her life asked a question.
"Did you dislike it when I kissed you?"
To say she disliked it would be a lie.
After all, it had been a kiss from the man she was secretly in love with.
But she couldn't say she liked it, either.
Having never experienced anything like it before, she simply didn't know how to describe her feelings.
Seeing her confusion, Cesare slowly narrowed his eyes.
Eileen’s heart beat faster.
Realizing how close they were, she squeezed her eyes shut and shouted the first thing that came to mind in a panic.
"I-I hated it!"
Cesare gave a crooked smile.
"I told you not to close your eyes when you're lying."
This man knew all her little habits.
Eileen surrendered immediately.
"The truth is, I don't know..."
She pouted, and he leaned in toward her.
The distance between them shrank to a minimum.
So close that she could feel his breath, Cesare whispered, "Shall we try again until you understand?"
Her heart, which had been pounding already, now seemed to break off its chain. it beat so hard it felt as if it might leap out of her chest.
Long eyelashes framed the red eyes that were fixed intently on her.
His perfectly shaped lips parted slowly, letting out a low voice.
"It would be awkward if you didn't like it.
We have much more serious business ahead of us, after all."
His breath tickled her skin, and his low voice penetrated her very core.
A strange, vague feeling spread through her body.
Paralyzed, Eileen let out a short gasp.
Even before their lips could meet, she jerked her head away.
"We... we drank wine, ate cookies..."
Gasping for air, she widened her eyes at what happened next.
His lips touched her neck.
First a light touch, then a withdrawal.
Then he pressed his lips again and ran his tongue over her skin.
There was a soft sound, and his teeth lightly grazed her tender flesh.
A faint, almost ticklish pain arose.
What was this?
The unfamiliar sensation made every hair on her body stand on end, and a tightness gripped the pit of her stomach.
Was it the tension from him touching a vulnerable spot?
Or...
Eileen’s only knowledge of sex was basic biology.
She had absolutely no idea what was happening.
All she could do was tremble and whisper pleading words to Cesare.
"Th-this is strange...
Mmm..."
With every strange sound that escaped her throat, her body flinched of its own accord.
His long fingers pulled aside the loose collar of her shirt.
When his lips touched her bare collarbone, a dizzying sensation burned through her.
She couldn't take any more.
"Stop!.."
Seized by an instinctive fear, Eileen hastily pushed Cesare away.
But he grabbed her hand and jerked her toward him.
His teeth sank into the thin skin on the inside of her wrist, where her blue veins were visible.
Eileen’s fingertips trembled.
His teeth slowly released her.
Cesare unhurriedly ran his tongue over the mark he’d left on her white skin and only then let her go.
Eileen’s chest heaved as she looked at him.
His red eyes, filled with heat, completely consumed her.
His desire, directed at her, was so unfamiliar.
Unconsciously, she whispered, "You should only do things like this with someone you love..."
The words felt foolish and naive even to her.
But she found no other way to express her tangled thoughts.
Her mind was in a complete mess, her thoughts racing without finding an exit.
Not knowing what to do, she stood there while he, seemingly finding her endearing, lightly ran his hand over her cheek.
"One can also do it with the person they're marrying."
Answering with ease, he continued quietly, "Go to the Imperial Palace tomorrow.
Come to the victory banquet celebration; you will congratulate me."
Could she do it?
Eileen nodded dumbly.
Cesare patted her on the head.
"We will continue our conversation at the banquet.
And about your father..."
He paused, then added reluctantly, "I will find him and send him home, so do not worry."