By noble standards, getting someone like Roman shouldn’t have been difficult.
No matter how special a man was, as long as both houses had something the other needed, he could always be used as a bargaining chip on the scale.
That was precisely why Tania had come, but knowing Luo Xiya’s nature, could she really be sure the woman would agree to her request?
Now, with Luo Xiya’s words, her interest was fully piqued.
“I don’t need anything else.”
Luo Xiya turned her head slightly, her sea-blue eyes beneath the brim of her hat carrying a soul-piercing authority.
“As long as you kneel down, lick the top of my foot, and let me place a slave collar on you.”
She delivered the words casually, but they were utterly shocking.
At that, the corner of Tania’s mouth twitched.
Still wearing a strained smile, she asked, “If I do that, will you give him to me?”
It was a strategic retreat, a baiting step she expected Luo Xiya wouldn’t follow through on.
But Luo Xiya remained indifferent.
“Of course not.”
“…So you were just joking with me, then?”
“I was completely serious,” Luo Xiya replied coldly.
“Think about it. If you become my slave, you’d be one of mine. Roman is also mine. So if you look at it that way, haven’t you already ‘touched’ him?”
Her tone was calm, laced with mocking amusement.
“That’s not a very funny joke.”
Tania dropped her smile, her eyes narrowing as she thought coldly to herself that she would definitely make Luo Xiya regret this.
Luo Xiya led Tania into the estate.
The maids were already waiting by the door, and they bowed immediately upon seeing Luo Xiya.
“Tania, stay here for a few days,” Luo Xiya said, gesturing toward her with open hands.
Tania didn’t bother looking at the flowery, showy maids.
Her gaze wandered aimlessly, and after failing to spot her target, she withdrew her attention, thoroughly disinterested.
“Lady Countess, was your trip smooth?”
Elise stepped forward to ask.
“No trouble at all.”
Luo Xiya removed the veil hat from her head, and Elise took it from her hands.
“Where’s Roman now?”
The two stood close as Luo Xiya asked in a low voice.
“In your study.”
At that, Luo Xiya couldn’t help but smile.
Roman had become more and more casually familiar with her, she liked that.
Of course, that applied only to Roman.
If anyone else dared to be so “casual” with her, she wouldn’t tolerate it.
“Take good care of Tania. I’ll go check on him.”
Luo Xiya simply “left” Elise with that instruction.
However, before she could take more than a few steps, a figure emerged from the grand staircase, one that filled her chest with warmth and delight.
Under the sunlight, Roman’s long silver hair glowed with a golden sheen.
His fair, soft hand rested on the banister, long fingers brushing along the polished rail.
Wearing a crisp white shirt and pale blue trousers, Roman walked down with more urgency than usual.
As he came into view, even though everyone in the estate had seen him many times up close, they still couldn’t help but be drawn to him, as if under some kind of mental enchantment.
That pure, delicate face now carried a healthy, rosy flush, making him even more alluring.
Roman, who was usually reserved and emotionally muted, now displayed genuine excitement, making him shine even brighter in their eyes.
He quickened his pace, then broke into a light run toward Luo Xiya.
“You won’t believe what just happened….”
Before Roman could share his delight, Luo Xiya made sure he couldn’t say another word.
With a strength he couldn’t resist, she pulled him into her arms.
Roman’s face was buried in Luo Xiya’s soft chest, and his words became muffled, no longer intelligible.
The maids all lowered their heads, thinking to themselves that their lady was as unrestrained as ever, she always did whatever she pleased.
The maids of the estate were used to it, but Tania, still present, was starting to lose her composure.
Jealous, irritated, and frustrated, she stared coldly at the intimate scene between the two, silently adding yet another line to her growing list of revenge plans.
What made it even harder to swallow was that Roman didn’t look forced at all.
He looked far healthier than he had at the auction, his complexion, figure, and skin condition had all clearly improved.
Tania had thought Luo Xiya’s bold words earlier were just to provoke her.
She knew what kind of person Luo Xiya was, maybe not virtuous, but definitely not someone who would force herself on someone weak and innocent.
Unless… he had willingly fallen first…
Tania’s face darkened at the thought.
In Luo Xiya’s arms, Roman’s light squirming looked more like shy resistance.
It was all form and no substance.
After Luo Xiya whispered something sweet into his ear, Roman’s expression turned into one of flushed submission.
His cheeks reddened, and he leaned into her shoulder, burying his delicate face there.
Luo Xiya reached out to touch the flower-shaped eye on Roman’s right side.
Roman twitched slightly at the ticklish sensation, rubbed his face against her chest in protest, and turned his head away stubbornly, avoiding her gaze.
But his tsundere-like reaction only fueled the Countess’s desire.
Holding Roman by the chin, Luo Xiya leaned in without hesitation.
Their lips met.
Before Roman could react, her fragrant tongue slipped in, breaching his lips and teasingly searching for his tongue.
Their saliva mixed as the kiss deepened.
Luo Xiya nearly forgot where she was.
Her fingers had already slid up to Roman’s collar, he was wearing the outfit she chose for him, the neckline adorned with a pure green gemstone.
Luckily, she stopped herself just in time.
This still counted as flirting; going further would be a different matter entirely.
Rationality ultimately won out, preventing her from doing something truly disgraceful in front of everyone.
But there was another reason she stopped.
When she’d reached to undo his collar, it wasn’t logic that stopped her first, it was possessiveness.
If she unfastened the gem at his throat, everyone would see the hickeys she’d left last night on his collarbone.
After straightening Roman’s collar, Luo Xiya finally let him go.
But someone had already noticed.
Tania had caught a glimpse of the red marks near Roman’s neckline.
For a brief moment, she even felt anger toward Roman himself.
It’s only been a few days, and you’ve already let her dominate you completely?
You’ve given her your body and soul, how pathetic.
Negative emotions piled up inside her.
The snake of regret sank its fangs deep into her heart.
Maybe she hadn’t truly liked Roman that much to begin with.
But the feeling of something she’d wanted being taken, completely conquered, was unbearable to someone like her.
On the surface, she was shameless and flirty, but deep down, she viewed herself with immense pride.
No ordinary person could understand the obsessive and twisted thoughts of someone like Tania.