The Water Is Boiling in My Chest
Adeline could not share the same space with Noah. Her own condition was already dire, but Noah was strangely off—talkative as usual yet oddly distant, his presence weighing on the air like a silent storm that left her throat painfully parched.
Recognizing the danger, Adeline fled the room without a backward glance.
Slam.
The door closed. The Noah who had seemed to vanish returned in an instant. Cool summer breeze slipped through the open window, cooling the fever that still raged inside him.
The moment the heat ebbed, a hollow laugh escaped his lips.
“You crazy woman.”
Directed at Adeline.
“You really went mad.”
He had only fed her watermelon, yet he had nearly licked every finger of hers. How had he managed to hold back the urge to rub his tongue along those straight fingers and roll them inside his mouth? He had no idea.
Noah stared at the neatly arranged watermelons on the desk, as if they were the ones who had stirred his blood.
***
Noah could not contain his impulse. For a moment he forgot even that he was supposed to be feigning illness. His brain felt like it was cracking and burning.
He strode straight out of the manor. Servants tried to speak to him, but his gaze remained fixed ahead. What his ears caught better than any of their voices was Adeline’s voice coming from somewhere far away.
His hearing sharpened. Heat flared.
‘Ha. She’s got me wrapped around her finger? This can’t be real.’
That Adeline, once nothing more than a source of irritation to him, had suddenly looked like a woman—his mind reeled. He told himself it was just his body reacting, yet his heated body, no, his heated heart refused to cool. It felt as if he had slipped and fallen into a muddy pit even though he had never intended to.
“Everyone’s happy, that’s good. Next time……”
Noah snatched her wrist while she was talking with the maids. Her eyes widened like a startled rabbit as she turned.
“……My lord?”
“Come with me.”
Noah turned and walked. Adeline was dragged along in confusion until he stopped.
‘Is he angry?’
His complexion was poor. His cheeks were faintly flushed with fever, and the coat he had been wearing earlier was now draped over his shoulders.
“Why? Are you ill?”
Adeline stopped him on instinct. Something told her it was better not to go further. Her body screamed that she belonged in open air, not in this stifling space with him.
Noah, who had been walking two steps ahead, glanced back at her.
His upper body leaned forward. Adeline held her breath. His lips, inches from hers and about to spill over, stopped beside her ear. His hand remained clamped around her wrist.
“You’re burning like this.”
His palm was searing.
“Sticky… and you’ve been wandering outside without bathing. Don’t you think that’s rude?”
His whisper brushed her ear, meant only for her. Her heart plummeted.
“U-um… that… that’s……”
Her face flushed crimson as she bit her lip. Noah felt a strange satisfaction at the sight. He hated the way she shook for him alone.
“Even your face is flushed.”
“……”
“Do you do this on purpose?”
No part of her—from the cleavage visible between her collar and neck, to her face and ear tips—had escaped the blush. Noah’s fingers hooked into her collar. He tugged gently, then let go, brushing the sweat from her cleavage. Soft flesh dented under his fingertip. Adeline gripped his wrist with trembling lashes.
“Are you getting revenge?”
“……Revenge?”
“You said the other day that you were going to…… here.”
Noah didn’t remove his hand; he rubbed the sensitive skin beneath it. Adeline swallowed hard. Her mind was blank. She feared his fingers might slip inside her collar. She had forgotten they were outdoors, forgotten the servants far behind them were watching.
“You’re trying to strike me from behind, aren’t you?”
“……I-I don’t know what you’re talking about. My lord, please…… let go of my hand.”
“Otherwise…… what are you trying to gain by acting cheap?”
The instant those words left him, Adeline’s brain froze. A raw, carnal accusation suddenly poured over her. She had simply wanted to help. She had no idea what she had done wrong. Her wavering eyes filled with bloodshot tears.
Yet gazing at him with wet, glistening eyes only fed the masochistic urge to torment her more.
