66.

His voice was calm, but there was a faint tremor at the end of each word. If you looked closely, you could see that same tremor in his hands.

Once I became aware of it, I could almost hear the pounding of my heart.

Meanwhile, his gaze was fixed on me, and the flush of his pink cheeks told the story. He was shouting with his entire body.

Decisively, people who make such self-sacrificial deals are likely insane. From my short life experience, people usually go mad because of love.

That damned love. It was one of the reasons I despised the emotional turmoil called love.

So, the fact that Norma Diazi had awkwardly orchestrated this contrived meeting.

Could it be that he—

“No way, do you, do you like me?”

I stuttered, unable to believe he was talking about love to me.

“Norma Diazi likes Aisa McFoy.”

It made no sense, but circumstantially, there was no other explanation for this situation, and I preferred certainty.

“To be precise, it’s love.”

His voice once again struck my ears crisply.

“I’m not asking for much. I don’t intend to trouble you with my feelings. I won’t be greedy. Just let me stay by your side.”

He whispered so earnestly.

“Aisa, you gave me a second chance at life. This time, I want to find my happiness, not follow my family’s duties.”

“You’re not really crazy, right? You’re not seeing things—”

Norma looked at me calmly with a beautifully serene smile. His glittering golden eyes seemed to say he wasn’t mad, so I shouldn’t worry.

Dressed loosely to match the masquerade ball, he looked beyond beautiful, almost seductive, making me purse my lips tightly.

Of course, I had no idea he had already set the mood for the second time.

“Please, make me happy.”

Norma Diazi closed his eyes beautifully as he said that.

Is he crazy! Norma Diazi!

I screamed internally, as he looked beautiful no matter how you saw him. My heart itched, and I barely resisted the urge to tear at my chest violently.

The strong alcohol I drank earlier must have finally hit me because my face heated up. Blaming the alcohol, I reached out toward his blushing cheek. It was almost a reflexive movement.

He quickly rose, bent over, and brought his marvelous face closer. His warm cheek touched my palm. With his eyes gently lowered, his long eyelashes trembled delicately.

If he had spouted nonsense about making me happy, I would have listened no further.

But for him to ask to make him happy, to ask me to see him, with a face like that.

Looking at Norma Diazi’s face resting in my palm, a hundred ways to make him happy immediately came to mind.

I had no expectations from the man who would be my husband. Asking for anything would be pointless since it couldn’t be found. But then, there’s Norma Diazi.

Just as Norma said, he was undoubtedly the perfect candidate for a husband. His very presence would be a beacon for the McFoy family far from the temple, and just as he said, considering his relationship with Archie, he was a treasure that rolled into my life.

As I was lost in such thoughts, I stared blankly at his fluttering eyelashes.

Love. He said he loved me?

Foolish one. That’s your misconception. You woke up from a long sleep and the first thing you saw was me, and now you’re confused.

For over ten years, you wandered through empty spaces, hearing only pleas for death. The shock of suddenly waking up has clouded your judgment. You saw me in that shock and misunderstood your feelings.

However, I had no intention of correcting that misconception.

I am a very selfish trader who only knows how to pursue the family’s interests, a person with many desires, and I will use your naivety.

‘Norma Diazi’ is someone with great utility value, just as you said.

So, you innocent one, you’ve unfortunately stumbled upon a very wicked person.

“Choose me. Use me…”

At that moment, with his eyes gently closed, he murmured in a trembling voice. My fingers recoiled instinctively. Sometimes, it seemed like he could read my mind.

When I am with you, I cannot think for long. You make me very impulsive. Nevertheless, the biggest reason I cannot leave you alone is because you want to live like me.

You sometimes look at the void as if you must die immediately, but in reality, you don’t want to die. You want to survive and now seek your happiness. Naturally, you catch my eye.

And for that reason, I could be sure.

You have long waited for someone to tell you it’s okay to live, and coincidentally, that person was me. That’s why you’re mistakenly thinking you love me.

‘I will never let you know.’

By the time you realize that your feelings are a misunderstanding, it will be too late. My heart pounded. Although I held the leash, I strangely felt uneasy. It was undoubtedly a favorable proposal for me, yet my mind was in turmoil.

Was it because I felt like I was deceiving your innocence?

Now, even I didn’t know. The man in front of me was increasingly tempting, making me feel impatient.

“You chose this.”

Saying so, I reached out and grabbed his collar, pulling him towards me. He followed me obediently.

Standing face to face, I realized he was taller than I thought. He blinked slowly, as if comprehending the situation.

His well-groomed beauty was problematic in many ways to keep looking at. For example, it dulled my rational thinking.

“What am I supposed to do about this?”

“Do you like my face, Aisa?”

Norma Diazi asked with a bashful smile, bringing his face even closer. I gave up thinking and dumbly stared at his approaching face.

