The Price of Breaching the Contract - Chapter 100

Yuliana’s steps were heavier as she left the palace. Her heart was far more complicated than when she had entered. She tried not to expect anything, but she couldn’t completely eliminate her expectations. She vowed not to be disappointed since she didn’t expect anything, but her heart was shaken more deeply than she thought.

Santia, who was waiting in front of the carriage, noticed it at once when he saw her face. Without a word, he sensed the shadow in her atmosphere. Yuliana tried to force a smile, but Santia approached her first and asked quietly,

“Did it not go as you hoped?”

Yuliana inhaled sharply at those words. The words that were about to follow eventually came out in a different form.

“Is it that obvious?”

Santia frowned. Then he sighed lightly and shook his head.

“Ha, that’s why I said I would go with you.”

His tone was sharp, as if he were complaining, but it was tangled with worry and anger. Yuliana blinked for a moment, then slowly lowered her head.

“He said to bring Shuria next time.”

The next words followed softly in a slightly sulky tone.

“She’s his granddaughter, after all.”

Santia didn’t answer right away. After thinking for a moment, he finally spoke in a slightly twisted tone, full of dissatisfaction.

“That remains to be seen.”

Yuliana smiled slightly at those words. It was more like forcing the corners of her mouth up to hide her collapsing emotions than a genuine smile. Her gaze naturally went down to her fingertips, and she began to caress the ring on her ring finger.

“He wasn’t interested in the ring at all. I must have covered it too much with my hand.”

Her voice faded without confidence. The blue ring was still sparkling on her finger, but she kept remembering her father’s face, which had passed by indifferently without even a glance.

Santia listened to her words and took a long breath. Soon, he cut it off with a short sentence.

“What does that matter?”

He silently stroked her cheek with his fingertips. It was a gentle yet firm touch. The warmth transmitted from his fingertips seemed to quietly cool Yuliana’s head. She surrendered her face to his hand without resistance, and Santia put her in the carriage and quietly headed to the mansion.

During the silent ride home, Yuliana closed her eyes briefly and exhaled each time the wheels rumbled over the road. Even when she tried to organize her thoughts, her emotions surged first, and no matter how much she tried to ignore it, her father’s words and expressions kept coming to mind.

It was Santia’s low voice that broke the quiet time.

“I’m afraid you’ll go back to being the emotionless person you were before.”

Yuliana turned her head to look at him. Santia was looking out the window, but his voice was filled with his true feelings. It was a cautious tone mixed with worry and an even deeper affection.

“If it’s uncomfortable, I’ll take care of His Majesty, so don’t worry about it.”

Yuliana shook her head at those words. A quiet rebuttal flowed out.

“How can I do that? He’s my father.”

Then Santia muttered softly.

“That’s what I’m saying. How can a father do that?”

Yuliana sighed at his words and raised her head.

“That’s not what I meant—”

But her words couldn’t continue to the end.

“That’s enough. Let’s stop thinking about it for now.”

Santia wrapped his arm around her shoulder and gently pulled her close. Yuliana’s head naturally leaned against his chest. A cozy and firm embrace. There was a silence that covered and enveloped all emotions.

Yuliana quietly closed her eyes in his arms. Her heart was still beating erratically, but its pace gradually stabilized. His body temperature, his heartbeat, and the strength of his arms that embraced her were telling her everything.

Don’t worry.

It’s okay to stay as you are.

If you falter, I’ll catch you.

Yuliana carefully clutched his shirt. As if wanting to be reassured once more.

“Santia.”

When she called him, Santia lowered his head and looked at her.

“I, maybe I might not be okay.”

Santia stared at her silently for a long time at her words, then said firmly.

“Then, we can wait until you’re okay.”

He quietly kissed her forehead.

“Because I’ll be by your side.”

Yuliana leaned even deeper into his arms as if collapsing. There were still many unresolved knots in her heart, but at this moment, she wanted to rest slowly. A time when she didn’t have to struggle to pull herself together, a time when she could lean on someone’s arms for a while.

It was probably the first real comfort she had received in a long time.

It didn’t take even a moment for the comforting touch to turn intense. In that instant when Yuliana leaned into his arms and took a moment to catch her breath, Santia’s gaze slowly descended to her eyes and lips. The silent breaths, the slightly trembling pupils, and the vibrations that gently shook the carriage slowly but clearly wound up the tension between the two.

When Yuliana raised her head, Santia didn’t hesitate any longer.

The moment their lips met softly, the quiet carriage was quickly filled with moist breaths. The kiss, which was cautious at first, gradually became more intense and greedy. As Yuliana’s eyes closed naturally and her lips parted, Santia delved deeply into the gap.

His hand slid slowly down her waist. The warmth of his hand transmitted through her clothes was hot and firm. It was a familiar movement, as if he already knew rather than asking for permission.

One hand firmly wrapped around her waist, and the other slowly went up from Yuliana’s neck to the back of her head. As his fingertips gently stroked her hair, Yuliana unconsciously stifled a moan. Her lips trembled and her breathing began to roughen.

With the kiss growing deeper and deeper, Yuliana lifted her waist slightly and burrowed closer into Santia’s arms. She could hear his heart beating so close. She was so intoxicated that even that felt sweet, and it was as if time and space had stopped in this small carriage.

It was then. The carriage shook gently and then suddenly stopped.

The sound of horses’ hooves stopped, and the wheels stopped on the ground, and the coachman’s voice was heard quietly from outside the carriage.

“Duke, we have arrived.”

At that moment, Yuliana opened her eyes with a start. As she tried to pull her lips away, Santia, still with his hand in her hair, slowly opened his eyes.

Yuliana, her face flushed red, caught her breath and whispered softly.

“T-The carriage.”

Santia looked at her like that, then slightly raised the corners of his lips. His expression was somehow sly and playful. His eyes looked as if he would resume the kiss at any moment. But unexpectedly, he sat up straight in a very gentlemanly manner and reached out his hand to escort her slowly.

“Then let’s go inside.”

Santia’s voice was low and soft, but the intense emotion underlying it flowed out without being hidden.

When she took the hand he offered, Yuliana hesitated for a moment and then clasped her hand in his. Soon, the carriage door opened, and Santia politely took her hand and led her out, like a knight at a ball.

While walking to the entrance of the mansion, his hand was lightly placed behind her waist. The touch was gentle, but at the same time dangerously familiar and fluid.

Yuliana walked inside with tension in her toes. Her mind was thinking about the confusing emotions, but her body was still soaked in the afterglow of the kiss.

And the moment the door closed, Santia didn’t wait any longer.

He reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist and back, and in one swift motion, he moved to the bedroom. Yuliana followed him, half dragged, and laughed softly.

“I didn’t know you’d be in such a hurry.”

At her words, Santia glanced back and said.

“How much patience is it to stop in the carriage? I have to be rewarded for that.”

At those words, Yuliana blushed and turned her head. But a smile was already spreading across her lips.

The door closed and the latch clicked lightly. And inside, their lips quietly met again.

This time, it was no longer comfort, but a clear longing. And no one stopped it.

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