As Kaelen moved to sweep me into his arms, I shrieked, a raw, ragged sound. “Don’t touch me!”
Then, forcing strength into my voice, I added, “I’m fine now!”
Kaelen’s brow tightened with impatience. “Elara, what game are you playing now? Is it fun, toying with me? You were just faking it to get my attention, weren’t you?” He sneered. “Honestly, Elara, when will you grow up and be more like Lady Seraphina? Composed, dignified.”
I dug my nails into my palms, drawing blood. My lips were a mess of bite marks from holding back the moa ns that threatened to escape. I couldn’t risk speaking again.
Leaving Kaelen standing there, I fled.
I found myself outside the guest suite of the Chancellor, Julian. My fingers trembled as I raised my hand to knock.
Chapter 1
An eternity seemed to pass. I was about to give in to the desperate urge to throw the door open and rust inside when it was pulled open by a hand with long, elegant, powerful fingers.
“Lady Elara? Are you lost?” His voice was cool, like water flowing over ice, like the chime of jade. “This is no Lord Kaelen’s suite. The man you’re looking for isn’t here.”
The fire inside me, briefly quenched by his cool presence, roared back to life, fiercer than before.
The pop–up comments were practically screaming.
【He’s SO bothered! He’s probably been crying into his pillow every night you didn’t come looking for him writing Kaelen’s name on the soles of his shoes just to stomp on it.】
[Don’t be fooled by the ice prince act, Elara. He’s a total softie for you…]
【Every time you call him ‘Cousin‘, his fingers start trembling with excitement. Later, when you’re whispering it in his ear, he’s going to absolutely lose his mind!)
The flashing text was becoming a blur. My vision, red–rimmed and hazy, could only focus on the saint–like figure before me. Julian.
He wore a simple white linen shirt, unbuttoned at the collar, revealing the sharp, clean lines of his collarbon es. His dark hair fell, soft and immaculate, around his shoulders, and he was surrounded by the cool, clear
scent of sandalwood.
He was a man who made you want to drag him down from the heavens, pull him into the messy, morta world, and ruin him completely.
To see his eyes, red and wild, as tears of pleasure streamed down his face.
My gaze slid from his collarbones to the lean line of his waist, and then, shamelessly, lower…
4
Julian’s sharp eyes missed nothing. He saw the state I was in. His cool palm came to rest on my forehead.
“What’s wrong? You’re burning up. Are you ill?” His voice, usually so cold, had softened, laced with a concerr
he couldn’t quite hide.
Being this close, the crisp scent of sandalwood and winter air filled my senses, an intoxicating drug all its own. My heart hammered against my ribs. The world tilted, my legs no longer able to support me.
As I swayed, I instinctively grabbed his hand, my fingers wrapping around his cool, long ones.
The sound that escaped my lips was a broken, desperate whimper. “Ju… Julian…” I stammered, my voice
cracking into a sob. “Cousin…”
The man I clung to went rigid for a moment, but he didn’t pull away. He let me hold on, my fingers tangled
with his.
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“I feel so sick,” I whispered. “Help me.”
“I… want…”
I wanted him to pull me into his arms, to silence the fever with his cool lips.
The comments flashed again:
[She listened! See? This is why she gets the goods!)
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【Look at the ice prince’s ears, people! They’re so red I think I’m going blind. You’re holding her with one hand, what about the other one? Don’t you have plans for it?]
Prompted by the text, I glanced at Julian’s ears. The soft lobes were flushed a deep, translucent crimson, lik polished agate. He wasn’t as calm as his expression suggested.
Julian leaned in, his pale lips so close I felt I could just tilt my head up and capture them. His other hand moved, strong and sure, to my waist, locking me in place, pulling me flush against him.
His thumb brushed against my swollen lips.
“My sweet Elara…” he murmured, the words a delicious, whispered secret. “Tell me clearly. How do you wan your cousin to help you?”
5
His question left me dumbfounded.
How? How could he help?
The comments were in a frenzy:
【This is killing me! Hurry up! I paid for the premium subscription, just kiss her already, then do that thing (r- edacted), and then the other thing (redacted)…]
[If Elara doesn’t know what to do, don’t you, Ice Prince? Stop playing innocent, I’m begging you! I’ve seen the way you draw her. You’re a pro! Didn’t you practice on her stolen dress every night? You practically wore it out!)
【It’s her first time coming to him, he’s probably so happy he’s in shock. Afraid his dark, secret self will scare
her away. Where’s my ‘get–them–together‘ squad?! Somebody superglue their mouths together, now!)]
“Elara, look at me,” he said, his voice low. “Do you know who I am?”
I knew. He was Julian. I had come for him from the very beginning.
“Elara,” he warned, his voice a low thrum against my skin. “If you start this, there’s no turning back. No regre-
ts.”
I couldn’t stop myself. I bit my lip again, tasting blood. “Cousin, please… can you just help me? Now?”
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Chapter 1
I won’t regret it…”
A tear finally escaped, tracing a hot path down my cheek.
