* * *

Hernan smiled as he pressed further.

“I want to know. Why does it bother you?”

His persistence made me want to punch that infuriatingly smug face of his.

“…Weren’t you the one who said you liked me?”

Even as I said it, I regretted it instantly.

The words were so absurd I wanted to clamp my mouth shut.

Hernan’s sharp gaze pinned me down.

‘Did I ever say that? All I remember is being rejected, over and over, as you told me I disgusted you.’

My fists clenched.

He was twisting facts, mingling lies with the truth.

Sure, he hadn’t said it outright, but he’d proposed, hadn’t he?

What nonsense was this?

‘I’ll head back. Find your own way to the carriage.’ I shoved him aside, dismissing him in frustration.

But before I could step away, Hernan enveloped me in a sudden embrace.

His trembling shoulders hinted at something deeper than laughter.

“If I said I liked you, would you accept it?”

His arms tightened around me, the sound of his pounding heart flooding my ears.

The words I wanted to say froze on my tongue.

I didn’t know how to answer.

“…Well?”

Hernan murmured, his face buried against my neck.

I barely managed to squeeze out the words, mumbling:

“I… I don’t know.”

What could I call this selfishness?

I was too scared to take it for myself, yet I didn’t want anyone else to have it either.

If someone asked me if I liked Hernan, I could easily say no.

But if they asked if he lingered on my mind… well, I wouldn’t know.

It felt too unlike me to consider someone as special—more special than others.

The thought embarrassed me so much I wanted to run away.

But if I wanted to interfere in Hernan’s ambitions with any sort of justification, I needed to claim the right to do so.

It wouldn’t cost a fortune, nor would it entail any great loss.

All it took was a single word.

The fact that moving someone’s heart required nothing more than a brief sentence felt strange, like an unfair transaction.

It wasn’t right—a scale so tipped wouldn’t stand in any normal business.

“Then, I’ll wait until you’re sure.”

The selfish words I couldn’t bring myself to say, Hernan whispered them first, as if he’d been expecting them.

“So, Mr. Everdeen, all you need to do is occasionally get jealous and keep thinking about me—just as you are now.”

Without realizing it, my arms tightened around Hernan’s waist.

And just then, the door to the inner palace creaked open.

‘Oh no.’

If anyone caught sight of the man who’d been the center of attention at the ball just moments ago, now tangled up in such a compromising position, all my earlier efforts today would go to waste.

Coming to someone’s birthday party only to leave the host behind and get caught in such an intimate moment—what a mess.

Thinking I’d be doomed if discovered, I yanked Hernan further inside.

The storage room door, designed to open with a push, swung shut behind us, trapping us both within, as if nothing had happened.

“…!”

Hernan stiffened in surprise, his arms instinctively wrapping around me.

I hushed him with a soft shh, the metallic whisper making him press his lips together.

Footsteps passed, and silence fell once more.

Only the sound of our breathing and racing hearts filled the air.

We could probably leave now… I thought, but before I could act, Hernan spoke in a low whisper.

“Can I ask you something?”

What could he possibly want to say at a time like this?

I lifted my head, tense, only to see Hernan’s flushed face, unable to maintain his composure.

He avoided my gaze.

“What is it?”

His face wasn’t just embarrassed—it was desperate, almost pleading.

I couldn’t look away.

“That day… why did you kiss me?”

A sharp pang shot through my chest as though my heart had been pierced.

He remembered?

I thought he’d forgotten everything after that fall.

Swallowing hard, I looked Hernan directly in the eyes and replied:

“…I think I’d know if I tried again.”

Sliding my arm around the back of Hernan’s neck, I kissed him.

His blue eyes widened for a moment before slowly closing. I pressed closer, closing the space between us until my body pressed against his.

The thin fabric separating us grew warm.

‘…Sweet.’

The overwhelming sweetness lingering in my mouth, mixed with Hernan’s comforting yet fresh scent, made me feel lightheaded.

My knees nearly buckled, but Hernan caught me firmly in his arms, holding me upright.

His breath, slipping between our parted lips, was intoxicating.

Every time our movements grew more urgent, I found myself thinking it wasn’t enough.

I wanted to push Hernan further—to make him incapable of thinking of anything but me.

To make him wait, like a loyal hound, until I could figure out this strange feeling.

I knew I shouldn’t, but my hands roamed Hernan’s back, stopping only when they slipped beneath his clothes, touching the warmth of his skin with my cold fingers.

He jolted, trying to push me away, but I held firm.

“W-We can’t… here?”

Hernan stammered, his face bright red in genuine shock.

Where else would we go, looking like this?

I let out a quiet laugh, amused by his naïveté.

“I probably know better than anyone how to misbehave at a party without getting caught.”

If only someone had caught and scolded me back then… but that didn’t matter now.

What mattered was finding an answer—to what I wanted from Hernan.

---

“Phew…”

Hernan’s pale skin was now marred with vivid marks where my hands had gripped too tightly.

I made sure the most visible ones were on his chest, a deliberate display.

The shiny trail of saliva glistening over the marks?

I didn’t bother wiping it away.

Hernan, who had been flustered just moments ago at the thought of being caught, now clung to me, pressing himself against me desperately.

“…Does it hurt?”

Hernan’s expression twisted with worry as he looked at me, noticing my discomfort.

“No, it’s fine.”

The initial pressure had been suffocating, but I adjusted, eventually growing used to it.

As I settled into the overwhelming sensation, Hernan bit his lip, his teeth leaving faint marks as if warning me to stay focused—to remember who I was with.

“…Ah, just… take it slow.”

How had we managed before?

No wonder Hernan had been so certain it wasn’t a mistake.

It had to be mutual; this pressure was impossible without cooperation.

“I’m trying…”

With every slow, deliberate movement, a dizzying heat surged through my body.

Though I still wasn’t sure why it felt so good, the warmth spreading between us dulled every rational thought.

As my body sagged, ready to collapse, Hernan supported me with his arms, pulling me closer.

“…!”

The sudden shift made me curl my toes in reflex.

Hernan caught my lips in his fingers, stopping me from biting down too hard.

“Breathe. Slowly.”

His voice was tinged with urgency, his gaze heavy with desire—directed entirely at me.

The thought of being the object of such raw want was intoxicating.

He moved deliberately, cradling me close as if to ensure I had no choice but to surrender to him.

“I love you.”

His confession, whispered between damp strands of hair, caught me off guard.

I didn’t respond, choosing instead to kiss him again. Hernan, undeterred, repeated himself softly.

“I love you.”

This time, I pressed my face into his neck, inhaling deeply.

His familiar scent clouded my thoughts, leaving me both drunk on the moment and regretful of all the time I’d wasted.

At last, I admitted it to myself: I’d stepped into Hernan’s carefully laid trap—and I didn’t want to leave.

* * *