107.

“Aisa.”

I was busy calculating the angle to knock him over when he suddenly called my name.

Caught off guard by my own inappropriate thoughts, I swallowed hard. He seemed amused by something, letting out a quiet laugh. Then, wrapping his arms around my waist, he pressed his face against my stomach as if he wanted to burrow into me.

While my mind entertained bold scenarios, my body froze stiff, reacting as if a vital spot had been hit. With his face still nestled against me, he spoke again.

“Aisa. You smell wonderful.”

“Well, I did bathe for quite a while,” I replied, not intending it as a joke, though he burst into laughter regardless. His sense of humor was utterly unpredictable.

“Your heart is racing. Are you alright?”

“Look who’s talking.”

I shot back bluntly, annoyed at his feigned ignorance despite his own erratic heartbeat.

“Ah, you’re right,” he admitted with a soft chuckle.

For a brief moment, silence stretched between us, but it didn’t last long. Just as the stillness began to feel unbearable, he broke it.

“—Your dress.”

His fingers brushed against my lower back, tickling lightly as he spoke. His voice had dropped a note, making my throat tighten instinctively as I swallowed again.

“If I were to tear it off right now, the guests would have to wait at least an hour longer. I, however, can restrain myself.”

For a moment, immersed in the charged atmosphere, I didn’t fully register his words.

‘Wait. Is he saying we should stop here?’

In my mind, I had already envisioned ripping off this cursed dress myself and tossing it aside to roll around with him. Guests, responsibilities, propriety—all of it had been shoved aside in my head for the sole thought of being with him.

And now he was bringing up our duties as hosts, which I’d entirely forgotten about. I was speechless.

“…”

Seeing I didn’t respond, he turned his head to meet my gaze, his golden eyes gleaming mischievously.

‘Ah.’

I narrowed my eyes, meeting his gaze that sparkled with both seduction and amusement.

‘You never intended to stop, did you? You’re just playing coy.’

I wasn’t slow to catch on, and Norma wasn’t the type to hide his expressions well.

In every interaction, I was far more bashful than he was, and I knew he often gave me room to retreat when I needed it.

When I stepped back in fear, he would step forward—not just one step but two. But this time, he had pulled back deliberately. It wasn’t hard to guess what he wanted.

He was testing me.

‘So you want me to make the move this time,’ I thought, locking eyes with his challenging gaze. Feeling emboldened, I opened my mouth.

“…No.”

It hadn’t been long since I’d last retreated, but strangely, the idea of approaching him now filled me with an odd sense of excitement.

“We’re McFoys. Let them wait.”

Braiding my hair? That was just the pretense, wasn’t it? A convenient excuse to lead to this moment. Yet, even if he had planned this, I found I didn’t mind one bit.

“Come here.”

With those words, I wrapped my arms around his neck and closed my eyes.

The moment the words left my lips, Norma moved as if he’d been waiting for permission. He surged upward, capturing my lips with his. His long fingers tangled in my hair as his lips pressed firmly against mine, parting just enough to deepen the kiss.

Suddenly, I felt myself being lifted off the ground. The sensation of our lips, tongues, and soft flesh meeting and melding was intoxicating.

‘The banquet, the guests—’

None of it mattered anymore. All I wanted was to stay like this, to keep kissing him and feeling his skin against mine.

* * *

Norma, his eyes half-open, gazed at Aisa as she kissed him with her eyes shut, wholly engrossed in the moment. His gaze was fierce enough to devour her whole, yet it held a surprising tenderness.

She was clumsy, like someone just learning to take their first steps, but she was undoubtedly moving toward him.

‘Getting sick from falling into the pond was the best thing that ever happened.’

Norma smiled inwardly at the thought, knowing Aisa would be furious if she ever learned what he truly felt. That night, when his fever had betrayed his vulnerability, it had been a blessing in disguise.

It saddened him, though, that Aisa still viewed him as someone whose feelings were the result of a clouded mind. She worked so hard to convince herself otherwise, resisting the truth of their shared connection.

That feverish night, as he reflected on his life through a foggy haze, Norma felt an overwhelming sense of melancholy.

So, when he wept in her presence, pouring out his frustrations, it hadn’t been some calculated move. Of course, he’d made sure to cry as beautifully as possible—he was still human, after all.

Perhaps his efforts had paid off. After that night, Aisa began to subtly acknowledge his feelings. At first, Norma thought he was dreaming.

Aisa started showing signs that she was aware of his love. To anyone watching, it was clear she was acutely conscious of him.

