Chapter 46
It may have been a private dinner, but for Stefan to bring up a word like “relationship”? His blunt remark made my face flush a deep red.
“Y-you’ve gone too far, Your Grace.”
“This is the first and last time I’ll ask. Please wear the garnet ring tonight.”
Stefan’s faintly trembling voice carried a hint of desperation. I had no idea why someone so meticulous, even in bed, was so fixated on the garnet ring.
‘What could be the reason? Could he have developed some kind of fetish without my knowing?’
If that were the case, it would be troubling. The only reason I engaged in these obligatory nights with him was to meet the children as soon as possible. I had no desire to offer him pleasure.
But I couldn’t outright refuse his request either. Doing so would reduce our physical relationship to nothing more than a formality.
“…Just for tonight, I’ll wear it.”
“Thank you, madam.”
The look of ease that came over his face only made me feel more uneasy.
‘So that’s why he insisted on giving me another gift even though I said I preferred sapphires?’
I put down the fork I’d been holding and glanced at the garnet ring on my left hand. The gemstone emitted a mysterious purple light that was undeniably beautiful, but the more I looked at it, the less I liked it.
“Your Grace, may I excuse myself to prepare?”
“Do whatever makes you comfortable.”
“…Thank you for your consideration.”
As soon as I entered the bedroom, I headed straight for the bathroom. There, I stood completely bare except for the garnet ring on my finger.
Perhaps it was the alluring glow of the gemstone, but my usually radiant figure didn’t seem to shine as brightly.
‘He did say this was the first and last time, didn’t he?’
Suppressing my displeasure, I finished my shower and pulled out a slip I had specially ordered from the boutique. Since it wasn’t meant for decorative purposes like a dress, the slip had been completed first.
The fabric was one that had particularly caught Stefan’s attention. It was so soft that wearing it felt almost like wearing nothing at all.
‘Hopefully, this silky texture will divert his gaze from the ring…’
Trying to calm my growing apprehension, I sat down at the vanity. Each time I dabbed at my damp hair with a towel, the garnet ring glittered incessantly, drawing my focus.
‘How am I supposed to concentrate on tonight like this?’
As always, bad premonitions proved accurate. Stefan’s first act upon entering the bedroom was to check whether I was wearing the garnet ring.
The slip, crafted from fabric he had praised for its softness, didn’t even seem to catch his eye.
“This slip is made from the material you selected, Your Grace,” I said.
“…Ah, is that so?”
“Do you like it?”
“Yes, it’s nice.”
His gaze finally turned to me, but only to linger on the garnet ring resting near my chest. Unable to tolerate his fixation any longer, I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. Surely that would break his focus on the ring.
As if waiting for this, he quickly pulled me into his embrace. Striding to the bed, he gently laid me down before his hands began to caress the soft fabric of the slip.
Every time his warm, large hands grazed the material, a shiver ran down my spine. Even my hardened peaks stood at attention. I barely managed to suppress the moan threatening to escape.
“Hm…”
Just as I closed my eyes, his hands slipped beneath the slip. With one swift motion, he pulled it up roughly, pinning my hands above me as though they were bound.
“Y-Your Grace!”
“…Tonight, you won’t need to use your hands. Let’s keep them like this,” he said with a faint smile. His sculpted features now bore an expression that seemed nothing short of lecherous.
—
The moment Stefan entered the bedroom, the vivid glow of the garnet caught his attention. Rachel, sitting at the vanity drying her hair, moved briskly, her hands making the light scatter in all directions.
Was it only now that she noticed him? Rachel rose quickly and approached him, modestly covering her chest as if embarrassed.
“This slip is made from the material you selected, Your Grace,” she said.
He couldn’t even recall how he responded. The enchanting purple glow had captivated him entirely.
The garnet ring resting on her rising chest radiated a mesmerizing hue, amplifying the brilliance of her violet eyes.
‘Beautiful…’
The garnet glimmering on her long, pale finger looked like a flower petal resting on untouched snow. A lone purple flower on a pristine white field, radiating a delicate light.
By contrast, her eyes sparkled like dew droplets on the petals of that purple flower. Their brilliance surpassed the flower’s natural hue, shining more deeply and enchantingly.
‘Was purple always such a beautiful color?’
Stefan couldn’t tear his gaze away from the two dazzling jewels that captivated him. Sensing his fixation, Rachel urgently pressed her lips to his.
“Mm…”
Her lips, which he hadn’t tasted in so long, were unusually sweet. They felt as soft and rich as biting into a delicate castella cake. Heat surged to his lower body as blood rushed.
After laying Rachel on the bed, his vision was once again filled with shades of purple. He ran his hands over the slip’s silken fabric, trying to divert his attention. But the vivid glow of purple slowly dimmed before his eyes.
Rachel seemed unaware that the rhodolite garnet symbolized her violet eyes.
‘No!’
Before her eyelids could completely close over her luminous purple gaze, Stefan acted. He grabbed her slip and tugged it upward, pinning her hands above her head as though binding them.
“Y-Your Grace!”
“…Tonight, you won’t need to use your hands. Let’s leave them here,” Stefan murmured with a faint smile. The sight of her wide, startled eyes—violet orbs shimmering magnificently—made him smile without realizing it.
‘Why was I ever afraid? Purple is such an intoxicatingly beautiful color.’
Only now did his focus shift to her pale, flushed face. Her rabbit-like expression, wide-eyed in surprise, was both adorable and endearing.
Feeling a twinge of guilt at her uncomfortable position, he removed his own clothing and leaned over her, pressing their bodies together.
“Haa…”
Rachel, unable to stifle her suppressed moans any longer, let out a trembling sigh and closed her eyes again. Yet the purple glow remained vivid.
Each time his hands or lips teased her fair skin, the garnet on her bound fingers sparkled brilliantly.
The moonlight was exceptionally bright that night, but the soft movements of Rachel’s fidgeting hands added to the glow.
“Haa…”
Even Stefan’s eyelids closed as if entranced. It seemed he could still see that vivid purple hue, even with his eyes shut, as if their bedroom and the world around them had been entirely dyed in shades of purple.
—
‘He said it would be the first and last time…’
Stefan’s obsession with the garnet ring lasted for three whole days. The only difference was its changing location.
On the first night, the garnet glittered on Rachel’s finger. On the second, it rested on the bedside table. By the third night, he seemed satisfied just leaving it on the vanity.
When Rachel finally asked why he was so fixated on the ring, he replied with a nonsensical answer: that the purple garnet glowing under the moonlight was simply beautiful.
Rachel couldn’t help but worry. It seemed Stefan had developed a peculiar preference in just a month.
‘This isn’t helping with getting pregnant at all. How am I supposed to focus on our nights like this?’
Though she didn’t entirely dislike the way Stefan passionately pursued her over those three days, his final moments always carried an air of pretense.
‘This can’t go on. I’ll need to ask Dorothy for more advice.’
While Rachel’s thoughts wandered, making it hard for her to focus on dinner, Susan—sitting across from her—tapped her glass with a knife.
Clink, clink.
“I have something important to share,” Susan said.
With the whole family gathered for the first time in a while, she couldn’t miss the opportunity. It would be difficult for her to make her announcement at another time.
But what followed was nothing short of shocking.
“Earlier today, I received a proposal from the Marquis of Eden.”
Susan proudly displayed her hand, now adorned with a large diamond ring.
Startled, Stella shot up from her seat and reached for her sister’s ring.
“Susan, let me see it!”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake… Here it is.”
She rested her left hand on her right arm, as if granting a great favor. Stella eagerly examined the diamond ring, her fingers brushing against it.
“Is this your wedding ring?”
