A Proposal Born from a Mistake

Lucian’s face was right in front of her nose.

He was looking down at Shana with a radiant smile, as if he were the happiest person in the world.

There wasn’t a trace of fatigue on him, his face impossibly perfect and beautiful.

‘…Wait, what exactly… is going on here?’

The first thing her consciousness registered was the severe muscle soreness wracking her body.

Then came the clingy sensation of the sheets, and a sharp scent pricking her nose—unfamiliar, yet not entirely so.

Mixed into the faintly metallic smell was Lucian’s distinctive, clear forest-like fragrance.

The fog of fragmented memories slowly began to lift.

Like waking up after being thoroughly drunk, the events of the past few days surfaced in broken snippets, like a film with missing scenes.

And then her vision caught on Lucian’s face lying right beside her.

His disheveled black hair was damp with sweat, clinging to his forehead.

The cool, rational man she knew was nowhere to be found.

The sky-colored eyes meeting hers were heavy with moisture and thick emotion, completely unlike his usual gaze.

He looked defenseless, and somehow precarious, like a child burning with fever.

‘With those eyes… last night—no, for three whole days—he looked at me like that.’

‘While kissing me nonstop.’

Wait.

Kissing?

The moment that realization hit, a short gasp escaped Shana’s lips.

She had completely forgotten the reason her entire body ached so badly, and why she felt so utterly exhausted.

Shattered memories stabbed at her mind.

His scorching breath.

His solid body.

And the relentless waves of pleasure that had completely overwhelmed her.

Lucian, even half-asleep, looked flawless.

His long neck, broad shoulders, and perfectly defined muscles made him look like a sculpture carved from marble.

In a normal situation, appreciating such a masterpiece of a body might have been pleasant.

If it weren’t for the fact that this was right after committing an irreversible disaster.

As if to testify to last night’s frenzy, his uniform lay discarded carelessly on the floor,

and the bed was a complete mess, stained with both of their fluids.

“…Shasha.”

A husky voice, just woken from sleep.

Lucian reached out with his long, beautiful hand and gently stroked Shana’s cheek.

The moment his touch landed, goosebumps rippled across her back.

‘Shasha, I’ll make you feel good.’

From that single line onward, everything that followed had swept over her like a storm.

Shana shrank back without realizing it.

Every sensation rushed back to life—

how those hands had explored her body, caressed her,

and even invaded her, rocking her apart from the inside.

‘…Dear gods.’

She had never made a mistake like this in her life.

And with Lucian, of all people?

Not even intentionally, but while drugged on an experimental potion?

‘I swore this would never happen.’

“Shasha, what’s wrong?”

Lucian still seemed unable to grasp the situation.

No—perhaps he was deliberately refusing to accept reality.

Otherwise, there was no way he could look this calm.

Since he had been under the drug’s influence, he must truly believe it had all been a long, vivid dream.

‘…Maybe that’s better.’

She wanted nothing more than to turn time back to yesterday.

“Shasha, what’s wrong?”

“You don’t look well.”

Seeing her pale face, Lucian gently brushed aside her tangled hair.

Startled by the tenderness, Shana jerked backward as if springing away.

She messed up the hair he had just fixed and pressed her fingers hard against her temples.

Her head throbbed.

Lucian wasn’t just some nameless man.

He was the sole heir of the Rithardt Grand Ducal House, one of the most prestigious families in the Empire,

and an imperial hero.

‘And on top of that… he’s my childhood friend.’

How was she supposed to face him for the rest of the experiment period?

Shana recalled the contents of the contract she had signed with the Imperial Palace.

The reward promised if she succeeded.

All of it could be reduced to nothing because of one night’s mistake.

As Shana began biting her lip repeatedly, Lucian’s brows drew together.

“Shasha, don’t do that.”

“If you’re hurting, I hurt too.”

“Bite my fingers instead.”

“Lucian…”

At his words, Shana looked at him with pity.

It seemed the drug still hadn’t fully worn off.

Sunlight poured brightly through the window.

‘Should I just jump out?’

It was only the first floor, so nothing would happen, but emotionally, that was how she felt.

After glancing between the window and Lucian, Shana took a deep breath.

‘…I have to clean this up.’

Lucian wasn’t thinking clearly yet, but once he did, he would be shocked and distressed too.

Still, in the end, he would think rationally.

As nothing more than a one-night incident.

‘It’s not the old days anymore.’

Even married couples openly kept lovers.

Some people slept together before even becoming lovers.

She had heard it could happen even between friends.

One mistake made under the influence of drugs wouldn’t end the world.

As long as she and Lucian both kept quiet.

Having steeled herself, Shana looked down at the clothes scattered on the floor.

The thin silk slip and underwear had been torn to shreds by Lucian’s hands.

