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Episode 15

At that moment, Petunia’s bedroom was filled with heat.

Although the open window let in a cool sea breeze, it didn’t cool down her body, which was heated up.

“Ah!”

Petunia screamed as she fell onto the bed. Her hair, dyed crimson by candlelight, flowed over the sheets like spilled wine.

At the same time, the shadow looming over her was quickly dispelled.

It was because Apollion, about to pounce on her, flipped Petunia’s body, changing his posture, and then stepped away from the bed.

Petunia, like a spring, raised her upper body that had been lying on the bed.

“Apollion, where are you going?”

She grabbed onto Apollion’s sleeve, her voice trembling.

Apollion’s plan to quickly escape failed.

Petunia’s hand, holding onto his sleeve, slid down underneath. Then, she gently clasped his large hand that was beneath the sleeve.

Caught off guard by holding hands with her, Apollion froze in an awkward position.

Petunia lightly pulled Apollion’s hand towards herself. Despite not exerting much force, his large body easily followed.

But Apollion was a resolute man.

Even in such a chaotic situation, he never wavered in his determination not to lie down on the bed.

In the end, it was Petunia who rose from the bed.

Facing Apollion, Petunia held his hand on the opposite side with her fingers interlocked. His large hand fit snugly in her small hand.

With both hands clasped, Apollion fluttered his long eyelashes. Besides his parents, this was the first time he had touched someone like this.

Petunia didn’t miss the moment and gently brought their clasped hands to her cheek.

With a faint smile, she leaned her face into his hand like a gentle baby animal.

“Let’s end this on a good note, shall we?” Her voice was as gentle as a butterfly’s, but Apollion felt the weight behind it.

A sense of déjà vu crept over him.

Petunia’s laughter resembled that of a villain from childhood fairy tales.

Apollion wished the woman in front of him were just a street thug. Then he could have easily subdued her with a swift strike to the vital points and handed her over to the authorities.

But she was his wife.

He couldn’t use force against her, especially when it seemed she couldn’t even hold a sword properly, let alone fight.

Apollion was trying to restrain her with minimal force.

Whenever Petunia approached him stealthily, he used only the minimum force necessary to resist her temptations.

However, their difference in physique was too significant. Even with just a little force, Petunia stumbled sideways.

Apollion found this situation quite challenging.

On the other hand, Petunia wasn’t pleased with her fragile body.

Her body was slightly larger than her original body’s. She had assumed her stamina would be better, but that was a big mistake.

Even a little exertion left her breathless, and a slight push from Apollion made her stumble sideways.

In her previous body, she had decent stamina. She had contemplated becoming a firefighter or a civil servant but ultimately chose the latter, so she could easily do simple exercises like push-ups or sit-ups.

But this slender noblewoman’s body…

“Oh, oops,”

In short, she felt like a paper doll.

Before marriage, she didn’t have many opportunities to exert herself, as she mostly stayed in the mansion. However, Petunia’s stamina, which she experienced firsthand today, was no different from trash.

Her husband, who was too busy eating and leaving, was already irritating enough. But due to her body not cooperating as she wished, she was quite irritable.

However, she couldn’t just rush at him recklessly.

What she desired was emotional and physical intimacy with Apollion, not a one-sided relationship.

She hated to admit it, but Petunia felt miserable.

Revenge for the forehead kiss would freeze over.

If things continued like this, not only would she not get revenge on him, but she also realized that the deep romance she had dreamed of for so long wouldn’t happen either.

This wasn’t the first night she had hoped for.

She had dreamed of something more romantic, affectionate, and heartfelt…

“My, my hand is cold!”

Apollion said, releasing her hand as if it were burning.

How many male protagonists in the world would tell her to let go because their hand was cold?

This was beyond a fortress; it was more like a fortified castle.

Who on earth gave him the keyword “gentle male lead”?

This wasn’t a “gentle male lead,” but a “cautious male lead.”

He was cautious about everything, even crossing a sturdy stone bridge a hundred times before venturing across. That was the kind of man he was.

Petunia looked down at her hands, which had been pushed away by Apollion, in dismay.

“Wife, are you… hurt?”

Apollion, who had somehow distanced himself, looked at Petunia’s hands and spoke.

It seemed he was worried that Petunia had been hurt because of his mishandling of her.

