"This is the first time I've heard about this… Should I prepare the betrothment gifts?" Nathaniel was genuinely confused.
"Sister, I think your hangover must be really bad… How can you joke about this?" Ophelia shivered upon the thought like something so disguising could never happen to her. Such an act could easily hurt the tender feelings of the person in love with her, so Violet carefully looked at Cassiel to examine his expression. But that man was frozen like someone stopped the time for him.
'Hah, poor thing… He must be so shocked to be rejected so openly,' Violet thought. She patted his arm lightly to console him.
"I mean, you two… Not now, but won't you get married in the future?"
"Absolutely no!" Ophelia opposed the idea immediately.
"Who told you so?" Cassiel asked her in a low voice. It was hard to determine whether he was angry or not.
"Who told me…"
This was one answer that she couldn't give them. Their fate was already written, and she had a hand in how their story would be unveiled.
"I will only get married to sister!" Ophelia stomped her feet. She was like a little child who insisted on marrying one of her parents when she grew up.
"Sh*t up, Ophelia!" Cassiel yelled at her angrily, then turned back to Violet. His heated stare made her flinch as she felt vulnerable from his eyes only.
"Violet, answer me! Who told you I will marry Lady Ellington?!"
"N-no one? I just thought… I mean, you two… look good with each other?"
"You think we look good together?" Cassiel wanted to confirm, his face blank.
Violet was unsure of how to explain. She just blurted the future event without thinking. She was expecting the denial to some extent as they both were too shy to admit their feelings so soon, but this was too far from what she had imagined.
"I think we all got too excited… How about I have a new table set out in the glasshouse? We can have the rest of the meal while enjoying the blooms…" Nathaniel proposed.
Just as expected of the Duke of Ashford, he looked kind but was well-versed in breaking the heated moment. His suggestion came at the right time as Violet had nowhere to hide from the piercing eyes of the swordman.
"Yes, my lord… That's excellent idea…"
But before Violet could leave, Cassiel grabbed her by the arm and pulled her from the dining room with him. He ignored the surprised call from his brother and the annoyed tone from Ophelia, who was unsatisfied with him taking Violet from her.
"Hey, mad dog! How dare you drag her away!"
"Lady Ellington! Don't move around with such injuries!" Nathaniel stopped her from running after them. The wound on her head still bleeds, yet the affected person couldn't care less. If the young lady from another house got injured with a permanent scar at his estate, how can he apologize enough to her family later?
"Ciel…! Ciel… Stop! What's wrong with you?" She painted as his steps were quick and long, making it difficult for her to follow.
"My name… That's not my name! I told you to stop treating me as a kid!" He finally stopped in the annexe, pushing her toward the wall. His arm locked her from running away and she was forced to look at him straight in the face.
"Is this the reason why you are irritated? I'm sorry, I won't be using your childhood nickname anymore…" She blurrily recalled several occasions before, when he got angry because of the sobriquet they gave him.
"Why did you come holding Nathan's hand today?" He started the interrogation. The little duke who rarely cared about people around him was unusually curious today.
"We just met in the hallway… He escorted me to the dining room," she explained quickly. Whatever the problem was, it was better to soothe him soon.
"Do not let him touch you again."
Cassiel looked at her for a bit longer, then put his head on her shoulder. He was strangely clingy today, and she didn't know what to do. Pushing him away would be too cruel at the moment, not to mention that her full strength wouldn't even budge with him.
But staying still was out of the question as his breath was tickling the sensitive skin. All that intimate closeness made her remember the previous night, and the heart started pounding faster to the point it was almost unbearable.
Just as Violet tried to focus on calming her burning cheeks, something soft and wet brushed against her bared neck. It was like Cassiel just licked her.
But how could that be?!
"Ack!"
Her whole body shook in surprise. She instinctively tried to pull away, but Violet was already pinned to the wall previously with nowhere to run. Cassiel ignored her escape attempt and opened his mouth to bite her. Not only his teeth sunk into her skin like he was marking her as his own, but he also even started sucking and kissing the person imprisoned by him.
"Ciel… Cassiel… STOP!"
Violet finally managed to put a hand on his lips, as she barricaded him from touching her any further. Her eyes widen in shock, not understanding what just transpired.
Cassiel hadn't even flinched and started licking her palm over him. No matter what part, her whole body was the tastiest meal he had ever been offered. He hated the artificial smell of the perfume and expensive soaps, but Violet smelled like fresh wildflowers. It was so tempting and addictive, that he just wished to cover himself in her scent all day long.
"Have you gone mad?!"
Violet hastily pulled her hand back before he could put her fingertip into his mouth. She looked at the place he just kissed like she just come into contact with a hot iron.
"Why?" Cassiel sounded like she just hurt him. "Can't I?"
"Of course, you can't! What has gotten onto you?!"
"Heh, but didn't you like it yesterday?"
"Y-yesterday?"
Violet gulped nervously. She wasn't admitting it yet, but something back in her mind was telling her that she truly did commit a grave mistake.
Cassiel eyes darkened. He was expecting her to be shy about it, but this upfront denial made him sad.
"How could you pretend to not know?" He asked in an unusually low voice. It was the mix of emotions from being hurt to a hint of angriness.
"I told you to not forget, Violet."