Caught in confusion amidst Duke Kleo\'s nostrils rubbing her crook of the neck, as if to leave the most visible imprint, amidst his exhalations which were like soft and tickling feathers.

Lyra bit her lip, clenched her fists, closing her eyes tightly.

"Why didn\'t you answer?"  asked Duke Kleo suddenly, still hiding his face.  "Are you refusing my rules?  But sadly that\'s the only way you can get a little freedom, as you wish." The emphasis of his voice was impressive, one thing he was very good at.

Getting someone into a corner, leaving someone with no other choice was one of his undoubted abilities.  This makes him often assigned to various areas with high levels of conflict, to win something.

Lyra should have remembered that.

"If I do that then you must not break the promise."

"I am a moral noble," he snorted.  "Keeping promises is one of the basic etiquettes of a moral noble.  Even we will abide by the war treaty."

"All right," she said at last.  From the start, she had thought of this way, which was to be aggressive to ensnare him and then look for the biggest gap to escape.  Ella and Gena also suggested the same thing, though with different goals.  "I will do it. I will do as you dictate so that I get what I want."

"Really?" He raised his head, sat up straight while looking at her eyes alternately.  After seeing her nod, his arms wrapped around her figure, holding her very tightly, leading her into a world that only they had.

Hesitating, she was still struggling with her ambiguous thoughts.  Bad things still haunt her, and it\'s disturbing.  Until finally, she felt a grip from him, forcing her arm to return his caress.

Awkwardly, she did so, encircling his burly body with her slender arms, applying gentle and somewhat giddy pressure, drowning out her complicated expression.

"Now you can call my name," he said after releasing them from their embrace, happiness shining on his face.

\'Does he truly want to marry me?\'  She thought, after combing his expression.  \'There are still a lot of girls out there, who haven\'t even slept with a single man.  They might be able to please him on the bed.  But why should I?\'

"Lyra?" Duke Kleo rebuked him, startling her.

"Yes, My Lord!"

"Kleo," he interrupted.  "From now on call me Kleo."

Growing.  "But, that sounds impolite.  I\'m not royalty and the rules…"

"Kleo!"  he continued, looking quite gruesome with a dark cloud that seemed to overshadow his face.  "Or this rule is invalidated."

"Alright," Lyra nodded, taking a very deep breath, feeling him move away from her, shifting his body backward.  She thought they could talk normally, even if it was just small talk.  But it turns out he has another plan.

"Let\'s do it!"  he said, making her confused.  "Call me Kleo and start being sweet!  I\'m waiting." His body sat upright with his chin up as if he was in a dance hall approaching his partner.

It seemed too much to Lyra, especially now that they were outside the room with many guards and maids watching them from a distance.

"Can we do it later?  Because it looks like we have to go to lunch."

Duke Kleo shook his head, a smile graced his thin lips.  "Do it now or never!"

Lyra had no other choice, even though she wanted to.  Calling Duke Kleo by his name, hugging and seducing him, then clinging like when he was with his men in the past, spending time full of heat and intimacy, only if he had no intention of marrying her.

"Kleo," she whispered, too softly, almost as slow as her breath, more than the sound of her heart pounding.

He smirked, bringing his face and ears closer together.  "Pardon? I can\'t hear you."

"Kl-Kleo," Lyra repeated, raising her voice, looking down as she squeezed her hands together.

"Your voice is still too low, Miss," he teased.

Inhaling, lifting her chin slightly.  Her eyes still hesitated to look at him because it would dampen her guts.  "Kleo!" Her voice was loud and clear enough to be heard.  But sadly he still wanted to tease her.

"Your voice is still too low."  He chuckled.

"Kleo!"  She shouted, like a jolt.  It seemed like she had failed to control her temper, or perhaps failed to make herself aware that she shouldn\'t have shouted in front of Duke Kleo.  Especially with such a loud voice, that even a group of maids who walked quite a distance from where they were could hear it.

Her head was immediately lowered.  "My apologies, My Lord.  I didn\'t mean to yell at you.  I…"

PAT!  PAT!

