Chapter 33

It was the first time she had ever stood so close to the Marquis while being naked since she started the extra work. After getting a good distance away, Liv cautiously reached out.

The Marquis nonchalantly turned his attention to his own wine after handing her the glass.

“It’s high in sugar, so it’s not a bad drink.”

Liv, who had returned to the sofa while listening to the apathetic murmur of the Marquis, felt strange. The Marquis was quite friendly today, in contrast to the usual. Something good seemed to have happened, although she didn’t know what.

After staring down at the thin, transparent wine glass that seemed like it would break with a little force, Liv carefully brought it to her lips. A small amount of wine, not enough to be called a sip, soaked her tongue.

Unlike the sweet scent that lingered at the tip of her nose, it tasted quite bitter and sour on her tongue. Liv wrinkled her brows inadvertently.

“You can’t drink, huh?”

Liv thought he was looking away, but the Marquis seemed to have observed all the changes in her expression. Instead of answering, Liv took another sip from her glass. More wine flowed down her throat than before.

A hot and bitter taste washed over her, burning her insides.

“It’s not sweet at all.”

“You’re a child.”

“… I’m just not used to it.”

The Marquis narrowed his eyes at Liv’s sour reply.

“You’re twenty-five, aren’t you?”

The topic that came up out of nowhere was her age. Liv nodded resolutely, her hand trembling as she gripped the glass, trying to hold back her strength.

Typically, aristocrats were betrothed before they came of age and married as soon as they did. By their standards, Liv’s age was too late to marry, but sometimes, normal people didn’t marry until their early twenties.

So twenty-five was still fine. She missed the time for a marriage, but she had already given up on it, so there was nothing to be ashamed of.

“Yes, I’m twenty-five.”

Liv, answering clearly, deliberately raised her chin more confidently. The Marquis stared at her, and murmured to himself casually.

“So a child.”

Liv gave him a puzzled look when he casually concluded that she was a child. The Marquis, however, had again lost interest in her.

She couldn’t believe that he treated her like a child just because she couldn’t drink wine.

Liv, who was stiff with a subtly distorted face, tried to relax her expression. Then she sipped the wine nonchalantly.

It tasted the same no matter how many times she drank it, but she thought she had to empty at least half of it to feel satisfied. Besides, the alcohol slowly helped her relax a bit, so it was a pretty good way to get through this time.

It really did, when she thought about it. Liv, who had only ever had a glass or two of beer when her friends lured her in her school days, was getting drunk fast.

She finally understood why Brad went to the bar so often. Her body felt so sleepy and she felt excited. It didn’t taste good, but it was effective.

“You’d better keep your mind to wear your clothes on your own.”

Surprised by the sudden voice, Liv reflexively turned her head to the place where the voice came from. Her wide-open eyes looked at the Marquis.

“There is…”

The wine overflowed slightly from the glass that was leaning towards her mouth.

The red liquid flowed down Liv’s chin, gathered at the tip of her chin, and trickled down. The drops of wine that fell onto the white mound of her chest tickled her skin, leaving long trails.

The Marquis stopped talking and stared at Liv.

More precisely, at where the wine drops fell.

Liv hunched her shoulders as she realized that the place he was staring at was her chest. The nervousness, which had been relieved for a while by the influence of alcohol, engulfed her more strongly than before.

“… No room for a drunkard.”

Speaking in a lower, more subdued voice, the Marquis ran his tongue over his lips.

The Marquis must simply try to lick the remains of the wine on his lips, but because his gaze is on my chest, it feels as if his tongue is licking my…

Liv, who had been thinking defenselessly, blushed in surprise.

Oh, my God, Liv Rhodes! What kind of delusions are you having in front of the Marquis?

“I’m, I’m not going to be a drunkard.”

Liv, who replied with a beet red face, hurriedly put the glass down on the side table. She then began to rub the wine stain vigorously with her hands. Her hands and skin were sticky because of the wine, but the stains were mostly faded. At the same time, the Marquis’ eyes left her.

He looked unbothered, as if the intense stare a moment ago was all an illusion.

Not much conversation ensued after that. Only the scent of wine wafting around the room made her head spin, and Liv braced herself for the rest of the time to keep her mind clear. As she did so, she kept repeating in her mind.

That the heat that kept making her cheeks flushed was probably because she wasn’t used to wine.

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