“By the way, why are you here…”

“Look in the mirror.”

Clenching her fist at the awkward atmosphere, She attempted to change the subject, but before she could do that, his large hand covered her shoulders, urging her to turn around. She turned her head to the side to look in the mirror as he had said and felt something cold brush against her neck. There, hanging on her neck was a necklace long enough to be draped around twice. Between the thin, delicate gold chain, a large diamond crafted into a round shape was positioned in the middle of the necklace.

“This is…”

While staring down at the necklace on her neck blankly, Rowena’s spine stiffened when she felt his hot breath brush against her neck.

“Rowena.”

He lowered his head and placed light kisses on the back of her neck, and then he ran his index finger over the hook and tugged it lightly. In an instant, the necklace tightened around her neck as if it was a leash, and a shadow appeared on Rowena’s pale face. Reading her complexion, Killian immediately raised an eyebrow.

“Do you not like it?”

“No, it’s gorgeous. Thank you.”

Rowena quickly shook her head and looked at him through the mirror as she replied with a low voice.

“But, why do you look like this?”

Killian asked, putting down the necklace hook, to which Rowena replied, stuttering.

“It’s stunning… it just seems a bit too much for me.”

She was already gifted enough to fill the dressing room. There were all kinds of dresses, shoes, bags, and jewelry. Even to Rowena, who had an eye for everyday luxuries, this necklace now looked like a rare treasure. She had only seen a necklace of this quality once before, not even in a formal audience, but seen from a distance on the Queen.

“Maybe… this isn’t from the Royal Castle, is it?”

Rowena, who had suddenly turned blue at the thought, asked suddenly. With no reply coming back, she began to feel irritated.

“If that’s the case, I can’t get ahead of myself and wear such a valuable item…”

“You’ve worn such items in the past with no problems; why now?”

Killian, who had a calm face unlike Rowena’s weary face, asked the question. Rowena clenched her fist at his reply and averted her gaze.

“Because it was then…”

It was the time when she was naïve and ignorant. A time when she did not know the line between what she was allowed to do and what this man would allow. So she just wore what Killian gave her and ate what he provided her. No matter how powerful the duke’s position is, a woman in the position of his mistress could not get full of herself… 

Rowena was almost sure that she would be criticized if she, a “woman who cannot stand next to him side by side in front of God,” wore an item belonging to the most sacred and noble person in the country. 

Staring at her clouded reflection in the mirror, Killian wrapped his hand around her neck. Then he whispered in her ear.