Should he look at her or not? Starchis hesitated.

But when Rose made a shocking statement and stepped away, Starchis couldn’t help but naturally look at her.

Her cheeks were incredibly red.

If she had come out brazenly expressionless, it would have been troublesome, but she seemed to understand it was an embarrassing matter, giving Starchis a way out.

“...Miss Rose, back then-”

“-Just speak informally, Starchis.”

“...Rose, back then it was a wish.”

When he spoke, Rose lowered her head diagonally and pouted.

“...I really wouldn’t have asked if it wasn’t you...”

‘Again, again.’

The informal speech popped out, provoking him.

For some reason, it was an uncomfortable way of speaking.

His heart tickled.

It felt like they had become a bit more intimate.

“...I said just once, Rose.”

“...I know..”

She whined as she requested.

Rose couldn’t help it.

Those few short words had kept her awake that night.

She had replayed them in her head multiple times, words she had repeated over and over.

But now, even that felt lacking.

Like waiting for the next chapter of a novel, she wanted new stimulation to come from Starchis’ mouth.

“...But still, you can talk harshly if you want..?”

“...What do I have to say harshly to you?”

He didn’t particularly have any complaints about Rose.

Even if someone you get along with asks you to swear at them, it’s not something you can easily do.

Starchis turned his head as if he wouldn’t grant her request.

He looked around the room as if seeing it for the first time, despite having seen it countless times before.

He acted uninterested, hoping Rose would give up.

-Scratch!

Then a sharp pain was felt in his arm.

It wasn’t very painful, just a scratch, but it caught Starchis off guard.

“Ah!”

Starchis pulled his arm away and looked back at Rose.

A transparent line of saliva connected her mouth to his arm.

She had bitten him.

Her pink tongue and white teeth, sharp canines were captivating.

“...Rose??”

She glared at him as if looking for something.

“...Even now..?”

He decided to ignore her.

He was just surprised, not hurt, and he could endure it.

When he turned his head again, she suddenly pushed her head in to bite his arm once more.

A pleasant scent wafted from her pink hair.

“Ro-Rose! No..!”

Realizing her approach, he quickly turned his head and tried to block her, but even as he tried to push her head away, like a puppy, she kept pushing to bite his arm.

“Ow, ow!”

It didn’t hurt much this time either, but he pretended to be in pain, hoping she would stop.

Once again, her saliva moistened his arm.

When Starchis rolled up his sleeve, this time faint teeth marks were left behind.

Starchis resisted the urge to rub his forehead.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

He thought.

He didn’t know how to respond internally.

Should he decisively put an end to this behavior?

“..Punish me.”

That seemed like the better option.

“Rose..! Stop this. Understand?”

“....!”

But instead, Rose welcomed it.

She nodded her head repeatedly with red cheeks.

She looked satisfied.

Now he could tell she wasn’t entirely sober.

She had hidden her tipsiness well, but it was literally just hidden,

Her drunken behavior continued to emerge.

He didn’t know exactly, but he thought maybe this masochistic display was part of her drunken antics.

“...Is it over?”

It was quite serious.

“Rose, aren’t you letting yourself go too much in front of me? You weren’t like this before.”

“..So what, you already know everything.”

“I haven’t known for long.”

“..There’s only you, who knows my true self.”

Rose didn’t count Elza.

It wasn’t particularly pleasant even if she humiliated her.

Rose swallowed.

“..So, just one more time-”

“-No. Stop now.”

Starchis recalled Hian’s words.

To stay away from his daughter.

And that Rose had feelings for him.

If she’s doing this because she has feelings for him, it’s even more dangerous.

It started to feel like a kind of sexual play between lovers.

Starchis stood up.

-Thud!

Rose hugged Starchis around the waist.

“Wait a moment!”

He felt her warm body heat.

“..Why?”

“..You don’t hate me, do you?”

She buried her head in his side and asked.

“...S-Sorry. Don’t hate me.”

Her desperate voice stimulated him again.

Now he could be sure.

