Chapter 15: 14

His head, which had been bowed down, was raised immediately at Liv’s voice. The desire he had barely suppressed flared up again when he made eye contact with Liv. Liv was caught up in the heat emanating from him, unknowingly reaching out and caressing the ends of Dane’s hair.

Dane hurriedly pulled her hand away. He didn’t even wonder why she was touching his own hair. He just looked at Liv with a gaze full of desire.

“…….”

Dane, who looked at Liv in silence, very slowly buried his face in the palm of her hand. The black eyes that hadn’t fallen on Liv for a moment closed gently when he touched the palm of her hand.

As Dane rubbed his face against the palm of her hand, she felt the rough bridge of his nose and his chin. It was a completely different sensation from touching a dog or cat, which made Liv unfamiliar. He let out a hot breath incessantly in her narrow palm.

He looked as if he was begging for something. He longed for it desperately and passionately.

His breath was palpable in the palm of her hand. Liv’s heart also heated up as her palms absorbed the heat.

The wind blew, but it could not dampen their scorching heat. The emotions that had been rising bubbled up, scattering the remnants of emotions here and there.

Dane opened his eyes and looked at Liv. Lost in reason, his eyes landed on Liv’s face. His gaze ran down her eyes and stopped on her lips.

Her red lips trembled as she felt his gaze. Dane straightened his bent knees and slowly began to approach Liv.

Liv put her hand on his shoulder to stop him, but it was useless. Liv’s arm bent, unable to stop the approaching Dane. She looked at the face that came towards her, as if possessed. Her open eyes slowly closed, and her closed lips began to open.

Thwack!

At that moment, a heavy sound was heard in the distance. Liv, who had escaped the burning desire first, hurriedly pushed him away, and he looked up at Liv with hazy eyes.

“You have to be careful! If you do it so hard, you’ll hurt your wrists!” (said by an outsider)

It was the sound of wood chopping coming from a private house beyond the fence.

Dane, who was exhaling a hot breath as he looked at Liv, looked at the place where the sound was coming from, as if he had only heard the sound. There was a hint of embarrassment on Liv’s face as she glanced down at him with a flushed face.

After assessing the situation, Dane closed his eyes and let out a hot sigh. He seemed to be trying to control his own desires.

Dane struggled to return to his seat after how long it had taken him to bend his knees.

“I’m sorry.”

Liv didn’t know what to say to his words, so she just nodded.

Dane again began to brush off the dirt from the hem of her skirt with his hands. If it weren’t for his strained and bulging hands, it would have been hard to believe that this man had just been panting from Liv’s palm.

 

***

 

“You’re so beautiful! Miss!”

The maid exclaimed as she looked at Liv wearing a purple dress and a gorgeous necklace. It was Dane’s gift for today’s ball.

Through the mirror, she could see a woman with one of her hair down to cover her scar.

“Oh my, it really suits the lady!”

Liv responded with a smile. But her face quickly darkened as she looked in the mirror at her beautifully decorated self. As beauty was added to her body one by one, the time to go to the ball drew near, making her heart heavy.

‘I’m sure everyone read the article.’

Thinking that everyone had read the falsely written article made her feel depressed. She couldn’t stand in front of them with a smile on her face. She hated the ball, which she didn’t like, even more.

Standing next to him, she was afraid that she would look too shabby.

“Miss, the captain is here.”

As Liv took a deep breath and walked out of the room, Anton came out first and was waiting for Liv.

“How beautiful! Liv, if they see your beautiful eyes, no man will be able to resist you.”

Anton, who had always glanced at Liv with displeased eyes, had now turned into a loving father and treated her well. There was a faint smell of alcohol on him.

“Did he prepare the dress and necklace? Heh, he has a good eye. I’m going to be a little late because I have work to finish. You’ll be the star of today’s party anyway, so it won’t matter. Go ahead and enjoy yourself.”

Anton gently patted Liv’s shoulder and walked into the study. Anton kept going outside, but at some point he locked himself in the study and didn’t come out.

Her shoulders twitched as if there were worms crawling.

As she stepped outside, she encountered Dane, who was waiting in front of the carriage. He looked at Liv with disapproving eyes as she approached him.

“I regret that I chose that outfit for no reason.”

Liv’s heart pounded at his words and fell to the bottom.

“……does it not suit me?”

