Episode 66

“Kes! Open your eyes!”

Yvonne was shocked that Marquess Rohan wasn’t breathing, so she slapped his cheek.

Ignoring the heavy dress that felt like a waterlogged sponge, she laid him down and began to remove Marquess Rohan’s upper clothing.

“What are you doing…?”

Yurian was startled and looked at Yvonne. She glanced at him once before turning her attention back to Marquess Rohan, hurriedly undoing his cravat. Next, she unbuttoned his shirt. Frustrated, she found it impossible to rip the buttons off with her hands.

Soon, Marquess Rohan’s bare chest was revealed. His firm muscles had been built for Yvonne’s sake.

She felt a strange emotion. She still felt guilty that he had forced himself to build his body for her.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Yvonne tried to stay calm. She lifted Marquess Rohan’s chin and climbed on top of his waist.

Then, following what she had learned in her previous life, she interlocked her fingers and pressed down on his chest to perform CPR. With her right hand placed over the back of her left, she pushed down hard on his chest, aiming for 120 compressions per minute.

After 30 compressions, she checked under his nose.

But he still wasn’t breathing. So this time, Yvonne opened Marquess Rohan’s mouth and blew air into it.

Then she pressed down on his chest again, hard.

“Ugh…! Gah…!”

Marquess Rohan suddenly opened his eyes and coughed up water.

“Kes!”

“My lady…”

After speaking those words, he continued to vomit water. Yvonne quickly moved off him and sat beside him, deeply anxious about whether he was truly alright.

“Ugh…!”

To help him with the vomiting, Yvonne firmly patted his back.

“My lady…”

After coughing up a considerable amount of water, Marquess Rohan seemed to regain his senses and leaned his head on Yvonne’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry. It’s my fault for insisting we come here…”

“No, it’s fine. I’m alright.”

Marquess Rohan said as he looked at Yvonne’s face. Seeing her anxiety-ridden expression, filled with guilt, somehow made him feel better.

At the end of her gaze, there didn’t seem to be any place left for Yurian.

* * *

When Marquess Rohan and Yvonne returned to the Duke’s residence in Rohan, they were together. He noticed that Yvonne had fallen asleep while tending to him, so he gently laid her on the bed.

He gazed at Yvonne. Even as she slept peacefully on his bed, her beauty still made his heart race.

Although his memory was a bit hazy due to his brief fainting, he was reassured knowing that Yvonne had saved him once again.

Marquess Rohan felt a deeper desire stirring within him. Without even realizing it, his pupils had turned a deep red as he watched Yvonne.

Her platinum lashes fluttered like butterfly wings, and beneath them, her violet eyes that always curved when she looked at him. And her luscious, glistening pink lips.

Up until now, he had refrained from acting on his instincts with Yvonne. That was because she disliked that he had been with others before.

Marquess Rohan suffered from a side effect—an addiction to physical touch.

It was his greatest fear.

The thought that Yvonne might dislike him.

There were times when he thought the side effects of his power were devastating. But now, he was simply grateful that she relied on him and that they could be together like this.

Yet, it pained him that, despite living as husband and wife, he could not even touch her fingertips.

As if making a vow or proving something, he had refrained from touching Yvonne. And Yvonne was aware of his efforts.

So, he decided that this would be the last time he altered her memory.

Concentrating his magic on his fingertips, he touched Yvonne’s lips and implanted his power. The sight of her soft, plump, and glistening lips, her neat teeth, and the red flesh beneath them spurred his desire.

But he did nothing more.

The memory he implanted.

It was a memory where, after Yvonne saved him, she returned to the mansion and embraced him out of fear for his life.

In reality, she had merely stayed by his side while nursing him.

After using his power, he undressed Yvonne.

For the sake of a perfect lie.

* * *

When Yvonne opened her eyes, it was fully morning. She realized she was lying under the covers with not a thread of clothing on.