Rose definitely had feelings for him.

Rose, who was only his magined girlfriend, was acting like this, making him more uncomfortable.

He couldn’t easily pry her off.

He began to understand why Hian’s voice had been so apologetic earlier.

Even if he didn’t want to, he had to detach her.

And she said she only showed this side to him.

It was something she had hidden so well that even Hian didn’t know.

He was the first to see the true side she had kept hidden so tightly.

-‘Don’t hate me.’

The words she had just said lingered in his mind.

How scared must she have been to directly ask not to be hated?

And how painful would it be if her true self was rejected? It was hard to fathom.

Even though she displayed masochistic tendencies, he could feel through her trembling arm that the fear she was experiencing now was not the kind she wanted.

The fear she desired was the kind that came with a sense of safety. No matter how much she was threatened, she wanted the thrill of fear under the assumption that she would ultimately be safe.

She didn’t want just a bad guy;

she wanted a good person to act scary.

“...Let go, Rose.”

“No!”

She acted a bit childishly, possibly because she was drunk.

Eventually, she stood up like Starchis and buried her face in his chest.

Starchis’ heart started pounding.

He was embarrassed, worrying she might hear it.

Even in this situation, his body was honest.

He thought his body couldn’t grasp the situation at all.

As he felt this embarrassing emotion, his serious demeanor began to break.

Even in this situation, he wanted to laugh.

“...Haha..”

“...Starchis?”

Everything he had been thinking seriously felt lighter.

He wondered why he had to worry so much.

Moreover, Rose’s birthday was coming up soon.

Today was meant to celebrate her birthday a bit early, and he didn’t want to give her a bad memory as a gift.

Also, he didn’t want Rose to misunderstand.

If asked whether he disliked or enjoyed what she said, ...honestly, it was fun.

Admitting this felt embarrassing, and he felt ashamed to have such a dark side, but he had to admit it.

Admitting it made him feel relieved.

And he found it admirable that Rose admitted it first.

Perhaps because she had been trapped in her own world for a long time, she might be more mature in terms of completing herself.

“Why...why are you laughing... making me anxious..”

“..Ha. It’s nothing.”

He patted Rose’s small back, reassuring her.

“It’s okay, Rose, now let go.”

“No..! You hate me..!”

“I don’t hate you.”

“Really...?”

She let go and looked up at him.

Her tear-streaked, cute face was close.

He thought, if not for Hian’s words...

“Really.”

“...Show me that you mean it.”

“How should I show you?”

“I don’t know.”

-Squeeze!

She came back into his arms and hugged him tightly.

“If you don’t show me, I won’t let go.”

“Someone will be here soon, Rose.”

“...”

She didn’t respond.

Starchis suppressed a laugh.

Alright.

He thought he had tried enough.

Starchis could no longer suppress the desires that had been taunting him. Perhaps the alcohol made it even harder to resist.

Stripping away all other excuses, he thought.

He, too, wanted to have a bit of fun.

After all, it was just an act.

“...Let go, you bitch.”

He forced the words out of his mouth after struggling to think of them in his head.

He almost laughed at her flinching reaction.

“...W-what..?”

She backed away and looked up at him.

“What did you just say..?”

He could think of a hundred different explanations for his actions.

But now wasn’t the time for excuses; it was the time to dive into the moment.

“...You’re not listening, are you?”

He brushed off the part of his chest where her face had been buried, speaking to her coldly.

Unlike when he was lying, the words came out naturally.

It was as if it proved that this was a deep desire within him.

Rose’s eyes began to shine all at once.

Her eyes moistened with tears of emotion.

‘Ah... Ah..!’

Her legs trembled.

It wasn’t even the lines she had asked for.

These were words he had chosen and delivered to her.

It felt like a novel’s male protagonist who turns cold when alone with her.

He suddenly seemed larger, and she found it hard to breathe.

She took short, gasping breaths.

She put her hand on her chest to help her breathe, but she didn’t dislike this discomfort.