Stunned.  Time seemed to stop, with Lyra holding her breath as if she didn\'t want to believe what she was feeling right now.

Duke Kleo patted her head, very gently, as if he was petting a cute and adorable pet, Contrary to what she had expected. She thought he would get mad at her, jerking her back, and give her a punishment.  But he didn\'t.

"Good job!"  He whispered, chuckling crisply, still gently patting her head.

Looking up, her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Now you have completed your first mission," he said, finishing patting her head.  "Now do the second mission," he continued.  "Be sweet!  Take the initiative for it!  You can do anything to me, I don\'t mind."

Lyra\'s back was still curled up, her hands resting on the gazebo, supporting her weight.  Now one of her hands crept up, the tip of her finger touching his hand, snaking, and then grasping his hand, gently stroking it.

"Only that?"  One of his eyebrows rose, watching her slender hand brush the back of his hand.  "I think you can do more than this. You disappointed me. Seems like allowing you to ride is a bit too much, doesn\'t it?"

Lyra sat up straight, pressed her body against Duke Kleo, while her hands wrapped around his neck, giving a pleading look.

"This isn\'t going to work," he said, looking ruthless.  Then he dropped off her hands from her neck, while his body was ready to rise.  "Maybe you can take a walk around the Wereal, but I still haven\'t allowed you to ride."

That\'s when Lyra jumped up to sit on his lap, wrapped her arms around his neck again, giving him another pleading look.  "Please," she said earnestly.  "I want to ride."

"But you can\'t even persuade me."  Shrugging, his tone was very relaxed.  "You\'re not sweet enough, and you don\'t mean it either."

"What do you want?" She asked quickly, not wanting to lose her chance.  "I\'ve come this far, My Lord."

Duke Kleo\'s eyes bulged as Lyra, who looked down, realized her mistake.

"I-I…"

"First," he interrupted.  "Don\'t speak formally to me!  Just call me by my name.  Only then you can do another mission."

"S-sorry, Kleo.  I will never do it again."

"Then?" His head tilted, waiting for something else.

"Then I asked what you wanted."

"You know what I want. I want you to be nice and sweet to me, and please me at the same time."

"But… but there are too many people here."

"Well."  Duke Kleo got up after gently lowering Lyra off his lap.  "I\'ll be waiting for you in my room. No one will see."  Then his figure drifted away, entering a room that would lock them together, along with various complicated negotiations.

Lyra complied.  Her body rose, walked to catch up with him, entered his chamber, closing the door behind her at once. She saw him sitting on the bed, stretching out his arms as if to welcome her.

"I\'m waiting," he said.

She nervously approached, combed the surroundings, then sat back down on his lap, wrapping both her arms around his neck.  "I don\'t know what to do," She muttered, awkwardly looking into his eyes.

"Up to you. The better you are at pleasing me, the better chance you have of getting my permission."

Lyra took a deep breath, then leveled their faces.  Still looking down, now she kissed his cheek, pressing her soft lips there.  Her face moved away, seeing his expression.

"That still isn\'t impressive enough," he said lightly.

Then she kissed him again, at various points, pecking and rubbing her lips, until then kissed his lips, pressing as gently as possible, giving the impression as polite as possible.  They stuck together, grunting without them noticing.

Her two hands traced his jaw, while subconsciously her body pressed together to facilitate their kisses.  Pecking lips then sips repeatedly, Lyra wrapped her arms around his neck again, while her hips moved forward to get the comfort position, until she finally stiffened, feeling something bloated under her, along with his dark face.

"Kle-Kleo, I… I didn\'t mean…"

"You have to finish it right?"  said Duke Kleo, growling.  "You have to finish what you started."

"But..."

"The decision is in your hands."

Lyra bit her lip, closing her eyes tightly as the confusion overcame her.  Until finally she devoured his lips again, feeling the hard one pierce her warmth.  Her mind went blank, when she began to have trouble controlling herself, she found herself moved to swallow him inside her.  "Kleo… Kleo…" she hissed, moving. Her hips swayed, rotated hardly, and moaned.

***