Chapter 31

Calix was looking forward to seeing her reaction.

“Asella Benvito.”

The intimidation placed on the call brought Asella’s gaze slowly towards him.

Seeing his face reflected in her glassy blue eyes made him feel a subtle pleasure and he didn’t know why.

He slowly bent over again. He liked the way she was staying quiet, unlike before. A relaxed smile appeared on his face.

“Well then…”

Calix brought his mouth next to Asella’s ear. His lips parted, followed by a low whisper.

It was words only she could hear.

“What are you going to do about the kiss?”

He could feel the woman’s slim body stiffen under his fingertips as he gripped her chin. Eventually, the woman began to tremble slightly.

Her blue eyes, which reminded him of a beautiful ocean, couldn’t focus and roamed all over the place.

Calix raised the corners of his mouth into a chuckle. She looked even more bewildered by his laughter.

“I don’t know why you’re so surprised. Did you think marriage was just child’s play?”

“No, I’m…”

Her lips quivered as her voice flowed so beautifully. It was a hushed voice that echoed the air around him.

Come to think of it, it reminded him of the voice he had heard earlier when they talked before the ceremony.

However, having uttered a single word of denial, she could not continue and stopped speaking.

Calix felt a little bit too bad about it.

“You’re still going to say no?”

Calix watched intently as her clear eyes slowly blinked several times, hiding beneath her silvery lashes a few times. Asella lowered her head.

“…No.”

Her red lips caught his gaze as she answered obediently.

Calix released the fingers that had been cupping Asella’s chin and reached out again to cover both of her cheeks. His large hands covered not only her cheeks but also her ears.

Her eyes widened at the unexpectedly warm and soft touch.

He was a calm and cruel man who could be stabbed and not bleed a drop of blood. She seemed to involuntarily think that there would probably be cold blood flowing through his body.

“It can’t be helped; there’s a big crowd here.”

“…”

“If you are not confident, you can close your eyes.”

Asella closed her eyes quietly.

She felt much better when her vision was blocked, and she was surrounded by darkness. She was glad she didn’t have to stare at him and kiss him.

Calix stared down at Asella for a moment.

She was a small woman who barely reached up to his chest, much smaller than her mother, the late Marquess Adele. Her slender frame looked magnificent just by the way she stood.

He recalled the feel of her hands as they had walked down the wedding aisle together.

The hands that had felt bony had no strength at all. When he had grabbed onto the waist of the woman who had staggered and nearly fallen, he had suspected that Philip had starved her.

Her skin was particularly pale and translucent, probably because she hardly ever went outside.

Her pale, elongated face, blemish-free, looked younger than her actual age, as she had just come of age.

Her long, silvery eyelashes were lush. Her forehead was round, with delicate eyebrows. She had a straight and deep nose, slightly flushed cheeks, and small, naturally red lips.

All in all, she was a woman of elegance.

“Your Excellency.”

Calix stared at her, but the High Priest called him over.

For some reason, the feeling of being interrupted gave him an inexplicable sense of displeasure.

“Witnesses of the sacred wedding are waiting for you.”

What sacred marriage?

Calix turned his eyes away from her and looked away. Before long, he returned with an icy face that didn’t contain a single fragment of warmth and asked, looking at the High Priest.

“We don’t necessarily have to kiss. Isn’t that right?”

“‘No, after the marriage vows are over, the couple must… Oh no, Sir!”

The High Priest who had denied the question rushed to change his words at the deadly glare flying at him.

He had an eerie feeling that if he opened his mouth to tell the Grand Duke in front of him that he was wrong, his body might be scattered all over Mount Kelton tomorrow.

“Then it won’t be a problem.”

Hearing the conversation between Calix and the High Priest, Asella’s stomach settled. Perhaps it was because she had closed her eyes, but the rest of her senses felt even more acute.

One of the most surprising things was the fact that his hands were warmer than she expected.

Back when they held hands, and now the temperature transmitted through her cheeks.

Calix closed his eyes and looked at her again. Suddenly, he felt the need to look again at those clear, blue, lake-colored eyes hidden under her eyelids.

“If you don’t want to, say so.”

She shook her head.

“Don’t regret it then.”

Her head moved from side to side again. It was a small but obvious gesture.

Each time the soft cheek between his hands rubbed against the palm of his hand, a small smile crept on his face.

It was obvious that she was uncomfortable with the idea. Still, again when he asked her a second time, she closed her eyes, squeezed her mouth shut, and shook her head incessantly.

She was more stubborn than he had thought.

Calix decided it would be better to finish quickly.

As he lowered his upper body, Asella could smell the strong scent of Calix’s body. It was a sweet scent that made her feel dizzy.

It felt like she would faint at this point, and Asella barely grasped at her consciousness, which was growing dimmer by the moment.

After a while, something warm settled on her forehead.