Even his cold gaze made her happy.

A greater pleasure than when she comforted herself alone enveloped her.

Rose, unable to regain her composure, tried to dust off his clothes.

“I-I’m sorry, Starchis. I didn’t listen, did I..?”

-Tap

Starchis brushed her hand away and said.

“Don’t use informal speech.”

“.......Yes..”

Startled, her body froze.

Even though he seemed angry, Rose was insanely happy.

Respect welled up from deep within her heart.

It wasn’t respect out of etiquette,

but respect with a meaning of submission.

“...I’m sorry.. I, I overstepped..”

She was a noble.

Born noble.

Yet he, with his sheer presence, overwhelmed her, making him look insanely impressive.

No matter what, seeing Rose happy made Starchis satisfied too.

Even if his brother called him gentle and gullible, he ultimately preferred this.

-Smile.

This atmosphere was far better than the heavy one earlier.

He was glad to see her happy, and honestly, he found it fun.

Starchis searched for his next words.

Something a bit domineering but likely to satisfy her.

“Pour me some more wine.”

And he quickly realized his mistake.

He didn’t really want to drink more.

He was already quite drunk.

Rose obeyed his command.

She hurriedly grabbed the wine bottle from the other side of the table.

Starchis, unable to break character, sat down, holding the wine glass between his index and middle fingers and crossing his legs.

“Huff... huff...”

Rose, standing and trembling, poured wine into Starchis’s glass.

Starchis looked up at her and spoke.

“My throat is a bit sore, Rose.”

-Ting!

The sound of the wine bottle clinking against the glass echoed her flustered state.

Slowly, she knelt beside his chair.

With trembling hands, she poured him wine.

This humiliating posture made Rose feel even more delighted.

Starchis was in a dilemma.

He didn’t want to drink more.

Yet taking just one sip and setting it down would look silly.

And downing it all in one go might make him throw up.

He hadn’t planned for this scenario.

But the internal conflict arose, wondering if he should go through with it.

Even though it was just an act, this was a bit challenging.

As the glass was still being filled, Starchis raised his hand, signaling her to stop pouring.

Rose had become completely obedient.

She was still breathing heavily.

‘Do I do it or not?’

He glanced at Rose.

She still looked up at him with dreamy eyes, seeming to expect something.

‘Ah, whatever.’

Starchis found the situation amusing.

He felt a thrill in doing something he shouldn’t.

This was a first for him, making it hard to draw the line.

He wondered if she might dislike it... then decided to apologize if she did.

Starchis brought the wine to his lips, then grimaced.

“...It smells like you, I can’t drink this.”

“...Huh?”

With a heart full of trepidation, he slowly brought the wine glass towards her.

She was close, kneeling beside him.

He slowly tilted the glass.

The wine spilled onto her cleavage.

-Drip, drip

A few drops first wetted her upper chest.

“Ah...!”

She flinched at the cold wine but didn’t refuse or move away.

Starchis poured the wine slowly, allowing her to refuse if she wanted to at any time.

But she didn’t look away from his eyes.

She had given her consent.

He tilted the glass more.

The red wine soaked her clothes.

The pretty dress got wet.

Her soft and youthful chest turned crimson.

Her dress clung tightly to her body.

Her sensual figure became visible.

Her cute, soft belly was adorable.

She accepted the cold wine with her whole body.

Even though the wine soaked her, she stayed still,

because Starchis was the one pouring it.

The heat from her body warmed the cold wine near her legs.

The damp discomfort now felt extremely pleasant.

-Drip, drip

Starchis let the last drop fall onto her chest.

She didn’t move, accepting it all.

She was drenched because of Starchis.

“Be more careful next time. Understand?”

“Yes... I’m sorry...”

Her voice trembled more than ever before.

Worried she might dislike it, Starchis watched her closely, but she didn’t seem to mind.

Just as Starchis was about to tell her to go clean up quickly,

-Knock, knock

There was a knock on the door.

-“Miss. I’m coming in.”

It was Elza.

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