My Dear Grand Duke on a Leash - Chapter 47

Chapter 24.1 — Best Bridesmaid (1)

As she slowly raised her hand to her lips and pressed them tightly, a tingling sensation surged up to her toes. Riette firmly clasped the hand she had just pulled away to her chest.

Her heart was pounding.

“I can’t believe we kissed…”

In addition, under broad daylight in the courtyard…

His face, expression, gaze — all of it filled her vision. His scent permeated beyond not only her skin but reached deep into her lungs. In addition, his deep, resonant voice flowed low and gently, vibrating within her like a drumbeat. While the kiss lasted for a moment and the day seemed so long, she couldn’t remember at all how the preparations for her sister’s wedding, which she had taken so seriously, had passed.

The moments she had spent with him… it felt like the whole day had been filled with just that moment.

As her mouth went dry at the thought of his touch, the area between her legs felt itchy and she twisted her legs. Not only that, but her breast, where he had gripped with strong hands, still felt tingling as well.

Her face flushed with heat.

“Oh, I don’t know!”

Riette slipped under the blanket, thinking that even the moonlight felt embarrassingly lurid and indecent. She had come to understand firsthand why romantic novels always extolled the sweetness of kisses and why her sister wore such a happy and excited smile every time she thought of her fiancé.

He kissed as though he couldn’t resist, even though he didn’t love her. It was a kiss that seemed to promise to cherish and treasure her, to remember every little thing about her.

‘…It felt like an oath that he wouldn’t hurt me or make me afraid in the slightest.’

To share this sensation with someone you love, it must feel like floating in the sky every day, using a hot air balloon as your vessel. You’d spend the whole day thinking about how everyday life would probably feel like nothing but a dream.

What about him? What kind of kiss would he give to a woman he truly loves?

Seeing how experienced he was at kissing, he might have more experience than she expected. He claimed not to be interested in women, but it was strange that no one had paid attention to his looks until now.

Perhaps he had been hiding a love he had to keep hidden.

Was that woman his first love? Was he using the family and heirs as excuses and getting into an emotionless marriage because he couldn’t forget her?

It was a quite plausible delusion.

….

Somehow…

“I feel bad…”

Her chest tightened as if she had swallowed a large piece of food the wrong way.

The hot air balloon that had been floating gently among the clouds suddenly got caught in a tree and plummeted to the ground. Slowly, it descended along with gravity, and it fell to the ground with a thud.

It felt like the sandstorm wind had entered her mouth, making the roof of her mouth feel prickly.

“…I should stop thinking about it.”

Riette threw the blanket aside and rolled over onto her other side. Today, she discovered an intimate part of herself for the first time. There was no room in her mind to recall the sensation of his touch that had almost grazed her. It was because the unpleasant feeling of the crashed hot air balloon had filled her chest.

Pursing her lips, she gazed at the full moon beyond the window. The flattened Shushu, perched on the golden birdcage on the window sill, was sleeping peacefully.

She suddenly felt envious in the midst of Shushu’s peaceful slumber.

“Shushu. You must be happy. You don’t have to worry about things like your first love or the person who shared your first kiss. You’re lucky that you’re not a human.”

‘…I’d rather be a lark, too. Then, my mood wouldn’t fluctuate like this.’

Come to think of it, was he still getting married? Or did he change his mind after leaving her?

“….”

‘I’ll have to ask him tomorrow.’

˚ ·: * ✧ * :· ˚

Riette, standing in front of the dressing table, let out a grunting sound.

“I don’t have any clothes!”

In the end, she slumped onto the dressing table with a sigh. Her bedroom was a complete mess, with over twenty hats, a wide variety of accessories scattered around, and dresses strewn all over the place.

“Pprik?”

Shushu perched on top of the piled-up dresses, tilting his head inquisitively.

“Yeah. Shushu, even in your eyes, do I have too few clothes? No time, no clothes. Where else in the world is there a princess like this, right?”

Saying so, she glanced at the clock and pursed her lower lip.

Only one day until her sister’s wedding.

She had to get a definite answer from the Grand Duke today. Moreover, she had much more to do today than yesterday, so her only free time was before breakfast.

She sighed as she looked in the mirror as if complaining.

Wavy hair that flowed like waves, hair that couldn’t be considered either blonde or light brown, large round eyes, a small nose, and lips.

Riette liked her appearance in her own way. Even though she couldn’t be considered a beauty that anyone would swoon over, this was more than enough for her. If she had been around someone vaguely beautiful, she might have developed some subtle feelings of inferiority. However, since she didn’t consider herself as an object of comparison, her self-esteem remained unscathed.

‘It had been like this my whole life…’

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