Throughout his life, Cedric had never acted irrationally.
Every step he took was the result of careful consideration and tactics whose consequences he had already calculated.
But at this moment, common sense had vanished from Cedric’s mind as his hand reached for Emily’s head and drew his fiancée’s face closer to his own.
“If you need proof, I can do this, brace yourself!” Cedric whispered a warning into Emily’s ear as her face flushed with embarrassment.
Then, in an instant, their lips met—not just a light peck like the one Emily had given him a few days earlier, but a passionate kiss, as if neither of them wanted to let go.
‘How could this happen?’ Emily thought to herself.
———- A few moments earlier ——– That day, Cedric was working through a stack of papers at his desk, assisted as usual by Philip standing beside him.
Tired from sitting for hours on end, Cedric decided to get up from his chair and take a short walk around the room to stretch his legs.
Philip, noticing that his Master looked tired, immediately headed to the guest table to fetch him a cup of hot tea.
Unfortunately, when Cedric turned around to change direction, he accidentally bumped into Philip, who was walking toward his Master carrying a teacup.
“Clunk… crash…” The cup fell from the impact, and the tea spilled, staining Cedric’s shoes.
“I… I’m so sorry, My Lord.
Let me clean this up right away!” Philip said frantically, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket and trying to wipe Cedric’s shoes.
“It’s all right, never mind—get up,” Cedric stopped him, placing a hand on Philip’s shoulder as he knelt before him, still wiping at Cedric’s shoes, and trying to help him stand.
“But My Lord, your shoes—” “Crash…” “Grand Duke Cedric, are you all right?” Before he could finish speaking, Cedric’s office door suddenly swung open.
Emily appeared, opening the door with a panicked expression as she scanned the room for Cedric, but a moment later her panicked face turned red with embarrassment.
She saw Grand Duke Cedric standing in front of his desk, holding Philip’s shoulders as he crouched before him.
It was truly a scene that could lead anyone to misunderstand.
“I… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt!” Emily said, covering her face.
Realizing the situation, Cedric immediately removed his hand from Philip’s shoulder, while Philip himself remained silent, still unable to process what was happening.
“It’s not what you think, Lady Emily,” Cedric said, trying to explain.
“Don’t worry, Your Grace, I’m not the type of person who judges others based on their preferences (?), isn’t everyone free to have their own tastes?” “What do you mean?” Cedric asked, rubbing his face with his hands in frustration.
“It’s all right, Your Grace.
Please continue.
I’ll take my leave now,” replied Emily, about to leave the room and close the door behind her.
But before Emily could step out of the room, her movement was halted by a hand gripping her arm.
“Philip, go out and close the door,” Cedric ordered, holding onto Emily’s arm, and Philip immediately stood up, hurried out of the room, and closed the study door.
Once the door was closed, Cedric let go of Emily’s arm, and a sudden silence fell over the room.
“What are you doing here?” Cedric asked, folding his arms across his chest and staring at Emily’s nervous face.
“I just wanted to have a quick chat with Grand Duke Cedric, but from outside I heard the sound of something falling… fearing something might have happened to Your Grace, I just walked in without knocking… please forgive me,” Emily replied, bowing her head.
Cedric remained standing, observing Emily’s movements, weighing how much of her words he could trust.
‘Did she come here to talk about something?
Or just to eavesdrop on something?’ Cedric thought.
“But Your Grace, please rest assured, I won’t tell anyone about your sexual orientation,” said Emily, covering her face with both hands, feeling embarrassed by the situation.
“Hah…” “What is this woman thinking?
How dare she think such things about me?
Isn’t she afraid of losing her life?” Cedric grumbled to himself in frustration.
“Hey, what you’re thinking is wrong; this is just a misunderstanding…” Cedric said, trying to explain the situation.
“It’s okay, Your Grace.
I’ve never discriminated against anyone in my life.
Cheer up!” Emily said, clenching both fists in the air in a gesture of encouragement, her face earnest.
‘This woman is crazy; she never listens to anyone.
What should I do to resolve this misunderstanding quickly?’ Cedric thought.
Frustrated by the misunderstanding, Cedric immediately grabbed Emily’s waist and pulled her closer to his body, as if there were no distance between them.
Cedric stared intently into Emily’s eyes, while Emily herself could only stand there frozen, unable to move because she was so shocked by Cedric’s actions.
“If you need proof, I can do this—brace youself !” Cedric whispered a warning into Emily’s ear, her face flushing with embarrassment.
Moments later, his other hand grabbed Emily’s head and briefly brought their lips together.
“Smack…” their lips met.
Ever since Emily’s kiss a few days ago, Cedric had been thinking about her constantly.
About how foolish she was to try to seduce him with just a peck on the lips.
It was truly a pointless effort.
At first, Cedric kissed Emily’s lips slowly and gently, but as time went on, an impatience that seemed to come out of nowhere took hold of him.
Impatiently, Cedric devoured Emily’s lips, his hands already resting on her back and slender waist to close the distance between them, until their chests pressed against each other.
‘This is how you’re supposed to kiss someone—do you understand now?’ Cedric thought to himself, losing all sense of reason, while Emily could only try to struggle and break free, but failed, as she was no match for his strength.
As if possessed, Cedric’s tongue tried to force its way between Emily’s lips.
It didn’t take long for their kiss to deepen and become more passionate as their tongues played together.
Emily, who had initially resisted, was swept away by Cedric’s kiss.
She wrapped both her arms around his neck, as if she, too, didn’t want to let go.
‘This is crazy—in my 40 years of life, I’ve never lost my mind like this!’ Emily thought.
After that, her thoughts faded, and all that remained was savoring the moment unfolding before her.
Cedric, unable to wait any longer, lifted Emily’s body with both hands, without breaking the kiss, and Emily wrapped her legs around his waist, afraid of losing him.
“Thud…” Cedric sat Emily down on his desk, causing papers and books to scatter.
He continued kissing Emily’s lips and neck—so smooth and alluring—even leaving a love bite there, as if to mark her as his.
Emily could only cling to Cedric’s back, not wanting to be apart from him for even a second.
“Hmmph… ah…” Emily moaned in the middle of their kiss.
Hearing Emily’s moans, Cedric grew even more aroused.
But in the midst of their growing passion, a knock on the door suddenly sounded from outside.
“My Lord, it’s Philip.
Miss Anna requests permission to see Lady Emily, as there is an important guest who wishes to meet My Lady,” Philip said from outside the room.
Cedric and Emily looked at each other in shock at the sound from outside.
Emily quickly got off Cedric’s desk and fixed her messy hair, while Cedric straightened his wrinkled shirt and buttoned his shirt, which had come undone at some point.
“I’m sorry, Your Grace, I have to go,” Emily said, heading toward the door.
“Next time…” Cedric said suddenly, stopping Emily in her tracks.
“Yes?” Emily asked, confused.
“Next time, come back here if you need further proof,” Cedric replied without looking at Emily.
Emily simply smiled at Cedric’s words and immediately ran toward the door.
When the door opened and Lady Emily had already left with Anna, Philip was shocked to see Grand Duke Cedric’s desk in disarray, with papers scattered all over it.
“Was Grand Duke Cedric so furious that he caused this mess?” Philip wondered as he quickly picked up the papers from the floor.
Cedric could only rub his face, covering his flushed cheeks as the adrenaline had yet to leave his body.
“What have I done?
Have I lost my mind?” Cedric thought, unable to believe what he had just done.