CH 14

“I don’t know if you’ll be able to meet the mage, but wouldn’t it be possible to go to Vihiru?”

“How?”

“I heard the Clearts have a villa in Vihiru.”

“A villa?”

“Yes, I heard the maids talking this morning. Apparently, the members of the Cleart family go there to rest in the summer. So, I wondered if the two of you are also going there for your honeymoon. By the way, lady, are you really not going on your honeymoon? If you do, you’ll get to know each other sooner.”

“Never mind. Why would I want to go on a honeymoon?”

I didn’t even care about having a wedding because I was trying to avoid it somehow; I didn’t even think about my honeymoon.

Brandon had asked about the honeymoon before the wedding, and when Callie suggested skipping it, he agreed without much objection. 

Callie had been listening to Lisa about the honeymoon when the door opened. Brandon, who had gone to get the wine, had returned.

‘Brandon’s back. I must have already been dead when Brandon returned in the past timeline. If he’s the one who killed me, he’ll be surprised to see me alive.’

Curious about his reaction, Callie fixed her eyes on Brandon.

“I called my maid while you were away.”

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His face definitely said, ‘Why did you call Lisa?’

Are you disappointed that I’m alive and not dead?

“I asked Lisa for some cheese and cookies.”

Good thing she told Lisa to bring some. 

Callie glanced at the cheese and cookies next to the bottle of wine, and Brandon nodded and set the bottle of wine down next to it.

“You should let her go for tonight.”

Callie wanted to keep Lisa by her side all night, but she had no excuse for that, so she had no choice but to let Lisa go.

“Lisa, you can go and rest.” 

While her words told Lisa to leave, her eyes said otherwise.

Lisa, who read her uneasy expression, said with her eyes, ‘I’ll be in the front room, milady.’

‘Thanks, Lisa.’

“I’ll excuse myself then. Call me if you need anything,” Lisa answered differently from the glances they exchanged and left the bedroom.

After Lisa left, Brandon sat by the table and said, “Now, it’s just the two of us again, my lady.”

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Blue eyes that were hard to read were directed at Callie. 

Then he held up the new bottle of wine he had brought. “Aren’t you curious about what this tastes like? The wine they said is good to drink with the bride on the first night?”

Could that wine be poisoned?

If Brandon were the culprit, he wouldn’t have let me know of his murderous intent. I should act naturally. 

Her palms had gotten sweaty, but she pretended to be calm, trying not to reveal her fears.

She said, “Brandon.”

His eyes, deep as an abyss, stared at Callie.

“I don’t feel like drinking today. I’m sorry. You even took your time to bring it.”

Outright refusal.

A look of regret appeared on his face, but it quickly disappeared.

“There’s nothing I can do if the bride doesn’t want it. Let’s drink this wine next time.”

“Yes.”

“Then, shall we go to bed?”

He had asked her with a kind and gentle expression. But nevertheless, Callie’s lips were parched.

Callie moistened her dry lips with her tongue, and his gaze, which had been looking at her, slid to her lips.

Tonight, I’m going to sleep in the same bed with Brandon Cleart, who may kill me. The thought made me tense and uncomfortable.

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Unlike Callie, Brandon’s face was as relaxed as if he’d been through the first night several times.

While Callie hesitated to move, Brandon removed his robe and climbed onto the bed first. “My lady, are you going to sit there all night?”

“Oh, I’m not sleepy yet. So, go to bed first, Sir Brandon.”

A small wrinkle formed on the bridge of his nose.

“I don’t intend to sleep either. We wouldn’t just sleep on the first night, would we? You know there are more things to do in bed between husband and wife than you think, right, Miss Callie? Oh, I guess I should call you Madam now since we got married. Mrs. Callie Cleart, come here quickly. Now give me a chance to kiss you.”

When Brandon talked about kissing, Callie’s eyes shifted to his lips. She stared at his lips and imagined herself kissing Brandon.

Kissing a man who might have killed me in another life.

As he waited for Callie to come, Brandon got out of bed and then sat down on his knee in front of her, bringing himself to her eye level.

His incomprehensible gaze met hers.

What was this person thinking right now?

