Chapter 140
He had never felt this ardent toward anyone.
At first, he had thought it was merely a passing curiosity or interest, but looking back now, he had been drawn to her from the very beginning.
From the moment he met her at the Odriann estate.
He couldnât take his eyes off her. He wanted to tease her, and he was curious about her.
Even if he hadnât consciously realized it, he might have sensed it deep down.
That he wanted to roll around obscenely with her like this.
âDonât you want to recover your memories?â
When Arvina whispered that to him in the banquet hall, Gerard felt strangely reminded of something.
Memories. Right. There was such a thing.
He had done everything imaginable to recover them over the past three years, yet he had completely forgotten about them.
âIâll help you.â
At Arvinaâs whisper, he followed her up to the second floor.
He had also thought he should use this opportunity to put a complete end to his relationship with her.
âThis is unusual. Youâre the one bringing up my memories first now, Miss Odriann. Have you grown rather desperate for my attention?â
âOnly recently have I come to understand the saying that you donât know what you have until itâs gone. I regret it. I should have been more honest with you.â
âIâm looking forward to seeing how much more honest you can be.â
Although his passion for recovering his memories wasnât what it once had been, he still wanted to find them.
The most secluded room at the end of the corridor.
It was far too intimate a place for an unmarried man and woman to enter alone, and her intentions were obvious.
Without even lighting a lamp, Arvina led Gerard into the darkness.
âIf you receive my purification, your memories will return.â
âHow would purification that doesnât work on me accomplish that?â
âDeep contact purification is different.â
Arvina seemed to have attended the banquet fully determined to do this.
Her pale arms wrapped around Gerardâs neck. At the open seduction, Gerard merely rolled his eyes upward without lowering himself to her height.
Unable to hide her confusion at his lack of enthusiasm, Arvina faltered. This had been her trump-card seduction. She had imagined it several times at home, and she had even practiced on a few of the young nobles who showed interest in her.
Unlike those men, who turned scarlet and became flustered, she had thought Gerard would use his characteristic slyness to make her cheeks flush instead.
And she hadnât doubted that he would gladly accept her seduction.
Her eyes trembled.
âHow boring.â
âI-I wanted to help you recover your memories.â
âForget it. Iâm not desperate enough to want to treat Hartheonâs princess roughly.â
He didnât want to recover his memories. From Arvinaâs perspective, it was like being struck by lightning from a clear sky.
Until three years ago, she had had no connection whatsoever to Lord Castion. His sudden devotion to her had felt unfamiliar and disconcerting, so she had kept her distance.
But that had only lasted a short while. As time passed, she became attracted to everything about him.
Not only his appearance, family, and abilities, but even the relaxed composure that set him apart from other mediocre men.
Moreover, the fact that a man coveted by any woman with eyes was courting her gave her a deep satisfaction that nothing else could replace.
Arvina believed that there were women more beautiful and capable than her throughout the empire.
But she was certain that she was the only woman capable of rejecting Gerard Castionâs courtship.
The sense of superiority that certainty gave her was truly exhilarating.
But had her coldness gone too far?
His visits, which had come without fail at least once every two weeks, abruptly stopped. The gifts delivered through servants no longer arrived either.
She didnât know how she was involved in Gerardâs lost memories, but in any case, those memories had allowed their connection to continue until now.
Had he recovered them?
But she soon realized it.
Regardless of his memories, Gerardâs gaze no longer lingered on her. It was directed elsewhere.
Toward Louize, that insolent, presumptuous thing.
