Chapter 10
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 10
When the man, who looked as if he might shake her off and leave at any moment, remained quietly in her grasp, Vanessa launched into a torrent of desperate, elaborate pleas.
"The scandal won't break until after you've left. I won't ruin your vacation or make things difficult for you. I will guarantee your safety, no matter what it takes."
"……."
"There will be no obstacles… no harm to your future. All eyes will be on me, so your name won't even be mentioned directly. And even if it is, as long as I keep my mouth shut, no one will ever know…"
Most of Vanessa's words were either detached from reality or outright lies, yet she seemed to truly believe they could come true. Once all those cheap promises were stripped away, she was ultimately saying only one thing.
She did not want the rest of her life bound by marriage. She wanted to stir up a public scandal, publicly ruin her own value as a commodity, and ultimately be cast aside like an ugly doll no one wanted. No matter how she looked at it, this was the only way to protect herself, leaving her no choice but to be this stubborn.
Theodore, who had been listening quietly, asked as if the thought had just occurred to him, "What about the child you said you needed? Is it for the pension?"
"That's part of it, of course, but it's also the most foolproof way to ruin my reputation. Just sleeping together wouldn't be enough to prove my chastity is gone."
"You'd be better off choosing a decent man and marrying him. Or find a man who will run away with you. It doesn't seem like it would be that hard for you."
"I don't want to get married."
"You need a child, but you don't want to get married?"
"Submitting yourself to one person and performing that act periodically is all marriage is. Unless I actually fall in love with someone, why would I ever need a relationship like that?"
Theodore let out a dry laugh. She was stubborn in the strangest ways—audacious in her thoughts, yet realistic. Perhaps this was why Lady Vanessa hadn't annoyed him from the start. She wasn't the type to prattle on about marriage as if it were life's sole dream and final destination.
Vanessa was still holding his hand desperately. He felt a faint tremor in her grip, and as he looked at her neat, elegant face, the memory of their satisfying kiss from a few days ago flashed through his mind.
Her small tongue, soft and yielding against his. Her flushed lips swallowing gasp after gasp, unable to contain herself. The memory felt as if summer itself were seeping into him. Suddenly, a burning thirst flared in his throat.
Theodore licked his lips, a predatory smile touching their corners. What am I, some hormonal teenager?
"What if, Vanessa,"
Theodore caught her chin with his long fingers and tilted it up. Her clear gray eyes, looking up at him, trembled like a pinned butterfly.
"What if, no matter what we do, you don't get pregnant?"
"Then… when that time comes, I'll have to find another way…"
Her mouth was so small he wondered if she could even take his whole cock. It would be quite a sight, stripping her of those modest clothes and stuffing his cock in her mouth.
Lady Vanessa's face was, needless to say, top-tier. He'd have to undress her to know for sure about her breasts, but her slender, elegant silhouette was perfectly to his taste. Her slightly unhinged mind was a nuisance, but otherwise, she was as perfect a woman as he could ask for.
He possessed the power to rescue her from this filthy mire at any moment. With a reasonable sum, he could permanently sweep this troublesome woman out of his life and keep the Count's mouth shut for the time being.
Thus, this entire relationship depended on his choice—a choice born from the theatrical whim of living as a commoner, not a Duke, for the summer. And Lady Vanessa, pitifully enough, was just a victim caught in his play.
What should I do?
He had three options: take the woman as a commoner, rescue her as the Duke, or ignore her proposal and bring his perfect summer vacation to an end.
The answer was clear and simple. He still wanted to enjoy his southern escapade, and Lady Vanessa was attractive enough to be his first conquest. There was no reason to refuse a woman willing to spread her legs for him, even if he wasn't a duke. Smiling lazily, he handed the reins of the conversation back to her.
"I don't need a child. Besides, my body is incapable of making one."
"R-Really? Biologically? Or…"
"You can satisfy your curiosity later. If you're fine with that, we can enjoy each other for a while. That should ruin your reputation well enough."
Vanessa hesitated for a moment at his words, then nodded. A rosy color had returned to her pale face.
"Alright. Fine."
It was painfully obvious that she was just glad to be rid of her virginity, no matter the method. Now, even her transparent intentions were starting to look a little cute…
"River Ross. I have only one condition. At least while we are 'enjoying' each other, we must remain faithful to one another."
She squeezed her skirt tightly as she continued. Vanessa's gray eyes sparkled in the sunlight.
"I want you to take this seriously. Not as a joke, or a casual fling to be easily discarded, but as if we are truly proper lovers. This is an equal transaction."
At her cautious addition, Theodore smirked.
"That's already sounding difficult."
"I want us to be like that, at least for this summer. After that, we part ways cleanly."
Theodore let out a soft chuckle.
"What if summer ends and you still haven't grown tired of my body?"
"That's absurd."
Vanessa frowned slightly, looking appalled at the mere suggestion.