Her head throbbed, and memories that didn’t feel like her own started to surface, feeling strangely unfamiliar.

She remembered that Marquess Rohan had stopped breathing and that he had fallen into the water after overexerting himself while sailing, all because of her. The guilt and anxiety weighed heavily on her, and as soon as they arrived back at the mansion, she had kissed him.

Then, because they were a couple in name only, she had done what they had been putting off for so long.

She had been the one to make the first move, arousing Marquess Rohan before taking him.

“Oh my God.”

She couldn’t understand how she had done such a thing. It didn’t make sense, but the memory was hers.

She remembered how he had responded, how his breathing had sounded to her ears.

And how she had responded to him.

All of it flashed through her mind in an instant, making her feel so embarrassed that even breathing was difficult.

“My lady, you’re awake?”

“D-d-don’t get up!”

“My lady?”

“Don’t look this way!”

“…Alright.”

Marquess Rohan found Yvonne’s flustered state to be quite endearing. Yvonne looked around in shock at the clothes she had clearly discarded herself. Then, she hurriedly grabbed the sheet and gathered the clothes to cover herself.

“My lady?”

“I-I-I’m going… to my room…. Ah…”

She was so embarrassed that when he lowered the sheet halfway, revealing his bare chest, she was rendered speechless.

Seeing the scratch marks on his body, she realized that what had happened last night was indeed real.

“Kes.”

“Yes.”

“Last night… last night was…”

“Yes.”

He smiled happily as he looked at Yvonne. Her memory of last night was fragmented, as if she had drunk far too much and was only now piecing it together.

“I… kissed you, Kes…”

“Yes.”

“I must be crazy.”

“Why would you say that? Isn’t it natural between husband and wife?”

“Ah…”

When he got up, Yvonne turned away. Her heart pounded as if she had seen something she shouldn’t have. And now, with Marquess Rohan hugging her from behind and breathing into her ear, she felt like she might die from the embarrassment.

“I can’t tell you how happy I was that you were so eager, my lady.”

“Ah…”

Yvonne was utterly mortified. She couldn’t remember a time in her life when she had been this embarrassed.

“Shall I help you bathe, my lady?”

“No.”

She snapped back to her senses at those words and replied quickly.

“I’ll just go to my room now.”

“Can’t you stay a little longer?”

“….”

Marquess Rohan released her, meeting her gaze. Yvonne picked up a piece of cloth and, while looking up at the ceiling, wrapped it around his waist.

“This is strange.”

“What is?”

“Your body is covered in marks, Kes, but mine is completely fine.”

“How could I allow any scars on your body, my lady?”

His words made sense. Marquess Rohan had never once made the first move on her. Yvonne couldn’t help but know how much he cared for her.

But it was still strange.

When she thought he might die, she had been filled with anxiety and fear. The thought that it was her fault had left her feeling so suffocated with responsibility.

And yet, as soon as they returned, she had passionately made love to him.

How could that happen?

Why did she suddenly do that last night?

Yvonne couldn’t understand her own actions. But the memory was too vivid, and it left traces all over the room, as if it was an undeniable fact.

“My lady, you’re uneasy.”

“…Yes.”

Yvonne had thought that perhaps one day she might open her heart to him. But after experiencing something like this, she couldn’t understand why she had acted the way she did.

“Are you worried you might be pregnant?”

“…Yes. I think that’s it.”

Marquess Rohan looked into Yvonne’s eyes. Seeing the confusion reflected in them, he forgot all the guilt he felt for using his powers on her.

The eyes that he had hoped would one day look at him with love were now filled with fear.

“My lady, when you woke up this morning, you embraced me again.”

Marquess Rohan spoke as he used his power on Yvonne once more. Her expression softened, and she looked at him with a dazed gaze.

“You said you wanted to bear my child.”

“….”

“And you told me you loved me, several times.”

He changed her memories completely, then held her until her mind could process everything.

It wasn’t until a long time had passed that Yvonne returned to her senses.