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~Chapter : 11~
. Indecent Act
“Do you happen to have company? If not, please don’t refuse me.”
Even if he had company, Ellis had no intention of backing down, but she added the last words out of courtesy.
Karan grew serious. Ellis’s proposal was too shocking.
From the moment she appeared, he had sensed something unusual—and then, with a single sentence, Ellis made his heart drop.
A woman sitting beside a man in a tavern implied a sexual meaning. And then, sharing a drink…
Haah. Karan grew hot and rubbed the back of his neck.
“I don’t have company.”
“That’s good then.”
Ellis sat down on the chair where his coat was hung, her brightest smile on her lips.
“Madam, what would you like to drink?”
The server, who had been waiting for her to sit, came up and asked.
He clearly knew who she was, yet pretended not to. A fine skill for a businessman.
Ellis glanced at Karan’s glass.
“The same thing, please.”
“No, give the lady a Red Bourdain.”
Karan changed her order. When Ellis tilted her head, his ruddy lips moved.
“My drink… it’s too strong for a lady. Red Bourdain has both the fragrance and taste that would suit you better.”
Karan acted as if he knew Ellis well.
So, he must have investigated me beforehand—as Chase’s intended fiancée.
Was that the reason he had treated her with such courtesy? Ellis felt a faint bitterness.
Well, that makes my job easier.
Since he already knew, Ellis could no longer keep up the pretense.
“Karan Lysandro Titris.”
Ellis softly rolled his name on her tongue. Karan’s shoulders flinched.
“You… recognize me?”
“Of course. One mustn’t fail to know the prince of Titris.”
“Ah… The prince of Titris. Yes, I suppose that’s what I am.”
Karan trailed off. His tone carried disappointment, and the atmosphere suddenly sank.
Just as Ellis was wondering how to fix it, their drinks arrived.
“Please enjoy your time.”
The server glanced meaningfully between Ellis and Karan with a sly smile.
A deep furrow formed between Karan’s brows.
Ellis clinked her glass against his.
Though he had seemed uncomfortable with her earlier, Karan emptied his glass every time she offered a toast.
One glass became two, then a whole bottle vanished in no time.
Ellis didn’t know his tolerance, but she herself was definitely feeling tipsy.
The awkward air between them grew thin.
Ellis tapped at Karan’s fingers resting on the table.
His hand, which had been reaching for his glass, froze.
“Shall we move somewhere else, Karan?”
It was a blatant invitation. Would Karan accept her provocation?
Ellis’s plan to free herself from Chase was simple.
Spend the night with Karan.
That would earn her Chase and Viscount Wharton’s wrath—but that wrath could be blocked by Karan’s name.
Of course, only if he agreed to play along.
“What do you mean by… move somewhere else?”
His thick lashes quivered.
“When a man and woman meet in a tavern and then move to another place, what could it possibly mean? Surely you won’t pretend not to know?”
Titris was a harsh land, where infant mortality was high.
Thus, it was common for capable men to take multiple spouses and to begin active sex lives early.
No doubt someone like Karan already had several promised partners.
That’s why Ellis decided to give herself to him for a night.
For him, it would just be another among countless nights, so her guilt in using him was lessened.
And besides, she believed she could be of help to him.
I will repay this debt, no matter what.
Ellis’s eyes shone brightly as she awaited his answer.
“…Are you serious?”
He stared deeply into her eyes and asked.
“Yes.”
There was no need for lengthy explanation.
His sharp gaze roamed over her, as if to measure the truth of her intent.
Ellis met his scrutiny without flinching.
Karan sighed deeply and rubbed his face with a dry hand.
Like a man frustrated by an impossible riddle, his hand was filled with impatience and unease.
“Serious, you say…”
He muttered, then grabbed a bottle.
As though he had to be drunk, he downed another bottle. The amber liquid slid down his throat.
With a thud, he set the bottle down and turned to her.
In that instant, Ellis knew.
He had given in to her temptation. His eyes gleamed with desire.
“Let’s go up.”
He stood.
Karan led Ellis to the third floor of the tavern. His quarters.
Following his back, Ellis’s heart pounded like a drum.
She hadn’t expected to tremble, but as they headed for his room, her fingertips shook.
Though it wasn’t truly her first time, with this body it was, and so she couldn’t understand why her heart was racing so wildly.
She took a deep breath to calm herself.
“We’re here.”