She had never been entirely at ease around him, but since that night, she’d become even more awkward. When their eyes met, she’d avert her gaze with a nervous shuffle. When they shared the same space, she’d unconsciously hold her breath.

And yet, even amidst her awkwardness, she never avoided him.

Norma admired her for that. Even as she faltered, she confronted him head-on with a stubbornness that was uniquely hers.

Now, as Norma carried her to the couch, their lips never parted. His sharp, predatory gaze remained fixed on her, though she, engrossed in the kiss, didn’t notice.

‘She calls me naive while acting like this.’

Suppressing a laugh, Norma gently set her down on the couch. As their lips naturally parted, Aisa opened her eyes.

Norma’s lazy smile curved upward as his gaze traveled her trembling lashes, her wide violet eyes, and the arms still looped around his neck.

‘I didn’t mean for it to go this far.’

Honestly, he’d only planned to braid her hair and steal a few kisses in between. Yet here they were.

As he looked down at her, he thought about how it had all unraveled. If he had to pinpoint a reason, it was probably the delicate nape of her neck revealed when he’d parted her hair.

He’d already kissed that spot extensively earlier in the day, but seeing her exposed skin in the bright room had been too much.

Norma sighed internally, acknowledging that he was utterly weak to everything about Aisa McFoy.

If she knew, she’d be appalled. But the truth was, even a glance from her was enough to undo him.

‘Maybe I really am a pervert,’ he mused.

Still, he knew she wasn’t much different. She was just as sensitive to his touch as he was to hers.

And when she trembled, when she gasped softly at his touch, it fueled him. He’d always been greedy, and now, he wanted more.

“Come here.”

She had said. And for Norma, it was all the confirmation he needed.

She had willingly taken a step toward him.

Norma knew how much she feared losing the things she loved after having lost so much in a single moment. He understood her desperate attempts to avoid creating anything else precious enough to lose. He saw how hard she worked not to give even a sliver of affection.

That’s why, with just that one step, she was already brave enough. Slowly but surely, she was moving toward him, and he couldn’t help but love her all the more for it.

Feeling immense gratitude for her courage, Norma kissed her stiffened forehead. His heart pounded wildly with every passing second.

“Don’t be so tense. Even I won’t take things that far here,” he whispered, his face as red as hers, his tone as sweet as honey.

But his reassurance was unnecessary. Norma, who had been exerting superhuman patience to keep things from escalating, faltered.

Aisa, her own face flushed deeply, pressed her lips together in clear dissatisfaction and glared up at him as if to say, ‘I truly don’t understand you.’

‘This is bad. Looks like the guests will have to wait another hour,’ he thought, swallowing hard.

Despite her overwhelming shyness, Aisa was more enthusiastic than anyone once things began. Her unexpected intensity caused Norma’s face to burn even hotter. He swallowed again and adjusted his words.

“…I’ll try my best not to ruin the dress, Aisa.”

The next moment, Norma’s large hand lifted the hem of her crimson dress, slowly slipping beneath it.

* * *

Jonas Norton, the head of the Norton family, swirled his wineglass for what must have been the third or fourth time.

“It’s empty.”

Jonas placed the empty glass back on the table with a quiet clink and glanced toward the entrance at the top of the staircase. Still no movement.

The guest of honor at this banquet had yet to appear, even though it had been over an hour.

“It’s unlike the McFoy head to leave guests unattended. Could something have happened?”

While the McFoy head often made a point of arriving late to noble assemblies, she had never once been tardy for her own celebrations.

It wasn’t just Jonas who noticed. Guests were murmuring among themselves, speculating if something might have happened to the McFoy head.

Not long after, her chief aide arrived, calmly explaining that the head of the house had been delayed due to an urgent matter involving a trade delegation.

The banquet, now without its host, began amidst a somewhat awkward atmosphere. Fortunately, the dazzling and lively festivities soon distracted most guests from questioning her absence.

Jonas, however, remained seated in a quiet corner, keeping his nephew company rather than mingling with the others.

This marked his fifth day in McFoy territory. Most of his time had been spent with his nephew, Archie, whom he hadn’t seen in years. Though, it was apparent that young Archie found his uncle’s presence awkward and often sought refuge with his nanny.

Realizing that the bond with his nephew had faded, even regressed to square one, Jonas once again cursed the physical distance that had kept them apart.

The Nortons were based in the northeastern part of the northern region, making travel to McFoy territory, located in the western heartlands, a challenge.

What’s more, Jonas was not only the head of a great noble family but also a man with his own household. Eleven years ago, when he received news of his twin sister Roxanne’s death—a sister who had been like a part of his very soul—he had been unable to come to McFoy right away.