Are you thinking of killing me? Or are you thinking of having the first night you joked about from the first day we met?

He smiled lazily, the corners of his mouth raised, but it was hard to tell what he was thinking.

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Contrary to Callie’s complicated mind, he held her hand with ease then kissed the back of it.

“Your hands are as soft as I thought.”

Callie worked a lot, so she knew it wouldn’t be as soft as other noble ladies. Was he only saying that because he was flirting?

“Your lips will be softer, right?”

Are you going to kiss me on the lips now?

Without much time to think, Brandon pulled Callie’s hand, and his lips covered her in a blink of an eye.

In her shock, she dropped the cookie she had in her other hand.

Her lips parted as Brandon’s hand gently pulled her chin down and applied force.

His tongue slipped carefully between her parted lips.

At that moment, it felt as if the string holding her body taut had snapped.

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His kiss was softer than she thought– as if he were swimming gracefully on the water.

Callie didn’t mean to, but her lips instinctively followed him.

When their lips touched, her wide, dilated pupils closed before she even realized it.

Brandon licked Callie’s lips, still half-standing, and with their lips pressed against each other, he pulled her up. Callie didn’t even have time to think about what was happening; she just moved as he led her.

After leading her a few steps, he sat her back down on the bed.

Their tongues intertwined. 

His hand burrowed through her hair as he led her to the bed. Their kiss deepened as he shifted the position of her tilted head, moving the bridge of her nose away from his.

She struggled to support her body properly as the intense kiss continued. She felt her body getting pushed back more and more, and soon, she felt a soft cushion behind her back.

Before she knew it, Brandon had laid her down and looked down at her, both arms propped up above her.

And she saw desire blazing in his eyes.

Brandon wants to hold me now. He didn’t want to kill me.

Callie’s eyelashes trembled at the sight of his lust.

“I thought you wouldn’t be good at kissing, but you’re better than I thought, my lady.” His charming eyes were gently curved.

It was like looking at someone he really loved.

Because of his gaze, women flocked to him like moths to a flame, even though they knew his reputation.

“Do I seem as experienced as Sir Brandon*?”

He smiled teasingly at her sharp response. “Why do you think I have a lot of experience?”

“There are a lot of rumors about your womanizing ways in Irze, so of course, I think so. Shouldn’t I?”

“It’s true that I hang out with many girls, but I rarely kiss them. I’m secretly picky, so I don’t just kiss anyone.”

“I’m not naive enough to believe such a lie.”

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“Oh, are you not naive? Is that why you are so good at kissing?” He smiled languidly and rubbed his thumb on Callie’s lips slowly. “My wife is such a good kisser, but I wonder how she is in bed.”

While talking to him, the reason that disappeared found its place.*

“Brandon, are you a gentleman?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think so, but I want to impress the young lady who just became my wife today, so I’m going to say yes. So what?”

“Then, let’s stop here for today.”

“After reacting so passionately to my kiss? Shall we just kiss and be done?”

“I’m sorry. I can’t trust you.”

I admit that the moment our lips collided, my defense collapsed. But what happened was just a momentary urge.

I couldn’t sleep with Brandon with my suspicions about him still unresolved.

However, his eyes were full of unquenchable desire.

“You’re rejecting me even after we got married?”

“Are you going to force me when I refuse?”

Brandon pulled away from Callie and moved to her side. His disappointed face cooled.

Brandon got out of bed and tucked his arm into the robe he had taken off.

It was fortunate that Callie stopped at this point, and she watched him silently with a small sense of regret.

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“I won’t forcibly hold my wife, who refused to spend the first night with me, for my own greed. I don’t think I can sleep in the same bed without touching your fingertips, so I’ll leave you be to sleep. I’ll rest in another room.”

“…”

After that, Brandon opened the bedroom door and left without hesitation.

Strangely enough, even though I refused, I felt sorry when he really left the bedroom.

The night passed, and the day came.

Having been killed the night before, this was a morning she hadn’t experienced in the previous timeline.

Carrie got up from her bed, went to the window, drew the curtains, and opened the window.

The crisp morning air entered her nostrils, and the rising sunlight came through the window and hit her face.

“Fortunately, I didn’t die and go back to the past.”