"That won't happen. Even if, by some miracle, it does, there won't be any trouble. In fact, when that time comes, no matter how much you weep and cling to me…"
"Shall we make a bet, then?" Theodore smoothly cut off her rambling.
"On who will be the one weeping and clinging when summer ends."
"I'm confident."
A rosy flush had returned to Vanessa's face as she answered with sparkling eyes. Watching her, Theodore let out another low laugh. He felt a fleeting pang of regret, wondering if he was getting entangled in something absurd, but for some reason, he felt certain that with this woman, it would be fine.
Perhaps it was because he respected Lady Vanessa's excellent views on marriage.
"I swear to God, I will never be the first to say 'I love you,' even if it kills me."
"I look forward to it. Though I don't believe in God."
As he replied with a smirk, Vanessa's eyes widened again, as if shocked that he could utter such blasphemy.
He found it amusing that a woman who didn't even realize when she was insulting him would try to defend the honor of an intangible God. Intending to silence her tedious protest, Theodore wrapped his arm around Vanessa's slender waist and pulled her flush against him. The lips that had been preparing to lecture him instantly snapped shut.
With his world satisfyingly quiet once more, Theodore wore a lazy smile. Her body was soft and yielding. Her flesh, warm to his touch, smelled sweet. Like summer peaches.
He slowly pressed his lips to her eyelids.
"W-Wait a moment."
Squirming out of his grasp, Vanessa urgently pushed him away. Theodore raised an eyebrow.
"I-I'm not trying to be difficult, but r-right here, right now… is a bit…"
Her pleading eyes kept darting toward the warehouse. It was glaringly obvious she wanted to go inside if they were going to do it. She seemed to mistakenly believe he was going to demand it of her right then and there. Just who did she think he was, some beast in heat?
His slightly irritated mood softened the moment he saw her pale face. The hand clutching his shirt was trembling violently. Lady Vanessa was clearly gripped by extreme tension.
"Of course, I'm not refusing. Right now is, of course, of course, fine too, but…"
Even in her panic, her excuses poured out in a rush, terrified he might change his mind. For a woman who claimed to be willing, she looked as if she were about to be ravished. Theodore thought wryly as he slowly caressed the curve of her ear.
The way she flinched at his every touch was as cute as a small animal. Theodore slowly ran his thumb from her lips, over her soft cheek, and up to her earlobe, waiting until Vanessa's face was thoroughly flushed.
"Ri-River. I…"
He silenced the lips annoyingly babbling another man's name with his own. He forced his tongue between her parted, startled lips. Everything about this woman was far too small—her mouth stretched to its limit, her tiny tongue, her pearl-like teeth.
He stole her breath like a plunderer, driving her into a corner with relentless persistence. Her tongue fluttered amidst her hot, ragged breaths as he plundered her mouth. Theodore gripped her slender neck with his large hand as if to choke her, treating even her slight squirming as a cheeky attempt to escape. Trapped against his solid frame, her breasts were softly crushed.
It was at that point that a change occurred in Vanessa's response, which had been clumsy but earnest in accepting his kiss. The hand that had been carelessly bunching up his collar curled tight.
"Ah…"
The moment their lips parted, a thin thread of saliva stretched between them before breaking. He licked her sweetly panting lips with his tongue, then bit them gently.
His irritation had been completely washed away during the kiss. Once it was gone, only the incomparably beautiful summer garden and the woman remained before his eyes. He quite liked this clean clarity.
"You said we should act like lovers, but jumping straight into physical intimacy… isn't that a bit savage?"
"What?"
Vanessa had said summer was short, but in his opinion, the Southern summer was excruciatingly long. Long enough to make immature roses bloom in wild profusion over and over again. Theodore lightly bit Vanessa's fair neck.
"No matter how rushed you are, you shouldn't forget your manners as a lady, Vanessa."
"When did I ever…"
Her protesting gaze suddenly faltered as she realized her words must have sounded as if she were begging for it. Her expression instantly turned blank and dismayed, like a cat staring at spilled milk on a dirt floor.
Coming to her senses, Vanessa flung his hand away as if it were trash. Theodore burst into a hearty laugh at the sight of her quick retreat as she turned and fled. His movements were leisurely as he pulled out a cigarette and placed it between his lips.
You shouldn't have made a bet you were bound to lose, Vanessa.
*
Oh, heavens.
Returning to her room and locking the door, Vanessa slowly sank to the floor, cradling her cheeks with both hands. Her heart was beating incredibly loudly, as if a steam engine had been installed inside her chest.
How on earth had River Ross grown into such a man? Ironically, the embarrassment of realizing he truly desired her was far greater than the joy of having successfully persuaded him—even though this was exactly what she had wished for.
To begin with, River Ross was simply too large for her. His tall, imposing build that seemed capable of swallowing her very shadow, his hands with their prominent veins, his broad, sturdy shoulders, and even…