A Monodrama for Carolyn August - Chapter 45

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 45.
“!”
Without a moment to resist, Caroline’s chest was pressed hard against the solid contours of the man’s torso.
True to a master actor’s craft, his absorbed heart beat like that of a man in love—steady, insistent, alive.
She felt it through their skin, and shame mixed with a heaviness that settled deep in her chest.
But this had to stop.
The moment Caroline resolved to push him away, her hand firm against his abdomen—
“Ah, yes…….”
Aiden deepened the kiss like a man biting into ripe fruit, pulling her closer still.
Her attempt to retreat was thwarted when his hand cupped the back of her head, drawing her in with force.
Caroline had no choice but to yield to him, her neck bent back at an awkward angle.
She tasted spearmint, cool and bright.
Something soft and warm invaded her mouth, and she couldn’t help herself—
She squeezed her eyes shut, unable to bear it.
‘Wait, wait just a moment…….’
Her whole body burned. The shame was unbearable.
A kiss. Her first kiss ever, and with Aiden Dairbell of all people.
‘What do I do.’
Here was a man playing a role, performing for the script, and she was supposed to match his tempo.
That logic was sound enough—yet Caroline sensed something going wrong beneath it all.
Was she just making excuses?
Should she really be letting him continue?
Noticing the lack of response from her as her mind spiraled, Ifros slowly withdrew his lips.
His face pulled away.
When Caroline saw his flushed features inches from hers, her mind went white.
“Wait, wait just a moment, I…….”
It felt like she’d drunk spirits far too strong for her tolerance.
Her head spun in slow, nauseating circles.
It wasn’t just her mind that suffered the vertigo—her body swayed, and Aiden, wearing Ifros’s face, steadied her waist with his hands.
Everything tilted.
Her heart raced so violently she thought it might stop altogether.
“Caroline?”
She had actually kissed Aiden Dairbell.
Not briefly. Not at all briefly.
How had this happened?
She wanted to stand before some phantom judge and declare her innocence.
It was not she who had initiated the kiss.
She had never intended to touch him in such a way.
“I’m innocent,” she mumbled.
Caroline’s protest came out slurred, unconvincing.
“Are you angry?”
Aiden studied her with concern.
He tilted his head, his eyes fixed on her with an intensity she couldn’t quite parse.
‘He kissed me, he kissed me…….’
The fact alone stole her breath, as if someone had struck her head.
Her lips moved soundlessly as she continued to sway, one hand braced against Ifros’s chest.
“No. Your expression reads as… pleased. I recognize the signs.”
‘It’s far more than pleased.’
Ifros, analyzing her face with mechanical precision, spoke without tact, gauging her emotions from every subtle shift.
Even as he said this, his gaze never left her lips.
There was something voracious in it, yet also fascinated.
Like the wonder of encountering an entirely new form of life.
“May I continue?”
“……Yes, no. Yes, yes? What am I―.”
Ifros lifted her effortlessly and settled her onto his lap.
Without hesitation, he inclined his head toward hers once more.
A sharp breath drawn in was stolen from her and given to him in the same instant.
The man was utterly absorbed, as if he had been waiting for this moment alone.
‘How can I possibly―!’
Caroline thought she would give anything for a button to press, something that would let her simply faint away.
Her entire body trembled with an unbearable pulse, every nerve alive with sensation.
A ringing filled her ears, and her fingertips and toes quivered, growing numb.
Despite temptation so overwhelming it threatened to steal her consciousness, she held firm with surprising composure, pressing her lips to his.
‘I wish I would simply collapse…….’
Then at least she could preserve her conscience.
Caroline shut her eyes tight, torn between confusion and her own compliance with what he was doing.
‘I can’t push Ifros away and run from here…….’
Besides, she might encounter a servant on the way back to her room.
‘Then…….’
An idea struck her in that moment.
A way to avoid the servants and create distance between herself and Aiden, now so absorbed in Ifros’s character.
“Ifros.”
Caroline spoke, still struggling to calm her racing heart.
“Stand at the bottom of those stairs and don’t let anyone come up here.”
“……Understood. But why?”
“There’s something I need to fix. It’ll be inconvenient if people come asking questions.”
At her words, Ifros nodded with a disgruntled expression.
Clearly, he wanted to stay with Caroline, but the order was unwelcome.
“……I’ll give you a reward when I’m done.”
“All right.”
Guilt gnawed at her for using him, so she made the promise.
Ifros’s face brightened, and he turned to head downstairs.
And true to her word, he took his post at the foot of the stairs.
‘Now then…….’
No more interruption from Ifros.
No more threat from the servants.
Caroline hurried back to the Blue Room.
‘The door position is different. Is the Second Room larger?’
But when she reached the Second Room, Caroline could see that the door placement here too was shifted.
The door was positioned to the right side of the room.
That meant the two central rooms were staggered in opposite directions.
‘Are the walls between these rooms unusually thick?’
But why?
The gap was too substantial to be explained by soundproofing materials or wallpaper alone.
‘What could be the reason?’
Caroline tilted her head and stepped into the room.
The layout of both rooms was symmetrical.
A bed positioned toward the first and fourth rooms respectively.
And facing it, a small wardrobe.
‘What might be inside?’
Caroline pulled open the wardrobe door without much thought.
Or rather, she tried to.
[!]
A familiar yellow exclamation mark appeared, and
[Begin Mission?]
a window with text would have surfaced—had it not.
[Remarkable work reaching here, Miss Caroline, having found Aiden Dairbell’s Room!]
[Now then, shall we proceed with the mission to enter inside together?]
“The System?”
That familiar tone.
[In this mission, you must combine what Caroline knows, what I provide, and the objects given in this room to discover the answer.]
[So then, Miss Caroline,]
[shall we begin the mission?]
“Yes.”
Caroline swallowed hard, tense with anticipation.
It felt as though she were entering the final chapter of what she needed to understand.
This would be the very last part—and the most crucial.
‘Since the System itself has appeared.’
[After completing three missions, Caroline will proceed to the final mission. Your first mission is the Wardrobe Mission.]
At that moment, with a soft click, the wardrobe door swung open.
[Friedman’s room—the third room—and James’s room, the second room, have both had their wardrobes opened.]
Caroline could see numerous garments hanging within the open doors.
[The two wardrobes face each other in perfect symmetry.]
[Aiden Dairbell once said something along these lines.]
‘Sometimes I find myself thinking that James’s childhood resembles a miniature version of Friedman. A copy, if you will.’
Caroline had also seen words like these in an interview somewhere.
‘So?’
She waited for what would follow.
But no response came.
“And?”
[Now you must complete the mission.]
“?”
Caroline’s words caught in her throat, her lips parting soundlessly.
“That’s all you’re telling me? No hints?”
[Both what Aiden Dairbell said and what I’ve told you are hints.]
[The two wardrobes face each other in perfect symmetry.]
The System repeated its words as if to make her understand.
[You must begin the mission now, Caroline.]
“This is ridiculous.”
[This mission has a time limit. I’m starting a five-minute countdown.]

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————