She fixed her gaze on Dietheardt, making her eyes as wet and teary as possible. Someone (one of her colleagues) had said this would make a man think, "Does this girl like me?" Thank you, colleagues. This is extremely helpful right now. "And I also want Your Excellency Dietheardt to get to know me well." It was incredibly embarrassing, but she finished the sentence. If she failed now, it would be a humiliation for generations, but only one would know Dietheardt, who standing in front of her. The wound is still shallow, she told herself. "..." Dietheardt remained silent, then staring at her. Surely, he'd be hesitant to take the next step. He should start offering some excuse, saying he had "no intention of dating anyone" or something similar. Dietheardt stood up. Now ilse was the one being looked down upon. In the minimal light, his unreadable face was faintly visible. Then, he deliberately bent forward, reaching out with both hands. Dietheardt placed both arms on the back of the sofa, a move that made ilse feel as though she were trapped between the sofa and him. The next moment— "?!" A warm object sealed her lips. His face was incredibly close because the object covering ilse's lips was Dietheardt's lips. (W-w-w-why?!) Her mind was in chaos from her first kiss in her life. He closed his eyes and pressed his lips against hers, looking as beautiful as a sculpture. Even his eyelashes were long. That's not fair, ilse thought, illustrating just how flustered she was. To think she would experience a kiss this easily! And with Dietheardt Schwarzen, of all people! He gently nibbled at her lips, changing the angle as if softly guiding a confused ilse. Wait! I'm not mentally prepared! When she tried to pull away in surprise, one of his hands went to the back of her head, as if ensuring she couldn't escape. "Nn..." A sigh involuntarily escaped her. Her heart was pounding—a mix of surprise and shame was raising a ruckus inside her. Oblivious to ilse's turmoil, Dietheardt continued the kiss. When he gently bit her lip, a thrilling sensation ran down her spine. It was a sweet, tingling shock that made the strength drain from ilse's body. Furthermore, Dietheardt returned to the soft nibbling again and again. As if that weren't enough, he darted out his tongue and licked her lips. Both actions caused a sweet sensation to bubble up, making her tremble deep inside. Perhaps the surreal situation sharing a kiss with Dietheardt was the cause. The fact that he was someone she knew through work might also be a factor. She found herself accepting the situation. Her body relaxed, and her lips parted slightly as a result. Something slick entered her mouth. For a moment, she didn't know what was happening. But the object moving to explore the inside of her mouth was Dietheardt's tongue. She knew, in theory, that there were two types of kisses. She never expected him to initiate this one. Dietheardt meticulously traced the inside of ilse's cheeks and the line of her teeth. The entirely new sensation made her body twitch. It was utterly different from the soft biting of her lips. She felt something accumulating deep inside her body. What is this? Even though she didn't know, she found herself chasing the feeling. Dietheardt, who usually had absolutely no rumors of romance and was completely proper, was unleashing something this intense on her. Something other than confusion shook her core. Was this the magic of the ball? Maybe he, too, had fallen under the ball's spell, just like ilse. Her body was warming up so rapidly that it felt plausible. Tongues intertwined. When the soft mucous membranes rubbed together, her hips involuntarily swayed. Something shot from the top of her body to the bottom. She tried to turn her face away to escape it, but Dietheardt wouldn't let her go. "Nngh... uh." A sweet, nasal sound leaked from her lips. Saliva, whose owner was indistinguishable, escaped from between their slightly parted lips. Dietheardt used his tongue to lick it up. It was a somewhat animalistic act, completely unimaginable from his usual demeanor. He seemed like a stranger, yet it made her abdomen feel hot. Her lips were sealed again. He meticulously licked the inside of her mouth as before, lightly pricked her tongue with his tip, and then licked further back. With each action, the strength left her body. Before she knew it, ilse had reached out with both hands and was clinging to Dietheardt's shoulders. She felt like she'd drown if she didn't hold onto something. "Nnnngh—!" Dietheardt licked the center of her tongue, and ilse's body arched back. She felt as though a great splash had erupted deep inside her body. "When you melt from a kiss, you become this adorable." Dietheardt whispered after pulling away from ilse. His voice, dripping with sultry emotion, tickled her ear, causing even more strength to leave her body. I don't know what that was, but it was amazing... She desperately tried to regulate her breathing while thinking that.