Humans are beings that move based on emotions.
Although their heads and mouths always preach rationality, what decides their actions in critical moments is their feelings…
This is something that could be referred to as desire.
And as a result of being swept away by such emotions, she…
The woman named Cazerose Sophia…
Amidst the screams of her rationality, in the end… she acted according to her heart.
‘This shouldn’t be happening… not now… not like this…’
That person, slowly overlapping his lips on hers…
Cazerose knew all too well that such behavior was unacceptable for her in the current situation…
However, despite that, she couldn’t resist.
In this moment,
This feeling…
And… this emotion…
It was an incredibly strong yet sweet temptation for a woman named Cazerose.
It was something she had always longed for…
And, deep in her heart, she had harbored such a clear affection that she could feel it herself.
At this moment, that act called love that he was showing her…
Was too…
Too alluring to refuse.
‘…It’s warm… and… sweet…’
The soft sensation wrapping around the tips of her lips…
Feeling as if angels in heaven were singing and the whole world was blessing her…
It was enough to paralyze the rationality that had deeply taken root in her mind.
‘…I love… you… really… I love you so much… I’ve become… this way, loving you…’
As she repeatedly confessed in her heart, Cazerose tried to imprint the warmth of that person’s lips as distinctly as possible.
And after a while…
At a point where she didn’t know how much time had passed, his lips slowly began to part.
“Ah…”
Just as she was about to feel regret at that fact…
Cazerose then felt the light of reason returning to her as she began to feel a deep perplexity in her heart.
The event that had unfolded, swept away by emotions unbeknownst to her…
What it meant was something even Cazerose, who wasn’t accustomed to such situations, understood all too well.
A kiss…
The act of expressing feelings between two lovers…
And that act was initiated not by her, but by the lead of the man in front of her, Santana, and she couldn’t help but clearly realize what it meant.
‘You were… loving me?… Mr. Santana… this me…?’
She had a certain degree of suspicion.
No, looking back, the answer had already been evident from before.
Thinking about how he saw her…
How much he had done for her…
She could easily predict what feelings he possessed.
That previous act was just…
A clear confirmation of what Santana had been expressing all along…
Realizing that fact, Cazerose covered her reddening face with her hands, unable to speak for a moment.
‘What do I do… I’m… so… so happy… I shouldn’t be like this… I shouldn’t like him this much… but still… I’m just so happy I can’t calm down…’
Feeling her heart pounding, Cazerose lightly trembled.
Seeing her like this, Santana also showed a somewhat shy response, and he cautiously asked her.
“I… should we head back now? It’s getting late…”
His voice was slightly trembling.
Hearing that, Cazerose, unable to look directly at his face, replied in a voice that barely crawled out.
“Y-yes… that sounds… good…”
With that, she firmly held onto his hand, keeping her head down as she followed behind him.
At that moment, worries and concerns about what was to come filled her heart…
Fears that she might not be able to carry out what she needed to do were growing stronger by the second.
Because she had confirmed his feelings…
At the same time, realizing just how much she loved this person…
‘But still… I must do it… for Mr. Santana… I… I have to return there…’
*
-Crack…-
A sharp sound echoed in the darkness.
The source of that sound emerged slowly from the darkness right after those who had made her emit that sound disappeared.
Under the bright moonlight, Dust Andreas finally revealed herself…
As she recalled the scene she had just witnessed with her own eyes…
A scene she wanted to rush out and stop immediately, she began to be engulfed by fierce anger.
“How dare… how dare that lowly girl… take my older brother…”
The image that remained vividly in her mind…
In the beautiful moonlight, a lowly girl whose origins were unknown seduced her older brother and stole his lips…
That scene unleashed a tempest of emotions within her that she could no longer endure.
However, regardless of those feelings, she began to think that she had to maintain her composure.
‘As much as I want to snap that girl’s neck right now… I can’t get worked up… If I do something like that, my older brother might be heartbroken and leave again.’
Although Dust’s feelings of hatred towards that Cazerose were genuine, her feelings for her older brother, Santana, were also sincere.
For her, the fact that her older brother had suddenly left during her childhood remained a significant trauma, and because of that, she had no choice but to maintain a careful attitude regarding matters related to her older brother, Santana.
‘I can’t recklessly touch that girl… However, telling Father to drive her away isn’t a good option either…’
Since her older brother had returned, their father had always wanted to do whatever he wanted, and especially since they had just won a war thanks to her older brother’s contributions, it could be counterproductive to publicly discuss Cazerose’s situation now.
‘If by any chance… my older brother says he wants to marry that lowly girl… then Father might ponder over it, but in the end, he would probably accept it…’
Of course, considering Cazerose’s status, it wouldn’t be easy. However, in a situation like now, if Santana exerted all his efforts, it couldn’t be said to be impossible.
In that sense, Dust suppressed her emotions while approaching this issue with utmost caution.
‘Acting emotionally is dangerous… It’s best to approach this coldly and politically.’
While trying to cool her head and analyze the situation carefully, a particular plan suddenly dawned on Dust’s mind.
‘Yes… That’s it. If I use that method… I might just create the picture I want. Since most who know about my older brother’s exploits are already aware, if I ride this momentum…’
With that thought, Dust hurriedly started making her way back into the Lord’s Castle.
‘It feels a bit premature… but it’s better to hurry now. The atmosphere is already ripe enough… Besides, considering that this has been discussed several times beforehand, now is the perfect time to push things forward.’
Thinking that way, Dust casually glanced inside the banquet hall as she passed by.
Just as she expected, there he was, still standing at the center of the banquet hall.
After capturing once more the sight of that person chatting among several nobles…
She made her way towards where her father had retreated into the inner chamber.
‘Just you wait… I won’t let a lowly thing like you take my older brother away. The most suitable person for him isn’t someone like you!’