Julian’s cool eyes darkened, a predatory beast stirring in their depths. The rough pad of his thumb brusher my cheek, catching the tear. He then smeared the dampness across my lips, mixing it with the blood.
He lowered his head.
His lips met mine.
The cool scent of sandalwood exploded in my senses, overwhelming everything. A cascade of fireworks erupted behind my eyes.
[The Ice Prince knows what he’s doing! A kiss of blood and tears! So dramatic!)
【What did he do wrong? He just loves her too much! Better he claims her himself than letting that toxic Kaelen hurt her. Make her his wife!]
[Kiss her until she faints! Kiss her until she can’t even think about another man!)
My legs gave out completely. I clung to the front of his shirt, my fingers leaving a trail of wrinkles in the fine fabric.
“Cousin,” I gasped. “Can we… can we go to the bed?” Standing like this was torture.
6
My lips were numb and tingling, my heart pounding a frantic rhythm against my eardrums.
After I managed to pant out my request, Julian suddenly released me, his pupils contracting in a sharp, sud-
den motion.
[Damn, he almost lost it! That flash of possession and pure, unrestrained desire in his eyes was everything!]
[Elara, you can’t be that direct! You’re going to give him a heart attack!]
[Okay, everyone, let’s all put our pants back on. Bye now.]
[Hey! This isn’t a private server!]
“Cou… Cousin?” I mumbled, leaning against his chest as I looked up at him through a haze of desire.
A sliver of his icy composure had returned. He leaned close to my ear, his voice raspy. “Elara, do you love
me?”
“I love you…” I was so, so thirsty.
“That doesn’t count right now,” he murmured, his voice dropping lower. “You’re a little liar. You just want me
to be your antidote.”
I looked up and saw his lips, glistening from our kiss, and I wanted to taste them again. But he turned his
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Chapte
head, and my lips landed on the sharp line of his throat instead.
His Adam’s apple bobbed violently against my mouth.
I do love you, Julian!” I insisted, my voice trembling. “I know exactly what I’m doing…”
My heated cheek pressed against his cool palm, rubbing against it like a desperate cat. But it wasn’t enough to extinguish the fire that felt like it was melting my bones.
The comments were going wild again:
[I’ve thrown my pants so far they’re in another dimension, and this is all I get to see?]
[Elara’s suffering, and I bet your “fever‘ is about to act up too. You’re each other’s cure, it’s perfect!]
【Sisters, calm down. We can’t push him too hard. Someone drugged Elara to frame her. If they sleep toget- her now, they’ll be playing right into the culprit’s hands. The moment Elara is in his bed, someone will burst in to ‘catch them in the act.‘ We’ll never get our ship to sail.】
[ Our girl Elara is just a poor little thing caught between a psycho and a schemer. She’s just a side character, after all.]
【In this society, a tryst without a marriage contract would ruin her reputation. The fact that he can stop himself at a moment like this… I have to respect the Ice Prince. Either he has insane self–control, or he’s… not very capable.]
1 took a deep breath, focusing on the comments, and slowly, a sliver of my own sanity returned. I closed my eyes, trying to fight the drug’s pull without looking at Julian’s face.
“Elara, open your mouth. Be good.”
I had clenched my jaw tight against the overwhelming sensations. The man before me showed no impatien-
- ce.
As he gently nipped my earlobe, his cool fingers found the seam of my lips, prying them open just enough to slip a bitter pill inside.
7
The bitterness dissolved on my tongue. I wanted to spit it out.
Julian leaned over me, his fingertips sealing my lips. “Don’t spit it out, Elara. It’s the antidote.”
“Once you take it, you won’t be so desperate for my help.” His eyes still held the dark embers of desire, but his tone had turned cool again.
The comments wouldn’t stop.
【Elara, you’ve ignored him for so long. Now that you’ve finally thrown yourself at him, the Ice Prince thinks it‘ s just the drugs talking. He’s secretly sulking and jealous.]
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1
(If you hadn’t been so foolishly chasing that psycho Kaalen, if you’d given this man even a serje gnce be would have fallen from his pedestal for you long ago 1
[On the right you were supposed to marry Kaelen, he stayed up all night, sharpening a day with co rimmed eyes. But seeing how much you loved the psycho, he couldn’t bring himself to do el
As the medicine took effect, the burning heat and dizziness bergan to recede
But my heart was still racing
I reached out and hooked a finger around the sleeve of his immaculate shin. “Cosan” I whispest, “Kosme again.”
He looked down, his long lashes trembling uncontrollably, His gaze fixed on my lips, and the comers of his eyes began to bloom with a faint, lovely crimson.
“What are you saying, Elara??
1 wrapped my arms around his long, graceful neck, pulling him down to me, forcing him to bend
And just as I’d wanted, I launched my assault, a conquering army laying siege to a willing city, leaving no corner unexplored, mingling my breath with his…
We kissed for a long, long time.
The corners of his eyes were as red as crushed poppies. His cool gaze was shimmering with unched tears.
[Tsk, tsk. So weak! Elara hasn’t even brought out the big guns yet and he’s already about to cry?
[What can I say? Tears are a man’s best dowry-]
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