“Worried? Am I hurt?”

“…”

“If you’re worried, you could come here and see for yourself.”

Petunia extended her hand with an indifferent tone. But Apollion only hesitated and stepped back.

Apollion was never one to be afraid. If there was a monster in front of him, he would rather confront it head-on than step back.

Petunia felt like she was being treated worse than a monster.

Love was supposed to be a game of fire. But the emotional scars from playing with fire were deeper than she had thought.

“You’re too much, really…”

“…”

“So you’re going to tell everyone you saw the new bride running out crying in the middle of the night?”

Petunia picked up Apollion’s belt that had fallen to the floor.

She had been so earnest in her seduction that it was hard to catch her breath to speak.

“I-I didn’t… I didn’t mean to act that way…”

Apollion muttered in a desolate voice.

If someone were to run out of this room in tears, it would undoubtedly be Apollion, not Petunia.

She was a very small and delicate person. Her personality and speech, like those of a count’s wife, seemed gentle and elegant.

But Apollion couldn’t shake off the image of an alley ruffian that seemed to emanate from her.

Despite her appearance as a noble lady, her aura was as intense as a flame ready to burst. It was so intense that it could even cause burns.

The disparity between her appearance and behavior was very alienating. It seemed like there was a completely different person inside that delicate exterior.

Apollion felt a visceral fear from that sight.

He even had the amusing thought that behind that beautiful exterior, a fierce lion might burst out.

“Is hosting the night more important than your wife’s health?”

“Yes.”

It was an unequivocal voice.

“…”

“In the first place, if you had cooperated willingly… wouldn’t there have been no harm to your body?”

Apollion fell silent at Petunia’s answer, admitting his guilt.

In fact, escaping from this room was very easy.

All he had to do was evade Emma and Wilson guarding the door and jump out the window.

Even though it was only the second floor, jumping from that height was no trouble for Apollion.

But he knew the sin he had committed too well.

Refusing the night as the newlywed groom. Wasn’t he showing the epitome of rudeness?

So he made up his mind to do his best and headed to Petunia’s room.

The best way was simply to stay with her until dawn. That was the most polite approach Apollion could think of.

If Petunia didn’t mind, he planned to engage in idle conversation until sunrise.

So he even prepared a few episodes from his childhood.

But he didn’t expect her to be so proactive. It was something he hadn’t anticipated at all.

It was a hastily arranged marriage, devoid of sincerity and a proper ceremony. A noble lady who would like such a marriage was surely nonexistent.

Moreover, most people Apollion met found him unpleasant. Some even feared a terrible curse would befall them just from minor contact with him. Petunia was no different.

She even had a fiancé. Sonode Quentin, the heir to the Marquis Quentin, was someone Apollion was well aware of.

He was generally skeptical of rumors, but he thought the rumors about Petunia were quite credible.

He knew about Petunia’s relationship with Sonode, and unless it was due to a broken engagement, there was no reason for her to marry him.

Naturally, Apollion thought Petunia wouldn’t want any contact with him.

So he deliberately avoided even kissing her on the lips and didn’t give a second thought to the night. There was no chance of the two of them sharing a bed.

But those were all his own misconceptions.

Petunia wanted the night more than anyone else.

According to the established rules, Apollion had to comply with her wishes.

But Apollion couldn’t just obediently follow her words.

He was afraid of the changes in his body that occurred when he was with her.

Even though he didn’t want it, his blood boiled involuntarily. His lower abdomen felt stiff and uncomfortable.

When her hand touched his clothes, his heart pounded loudly. Even the slightest touch of her bare skin felt like it was burning him.

He couldn’t understand why his body was reacting like this.

Apollion recalled the sexual education he received from his governess in his childhood.

According to what he knew, this was one of the physiological phenomena that couldn’t be helped. It was believed that the body was sensitive to unfamiliar contact for the first time.

But as her seduction continued, he couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was wrong.

It wasn’t a physiological response caused by sex.

It was like retreating when facing a beast, a survival instinct.

So he was definitely afraid.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be trembling like this.

Perhaps just by looking at her sitting on the bed, his entire body would relax a bit. This unfamiliar sensation must have surely stemmed from fear.

Apollion justified his feelings, lowering his gaze downward. Maybe if he didn’t look at her, his stiffened body would loosen up a bit.