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I couldn't help covering my mouth when I heard those words.
My body slowly leaned toward the gap between them.
Go Chaeha stepped closer to her and gently brushed her face with the back of his hand.
"Soft like this, round like this… women really are beautiful. Like flowers in perfect bloom…"
"You always brush it aside like that. But this time I want an answer."
"Sera. I don't look at only one flower. I worry another flower might wither, or be eaten by insects. I simply want every flower to live well."
He leaned toward her as if he were about to kiss her, then stopped.
"You already knew the answer even without me saying it, didn't you? If you dislike someone like me, you're free to leave."
I could almost see Kim Sera's restless eyes even from here. After hesitating for a moment, she pressed her lips against his. As if he had expected it, he accepted her kiss softly.
The strength left my legs and I collapsed.
Startled by the sound of the flowerpot crashing, I hurried away without thinking.
Right. Maybe this kind of thing is natural for someone with a face like that. Maybe I was the foolish one who misunderstood everything.
My legs were running, but my head throbbed and spun as if it had slammed into something.
Thud.
Maybe I had taken the wrong path, because I collided with someone.
"If this keeps happening, it almost feels like you're deliberately arranging meetings with me."
"Your Highness."
"I think I can roughly guess what kind of situation this is."
He looked past me toward Go Chaeha and Kim Sera.
"I need to speak with Seonmi for a moment—"
"She was already giving me her time. That would be inconvenient."
For a brief moment, Go Chaeha's expression twisted.
"I see. Seonmi, when you're finished, could you come to my room?"
"Yes…"
"Then we'll be going first."
He led me away.
Go Won's study was silent.
Every drawer he opened or closed, he locked again with a key.
"Is there something you want me to do?"
"I'd prefer if you didn't touch my belongings."
"If you have nothing for me to do, I'll take my leave."
"Staying here quietly is exactly what I told you to do."
I stood and watched him work.
The pen in his hand never stopped moving.
Working late into the night was apparently normal for the Crown Prince.
He was silently running the kingdom.
A true workaholic.
Suddenly I wondered.
Was there anything he ever did purely for himself?
Time passed quietly.
"I didn't tell you to stay here so you could fall asleep."
"My balance just slipped for a moment."
"You should be careful."
"That bastard Go Chaeha isn't nearly as much of a gentleman as he pretends."
"…Your Highness seems to dislike Lord Chaeha very much."
The pen in his hand dropped onto the desk.
"How presumptuous."
He stood slowly.
"You're far too curious."
"I have nothing to fear. I have nothing left to lose."
The air between us swelled.
"Don't you think you've kept her here long enough?"
Go Chaeha suddenly entered the study.
"So now you enter without my permission."
"You kept her here long enough that I suppose I became impatient."
"So, are you finished with your business?"
"If I keep her any longer, it seems you'll come even at dawn."
Go Chaeha grabbed my hand and pulled me away.
When we reached his room, my wrist had turned red.
"What did you want to say that made you hurry like this—"
Instead of answering, he pushed me against the wall.
His breath was hot.
His lips brushed from my ear down to my neck.
"What are you doing?"
I pushed him away slightly.
"Don't go. Not to him."
"I don't belong to anyone."
"That's a relief."
"I want to ask you something. Why did you do that with Kim Sera?"
"My concern for you was sincere. But… that was all."
My heart pounded.
But not for the same reason as before.
"I don't have the kind of feelings you think I do."
So I had misunderstood everything.
"Do you simply not want him to take me?"
Go Chaeha couldn't answer.
"I guess I was the fool."
"Don't go. I never meant to hurt you."
He grabbed my wrist again.
Suddenly he lowered himself beneath me and slipped under my skirt.
"What are you doing—!"
Like a cat tasting cream, his tongue moved there.
Warm sensation spread through me before I could stop it.
As if noticing my body's reaction, he slowly pulled down my underwear.
Startled, I pushed him away with my foot.
Go Chaeha lost his balance and fell backward.
My shoe landed on his chest.
But strangely, he didn't move.
He simply lay there quietly beneath my shoe.
His half‑closed eyes and parted lips made the moment even more dangerous.
He didn't resist.
Just as I was about to lift my foot, his hand grabbed my ankle.
More weight pressed through my shoe.
His chest sank deeper beneath it.
Go Chaeha's lips moved softly.
"Please keep going like this."