Chapter 82

Sep 05, 2023

“This flower greatly resembles a clanetaria, except it is far prettier,” Sylvia said.

“A... clanetaria? I never knew such a flower existed.”

Seeing Roxana enjoying the garden seemed to put Sylvia at ease as well.

“It’s a flower that’s always in bloom at the Agrece compound.”

“Oh! Then is it sweet-smelling like this one?”

Roxana seemed to ponder the question for a moment, then answered in a subdued tone. “Yes, but... If one without immunity to toxins were to breathe it in for more than five minutes, he or she would die.”

“Pardon?”

“Due to the type of narcotic they emit, which is highly toxic,” Roxana explained.

“R... Really?”

“Yes, but even so, the scent is indeed pleasant. I suppose since the window to my room opened out into the clanetaria garden, I eventually tired of their fragrance.”

Sylvia’s eyes became round with amazement. It was clear she was at a loss for how to respond. She evidently couldn’t decipher if Roxana had been serious or not. Then she noticed the Agrece woman smile at her and wink. Sylvia, whose mind had been seesawing due to her inability to distinguish the truth from the impossible, finally let out a heavy sigh of relief.

“Oh, you! you were teasing me, right?” She smiled at Roxana upon catching on to what seemed to be a small joke at her expense.

Cassis, however, knew that Roxana hadn’t been joking. After quickly returning Sylvia’s smile, the young Agrece looked out at the scenery before her. She couldn’t help wondering if she was deserving of such peace. Cassis stared at her profile quietly, but intently. He once again took notice of her habit to look off into the distance. Each time she did so, he found himself wishing he could turn that crimson gaze in his direction.

“Let’s go back inside.”

At the sound of his voice, Roxana turned around. The sensation that overcame him in that moment was of being enveloped by a golden air so thick that it threatened to suffocate him. Amidst the sweet fragrance of the garden, there appeared before his eyes the most gorgeous spectacle. One that outshone all the other beautiful things surrounding it. However, he also felt that much like an oasis the vision would just as easily vanish in the blink of an eye.

Perhaps that was why when Cassis and Roxana’s eyes finally met, he suddenly felt the impulse to lock her away. It was a feeling saturated in such dark and intense desire that its sudden manifestation actually surprised him.

* * *

As the sun was setting, Roxana stared out of the window while tipping the contents from the bottle in her smooth hands into a wine glass. The golden liquid swirled around as it filled the glass. Its color resembled the horizon at dusk, while its aroma was that of honey. She sipped the wine while taking in the beautiful scenery outside.

Click.

Upon hearing the room door open, Roxana glanced over to see the person she had been waiting for step over the threshold as if on cue.

“Welcome, welcome.”

Cassis was taken aback at the casual nature of her greeting. His surprise at seeing her there at all was also understandable as it was his room she was in. He, however, attempted to appear unruffled as he continued to walk toward Roxana. Since it was he who had told her she could visit him anytime, he genuinely didn’t have any problem with her being there. What was an unwelcome sight was the bottle on the table in front of her.

“Who brought this to you?” he asked.

“Who do you think? One of the servants, of course.”

Cassis had tried to keep anything that could complicate her health out of her reach. Despite telling her that she could ask for anything, he had said so with the understanding that nothing she requested would cause her any further potential harm. Of course, whether wine should be considered harmful to her was another matter. Even so, he had instructed the caretakers not to give Roxana alcohol of any kind.

“Do you honestly think there’s anything I can’t do or get my hands on if I set my mind to it?”

Her question came to him as if to answer the questions piling up in his mind. It also made Cassis realize that he had been too lax in looking after her until then. After all, he couldn’t deny that she was right. In truth, he was yet to hear of or witness a living soul who could resist her.

“I told you you were the odd one.” Cassis sat down across from her without making any attempt to stop her from finishing her drink. To his relief, the wine the caretaker had brought her was fairly mild.

She, in turn, pushed the second wineglass toward him. “For you. Drink up. Think of it as rent.”

“‘Rent’?” Cassis’ face then broke into a mysterious smile.

Roxana did not give it much thought and instead returned her gaze to the window. From where she was sitting, she could practically see the entire backyard of the annex building. “The view from here isn’t bad.”

It wasn’t as lovely as her view of the flower garden, but she felt it did have its own quiet charm.

“If you like, we can switch rooms.” Cassis spoke while following her line of sight through the window.

After considering his offer for a moment, she replied in a casual tone. “That’s all right. I can always just drop by whenever I get the urge to like I did today.”

As soon as she finished her sentence, their eyes met. But it was only briefly as Cassis quickly tore his eyes away from hers. He held up the wine glass she had offered to him, then the two proceeded to drink in silence. Soon enough their eyes locked a second time. The table between them glistened like a lake illuminated by the golden sunset in the far-off distance.

“I notice you’re still... barefoot.” Cassis’ low voice filled the room that had also turned a golden orange to match the horizon. “You can always ask for a different pair of slippers if the ones I left for you aren’t to your liking.”

The pair of slippers Roxanna had left at her bedside suddenly came to mind. “Oh! No, they’re fine. In fact, they’re very soft, warm, and lovely.”

That was precisely why she had felt undeserving of them. It was how she’d been regarding just about everything at the Pedelian compound. Cassis was once again staring at her. His golden eyes seemed to be searching for some unknown answer in her heart. Then he rose without a word from his chair and stepped toward Roxana. She merely watched his advance until he suddenly hoisted her into his arms.