“Can I take this as you accepting me?”

“…For now?”

I didn’t even know what I was thinking. Even if he was the top candidate for a husband, the position of McFoy’s husband couldn’t be decided this way. Knowing it was purely impulsive, I ignored my rational mind.

At the same time, looking at Norma Diazi’s incredibly happy face, I thought, well, for now, good is good.

“…Then can I kiss you?”

I was mindlessly admiring the face of a man who seemed ready to die of happiness when he shyly asked. Understanding his words a beat late, I was startled and stepped back from him.

Kiss? Why?

I looked at Norma with a face that surely asked if he was crazy, but he remained unperturbed.

“I learned that after promising marriage, you kiss.”

“Where, who taught you such nonsense?”

“From books. And generally…”

He stopped himself from saying that everyone does so in romantic literature. Before visiting McFoy, he had read thousands of romantic novels.

Books? Is there really such a rite of passage? I had no immediate way of knowing since I sent a representative when I got engaged to Phillip.

“I seem to be quite uneducated in this area. I will study and come back.”

I decided to postpone after serious contemplation. It seemed like just touching lips would suffice, but from the few kissing scenes I had witnessed, it didn’t seem like merely pressing and pulling away was all there was.

“…How do you plan to study?”

Norma struggled not to laugh as I asked.

“First, can you tell me which book you read?”

“Oh dear. There’s only one book like that in the Diazi family library.”

He looked regretful as he spoke and then asked for my hand.

This time, I gave it to him without a word. His hand touched mine through the thin gloves I wore, sending shivers down my spine.

“Think of it as nothing complicated. It’s a formal gesture, like stamping the family seal on a scroll. Please, feel at ease.”

I easily understood. It seemed there was no need for a perfect kiss.

Norma then asked me to close my eyes for a moment. I knew that people closed their eyes when they kissed. I willingly complied.

‘Wait. Am I really about to kiss him? I’ve never done this before! Does this mean we’re really getting married? Did I already say I would accept him?’

Once my vision was cut off, my reason returned sharply. I started to sweat in the hand holding his, feeling like I had been completely misled.

Screaming ‘No!’ inside, I opened my eyes. The first thing I saw was his golden eyes, so close our noses could touch.

‘Damn it. Why are his eyes open? Are they supposed to be?’

Swallowing my unknown rules, I tightly closed my eyes again, my nails digging into his palm.

‘What do I do? What do I do? What do I do…!’

The next moment, something smooth and soft briefly touched my lips and disappeared like lightning.

…Is that it?

The kisses I knew about lasted a lot longer than that… Something felt off.

I opened my eyes with a jolt. Norma Diazi’s face looked like he might explode at any moment.

Despite pretending to be confident as if he was experienced, it was clear he wasn’t sure either.

Impulsively, I spoke to him.

“If we’re going to do it, we should do it properly. Let’s try again.”

“Are you sure about that?”

He looked back at me, surprised. He seemed somewhat pleased, which made me a little flustered, but I quickly nodded, indicating he should try again, and closed my eyes as instructed.

Once again, something smooth and soft touched my lips. I had thought that touching another’s lips was unhygienic, but it wasn’t bad once it happened.

Unlike before, it didn’t disappear immediately. Just as I began to feel something strange, his lips lightly grasped my lower lip as if sucking on it.

Reflexively, my eyes opened at the unfamiliar sensation, and my lips parted slightly.

At that moment, something thick and moist slipped between my lips as if waiting for this opportunity.

Startled by the sudden intrusion, I bit down on it. I felt a slight tension in the hand I was holding.

Norma slowly pulled his lips away. Seeing his lips glistening made me want to faint.

“What did you just put in my mouth?”

Tasting the metallic tang of blood, I couldn’t believe his audacity and protested in a deeply aggrieved voice. My face flushed with embarrassment that I couldn’t bear.

Was I just embarrassed? The real problem was the strange feeling of a subtle tickling spreading inside my stomach. I couldn’t identify this sensation.

“…I must have startled you. But according to the book, a kiss involves mixing tongues.”

Norma comforted me by gently stroking the back of my hand with his thumb, coming closer.

“And sucking, too.”

He whispered that in my ear.

“What do you suck?”

“The tongue.”

Shocked by his words, my eyes darted around. No wonder. If it were just lips touching, people wouldn’t be panting so much.

“Today, it was just a promise, so this is enough. You shouldn’t overdo it—”

“Since it wasn’t done properly, should we, uh, try again?”

“…”

Norma, the epitome of patience, clenched his molars tightly. His love was a very diligent person.

I found her incredibly endearing yet worried because she seemed too naive in this area.

‘What am I going to do?’

Norma resolved to proceed very slowly so that his precious little one wouldn’t be scared. With that, he bent toward her again.
Tl/N: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
My babies kissed!!AHHHHHHHHHHHH