The hand gripping her wrist burned hotter. Noah, who had been heading toward the manor, changed direction. Wind whipped around them. Adeline lowered her head, shielding her face from the stares of the servants who had begun to gaze at her.
“M-my lord… why……”
The atmosphere had been strange just moments ago. Only a strange tension had left her breathless. There was nothing worth getting angry about.
Normally he would have reined in his emotions instantly. But now that he realized he had ruined everything, his breathing came in ragged gasps.
“Hah.”
Noah, who had entered the walking path, barely stopped. He wanted nothing more than to dunk Adeline into the pond and scrub every inch of her body. He wanted to tear that wet dress from her, pour cold water over her fragrant neck until the ache inside him finally eased.
“Ugh……”
Yet he stopped himself at the sound of her sob.
The sticky sound of their clinging skin echoed through the space.
“Should I just pour water on your body instead?”
“……”
“Wouldn’t it be right to consider the state of the maids who speak to the young lady so casually?”
It was a veiled accusation that every man who looked at her would become aroused and spend every night thinking of her body. Yet Adeline understood none of it.
***
Sploosh.
Water overflowed. Adeline, who had been sitting blankly in the tub, belatedly closed the taps. Her face looked dazed as she splashed lukewarm water over her body.
It was because of the scolding she had heard from Noah that afternoon.
‘Was I smelly?’
She had sweated, and the distance between her and Noah had been too close. Noah’s eyes had flashed when he bit into the watermelon.
‘I was just looking uncomfortable, but she didn’t realize…… I got flustered anyway.’
She had run away, clutching her wildly beating heart like a fool.
[Otherwise…… what are you trying to gain by acting cheap?]
The words flashed through her mind again, stirring her heart once more. She couldn’t grasp what “acting cheap” truly meant. Calling him disgusting would be more accurate.
“Haah……”
It was difficult.
Noah felt like a problem that would never be solved in her lifetime.
She had run around since dawn for him. Of course she had not expected him to notice. Yet she had not known he could be scolded.
Adeline gradually let the water cover her. Embarrassment struck her harder than anything else. Today’s humiliation among all those she had received from the man she loved was the worst.
Adeline submerged herself in the water. The wrist Noah had grabbed was still burning.
***
“Fragrant.”
“Huh?”
Adeline jolted at Noah’s mumbled words. The girl who had come to assist with his bath swallowed hard.
‘Perfume…… is he talking about the scent?’
Two days had passed since Noah had scolded her. During those two days, Adeline had not gone to him.
It was freedom granted to him like dew, yet the moment Adeline’s footsteps stopped, she began to worry about him.
In the midst of all that, when she appeared to serve his bath, an unfamiliar fragrance wafted from her. The thick, intense scent of perfume—almost as if she had bathed in it—vibrated through the air. Why? What kind of trickery was this?
“Have you bought a new perfume?”
“……Yes. I-I just wanted to refresh myself.”
“Don’t spray it.”
“……”
“I dislike the scent of women’s perfume.”
Adeline’s lashes trembled at Noah’s fierce protest. She had not realized that the unpleasant scent coming from her skin had been so strong that even the perfume she had applied was overdoing it.
She felt unintentionally guilty. Her courage, which she had thought would hold today, crumpled instantly.
“I need to bathe first…… please hand me my clothes.”
“No need.”
“I must serve you. Wouldn’t it be better if I did it rather than someone else? After all, I’ve already seen your embarrassing side……”
“Embarrassing?”
Noah’s eyebrow lifted. In truth, when Adeline had offered to bathe him, it had been for his sake, but a faint unease had also stirred inside her. Assisting one’s master was only natural, yet the thought of another person touching his body had ignited a fire in her chest.
‘I should do it myself.’
It would be a little embarrassing, but if she thought of it as simply washing a patient, it made perfect sense.
“He even vomited……”
She trailed off, unwilling to mention his genitals. Noah’s mouth quirked to one side.
“Ah. So you know what an embarrassing appearance looks like, do you?”