“No. I like it so much that it’s annoying. I can’t believe I have to show this to everyone……”

Liv quickly took the lead before he could finish speaking. She was followed by Dane who was smiling silently.

Before getting into the carriage, Dane held out his hand to her. Liv, who was agonizing, put her hands on top of it, and she felt a strong force.

Liv entered the carriage and took a seat. As Dane sat across from her, the carriage began to move with a rattling sound.

It’s already the second time she has been in his carriage. She was still nervous and uncomfortable. Liv looked out the window, ignoring his eyes staring at her since earlier.

Nothing had changed since the first meeting. Even then, Liv had turned away from his face, and he sat right in front of her and looked at her.

A fence passed through the window. Liv lowered her gaze at the memory that reminded her of the fence.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t aware of the secret things that happen between men and women. But she never thought she would do such a thing in broad daylight, even in the middle of the street.

And then, instead of pushing him away, she almost kissed him. The heat of the day flowed softly from her ankles held by Dane.

“What are you thinking?”

“…… Nothing.”

It was not nothing. Dane didn’t have to meet her gaze to see clearly what she was thinking.

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He was also a little disconcerted about that day.

He sat her down to soothe her seemingly depressed mood, but he was swept away by the atmosphere and couldn’t control his emotions. He only remembered holding Liv’s ankle, but he didn’t remember much after that.

‘All I wanted to do was lift her skirt and dig into it.’

When he remembered her moist lips, impure thoughts came to mind, and the waist of his pants became uncomfortable. Dane fixed his posture.

“You think too much.”

‘Of course I like that too.’

Dane saved his words as he looked at Liv with a dissatisfied expression on his face.

“By the way, your face looks pale. Did you have trouble sleeping?”

He casually utters something that might be rude. In fact, she hasn’t slept well for days.

“It’s because of the ball.”

Liv’s expression darkened.

“Aren’t you worried?”

“Don’t worry. As long as they have face[1], they won’t speak out. Behind our back, well, they can say whatever they want.”

Dane grabbed Liv’s hand and kissed the back of her hand.

“No one will be able to tarnish your honor. There’s no need to be afraid.”

She could feel his lips touching her gloved hand. Dane kissed her fingertips and smiled seductively at Liv.

Even with that smile, Liv’s mind was not easily relieved.

‘That’s not it. In the first place, I don’t have any honor that can be scratched…… What I’m afraid of now is……’

Since it was a ball in Lesbourne, the carriage stopped quickly after a while. When the coachman opened the carriage door, Dane stepped outside first and reached out to Liv.

Liv put her hand over his. As Liv slowly descended from the carriage, Dane grabbed her hand and led her naturally into his arms. It looked like they were clasping their arms affectionately.

“Let’s go.”

Liv stepped forward cautiously. Unlike her lips drawing a line, her eyes were full of worry and she couldn’t smile.

 

***

 

“Congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

“Looking at them like this, they’re like a perfect couple.”

She doesn’t know what it may have been like inside, but everyone reacted favorably, so Liv was a little relieved. Perhaps she was more sensitive than usual because of the absurd content of the newspaper.

It was only after greeting most of the people at the ball that she could finally take a breather. She had never experienced such hospitality before.

Liv sipped the wine that Dane brought and moistened her throat. Her other eye that was covered was stuffy today.

“How is it? Am I not right?”

Liv smiled softly at his words. Strangely, the rest of her anxiety was also calmed by his words. Dane opened his mouth as he looked at her fingers fiddling with the glass.

“May I ask you a question?”

Liv nodded as she sipped her wine.

“Why did you run away from me that day?”

“That day?”

“The day you broke the glass at the ball.”

Ah.

“Why did you run away?”

“…… what do you mean by run away? I just headed back early because I was tired.”

“I don’t think anyone would know.”

Liv looked perplexed.

“Didn’t you run away as soon as I came?”

“…….”

“Do you know how long I’ve waited for that day?”

‘He waited for me?’

“I came to such a trifling place to meet you. How can you run away in such a hurry? Thanks to that, I had to spend a boring time at a ball that didn’t mean anything.”

Liv blushed, not knowing what to do when someone spoke to her.

“Congratulations. Lady Ragnell.”

 

TL Notes:

    [1] It can also mean “having honor and dignity”.

Author's Thoughts

Hello, everyone~! Eica, here. As usual, this is an edited machine translation. So, if you find any mistakes, please do not hesitate to inform me.

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