While she was lost in thought, they reached his room. He held the doorknob and spoke.
“If you’ve changed your mind, you may leave now.”
“No. Please, go in.”
Ellis stepped inside first, worried he might notice her trembling.
Karan was a man of Titris, where there was a saying: There’s no fun in being modest in bed.
Ellis wanted to be fun for Karan.
That was the only way she could carry out her next plan.
She looked around the room. For a prince, his chamber was far too plain.
The real problem is that he’s staying at the Pig’s Tail Tavern at all.
“Perhaps we should have gone to a hotel.”
Karan mistook her hesitation for discomfort.
Ellis quickly shook her head.
“No, I was just… thinking.”
“Thinking what?”
“That Berdeca is a rather pathetic country.”
“Not Titris?”
Ellis smiled faintly.
“Berdeca invited a prince of another nation to its banquet, yet didn’t even prepare proper lodgings. That’s the problem.”
“I arrived earlier than expected, that’s all.”
“No, that’s just an excuse. If it had been a prince of another land, Chase—ah, that’s His Highness the Second Prince of Berdeca, who was to be in charge of your reception—he would have ensured you were hosted at the royal palace. The fact that you ended up here only proves that the Second Prince is a fool who can’t see a step ahead.”
The whole time she spoke, Karan never took his eyes off her.
His gaze carried suspicion—whether she was lying.
It was a reasonable doubt.
Ellis was known as Chase’s intended fiancée, and by all accounts, they were quite devoted.
For that Ellis to slander Chase and suggest spending the night with another man—it was unbelievable.
If he won’t believe my words, then I’ll show him with my actions.
Ellis undid the clasp of her robe. The garment slipped off her shoulders.
Karan’s throat bobbed hard.
“Wait, stop.”
He hurriedly halted her just as she reached for her dress buttons.
He turned away, covering his jaw with his hand.
“What is it you want from me? This isn’t just a matter of seeking a one-night amusement.”
Karan was perceptive.
And, strangely, unusually kind to her.
At this moment, Ellis felt sure that if she told him her story, he wouldn’t simply dismiss it.
“Will you listen to me?”
Her original plan had been to speak after they had slept together—when his guard would be down.
“Of course.”
Ellis gestured toward a chair in the room.
“May I sit and talk?”
Karan silently pulled out the chair for her.
When she sat, he took a seat opposite.
“There’s nothing to drink. I didn’t expect a guest.”
Though to him, Ellis was surely an intruder, he still treated her as a guest.
“I’m the one who came empty-handed—I should be the one apologizing.”
She smiled lightly, then glanced at the time.
They had spent longer in the tavern than expected.
After a quick calculation, Ellis spoke.
“I’ll be straightforward.”
She paused, then continued.
“Will you sleep with me? Continuously.”
Karan tilted his head.
He could hardly believe what he was hearing.
Her tone, her atmosphere, the situation—it all suggested she really meant what he thought she did.
When she had asked to move upstairs from the tavern, he had guessed as much.
Karan stroked his chin to hide his agitation.
In conservative Berdeca, if a man and woman spent the night together, the woman was expected to marry.
And yet she was asking to sleep with him? Repeatedly?
What did she mean by that?
“I don’t follow…”
His palms were damp with nervous sweat, though outwardly he seemed calm—or so he prayed.
Ellis tilted her head.
“Are you unwilling?”
He lifted his eyes.
“You mean lying naked and rolling in bed? You want to do that with me?”
He deliberately phrased it bluntly, wanting her to be sure of what she was proposing.
If she hadn’t meant it, he hoped she would walk away now.
“Yes. That indecent thing you speak of, let’s do it together. Of course, you may dislike the idea. I’m from Berdeca, and after sleeping with me you’d be expected to take responsibility. I have no proper dowry, and on top of that, I’ve even made a verbal marriage agreement with Prince Chase.”
The flaws she listed meant nothing to Karan.
His hesitation wasn’t because of her circumstances, but because the reality was hard to grasp.
And because he feared that if he rashly accepted, only to hear her claim it was a mistake the next day, he couldn’t bear the consequences.
Karan narrowed his eyes, studying her in silence.
The chance that Ellis had simply fallen for him at first sight and was throwing herself at him was effectively zero.
So there had to be a reason.
“You want something. What is it?”
Ellis smiled faintly, as if she had been waiting for that very question.
