Chapter 78

To be honest, I don’t dislike his touch.

…If anything, I should admit that I like it.

He strokes me so carefully, as if I were something unbearably precious—how could I hate that?

Whenever he touches me like that, I feel as though I’ve become someone incredibly valuable.

It’s the same when he looks at me.

In those clear golden eyes—nothing but pure sincerity, goodwill, warmth.

Who else in this world would ever look at me like that?

How much of a blessing is it, to have someone gaze at you that way?

Once I reached that thought, I suddenly missed him so much it hurt.

And before I could think better of it, I opened my eyes on impulse.

“…!”

The instant our gazes collided—gold against gold—my entire body went rigid.

Lycian was far closer than I’d expected.

If he lowered his head even a little, our lips would meet.

I’d been frozen as if trapped in a glacier, but the moment his thumb brushed lightly over my lower lip, I snapped back to my senses.

Then I hastily rolled to the side, slipping out of his line of sight.

My heart pounded like it had lost its mind.

Curled up tight, clutching at my chest, I flinched when I felt the weight leave one side of the bed.

When I cautiously turned my head, I saw Lycian’s back as he slowly slipped off his robe.

“…!”

Smooth, bare skin stretched across his back. Firm muscle. And as the robe slid down with a soft whisper, revealing more and more—

‘Aaaah!’

I squeezed my eyes shut and curled in on myself like a caterpillar.

I was so tense that cold sweat trickled down my spine.

Oblivious—or pretending to be—the sound of him changing clothes rustled softly through the room.

That faint shhk shhk kept stirring up inappropriate images, teasing at some fragile corner of my nerves.

I had an overwhelming urge to flee this space immediately.

And at the same time, I wanted to open my eyes and steal a look.

…There’s no way I’m a pervert. I swear to the heavens, I’m a perfectly wholesome person. Can perversion be contagious?

‘I definitely caught it from Lycian!’

Anyway, curiosity won. I cracked one eye open just a sliver to peek—

“…!”

—and locked eyes with Lycian just as he was pulling on his pajama bottoms.

Startled half to death, I turned into a statue.

A long silence stretched between us.

As our gazes tangled, Lycian sauntered over and sat at the edge of the bed. Bare from the waist up.

‘What does he even eat to look like that….’

My racing heart was about to burst.

As my eyes darted everywhere but at him, unable to settle, Lycian asked in a low, suggestive voice,

“Muriel, aren’t you going to keep looking? You can stare as much as you like. Ah—should I take the bottoms off too?”

“W-What are you saying? Don’t take them off!”

I yelped in horror, and Lycian laughed out loud, clearly delighted. That sly little fox….

“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you….”

“Of course. If not with you, Muriel, who else would I do this to?”

“You’re not even denying it anymore?!”

Exasperated, I shot up and smacked his chest.

Then I froze.

The feel of bare skin against my palm… the firmness of solid muscle….

‘No, no, no!’

At this rate, I really was going to turn into a pervert. I clutched at my hair in self-reproach.

Lycian swiftly grabbed both my wrists.

Then he guided my right hand to his left chest and pressed it there.

“Why, Muriel? Touch me proudly. I belong to you, don’t I?”

“Y-You—don’t say things like that so easily….”

My heart trembled like it might give out.

Beneath my palm, I could feel Lycian’s heartbeat too.

Fast. Violent. As if it might burst at any second.

…And yet he was smiling so leisurely.

The thought that he was just as tense, just as breathless inside—

It made something inside me tickle.

Embarrassing. Heat rushed to my face.

And a courage I’d never known before began to well up.

‘…Would it be okay to step a little closer?’

To peel back a sliver of my heart and show him.

The distrust of people that had rooted itself deep inside me. The fear of forming a new, profound bond.

Couldn’t I step away from that inertia for just a moment, and reveal myself without hiding?

The part of me that, in truth, wants to love someone. To be loved. To become something special to someone.

Craaack—

I heard the sound of a crack splitting through the lock I’d fastened over my heart.

Perhaps he sensed the shift in the air.

Lycian’s smile faltered faintly.

Just as he opened his mouth to say something, I moved impulsively, closing the distance between us.

“…!”

His golden eyes widened, round as a full moon.

From this close, I could see the delicate striations in his irises, clear and fine.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud!

Beneath my palm, his heart pounded as if it would break through his ribs.

In that breathless instant—

Our lips met softly.

Just a fleeting press. Light. Faint.

And yet the sensation was so vivid it snapped my eyes wide open.

Before Lycian could even react, I pulled away and fled to the opposite wall.

Like someone who’d been bitten by a spider, I plastered myself against it, dragging in ragged breaths.

I couldn’t breathe. From one tiny peck!

It wasn’t even a proper kiss! We barely brushed!

And yet the spot where our lips had touched burned as if scorched.

…This is ridiculous. I can’t even speak.

Sure, I’ve never dated anyone before, but still….

“…Muriel.”

“…!”

That was when Lycian called my name, his voice rough and split.

He rose smoothly to his feet.

The way he stood there staring at me—it wasn’t ordinary.

As if he were about to do something dangerous.

Light blazing in his eyes like a starving predator.

“…Don’t run. Stay right there.”

His voice was low. A warning.

And then he strode toward me.

My mind bleached blank, I floundered in panic and tried to bolt for the door just as he neared.

Naturally, I failed.

“I told you not to run….”

There wasn’t a single thorn in his scolding voice. It was velvet-soft.

He caught me and drew me into his arms, caging me there.

His gaze burned like fire, yet remained gentle and careful.

A large, warm hand cradled my cheek. His heat was enough to melt me; my heart pounded wildly.

Lycian was so much taller that I had to tilt my head back fully to look at him. To reach his lips, I’d have no choice but to stand on my toes.

Without realizing it, I clutched the hem of his shirt and rose slightly onto my tiptoes.

His eyes widened a fraction, and a faint smile curved his lips.

He stroked my cheek and whispered in a mild voice,

“I’m going to count to ten.”

“…….”

“If you don’t want it, before I reach ten… hit me. Pinch me. Do whatever you like.”

Unconsciously, I swallowed.

I could feel every muscle in my body tightening with tension.

“1, 2, 3, 4….”

The count was slow, steady.

My mind spun uselessly, incapable of making a decision.

I wanted to touch him.

And at the same time, I wanted to push him away.

At this point, my emotional instability was practically a disease.

“5, 6, 7, 8….”

In the split second I was still hesitating—

Suddenly he caught the back of my neck and pulled me forward.

And swallowed my lips whole.

“…!”

My eyes flew open, frozen.

‘You said you’d count to ten…!’

You only got to eight, you fraud!

The fraud nibbled at my lips, devouring them bit by bit. A strange sensation sparked from the crown of my head down to my toes, making me shudder.

The unfamiliar feeling of something invading through the parting of my lips. Hot, damp breath. Everything was foreign. My heart felt like it would explode.

I squeezed my eyes shut, then cracked them open just slightly.

Lycian was looking at me through lowered lashes.

Watching my reaction. Careful. Considerate.

It was the same with the kiss that followed—soft, unhurried.

Whenever our lips parted briefly, I sucked in a deep breath. I kept forgetting that I could breathe through my nose.

Once I managed to steal some oxygen, he would press his lips to mine again. Not rough in the slightest. Just slow, gentle movements.

The kiss went on and on, until my legs, strained on tiptoe, began to tremble.

At last, Lycian ended it with a couple of light pecks—kiss, kiss—as if sealing it.

Then he pressed his forehead to mine and smiled.