There was no strength in the hand that wrapped around the back of her head, yet she couldn’t run away. No, she couldn’t even think of escaping.

Their lips were so unfamiliar to each other that they felt as if they were on fire, but still, Antes’s kiss was so sincere that her mind went blank.

As if holding something fragile and precious, Antes gently and softly kissed her. Then, seemingly reluctant, he slowly pulled away and brushed over Luna’s flushed lips.

“Let’s skip the engagement or whatever…”

The voice that followed from Antes was slightly hoarse.

‘I must be crazy. This is definitely madness.’

That thought filled her head, but she was too shocked to say anything.

“I think I should go now since it’s late. You don’t have to see me out.”

Clearly, in no state to accompany him, Antes stood up from his seat without waiting for her.

She thought he would just leave, but he gave Luna a light kiss on her forehead before turning to leave the room.

Until then, Luna, who had been frozen, collapsed on the sofa. Oh my god, what did I just do? No, what did HE just do!

Without realizing, Luna touched her lips. A place where it never collided with others felt particularly moist today.

‘How could he just turn his head and do such… such shameless thing…!’

Arghhhh! Luna, who tried to kick in mid-air, covered her face with her palms. While she felt like cursing at the shameless man, she didn’t want to.

On the contrary, the hands that touched her head, the lips, the deep voice, the gaze that looked at her, everything felt unfamiliar yet sexy…

‘What am I thinking now!’

Luna made a few more punches in the air, then jumped onto the bed. Her racing heart wouldn’t calm down, so she hugged a pillow.

‘How will I face him tomorrow…? Ahhh! I practiced to get used to him…!’

Instead of getting used to him, she felt like she was going to lose her mind. Images and voices of Antes, different from usual, kept coming to her mind, making Luna restless on her large bed.

* * *

“Lady Luna…? Are you not feeling well?”

The next day, accompanied by the Marchioness, Rosemary who visited the Rose Mansion checked Luna’s complexion.

Her skin looked rough, and her eyes seemed a bit swollen, making her look like someone who hasn’t slept for days due to worries.

“No, I’m fine! Just, I lost a little sleep thinking about which dress to wear… I’m excited!”

In reality, she barely slept at all. After experiencing such an event, how could she sleep peacefully?

“Really?! Then let’s go upstairs! I actually brought a new catalog! I was worried it might be a bother for you, but since you mentioned it, I’m delighted.”

Upon hearing that Luna lost sleep over a dress, Rosemary’s eyes sparkled. The Marchioness seemed to notice that Luna had other concerns but kindly smiled without saying a word.

“We have plenty of time, so let’s take our time. There’s no need to rush from the beginning.”

Luna felt relieved that her mother-in-law was a kind person. With that, the three of them headed to the parlor.

Of course, that didn’t mean she wasn’t tired. Alone in her distress, she didn’t realize it, but as she viewed the dresses with others, sleep crept in.

Thus, she tried hard to keep her heavy eyelids open, flipping through the catalog until she eventually dozed off.

“Huh? Lady Luna? Are you sleeping?”

Rosemary called out to her, but Luna, who seemed to be deep in sleep, didn’t respond.

What to do? Should we go back? But Rosemary wanted to find a dress for Luna sooner rather than later, so she rang for a servant.

Luna was moved to the living room to sleep, and Rosemary continued to look at the catalogs, planning to resume once Luna woke up.

But an unexpected visitor prevented that.

“Huh? Brother? You came early. Looks like you’re getting some free time from work?”

It was Antes who visited. Just as Luna thought about Antes all day, he also couldn’t think of anything but seeing her as soon as possible.

Having hurriedly come, his displeasure was evident when greeted by Rosemary first.

“Where’s Luna?”

“She’s in the parlor. But she seems to have been tired and is now sleeping. Wait, since when have you started calling her by her first name?”

Ignoring the question, Antes headed to the parlor. It wasn’t even dinner time yet, and he hoped that Rosemary was joking about Luna’s sleep, but she really was dozing off on the sofa.

“She didn’t wake up even when I tried. She said she lost some sleep, she must have been tired.”

Could it be because of what happened yesterday? After all, she was frozen in shock until he left, so she probably couldn’t sleep well.

Antes, recalling yesterday’s Luna, inadvertently broke into a smirk, caressing Luna’s hair.

The Marchioness noticed something between them.

Without asking why Luna couldn’t sleep, seeing her merely smiling in her sleep, anyone who didn’t notice would be a fool.

Therefore, the Marchioness held Rosemary’s hand as she tried to return to the sofa. Then she made up an excuse that she just remembered an important matter.

“I think it would be best to go back now, Rosemary. I just remembered an urgent matter.”

“Suddenly? Wasn’t your schedule free until dinner?”

She had cancelled all her plans and postponed them to come here, and now she mentioned a sudden errand? Even without any suspicion, the Marchioness had to work hard to maintain a calm expression towards the too-trusting Rosemary.

“No, come to think of it, I did have an urgent schedule. He might be waiting, so let’s go quickly.”

“Really? My father too?”

That’s strange. Her father had said he’d clear his schedule to focus on the ceremony for a while.

Rosemary, wearing a puzzled look, couldn’t argue further when the Marchioness even mentioned the Marquis.

After all, Luna was asleep. She didn’t need to choose a catalog here.

In the end, with a sigh of resignation, Rosemary picked up a few catalogs from home and disappeared from the parlor.

After sending off the biggest nuisance, the Marchioness nodded lightly in greeting to Antes.

She wasn’t particularly expecting a response, but fortunately, since the incident with Duke Rodrian, the softened Antes politely responded.

The Marchioness, unable to hide her smiling lips, left the parlor. Afterward, with only Luna left, Antes cautiously called out her name.

“Luna.”

But there was no response, she seemed deeply asleep. He couldn’t let her uncomfortably sleep on the sofa, so he decided to move her to the room.

With that thought, Antes lifted Luna. She was lighter than expected, and unlike when he just called her name, Luna furrowed her brow.

If he woke her up now, she would definitely be shocked and might fall to the ground.

So he very carefully took a step, but unfortunately, after a short while, Luna slowly opened her eyes.

“…Antes?”

Her eyes were still hazy as if she hadn’t woken up fully. Fearing a startled Luna might struggle and fall, he tightened his grip on her.

“Luna.”

“…Your face looks so clear all of a sudden.”

So she called his name calmly, the puzzled Luna caressed Antes’s face.

“It feels warm for a dream…”

Could it be that she thought she was dreaming? What kind of dream was she having?

He became curious, but Luna, who still seemed to believe she was in a dream, kept touching Antes’s face.

“…The touch feels too real…”

But now it wasn’t a dream. Luna was starting to feel something was off and tried to grasp the reality when Antes, who suddenly felt mischievous, smirked and spoke.

“It’s a dream.”

“…A dream?”

“Yes, a dream. The continuation of the practice we did yesterday.”

Is that so? Luna, furrowing her brow, tried to recall when Antes quickly interjected.

“Today, instead of the cheek, we decided to aim for the lips.”