His familiar scent almost immediately entered her system as she allowed him to embrace her without complaint. He seemed to be holding her with the greatest care as if he were an artisan applying the finishing touches to a fragile porcelain doll. His grip only furthered the impression that he was afraid she might shatter into a thousand pieces if he applied too much pressure. But whenever he held her like this, he made her feel as if she were a bead of morning dew sitting recklessly on the edge of a blade of grass. Rather than the doll of porcelain he seemed fearful of crushing, his actions caused her to see herself as a doll made of foam.

While she was still cradled in his arms, Cassis walked Roxana back to her room. As it was directly across the hallway from him, the journey took a mere few seconds. Once inside, he deposited her onto the sofa. As she had taken a bath immediately after their outing to the garden that day, she was already wearing her sleeping gown.

After Cassis had placed her down on the sofa, the front of said gown opened to partially reveal the soft curvature of her cleavage. Roxana made no motion to pull the fabric closed, and instead simply watched to see what the Blue Heir would do. His glance passed over her swiftly as he rounded her bed, confirming that he hadn’t noticed anything.

A moment later, he walked back toward the sofa with the slippers in hand. He stooped down to kneel before her much like a loyal servant swearing fealty to his master. But unlike a servant, there wasn’t a moment’s hesitation in his actions. Roxana watched him unblinkingly almost as if she were mesmerized by the scene. Without so much as a hint of indignation, he took her foot in his hand. By then, it had become very cold. Just as he was about to place the soft shoe on her foot, Roxana suddenly withdrew it. Cassis’ empty hand hung in the air as if half-expecting the foot to return on its own, but instead the wayward foot found its way to his knee.

The smooth sole of her foot followed the inseam of his trousers up his muscular thigh in a rather provocative manner. With her gown still in disarray, Roxana kept her gaze directed at him. It was as if she was anticipating the Blue Heir’s next move. Her naughty foot was inching ever closer to the naughtiest of destinations, but then she felt his grip halt its progress. But as his grip around her foot became tighter, she felt heat rise up along her cold, thin ankle. The air in the room had become thick with tension.

Cassis was staring at her again. His gaze remained quiet and subdued like a forest at night. However, deep in the recesses of his golden eyes, burned a fierce flame of yearning. The undeniable desire seemed to travel from his hand to her leg, then throughout her entire being.

They said nothing for a moment, and the atmosphere in the room seemed drenched in the invisible, indescribable sensation. Unable to stifle the raging impulse any longer, Cassis shifted his grip from her foot back up to her ankle. As his warm hand massaged the inner side of that sensitive area, Roxana felt herself jerk away reflexively.

Just as she had done only moments ago, he was clearly touching her with a purpose. Wherever his hand brushed her skin, she felt her sensitivity rise to new heights. Then when he lowered his head and caused his silver curls to cascade in a mess over his brow, she could not bite back the moan that issued from her lips.

“Cas— Ah!”

Cassis’ lips pressed against the top of her foot and left her unable to utter another word. Without any time to think, she jerked it away more forcefully. But unlike he had allowed moments before, the Blue Heir did not acquiesce as easily and instead reclaimed her foot, then held it in place like a vice. There was undoubtedly heat in his gaze. He kissed her foot a second time as if he intended to brand it with his lips. The act somehow took on the appearance of being both the most saintly and the most decadent of scenes she suspected she had ever witnessed. Before long the heat from his kiss felt to Roxana like she was indeed being branded with a hot iron.

She gasped for air while trying to collect her voice to say something, anything, but to no avail. In a very brief interval, Cassis had passed her ankle, then her knee and was nearing the ultimate destination. His mouth parted as if he was preparing to take the final greedy plunge, but at the last moment he hesitated. Instead, he moved his head from side to side while tickling her with his warm breath and gripping her ankles even more tightly. All the while, Roxana held her breath. After two or three more teasing breaths, Cassis withdrew his lips which had been menacingly close to making contact with the softest section of her skin.

“Perhaps... that was a bit too intense for a dress rehearsal.” Between his shortened breaths, Cassis’ low voice sounded once again and settled over the room, which had been bathed in the waning light of dusk.

Unwilling to allow himself to lose control due to mere carnal desire, he had stopped himself from diving headlong into the dangerously tempting abyss. His hand began to move again in order to take hold of Roxana’s foot once more. It had become much warmer compared to moments ago, but he proceeded to slip it inside of her slipper as he had originally intended.

Despite finally accomplishing his initial mission, he remained in the same position with his scorching hot hand still encircled around her delicate ankle. Then within a few moments, he finally released her without any further ado.

“I shall return to get you once our dinner is ready. Rest up until then.” With his inner turmoil seemingly quelled, he stood and turned to leave.

Roxana stared after him until he closed the door to her room behind him. Once she was finally alone, she could no longer resist the urge to bring her ankle up to her lap, then wrap her hand around the area Cassis had been holding. It truly did feel as though each inch of her skin he had touched had been scarred with an invisible burn.

He had also merely touched the skin of her foot and leg, yet the heat from that bit of contact had seemed to course through her entire body. If she were to be perfectly honest with herself, despite having been the one to instigate the mischief, it was she who had been irrevocably flustered by the exchange.

“What... just happened?”

Roxana flopped back onto the sofa, then buried her face—which had turned almost bright red—in the nearest cushion she could grab hold of.