At the time, she had thought he removed them neatly,

but now that she tried to remember, he had probably ripped them apart in haste.

Deliberately avoiding the traces left on the bed, Shana headed toward the wardrobe to get dressed.

The moment she left the bed, Lucian sprang up and grabbed her wrist.

“Shasha, where are you going?”

“…To get dressed.”

Lucian would regain his senses soon.

At least if she was clothed by then, it would be less embarrassing.

“I’ll come too, Shasha.”

“How am I supposed to stay away from you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“We’ve stayed apart just fine until now!”

“…Are you insane, Lucian?”

“Why are you pulling the blanket down?!”

The blanket that had barely been covering his lower body was dragged away helplessly.

She could face it last night while drugged,

but she did not want to see it again sober.

The memories were far too vivid.

“What’s wrong, Shasha?”

Lucian looked at her with an innocent, confused expression.

At that face, Shana bit down on her lower lip again,

then picked up Lucian’s underwear from the floor and shoved it at him.

“…At least put this on.”

“Ah, sorry.”

“It’s unsightly, isn’t it…?”

Lucian’s shoulders drooped slightly.

It was such a rare expression on him that Shana’s lips parted in surprise.

But what he said next made her face twist immediately.

“It’s probably too big for Shasha to look at.”

“But still, Shasha enjoyed it so much for days—”

“Stop.”

“Stop!”

She didn’t want to hear anything that reminded her of before.

Lucian smiled with a mischievous curve to his lips.

By the time she noticed, he had already draped his uniform over himself elegantly.

Had he been teasing her the whole time?

Lucian strode forward and caught up to her in an instant.

“I can’t let you go alone.”

“Where are you going to get dressed?”

“The wardrobe right next door!”

“And turn around, please!”

Lucian was dressed, but Shana was still naked.

She covered her chest with one arm and pushed against his chest with the other.

‘…His behavior is still strange.’

“Lucian.”

“This isn’t a dream.”

“Wake up.”

“If you can’t, then go back to sleep.”

It had been quite some time since they drank the potion.

This was becoming a problem.

As Shana sighed, Lucian tilted his head.

“…Not a dream?”

Confusion flickered across his face for the first time.

He began muttering the words ‘not a dream’ under his breath.

Taking advantage of the moment, Shana hurried into the wardrobe.

A poorly designed nook of the cabin jutted out awkwardly.

She grabbed a dress from the hanging clothes there.

‘Just put something on first.’

As she stepped into the white dress and pulled it up to her calves,

a shadow fell over her back.

Lucian had followed her.

Suddenly, he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

“Eek!”

His gaze landed on the red marks scattered across her collarbone and shoulders.

Every single one had been left by him the night before.

With a serious expression, he asked,

“Shasha, why do you have so many red marks on your body?”

“…Because of you.”

Shana sighed as she pulled the dress on properly.

Lucian blinked slowly.

“Because of me?”

“Yes.”

“Do you really remember nothing?”

“No, I do.”

“But dreams disappear the next day, don’t they?”

That must have been how it worked in his dream world.

But bruising in reality didn’t fade so easily.

Lucian stared stiffly at the marks visible through the thin fabric,

then rubbed his face with both hands.

Shana slipped out of the wardrobe.

Lucian grabbed her urgently.

“Shasha.”

“It was a dream… right?”

Without turning back, Shana answered firmly.

“I don’t want to believe it either.”

“But it’s not a dream.”

“That can’t be.”

“Then yesterday, Shasha and I…”

“We really did it?”

“You would never accept that.”

“That’s because we were drugged.”

“…What?”

All the color drained from Lucian’s face.

“Now that you mention it…”

“We drank it.”

“The black potion in the beaker…”

His memories had fully returned.

“Hah.”

“Hahaha.”

Whether it was disbelief or madness, Lucian let out a hollow laugh.

Watching a well-built man stumble as if he couldn’t walk properly, Shana shook her head.

‘Now he’ll feel it too.’

The cruelty of reality.

Lucian staggered backward and hit his head against the wall with a dull thud.

Even then, he seemed unable to feel pain, stammering in shock.

“…I really thought…”

“That it was all a dream…”

“I know.”

Shana sighed.

In the end, everything was her responsibility.

She was the one who involved Lucian.

She was the one who gave him the potion.

“So all of it…”

“Everything between us…”

“It wasn’t a dream?”

Shana turned around.

She was about to tell him not to worry,

to forget it,

to cleanly move on.

‘If he starts blaming himself because of the potion, that would be bad.’

“Shasha…”

“It was too… blissful.”

“What?”

The words that left his mouth were completely unexpected.

Lucian slowly dropped to one knee in front of her.

Shana’s eyes widened.

“…What are you doing, Lucian?”

“I’ll take responsibility, Shasha.”

“Let’s get married.”

He looked as though he had discovered the greatest happiness in the world.